hear a tale of woe from someone who ’ s been “ in the business ” for 10 , 20 , 30 years or more who suddenly loses one or two big clients to a merger , acquisition , or a decision to take IT in-house . Yes , you can lose it all in no time flat . Their business , their finances , and their income are suddenly all gone , not to mention their confidence and pride . Embarrassment also comes with such a tragic , sudden loss of income when one ’ s caught flat-footed . I ’ ve seen it play out over and over again : grown men having to swallow their pride and get a job during a time in their lives when they ought to be close to retiring rich or at least financially stable . They ’ re already exhausted but forced to rebuild like a startup . Never think , “ That can ’ t happen to me .”
Honeypot 4 : Go Where The Money Is
The five top areas of opportunity right now are cybersecurity , compliance as a service , remote workforce solutions , co-managed IT or outsourcing of IT in larger organizations looking to cut overhead , and “ regular ” IT clients taken from other MSPs struggling right now . As I mentioned on Page 4 , according to Fred Voccola , CEO of Kaseya , approximately 78 % of SMBs expect to invest in compliance in 2020 ( a 200 % increase from 2017 ), but less than 10 % offer it .
It ’ s always easier to sell something with a loaded gun in your hand , and that is exactly what compliance and cybersecurity are . Governments are starting to pile on more regulations for data privacy and protection while making the fines and penalties bigger . Cyberattacks continue to escalate and worsen . If you ’ re not making a dedicated effort to formulate and sell these solutions tailored to specific target markets , then you ’ re a fool . That is where the money is and has been going for a while .
Honeypot 5 : Be More Diligent About Capturing And Following Up On Leads
During the best of times , MSPs are horrific about capturing new inbound leads and following up adequately . Now , when leads and opportunities are going to be in short supply , you cannot allow such sloppiness . To my point , roughly 62 % of the calls we make to MSPs and IT services firms go straight to voicemail , and 14 % have “ broken ” systems : bad numbers , full mailboxes , no voicemail system set up , no way to get to a human , etc . That ’ s atrocious , since we all know the No . 1 reason someone fires their current IT company and chooses another is lack of response . The new economy buyer is going to be a lot more judicious with their spending and will not tolerate this type of poor behavior . Further , most MSPs have no way of capturing and following up on referrals and other inbound leads — they have no CRM and certainly no marketing automation system they can plug a lead into for an automatic follow-up . At most , they send a single email , maybe two . That ’ s barely a follow-up system , and if that ’ s you , then you ’ re leaving a huge pile of money on the table . To watch a session about follow-up and what it should include , go online to MSPSuccessMagazine . com / follow-up .
A Final Thought
Depending on when you get and read this , Fourth of July in the U . S . will be happening soon or will have just happened . While I realize we have a number of readers from all over the world , most countries have a similar “ freedom from oppression ” holiday they celebrate . Therefore , I feel these remaining remarks , while patriotic to the U . S ., are universal .
The premise of Fourth of July is supposed to be about celebrating independence , yet I see far too many people not celebrating the gift that it is , resenting the need to be self-reliant , or preferring a good excuse over a good opportunity . A bird locked in a cage may feel safe from the prowling housecat , but it is unable to fly and depends on the kindness of its master for food , water , and care . I suppose for some , that ’ s an ideal situation , but not for me and certainly not for the group of clients I serve . As always , there are many things we cannot control . We cannot control or prevent another pandemic . We cannot control or change elected officials and the decisions they are making ( other than voting ). We cannot control the economy , our competition , or other people . That ’ s why now more than ever , it ’ s critical that you take control over whatever you can control : your mindset , your work ethic , your focus , and your decisions . This is not a time when you can indulge in sloppiness . Advertising , marketing , and sales must be effective and more efficient than ever before . No waste is affordable right now . Leads , prospects , customers , and clients must be wowed . Anyone on your team who is not pulling 110 % must be replaced . Your time , your focus , and your energy must be devoted to conquering and overcoming all of this , not to arguing with people on Facebook or escaping the misery of it all by binge-watching Netflix .
Dig deep here with us . There is no better source of valid , innovate , and practical advice on how to march yourself straight out of this mess than what we offer at Technology Marketing Toolkit and MSP Success . Now is the time to work on your abilities , your knowledge , your skills , and your own personal discipline . It is the only path to ensuring you and yours are taken care of . n
16 | MSPSUCCESSMAGAZINE . COM • VOLUME 1 ISSUE 8