Let’s get something straight: there are certain responsibilities in your business you cannot—must not—delegate. I’m talking to you, MSP owner doing $250K, $500K, even a few million in revenue, thinking you’re going to “hire a sales guy” or “get a marketing coordinator” and call it a day.
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Spoiler alert: You don’t get to outsource your hustle.
The Myth of “Set It and Forget It”
I’ve been at this game for over 20 years. Worked with more MSPs than I can count. And let me tell you, I’ve seen the same tragic playbook unfold over and over:
- MSP hires a marketing coordinator or SDR
- No onboarding, no tools, no clear strategy
- Maybe hands them a membership or program and says, “Have at it”
- Sits back and waits for the leads and deals to start rolling in
Guess what happens next? Crickets. Confusion. Failure. And then the MSP blames the team or the tools instead of looking in the mirror.
Stop Abdicating. Start Leading.
The moment you say, “I hired someone to handle sales and marketing,” and then disappear from the process? You’ve already lost. Because this isn’t about delegation—it’s about abdication.
You want results? Then there are six things you must own as the business owner:
1. Your Target Market And USP
This is strategic thinking. It’s not something you offload to a junior marketer who’s still learning how your industry works. YOU decide who you’re going after. YOU articulate why clients should choose you over every other option. If that’s off, nothing else works.
2. Hiring, Leading And Managing The Money Team
Your sales and marketing people are not order-takers. They’re your money team. And they need leadership. Weekly check-ins. Clear KPIs. Training. Support. Accountability.
Don’t be the guy who hires an SDR in another country, hands them a phone script and hopes for the best. (Yes, that actually happened. And no, it didn’t end well.)
If you can’t tell me how many calls your SDR made, how many connections were made, how many appointments booked or what your sales pipeline looks like—then you’re not managing. You’re sleepwalking.
3. Your Go-To-Market Strategy And Budget
Your marketing person can help manage the spend, but you own the numbers. You decide how aggressive you want to be. You determine what channels get tested, what gets cut and what gets doubled down on.
If your sales pipeline is dry, your calendar’s empty or your ad campaigns are bleeding cash—it’s not your marketer’s fault. It’s yours.
4. Celebrity, Authority, And Trust Assets
Content, reputation, thought leadership—this is what positions you as the trusted advisor instead of a commodity tech vendor. And if the person managing your LinkedIn posts or videos doesn’t know your voice, your values, your message, then what the hell are you even building?
You don’t need to be Gary Vee. But you do need to oversee how your brand shows up in the marketplace. That’s not optional.
5. Weekly Marketing Performance Reviews
If you’re not reviewing your numbers weekly, you’re already behind. Monthly reviews are too slow. Quarterly is suicidal.
Every. Single. Week. Ask:
- How many leads?
- How many appointments?
- What’s in the pipeline?
- What campaigns are working—or not?
- What is the market responding to?
If your answer is “I don’t know,” then here’s your wake-up call: the market doesn’t care about your ignorance. It punishes it. Harshly.
6. Listen to the Market—It’s Always Talking
The market is constantly giving you feedback—every campaign, email, post, ad and sales call is a data point. But if you’re not paying attention, you’re missing the opportunity to course-correct before you crash and burn.
Ask yourself:
- What emails are getting opened?
- What ads are getting clicks?
- What CTAs are converting?
- What content is resonating?
Most MSPs only find out something didn’t work after burning through three months and thousands of dollars. You can’t afford to wait.
Your sales and marketing activity is a live feed of market sentiment. When no one’s clicking, opening, responding—that’s not just “bad luck.” That’s the market telling you, “This message doesn’t land.”
Smart business owners use that feedback to sharpen their offer, pivot fast and stay relevant. The rest? They keep hammering the wrong message into the wrong market and wonder why nothing sticks.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Marketing and sales are not “projects.” They are your business lifeline. If they don’t work, you don’t eat. Period.
Too many MSPs operate like they’re playing to not lose instead of playing to win. They nickel and dime their growth engine while hemorrhaging money through missed deals, slow execution and weak leadership.
You can’t just buy a tool, hire a coordinator, and expect to win. That’s not how this works. You are the chief of revenue. The general of the money team.
The Bottom Line
Stop expecting someone else to save your business. Your marketing coordinator is not your savior. Your SDR is not your secret weapon. You are.
Until you lead like the growth of your business depends on it—because it does—you will continue to spin your wheels.
The time to act is NOW. Reclaim your role. Lead your damn team. And never, ever delegate your way out of the driver’s seat.
Because no one cares about your business more than you. And if you’re not willing to own it, why should anyone else?
Need help implementing a marketing strategy? Schedule a FREE MSP marketing strategy session. In 60 minutes or less, we’ll show you how to get in front of more high-quality prospects who WANT your services and are ready to buy.
