16.4 %
7-11
1-6
30.0 %
23.6 %
12-24
LAST YEAR ( 12 MONTHS ) HOW MANY FIRST-TIME APPOINTMENTS WITH QUALIFIED PROSPECTS DID YOU GO ON ?
10.7 %
25-36
none
1.5 %
5.0 %
49-60
6.4 %
61 +
6.4 %
37-48
slumps , and “ Murphy ’ s Law ” — is to have people , processes , and systems in place for prospecting . Marketing can and will facilitate this ; however , all highly successful IT services companies I ’ ve interviewed and worked with that are generating over $ 10 million or more in sales have a dedicated team focused exclusively on prospecting for new clients .
Where do you start ? I suggest hiring someone dedicated to calling prospects to set appointments either for you or a good existing salesperson on staff . If they are full-time and any good , they should be getting you 2 – 5 appointments per week . They can also facilitate confirming appointments , rescheduling , qualifying , sending materials in advance , and list cleaning and building if you have them using a quality CRM .
Having that steady stream of new opportunities emboldens you to raise prices and be less desperate to take on that client you know you should pass on . It also gives you the confidence to fire disrespectful , unprofitable clients to free up resources to take on more lucrative projects and accounts .
Only 28 % of MSPs surveyed are going on more than two first-time prospect appointments per month , which is extremely low . This means they are most likely surviving on referrals only and don ’ t have the marketing systems in place to scale . This also means they are not getting sufficient practice in selling , which leads to lowball pricing to win deals and low close rates of proposals ( under 75 %).
24 % more than 1
19.3 %
7-11
LAST YEAR , HOW MANY NEW CLIENTS DID YOU ACQUIRE ( CLOSE )?
HOW MANY CLIENTS DID YOU ADD PER MONTH ?
17.1 %
12-24
25-36
2.1 %
37 +
76 % less than 1
4.3 %
Only 23.5 % of MSPs surveyed closed more than one client per month .
1-6
54.3 % none
2.9 %
VOLUME 1 • MSP SUCCESS | 23