MSP Success Magazine Feb/March 2020 | Page 25

ROBIN All meals and workshops included at no cost ( value $ 1,875 ) management . For simplicity , if you pay a tech $ 50,000 , they need to be generating at least $ 150,000 –$ 300,000 in gross margin . Managers should be generating a higher LER . ( For more on this , go online to see a video of Greg Crabtree , our recommended accounting consultant and author of the book “ Simple Numbers .” You can get it at MSPSuccessMagazine . com / crabtree .)

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ROBIN All meals and workshops included at no cost ( value $ 1,875 ) management . For simplicity , if you pay a tech $ 50,000 , they need to be generating at least $ 150,000 –$ 300,000 in gross margin . Managers should be generating a higher LER . ( For more on this , go online to see a video of Greg Crabtree , our recommended accounting consultant and author of the book “ Simple Numbers .” You can get it at MSPSuccessMagazine . com / crabtree .)
After profitability , look at an increase in revenue . Right now , our industry is growing at roughly 10 %. Therefore , if you generate a 10 % increase in sales year over year , you ’ re essentially standing still because the market demand and spend is increasing by that much . I recommend a goal of 15 – 20 % increase year over year ( or quarter over quarter if you ’ re really aggressive ).
Of course , this is not just any revenue by any means . Specifically , I ’ d look to see services that have a recurring revenue element to them as opposed to one-off projects . Almost every project can have some type of recurring element to it if you ’ re creative in your thinking . Some of our application development clients include a monthly maintenance fee with their program to ensure it ’ s always working as it should ( improvements and enhancements ). It doesn ’ t have to be a huge chunk of money , but a small recurring fee keeps you involved in the client ’ s world and feeds you additional revenue . I would also focus on getting every client to spend more money with you to increase sales . Don ’ t just focus on new clients . A majorly overlooked area of opportunity is seeking to sell additional services to clients who already know , like , and trust you .
Embrace The Magic Of Backward Planning
So , you ’ ve got a goal . Now what ?
This is where knowing your sales funnel metrics is critical . Let ’ s take the goal of increasing sales from new clients . That ’ s always a popular one . To properly create a plan to hit your goal , you need to know what your average client spends with you as well as the following numbers :
• How many raw leads are you generating right now per month ? This includes all leads , such as inbound phone calls , referrals , web forms , etc . You must have a way of capturing and tracking all of these leads , particularly those that come in offline ( call in , hand you a business card at a networking event , etc .). That ’ s why a CRM is essential to a productive marketing plan , just as a PSA tool is essential to delivering managed services . ( Shameless plug : We sell a CRM system fully customized for MSPs . To learn more , go to MSPMarketingCRM . com .)
• How many of those leads are qualified ? It ’ s not uncommon for 50 % of your leads ( general ) to be unqualified . They might be out of your service area , need something you don ’ t sell , not be the decision maker , be too small or too big , etc .
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