Client Case Studies

“5 IT Services Marketing Strategies That Transformed My $200K Break/Fix Business To A $1.3 Million MSP”

Bhavin Mehta,
Fusion Factor

“If You Build IT, They Will Come.” NOPE!

I started Fusion Factor in 2005 with the mission to help small and medium-sized businesses get a real return on their technology investments. Since we would be dedicated to providing state-of- the-art IT support, phenomenal service and products that allow our clients to get ahead of their competition, I figured we were destined for greatness.

This was my vision (don’t laugh): I thought that simply by opening my IT business, it would grow on its own. AUTOMATICALLY. I truly believed people would find Fusion Factor in the Yellow Pages (it’s under F – I checked). Then the phones would ring off the hook. I envisioned having to turn business away because we couldn’t handle the tidal wave of new customers.

I kept waiting and waiting for that tidal wave. But nothing happened. Not even a small wave or a ripple. Nope, my phone didn’t ring at all. When it did ring, I ran to it like a middle schooler before the big dance. Yet it was always telemarketers selling insurance.

Here are the 5 IT Marketing Strategies That Transformed My $200k Break/Fix Business To A $1.3 Million MSP:

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“After Losing Two Of Our Largest Clients Representing $12,000 A Month In MRR… I Increased My Revenue By $7,100 A Month In JUST 10 MINUTES!”

Jill Eaton,
Sweetwater Technology

For A Decade, I Was “Comfortable” With My Referral-Only Business – “Comfortable” With NOT Growing

Comfortable. That one word perfectly described my IT business for way too many years. I was comfortable with my customer base, comfortable with my revenue and salary. I was comfortable living off of referrals because that’s all we did for about 10 years.

I was comfortable not marketing. Seriously. We never really did ANY kind of real marketing or advertising. We never even hired a salesperson. For an entire decade, because all we ever knew were referrals, we never knew when (or IF) our business would grow.

I guess I figured because we lived in a small, rural town, we weren’t supposed to be stressed with big-city business headaches. The Wyoming town I live in has a population of about 300. I have a husband, kids and over 600 head of cattle. I also have a gas station and a novelty store. I work in my IT business so I can buy land and retire on my ranch one day, not so I can be stressed, take on more debt and deal with business headaches. Read full article and comment →

“From Marketing Newbies To $21,528 In MRR And 194 Leads In Just 90 Days!”

Mat Zoglio,
Zog, Inc.

15 Years In Business. Practically Zero Marketing.

Most IT business owners unsuccessfully “dabble” in marketing. They send out a sales letter or postcard, get few or no results and then swear off direct mail. Later, they might test their luck with an ad in a trade publication or newspaper. Again, no results. Then they’re on to the next “shiny object” everyone is talking about…only to test it once and throw it away when the phones don’t ring. There’s another kind of marketing that is even LESS effective: our go-to approach for way too many years of NO marketing at all.

Zog, Inc., was founded nearly 20 years ago, in 1999. The majority of my clients came from referrals and JV partners. For about 15 years, we never did any type of marketing. I simply didn’t know how. With a degree in electrical engineering and a background in technology and infrastructure, marketing was far outside my comfort zone.

Back then, Zog did have a marketing/salesperson on staff. However, since I was a champion of sales and largely ignored marketing, he followed in my footsteps. Sure, he implemented some Google AdWords campaigns that helped us acquire a few new clients, but we needed more. MUCH more. Read full article and comment →

“After Just 12 Weeks, We’ve Added 20 Clients And $24,924 Of Monthly Recurring Revenue”

Nathan Whittacre,
Stimulus Technologies

Bill Gates And Steve Jobs Aren’t The Only Computer Guys Who Started In A Garage!

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to run a technology company. Even as a teenager, I worked for a small computer shop and loved it. At that young age, I approached my father and brother about starting our own computer company. We founded Whittrio, Inc. (which eventually became Stimulus Technologies), in 1995 and operated out of my brother’s garage.

I often joke that I must have missed the class in Computer Science School about how to run a business. I was practically forced to become a student of business through the school of hard knocks and by devouring tons of business books. Through that self-training, certain parts of business came easy to me: analyzing financials, policies and procedures, and, of course, the tech work. That’s where I wanted to focus ALL of my time.

But I quickly learned those areas of business didn’t pay the bills. Marketing and sales were the moneymakers. Yet marketing always seemed like a “soft” subject to me. It seemed scary. It was difficult to understand. It just didn’t come natural to me. But deep down I knew that if I wanted our business to grow, it was a necessary evil to learn. Read full article and comment →

“From Zero Marketing Skills And Near Zero Growth To Executing 23 Revenue-Generating Marketing Efforts In Under 90 Days”

Steven John,
Sagari, Ltd.

My Excuses Were Piling Up As Much As My Debt

I wasn’t like many of Robin’s clients who order the Toolkit and then plop it on a shelf. I read it thoroughly cover to cover. But a funny thing happens when you simply READ the Toolkit but don’t IMPLEMENT its contents: Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Eventually, the Toolkit started gathering dust. I even stopped reading Robin’s newsletters. For some reason, I felt I already knew it all. Believe me, I had a pile of excuses why the program wouldn’t work for me. Excuse #1: American marketing doesn’t work in the UK. Excuse #2: This type of marketing is too cheesy. Truth: My excuses were simply a way to cover up my OWN fears around something I didn’t understand — sales and marketing. History had already demonstrated clearly that I wasn’t good at marketing!

Then, about a year ago, my business had suffered some serious problems with staff, suppliers and myself, so it meant something drastic had to change. Around that time, one of Robin’s lumpy mail offers caught my attention again. It was an invitation to Robin’s Rapid Implementation Workshop.

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“New Clients Providing $153,103 In New Revenue – All In Just 90 Days!”

Sheryl Cherico,
Tier3MD

I Know What I Am. I Know What I Am Not.

I’m a tech at heart. I’m NOT a marketer. My background has been in the field, supporting medical offices since 1979. I began my own business in 2005 and was crystal clear on my target market from day one: medical practices in the Atlanta area. I grew my business on referrals and existing relationships but after 12 years, the growth stalled. I knew the opportunity was there but had NO CLUE how to get it.

“Self-Belief And Hard Work Will ALWAYS Earn You Success.” LIAR.

I’m a workhorse and everyone on my team contributes to rowing our boat in sync as fast as humanly possible. But we were missing a clear direction and goal. For years, we continued our haphazard “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” marketing approach. Spoiler Alert: It never stuck. Read full article and comment →

“Our MRR Is Up 27% And Sales Are Up 85% Compared To This Time Last Year!”

Tom Breuer,
Computer Magic

I’m A Huge Skeptic About Robin (Or At Least I Was)

I love order in my life. I’m very analytical and pride myself on running a professional business with a “get it done right the first time” mantra. This probably comes from years working on computer networks where order is inherent in the design of a well-run system. Whatever it might be, I’ve always related to my more analytical side.

That was until the day Robin told me to put a crisp dollar bill in the mail.

I’ll admit that going into this program I was dubious, skeptical and thought maybe the tactics and techniques were useless gimmicks akin to snake-oil salesmen setting up their tents in the town square.

I was so wrong. Read full article and comment →

“Our First Marketing Campaign Generated One Lead, 8 Testimonials And Saved Our Oldest Client From Leaving”

Tom Blandford,
eTrepid, Inc.

I Had Peaked At $340,000 In Annual Revenue

The year was 2009. After 10 years in business, my break-fix IT business had peaked at $340,000 in gross revenue. The rollercoaster of waiting for something to break so I could go fix it was exhausting. Something had to change, and that’s when I finally made the decision to go all in on managed services, launching a new company, eTrepid, and setting a goal to reach the $5 million mark within five years.

When I say “all in” on managed services, I really mean “all in.” For my employees AND clients, there was no choice. If they wanted to stay with me, they had to make the leap. This decision cost me a few clients AND a stubborn employee. And my revenue actually DROPPED to $240,000 my first year as an MSP. Things had to get a bit worse before they got better. In year two as an MSP, we nearly tripled to $730,000, and in year three, with the help of my first salesperson, we nearly hit the million-dollar mark. We were on our way! Read full article and comment →

“We Tripled Our Bottom Line In One Year!”

Eric and Lisa Shorr,
Secure Future Tech Solutions

There is an old saying: “You never just marry the person. You marry the mother, father, siblings …” What I did not realize is that, along with Eric, I married his fledgling business, PC Troubleshooters too. The “three” of us have lived in wedded bliss – well, sort of – for nearly two decades! But after slow, consistent growth for years, it came to a screeching halt. We were stagnant… until we found Technology Marketing Toolkit and changed our mindset.

A Marketer And A Tech – A Match Made In Heaven?

Lisa’s story: Marketing and branding are in my blood. My grandmother sold ladies’ skin-care and cosmetics. My grandfather sold men’s suits. While making the sale, he would talk about the skin-care products his wife sold (a great joint venture deal!).

My first job post-college was selling books at Houghton Mifflin in Boston. I got the job with that publisher because I told my prospective employer, “I want to work trade shows!” I was hired, and off to trade shows I went!

Then, one day, my good friend fixed me up with a young Rhode Island boy named Eric… Read full article and comment →

“We’ve Pushed Our Company From ‘Unhealthy’ To Growing A Thriving $5 Million Company!”

Chris Hoose,
Choose Networks

My business has had many influences: my parents, my wife, employees, Arlin Sorensen (HTG), and many teachers such as Paul Dippell, Gary Pica and Arnie Bellini, but the person responsible for the last three years of our company’s exponential growth is my coach, Robin.

I’m honored to share with you the story of how I’ve more than doubled my business over the last three years and in the process have gone from a tech-minded business owner to the growthminded CEO of our now very profitable MSP.

My Business Desperately Needed To Grow Without Breaking The Bank

Although I had purchased the Toolkit nearly seven years ago, it wasn’t until just 3 years ago that I got serious about marketing. Prior to that I wanted to grow, but I really didn’t have much interest in learning about marketing. We did grow, but getting to $2.3 million in my business was painful and expensive… mostly accomplished via costly acquisitions. I was generating zero leads via marketing, relying solely on sporadic word of mouth referrals and potential new business acquisitions to grow the business. Read full article and comment →