Datatex Computer Services, founded in 1975 by my father, Charles Conley, is nearing its 50th anniversary. After growing up in the business, I stepped into full leadership five years ago. We’ve evolved over the years from building calculators to building mainframes to fixing computers to focusing on the MSP model. However, losing a major client worth 25% of our revenue at the end of 2023 was daunting. For a family-owned business, the pressure was immense. My wife, Tiffannee, the brains behind our marketing, my dad and other family members are dependent on this business succeeding. Stress, fear and a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out how to keep this multi-generation legacy going drove me to seek help.
I had no marketing experience but was familiar with Robin Robins. At a trade show in October 2024, a conversation with a Technology Marketing Toolkit representative motivated me to act. I joined the Accelerators Club and attended the Rapid Implementation Workshop (RIW) in November.
“Aha” Moments That Saved Our Family Business
RIW was a major turning point. The workshop was extremely valuable, allowing me to engage fully without distractions and to transition from a stale position and no strategy to a clear plan. Now I concentrate on sales and scaling the business, trusting my wife to handle the marketing strategy that supports our growth.
5 Transformative Takeaways Include:
- Know Your Metrics: Every day, I look at our numbers, such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and how many clients are on our different packages, to get a clear picture of what’s going on in our business. We redid our bookkeeping, adding items so I could easily track our progress. Developing this system with precise measurements has been a powerful mindset shift. Before, we didn’t know if we were moving forward because we weren’t doing a good job of keeping track of metrics. Now that we know how to measure success, we can see things moving in a positive direction and adjust quickly if necessary.
- Offer Clear Value Packages: We’ve already nearly doubled the number of MSP packages sold, increasing from 22 clients on packages to 40. Plus, I have a couple of clients close to closing. We consolidated and simplified our packages, which made them a lot easier to track. Will Nobles’ training called “Quarterly Mini-Series On Packaging And Pricing Your Managed Services” taught us how to put together compelling, understandable packages vs. selling complex, difficult-to-track individualized plans. We now show clients how our packages can save them money while giving them more value and support than on our old break-fix model.
- Price Accordingly: Establishing a clear understanding of our value was a major help as we discovered how to strategically raise prices. We’ve increased a little over 10% across the board, which contributes to our increased profitability.
- Automate Marketing: We set up the TMT Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. I’d always thought about doing this but didn’t know how. The help from the MAP team during RIW made this quick and painless.
- Conduct Technical Business Reviews: For the first time in the history of our business, we conducted TBRs and converted three clients immediately. I was able to use MAP to send out invites and book eight clients during the first day. Using examples from successful MSPs at RIW as a framework, I put together a PowerPoint presentation. I made adjustments, inserted our logo and showed clients their current plan alongside our new packages. I also give clients swag imprinted with our logo when meeting in person. This TBR in a box is a giant win. One client was spending $500 MRR with us. After we conducted the TBR, they converted to $4,300 MRR plus an additional $2,000 in project work. Another converted from $952 MRR to $2,899 MRR plus a $6,000 hardware upgrade. These are examples of how sending one e-mail turned into a significant increase. We continue to follow up with phone calls and e-mail campaigns.
Our Shocking Results: A Turnaround That Doubled Our Revenue And MRR
RIW put us on an upward trend and delivered dramatic results. Here’s a before-and-after snapshot:
- Monthly Revenue: Dropped to $40,000 after losing a major client; now averaging $87,200.
- Monthly Recurring Revenue: Increased from $10,000 to $21,000.
- Project Work And Hardware Sales: The first month with TMT saw a significant jump from $5,000 to $42,000.
- Net Profit: From a loss of $12,189 (November 2023 to March 2024) to a gain of $17,241 over the same four-month period (November 24 to March 2025).
From A Declining Bank Account To A Pipeline of Possibility
A year ago, I didn’t even know what a sales pipeline was. Now? I’ve built one with multiple lead sources feeding into it, and it’s already produced 10 solid break-fix leads – with $2,000 in potential MRR and $5,000 in project work sitting in the pipeline. It’s wild to think how far we have come just by putting a system in place.
Marketing Filling My Pipeline Includes:
Break-Fix To MSP Campaign Update: Our Break-Fix Conversion campaign has been a major driver of new MSP business. The majority of our recent MSP clients were successfully converted from existing break-fix relationships. And we’re just getting started – we still have around 100 break-fix clients in our pipeline that we’re actively reaching out to. As they call in, we lock in appointments to get face time and present the MSP solution. Behind the scenes, they’re also being nurtured with a targeted, automated drip e-mail campaign designed to warm them up and move them toward a “yes.”
Soaring Social Media: While we’ve always maintained a presence on social media, engagement has noticeably increased in recent months. Tiffannee has really picked up the pace, applying strategies and ideas from the TMT Marketing Managers Training Group with MC Tracy. As a result, we’ve seen an incredible surge in social media activity across all platforms. Our LinkedIn page saw a 96.9% increase in views, with unique views rising 93.3%. Facebook reach skyrocketed by 631.6%, and content interactions doubled. Meanwhile, visits to X (formerly Twitter) jumped 225%.
Robinized Website = More Leads, Less Hassle: We gave our website a complete overhaul with help from TMT’s web team – and the results are already showing. It’s only been live for a month, but we’re seeing a noticeable uptick in traffic, along with a few small projects and one solid lead already in the pipeline. Before, we had no way to capture leads. Now? We’ve got a powerful new lead magnet in place, “10 Common Strategies From Hackers That Leave You Vulnerable To Theft”, seamlessly integrated with our MAP. When a prospect downloads the guide, I personally follow up with a call to schedule an assessment – and start the process of turning them into a paying client.
This isn’t just a better website – it’s a smarter one.
Free Assessments Now in Play: We’ve officially added free assessments to our toolbox, something we’d never offered before. Thanks to our partnership with Galactic Advisors (forged at RIW), we’re now able to deliver professional, third-party assessments that are thorough, credible and easy to roll out. It’s a powerful way to start the conversation with prospects and showcase where their vulnerabilities lie – backed by data, not guesswork.
Trending Tech Tips Are Working! Our weekly Tech Tips are finally hitting the mark. Every Tuesday, a new tip automatically goes out to everyone in our CRM – and the response has been night and day compared to past efforts. We’ve already scheduled assessments with five clients who called in after receiving a tip, and every week I get a few extra calls or e-mails from people asking about that week’s topic. It’s generating real buzz – something we hadn’t seen before, even after trying newsletters and e-mails in the past that barely got a peep. Plus, we’re adding every new lead and client to the list to keep the momentum growing.
Pot Of Gold Postcards Delivering Early Wins: In March, we rolled out our “Pot of Gold” postcard campaign – 300 eye-catching mailers offering a free cybersecurity assessment, headlined with “Are You Feeling Lucky? Cybercriminals Hope You Are”. The message hit home. Not only did we mail them out, but we also printed extras for our referral partners to hand-deliver – a smart move that’s already generated two solid leads. With this momentum building, we’re gearing up to launch the Aspirin campaign next to keep the pipeline hot and the phone ringing.
Referral System On Steroids: Real Leads, Real Results: Our new referral strategy is already paying off. We’ve landed five leads in just one month from a brand-new referral partner – an Internet service provider that installs business Internet lines but doesn’t offer MSP services. It was a perfect fit. Using an idea shared by Will Nobles, Tiffannee created a slick one-page marketing sheet for my meeting with their sales team, and it worked like a charm. One of the leads is already close to closing, and we’re sending pricing to a second that’s looking promising.
We’ve also amped up our client referral program. During our TBRs, we now offer a $25 Amazon gift card for every appointment booked through a client referral – and another card if that referral signs up. So far? We’ve already closed one referral into a paying client.
Momentum’s building – and we’re just getting started.
Accessing Peer Groups Helps Us Work Less And Win More
Participating in TMT peer groups has been invaluable, providing us with a wealth of information. Tiffannee attends two different marketing groups every week, and I’m in the Accelerators peer group led by TMT coach Mike Bazar. We’ve received advice on everything from tips on how to save money on marketing campaigns to how to tweak a campaign for better performance to the best way to hire a sales development representative.
35.94% Revenue Growth In Just 120 Days – And We’re Only Getting Started
At the start of 2024, things looked grim. I was watching the bank account shrink, unsure how to stop the slide – let alone grow. We didn’t have a plan, didn’t track KPIs and had no real marketing strategy. Clients were slipping away, and I didn’t know how to fix it. Then came Rapid Implementation and TMT.
Through this program, I gained the clarity and structure I didn’t even know I was missing. We now have a predictable, proven process to generate leads, win clients and run our business more efficiently – and profitably. It reduced the stress, brought our family team closer together and helped us turn things around faster than I thought possible.
We’re not stopping here. With plans to launch online videos, host cybersecurity webinars and bring in outside experts to deepen client relationships, we’re stepping on the gas. The foundation is laid, the results are real – and with consistency and commitment, we’re on track to hit every goal we set.
This is what momentum looks like.
