It is my firm belief that one of the biggest reasons MSPs fail in marketing and sales is because they grossly underestimate the difficulty of getting a new client and automatically assume people will trust that they are “ good guys ” who will do a “ good job .” Far from it .
For starters , almost all clients you are going to talk to already have an IT company , person , or resource . The question is this : Are they unhappy enough to make a change ( many are not ), and do they feel supremely confident that if they switch their support to you , you ’ ll deliver more value and better services than they are getting right now ? And that , my folks , requires trust .
If they aren ’ t completely convinced that you will deliver far more value and far better service , why would they bother to switch ? Switching IT providers is painful and disruptive . If a prospect makes a bad choice , they could end up with more problems , more costs , and more frustration . As the saying goes , better the devil you know than the devil you don ’ t , which is why so many companies stay with their current IT provider . To them , it ’ s safer . “ Shark Tank ’ s ” Robert Herjavec said it best when he said , “ When I started the Herjavec Group , I knew that nobody would leave someone good for someone potentially better .” He knew that he couldn ’ t go to market as another “ plain vanilla ” provider of IT services and has been very strategic about positioning his company as the experts in cybersecurity for complex , high-stakes environments , which is one of the primary reasons he ’ s one of the largest MSSPs in the world .
To dramatically improve their close rate , their ability to get clients to take their advice , the right to charge more than their competition ( and get it ), and the chance to usurp the best clients for themselves , MSPs need to stop selling “ stuff ” and instead focus on selling themselves — aka selling trust .
So , how do you sell “ trust ”? Well , it ’ s not as simple as a webpage or a sales letter . Earning marketplace trust takes time and dedicated effort , but the payoff is huge . And while I cannot deliver a complete dissertation on how to build trust in an organization , I can catalog a few ways you can start securing more trust with your clients and prospects alike .
Testimonials From Clients
One of the fastest , easiest ways to generate trust is to let your clients do it for you . I ’ m often asked by MSPs , “ How many testimonials are too many ?” My answer : You can ’ t have too many , and most MSPs fall waaay short on this in all their marketing and advertising . One place in particular would be their Google My Business directory listing . Not only is this important for SEO purposes , but also almost all prospects will Google you to find out what they can online , even if they were driven to you by a referral .
To that end , if you have no online reviews , or just one or two , you appear to be small and nonexistent , particularly if your competitors have dozens of raving reviews from clients .
The ‘ About Us ’ Page On Your Website
Fact check this : The second most-visited page on your website will be your “ About Us ” or “ Contact Us ” page ( if you don ’ t have an about us section ). That ’ s because prospects are looking to figure out who you are to determine if they can trust you . Sadly , most MSPs have the same stock standard rank and file information on these pages as every other competitor in their area . “ We do IT services and support … blah , blah , blah .” Here are a few things I suggest you post ; you don ’ t have to have them all , but having even a few will make a big difference to the people you are trying to attract as customers .
1 . Your ‘ Origin Story ’: This is a short story about how you got started in the business . People want to know where you came from and why you ’ re in the business you ’ re in . It ’ s the second most-asked question I get . ( The first is “ What ’ s the one thing I should do …”) As an example , here is the story of one of our members , Ryan Haislar , CEO of Computerease . We featured him in one of our special editions where we told the story of him taking over the company from his father , a fromscratch entrepreneur who started the company when Ryan was a kid . We also told the story of how his father got thousands of dollars embezzled from him and how the event has driven Ryan to be the protector of small-business owners ( like his dad ) from cybercrime . If you want to read the story , go to MSPsuccessMagazine . com / ryan . If you want to see a brilliantly done backstory that helps Ryan connect with his clients , you really need to read it .
2 . Your Vision And Mission Statement : Of course , it should be interesting and compelling . Our mission is “ To build a community of success-minded entrepreneurs that inspires excellence , encourages collaboration , and expands the
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