The Three Things MSP Buyers Are Looking For That Are NOT “Low Price”

At Boot Camp, I shared with the audience research I’d compiled on what clients want from their IT provider, based on examining the responses to a testimonial request e-mail we have our MSP clients send to THEIR best clients. I compiled and keyword-analyzed over 1,000 candid, unedited replies to those e-mails to determine the commonalities of what IT buyers – your clients – truly valued.

Out of ALL of those responses, not one – and I do mean NOT ONE – said they wanted the “lowest price” or “cheapest price.”

So why does it seem like so many IT services sales are lost to cheaper competitors, or are lost over price?

For starters, the seller (you) is ALWAYS more emotionally charged about price than the buyer. Because the SELLER is nervous about discussing price, they tend to only “see” and “hear” those things that verify their belief that people buy on price and don’t want to spend money on IT.

Second, the salesperson’s discomfort with price manifests itself in the sales meeting, showing up as a lack of confidence or that they are hiding something – which breaks trust. And since prospects sense uncertainty like a dog smells fear, they react to it, causing them to hesitate, often not even knowing why they don’t “feel right” about doing business with you. Read full article and comment →

How Coaching Your Clients Leads To Higher MSP Profits (Pt. 2)

Welcome back! Last week we coached your clients how to buy. This week we’re exploring how to develop a relationship with the clients you have to turn them into the clients you want. Read on…

Part 2 of Coach Your Clients How To Buy For Higher MSP Profits: How To Develop Your Clients Into Great Clients

A critical piece to the success of any service firm is to have a productive, profitable and mutually beneficial relationship with its clients – yet how many business owners actually FOCUS on developing that asset?

Can you list the systems and processes you have in place for advancing that agenda? Can you show me the specific things you are sending them, doing for them, to make them behave in a manner that allows you to deliver your best advice?

Most important question: do you have a FRAMEWORK or list of instructions on how to be a good client for your firm? Read full article and comment →

How Coaching Your Clients Leads To Higher MSP Profits (Pt. 1)

Too often, business owners overlook the buying power in the clients they ALREADY have and are too focused on acquiring new ones.

So in this two-part series, I’m going to discuss how you can increase sales with your current clients and turn them into the clients you want. Let’s dig in…

Part 1 of Coach Your MSP Clients How To Buy For Higher Profits: Teach Your Clients How To Buy

I received several letters from American Express in the last month about using your Amex card to pay your taxes.

Honestly, it never occurred to me to do this, mostly because I’ve never been unable to pay my taxes. But I know a LOT of  people who are in that situation and have not thought about this as an option.

Which brings me to a key point: teaching your clients HOW TO BUY.

Years ago I sought out and purchased a phone system from a vendor, only to have my current IT company grouse at me for not buying through them.

I told them quite clearly they were idiots for not educating, reminding and pursuing ME to let me know they even offered that.

A BIG question you need to ponder: do your clients REALLY know all of the products and services you could sell them? Read full article and comment →

How A Strong Unique Selling Proposition Helps MSPs Market Themselves

For those unfamiliar with the concept of a USP here’s the short of it. It’s a one sentence statement explaining why a prospect should choose to do business with you versus any and every other option…including doing nothing.  An example that became famous was from Dominos Pizza. “Fresh hot pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes or its free!” 

More often than not, most IT services businesses do NOT have a USP and are largely a “me too” business that appears to be just like every other MSP they compete against. Because of this, they start from a weak position with no authority, which leads to difficulty in selling their services at prices even slightly higher than the competition’s.

After all, if Joe’s Computer Shack appears to be delivering managed services for $20 a seat less than you, why SHOULD prospects pay you more? While I understand there IS a legitimate difference in service, quality of delivery, etc., your PROSPECT doesn’t know.

Fast Response

Not too surprisingly, “fast response” is very often brought up as one of the key differentiators many have over their competition, and it IS a good one.  “Slow” to no response, dropped balls and poor communication are all the top reasons why businesses fire their IT company and look elsewhere. But if you’re going to claim THAT as all or part of your USP, you can’t be half in. Someone who is trained and managed needs to answer the phone LIVE, ideally 24/7, but definitely between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Read full article and comment →

Six Ways To Elegantly Overcome Price Objections In Your MSP Business

However, I don’t believe most prospects are hung up on price – they’re hung up on something else and are using price as the reason why they aren’t buying, because it’s the easiest obstacle to throw your way.

Any prospect knows that “I can’t afford it” is an objection that’s impossible to argue, given you, the seller, have no real knowledge or ability to prove or disprove that.

Further, most salespeople will stop selling when that objection is thrown out for fear of being “pushy” or insulting the prospect.

So how do you overcome it?

Read full article and comment →

Close More MSP Sales And Unseat More Competitors By Becoming The LEAST RISKY Choice

Without one, you’re pushing a rope uphill, fighting price sensitivity and the high hurdle of replacing an incumbent provider who might actually be doing a decent to excellent job.

YOU are an unknown entity, unproven in your abilities, thereby a RISKY CHOICE to the client. After all, why would anyone incur the cost and time investment to replace a vendor that is doing a satisfactory job with a complete unknown?

They won’t unless the incumbent is doing a terrible job, in which case you’re playing vulture marketing, waiting for THEM to screw up and die so you can go pick the carcass.

The other alternative is to have something SO compelling, and offering such a big, significant benefit, that the client will make the leap.

ONE of the ways you can stand out from the competition and win more clients is NOT by being the BEST at what you do, but the least risky. We all know talk is cheap (unless it’s with an attorney).

Promises and hyperbole uttered by a salesperson are the cheapest talk of all. The bold prospects will say, “Put it in writing.”

But most don’t say anything; they just secretly decide to stay put with their current provider or call someone else; rarely will they verbalize their true concerns.

So how do you fight this? Read full article and comment →

What IS Marketing Supposed To Do Anyway?

From a Harvard Business Review article, “Why CMOs NEVER Last”:

Something is amiss in the relationship between chief executives and their marketing officers. Four-fifths of CEOs say they don’t trust or are unimpressed by their CMOs. Not surprisingly, CMOs have the briefest tenure in the C-suite, and their churn can mean serious internal business disruptions.

The articles goes on to argue this is mostly due to the job description and expectations being set up poorly.

I don’t entirely disagree; however, I have studied advertising and marketing and methinks the BIGGER issue is that marketers have drifted, forgetting that marketing is about SELLING THINGS – not followers, fans, likes, shares or hashtags.

To be clear, we HERE, in THIS community, are committed to the discipline of direct response marketing.

The key differentiator of it over all other forms of advertising and branding is MEASUREMENT: measurement of actual responses, leads and ULTIMATELY sales made, clients acquired.

Everything else is “fake news,” leading you to confuse activity with accomplishment. Read full article and comment →

It’s The Thought That Counts, Right?

Maybe that’s a good mantra to live by for casual gifts, but in business, it’s the worst piece of advice you can get, the worst excuse you can give.

Next month at our big annual Boot Camp (www.RobinsBigSeminar.com), 5 of our most successful members will present onstage what they did to secure an average increase in their business of $909,483 in 12 months, in addition to an 87% increase in bottom-line profits (click here to see who they are and to read their stories).

Not too shabby when you consider the average MSP never breaks the million-dollar mark in their business over their lifetime. Read full article and comment →