MARKETING TIPS
The Shocking Number Of IT Services Companies
THAT STILL AREN ’ T SELLING MANAGED SERVICES
Think everyone is selling managed services ? Then this will surprise you .
Over the last year , we scheduled roughly 1,500 consultations with IT services CEOs who were seeking out our services , about 125 per month . Before scheduling a consult , we require the CEO to complete a survey that details a number of data points on their business , including what their predominant business model is , how many managed services clients they have , how many break-fix or time-and-materials clients they have , and more .
Shockingly , 51 % of those surveyed do NOT have a single managed IT services client , and 24 % have 10 or fewer clients on a managed services contract , with the rest of their clients being time-and-materials , break-fix , or project-based . When I ran the numbers for this article , even I was a bit surprised , given the vast number of resources , tools , companies , and vendors dedicated to helping IT services firms transition to and deliver managed services .
Now , you might think these are all micro-businesses doing less than $ 1 million a year in revenue , but 21 % of those who completed the survey are generating over $ 1 million in revenue , and 5 % are generating over $ 5 million . These percentages represent trends in this industry as a whole .
But why are so few selling managed services ?
The most common reasons can be attributed to the FUD factor , specifically , the fear of changing the way they ’ ve always done business and alienating their clients if they switch to a managed services model , uncertainty about how to price and bundle the services correctly , and doubt that they can sell it , even though there is overwhelming evidence that businesses will buy managed services . But logic and evidence to the contrary be damned ; many of the IT services firms we talk to have simply gotten stuck in a way of doing business that is known and comfortable . As Zig would say , they ’ re getting cooked in the squat .
Why IT Firms Should Be Aggressively Selling Managed Services
For starters , having a subscription-based , recurring revenue model
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