building financial strength

Building Financial Strength for MSPs and IT Services Businesses

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, MSP Marketing, Video Leave a Comment

Register For The IT Marketing Roadshow One of the things that smaller MSPs who are struggling screw up in their business is they don’t think in terms of building financial strength and financial leverage. These task-oriented people are thinking in terms of what needs to be done. They might be thinking, “How do we get more clients? How do we …

Why Fully Outsourced Marketing Is A BAD Idea

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Marketing, MSP Marketing, Video Leave a Comment

If you’re an MSP thinking about fully outsourcing your marketing, I’m going to share with you why that could be a complete and total disaster and why you should rethink that strategy. Most marketing agencies that do a complete, “fully outsourced model” are not strategy firms. They are fulfillment firms. I know because I spent the better part of 10 …

Getting “Into” The Customer

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Managed Services, IT Marketing, IT Sales, Managed Services, MSP Marketing, Technology Marketing

There’s an old sales joke about a hotshot sales guy sitting down with a little old lady to sell her a new heater. He tells her all about how the heater is made in America and has the highest-quality ratings for efficiency and safety, about the BTUs, construction, warranties and other features. When he finally shuts up, she says, “I …

Removing The “Technician” Hat To Become A “R. E. A. L.” Entrepreneur (Rewarding, Easy, Attractive and Lucrative)

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Managed Services, IT Marketing, IT Sales, Managed Services, MSP Marketing, Technology Marketing

Much of our society incorrectly describes small business owners as “entrepreneurs.” But as Gerber famously pointed out, most entrepreneurs are not entrepreneurs at all – they’re technicians suffering from an entrepreneurial seizure. Nothing is truer in our industry, where most (roughly 80%) are self-employed with helpers, generating under a couple million in sales, who are busy doing it, doing it, doing …

unique selling proposition

6 Unprofessional Behaviors Of MSP Salespeople During The Corona Crisis That Need To Stop

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Managed Services, IT Marketing, IT Sales, MSP Marketing

Salespeople do all sorts of stupid things that cause them to lose sales on a NORMAL day, but when the world is facing a crisis like the one we’re all in now with the coronavirus, these behaviors are unforgivable and need to end. #1. Prospecting as though nothing is going on (click to watch video). Let’s consider what might be going …

unique selling proposition

Sales Ramp: 3 Irrefutable Signs That You Need To Fire Someone

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Managed Services, IT Marketing, IT Sales, Managed Services, MSP Marketing

Here’s a real e-mail I received from a client this week: “Robin, do you think not hitting sales quota for the past year is a reason to let my salesperson go?” Don’t laugh – we’ve ALL kept an employee long past their expiration date. On several occasions I made the mistake of keeping someone with the hopes that they – …

unique selling proposition

What Can An MSP Owner Learn About Marketing From George Foreman?

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship

Two-time Heavyweight Champion and genius entrepreneur George Foreman will be ONE of the keynote speakers at our upcoming Boot Camp. Some have criticized the decision, saying, “We’re IT guys – not a room full of professional boxers or TV personalities, so why waste time listening to THIS guy?” So, please allow me to address that AND serve the dual purpose …

unique selling proposition

How To Get Appointments With Big Check Writers (A Muffin Story)

Robin RobinsEntrepreneurship, IT Managed Services, IT Marketing, IT Sales, Managed Services, MSP Marketing

Whoever is going around teaching people to use “grab a coffee” as a reason for getting entrance to a meeting with them needs to stop. Worse yet, “I’ll buy you lunch,” as if they’re doing me a HUGE favor. Last month I received multiple SPAM e-mails similar to the one below: Hi Robin, my CTO and I will be in …