Proven Ways To Break Free From A Sales Or Marketing Slump
ing To You Again
information to their audience . Right now , that could be a report , e-book , seminar , or webinar on “ How To Avoid Being A Ransomware Victim ” or “ What To Do If You Ever Get Hit With Ransomware .” If you ’ re in a niche , there may be more relevant topics for your industry ( like discussing new regulations for medical practices you are well-versed in ). Over the last year , I conducted close to 20 webinars for the partners of various vendors in the IT industry on how to market your MSP during COVID-19 shutdowns . I waived my regular fee for doing these sessions and
capitalized on the lead generation they provided me .
4
Run The ‘ 9-Word Email ’ To Unconverted Leads . An unconverted lead is a prospect that showed interest to some degree — from mild ( opting in to your website but not booking an appointment ) to HOT ( going all the way to the proposal but not converting to a client ). One tried-and-true campaign is to send a short , to-thepoint email ( we call it the 9-Word Email — thank you , Dean Jackson ). The subject line is ONLY their first name , NOTHING else ( this is important ). In the email , it says , “ Are you still looking for << a new IT firm >>?” with your signature . NOTHING else . In the << >>, put whatever it was they were talking to you about or showed interest in . Short and to the point . You will get a response — trust me on this .
5
Consider A Lower-Priced , Stripped-Down Offering To Go After The ‘ Low End ’ Of The Market . Many MSPs make the decision to only sell to larger companies with 50-plus employees . That ’ s a perfectly acceptable strategy — BUT , if sales are lagging , you might go after the larger pool of smaller clients . I ’ m not saying your offering shouldn ’ t be priced so low that you don ’ t make money . Strip out some of the more expensive services down to a “ good ” core offering . Maybe monitoring and basic maintenance with all support calls as a billable event . Small businesses ( less than 20 employees ) are the majority , so you ’ ll have a bigger pool of clients to go to .
6
Ask Your Vendors For MDF ( Marketing Development Funds ). Many will provide it if you ask . If not money , often they can provide swag of some kind , “ door prizes ” for events , or gifts to give existing clients and prospects as a bonus for buying , booking an appointment , attending a webinar , etc .
7
Hire A Sales Rep . If you ’ re not recruiting 24 / 7 / 365 for good salespeople , you ’ re not serious about growth . Frankly , if you ’ re not recruiting for ALL positions 24 / 7 / 365 , you ’ re setting yourself up to fail . Great people don ’ t come around all that often , so if you ONLY start looking when you ’ re desperate , you ’ ll end up settling for whatever you can “ absorb ” from the market at that time . Keep in mind you don ’ t have to hire all the people who apply , nor do you have to meet with them . I filter 95 % of the resumes I get based on the resume , background , and experience ( or lack of experience ). But keep a line in the water at all times so when the right candidate presents themselves , you get a shot at hiring them .
8
Diligently Plug All The Holes In Your Inbound Lead Generation Bucket . Many MSPs have more holes than they have bucket , with no lead capture forms on their websites , no one answering the phones live , no name capture of inbound leads into a CRM system , and no follow-up . If you ’ re swimming in opportunity and money , you can survive with money slipping out of your hands ( although I ’ m certainly never okay with this , no matter how well I ’ m doing ). But when opportunity dries up , it ’ s critical that you fix the giant , gaping holes in your lead capture and follow-up .
9
Rerun A Campaign You Used In The Past That Worked . Sounds crazy , but often , businesses run a campaign that worked really , really well but then fail to run it again . I ’ m sure there ’ s something in your history you did that could be repeating again now .
10
Turn Off The News And Turn On Productive , Positive Content . Tigers starve last in the jungle because tigers hunt . Sales slumps and tough periods come from time
10
to time , but they STAY because of the attitude of the sales rep or entrepreneur who slips into complacency . There ’ s ALWAYS something you can do to improve your situation , to make a sale , and to get leads , sales , and money flowing again — but that won ’ t happen if you ’ re in a funk . Turn off the news . Get off the sewer of social media , and start watching , reading , and listening to quality information that will inspire you and instruct you . Yes , you might have to modify your approach , but NEVER modify your goals or ambition .
Want more ideas ? Go online to MSPsuccessMagazine . com / 6ways to see a NEW webinar I recently conducted titled “ 6 Ways To Double Your Leads , Sales , And Profits Without Spending A Dime On Marketing .” n
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 6 • MSPSuccessMagazine . com | 13