She Said: To do that, you can use this soundbite:
“ The next step is to conduct an assessment of your network, what we call Network Health Check. The purpose is to get a true snapshot of your environment— number of laptops, workstations, servers, and other devices connected, as well as the software you’ re using. This is also to analyze your network and look for root causes of some of the problems you’ ve outlined to me, and to look for hidden problems that could turn into bigger issues. Think of it like an MRI of your network. This allows us to provide you with a detailed recommended action plan.”
Then pause and ask if they have any questions so far. Next, you’ ll say:
“ This health check is going to be conducted in three parts. The first part we’ ve already done in this meeting, discussing the problems you’ re having and how you’ re using technology in your business. Part 2 is the technical assessment. To do this, we’ re going to …”
Here, outline how you’ re going to perform the assessment( modify it for your business).
The Great Debate: Whether or Not to Charge
Some MSPs charge a fee for the technical assessment, while others offer it as a complimentary service.
She Said: I’ ve done both. If you charge for an assessment, it will qualify the prospect further— now they’ re paying you for the next step. They’ re not going to pay every provider they talk to.
He Said: I look at it like an intentional point of friction. If your pipeline has too many opportunities and you’ re trying to determine if prospects are qualified, start charging. But if you’ re only getting a handful of leads a month, it may not be the time to introduce that source of friction. If you choose to offer free assessments, don’ t do a deep dive; just get an accurate account of the servers and network.
Stay Tuned...
Follow these steps to transition your prospect to the tech assessment like a pro. Check out our next installment to learn how to master the closing meeting.
Then, you’ ll say:
“ Finally, I would like to send you a survey for your staff to get their perspective on any IT problems. Often, I discover a lot of frustrations and problems that leadership is unaware of. Once these three parts are done, I’ ll meet with you next week to go over what I discovered and present our recommended action plan. I need to make sure we get everyone at that meeting because it’ s not uncommon for us to uncover major issues, and you’ ll need to decide how to proceed. It often involves HR and legal matters such as insurance coverage and IT budgets. Do you have any specific questions or concerns?”
Wait for them to state what’ s on their mind, then schedule the assessment. You can do the assessment at the conclusion of the discovery meeting, or schedule a time for your engineers to do it. But the key is to schedule it before you leave the office.
Sitima Fowler Expert in Residence Sales & Sales Management, TMT Sitima Fowler turned her small MSP from zero growth and profits to a multimillion-dollar MSP generating over a million in net profit. She then merged with a group of other MSPs to form Iconic IT, where she headed marketing and sales, growing to over $ 25 million before it was sold to Integris. Today, she teaches MSPs how to close big, profitable managed services agreements with ease.
He Said: In a consultative sales process like this, the purpose of every step is to sell the next step. When you’ re leaving the discovery meeting, it’ s a win when you schedule the next meeting.
Once you walk out the door, there’ s going to be some chaos, and all the excitement the prospect was feeling or the frustration you uncovered is going to evaporate. So while you have somebody sitting in front of you, secure the next step. It’ s absolutely critical to the sale.
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Ray Green, Expert In Residence Sales & Sales Management, TMT Ray Green has been an operator for investment groups, including CEO of a PE-backed company and other contract C-level roles. He was also managing director of small and midsize business at the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Ray has helped some of the world ' s most successful business coaches execute world-class sales and marketing strategies. He has also coached dozens of solopreneurs on productizing and packaging their services to win better clients at higher rates.
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