around the country . Conversations about MDF revealed one of the biggest problems was the lack of follow-through . “ MSPs don ’ t execute on their plan ,” Sagester said . “ When you receive MDF money , that is taking it away from somebody else , which is fine as long as you follow through . You ’ ve got the money , now spend it . Run your plan . The door is open . Now , you don ’ t have a financial reason to not do your plan . Follow through with it and everything else becomes much easier .”
Find Out What The Vendor ’ s Requirements Are For MDF . Every channel company does MDF differently , and
every amount is different . For example , Datto , a Kaseya company , has tiers of partners where certain tiers gain access to MDF . It ’ s also delivered on a first-come , first-served basis . Tonya Gentry , Chief Sales Officer for Big Red Media , has spoken with dozens of channel partners to gather what their individual MDF programs look like and what is required . ( Find out MDF requirements in MSP Success Magazine ’ s FREE MDF Guide at MSPSuccessMagazine . com / mdf .)
“ The piece that the MSP must really think about is that just because they are partnering with a vendor doesn ’ t mean they are owed MDF ,” Gentry said . “ Really look at what the program is , how they get into the program , then have a really solid marketing plan for what they ’ re going to do with the funds . If they have those pieces of it , they ’ ll wind up getting more money from the channel company .”
What Can And Can ’ t You Do With MDF ?
Another reason MSPs aren ’ t receiving MDF money is because what they want to use the money for is not a legitimate expense . “ It ’ s extremely important that MSPs find out what they can get reimbursed for . As an example , a lot of companies won ’ t reimburse for a third party ,” Gentry said .
That said , the money can be used in a lot of ways : lunch and learns , events , webinars , giveaways , trade shows , and mailers , for instance .
“ Estimates show the amount of unclaimed MDF to be between $ 25 –$ 35 billion dollars .”
Darren Patoni did three events with the MDF he received : a golf tournament , a breakfast , and a happy hour event .
“ Jeff Farr had a company car nobody wanted to use and used MDF money to create a wrap for the vehicle with the vendor ’ s logos ,” Sagester said . “ Now , everyone wants to drive the car . Before VR was a household thing , Farr had a mobile VR come to the office . Hundreds of people showed up . From roughly $ 2,500 , he made about $ 430,000 .”
Create Win-Win Plans . Incorporate ways to benefit your channel partner . Quickpass , a cloud-based software that helps businesses manage passwords and verify user identity , provided MDF to a partner to help with sponsorship fees for an MSP community event . In return , Quickpass gained exposure through Quickpass ’ logos placed on all of the wine bottles at the event . In another event , Quickpass funded the food for each attendee and also performed a product demo . The partner was able to convert the majority of the end users and gained adoption to onboard the
Quickpass Self-Service App . MDF can provide growth and opportunity to both you and your channel partners . WatchGuard Technologies , a supplier of multifunction threat management devices , has received glowing reports of success from its MDF program . Their partners report results that include 45 % YoY growth , webinars with a 20-to-1 return on investment , and
SEM programs that generated 50 leads within two weeks and closed $ 350K of business with another $ 750K in the pipeline , just to name a few benefits .
Follow these tips to pull in MDF to grow your business . And here ’ s one last tip : When evaluating different vendors , ask what kind of partner perks they offer . MDF is often attached to partner programs . In some cases , partner programs are free ; you just need to sign up for them . If you still aren ’ t receiving MDF , ask what you should be doing differently to access MDF . Armed with this information , before long , you ’ ll secure free money to help grow your business . n
For more information on which vendors offer MDF , how to access these funds , and to download our FREE MDF Guide , go to
MSPSuccessMagazine . com / mdf
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