When someone asks me what’s working for lead generation, they’re usually asking the wrong question. They want to know which channel to pick. Which media. Which platform. And that’s where most MSPs go sideways.
The Four M’s Framework
Here’s what actually moves the needle. I call it the four M’s: Market, Message, Media, and Math. Think of it like table legs. If one leg is shorter than the others, you’ve got a wobbly table. All four have to be even.
Market is the list or target audience you’re going after. You choose it based on whatever criteria you have for your ideal client. This is who you’re reaching.
Message is what you say to that prospect when you show up. In their inbox. In their mailbox. On their news feed. Wherever you show up. The message has to be tied very closely to the market. You say something that’s going to be of interest to them, that cuts through the clutter, that makes them want to listen or hear more. This is also what the SDR says when you get the prospect on the phone. It’s not one-size-fits-all.
Media is how you get that message into the hands of your ideal client. That’s pay-per-click, Facebook ads, paid search, direct mail, trade shows, SDR calls. The vehicle doesn’t matter if the first two legs aren’t solid.
Math is understanding the actual numbers. How many dials does it take to get a connection? How many connections convert to meetings? I was working with a group of SDRs recently who are doing really well. For every 50 people they’re calling, they’re getting 1 to 2 appointments. You’ve got to know those ratios. You’ve got to understand the math cold.
Most people asking what’s working are really asking a media question. They assume the magic is in the channel. But the magic isn’t always in the media. You’ve got to get all four of these things right.
Here’s what this actually means: You can have perfect media, the best paid ads, the most targeted campaign, the slickest direct mail piece, but if your market is wrong or your message doesn’t resonate, nothing happens. Conversely, I’ve seen mediocre channels produce extraordinary results when someone got the first three legs of the table right.
Why The Channel Doesn’t Matter (Until Everything Else Is Right)
Here’s the proof. Someone asks me, ‘Do trade shows work?’ Of course they do. But not if you show up at a trade show where the audience isn’t buyers of IT services. Not if you’re in the right audience but you show up with a mediocre message. Not if your booth isn’t staffed, or the person staffing it doesn’t have an offer to make or any salesmanship.
The media doesn’t matter if the other three legs of the table are broken. That’s why some MSPs spend $50,000 on Facebook ads and get nothing. And another MSP spends the same amount and closes $200K in deals. It’s not the platform. It’s the table.
What This Actually Looks Like In Practice
Unusual direct mail, like a lumpy mailer (think Aspirin Campaign), followed by phone calls and personal emails, still works. I just talked to a client who landed a $400,000 ARR deal using exactly this approach. One campaign. Real money.
Strategic JV partnerships are my favorite thing in the world. When you can get another non-competitive company to walk you into accounts because there’s something in it for them too, that’s when lead gen stops being expensive and starts being efficient.
LinkedIn still works if you’re publishing content and using it for real communication, not just spray-and-pray connection requests. I publish Robin’s Rants on LinkedIn. It gets read. It starts conversations.
Speaking engagements, webinars, conference sponsorships. These work when they’re tied to something real, not just your name on a sponsor list.
What’s NOT Working Anymore
Spam email campaigns are dead. Scraping lists and blast-emailing prospects you’ve never met? That hurts your sender score, damages your reputation, and wastes money. I know MSPs who literally were using fake IP addresses to hide their identity while spamming a million emails a week. Result: one or two leads. That math doesn’t work.
Generic content blasts don’t move the needle anymore. There’s too much content out there. Publishing a blog post used to be a big deal. Now it barely gets noticed unless it’s specific, strategic, and tied to something real.
Fake LinkedIn messages generated by AI. ‘I’m impressed with what you’re doing at [Company Name].’ We can all tell it’s fake. And platforms are starting to penalize it. If it doesn’t work and it hurts your reputation, why do it?
The Bottom Line
Stop asking what channel works. Start asking whether all four legs of your table are even. Get those right, and the channels become secondary.
