Meet Thaiza Patrone, Customer Success Manager!

Thaiza Patrone quickly became a tremendous asset to the entire team at The 20. Read below to find out more about Thaiza.

What do you do here at The 20?

I’m a Customer Success Manager which I always describe as being the Quarterback for MSPs, they let me know what needs doing and I work with our team to get it done.

Describe The 20 in three words…

more, better, faster

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

The first job I wanted was to be a veterinarian.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

Finding solutions that work well for the MSPs and work well internally. This is also one of the most fun parts of my job because I love creative problem-solving.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Being a first-generation American, my family has always had to figure things out on our own and I’m really proud of how independent I am and being able to provide for my family the way I do.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

Grit. Without a doubt, being able to continue to pick yourself up after you fail is what determines success.

What do you like most about The 20?

The people here genuinely care about each other and constantly hunger to learn and grow.

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?

I love to read (fiction and non-fiction), work out, play video games, and do DIY projects around the house

Where are you going on your next vacation?

My fiancé and I are planning to take our honeymoon in Tokyo!

What is your top life hack?

Keyboard snippets! I tell everyone who types to use some sort of app or program (Macs have them in their keyboard settings) that lets you turn abbreviations into full phrases or templates. Huge time saver!

What are your favorite movies?

Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter Movies, The Batman (the new one with Robert Pattinson), and pretty much every Disney Movie.

Favorite artist/band?

I adore Taylor Swift, Panic! at the Disco, Billie Eilish, and J Balvin – according to my Spotify Wrapped

What is your favorite food?

It’s hard for me to find a food I don’t like, but I could eat at a Brazilian steakhouse for every meal of the day.

Interested in working with Thaiza at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

From Good to Great: Three Differences Separating Elite MSPs from Everyone Else

You run an MSP, and it’s a good MSP. And that’s great — no, wait, it’s not great. It’s good. Your employees are good. Your service is good. You’re good. But therein lies the problem …

Sometimes ‘good’ isn’t good enough — especially in an industry as competitive and crowded as managed IT services. More to the point, a good MSP doesn’t make any money!

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration; good MSPs make money, but there’s money, and then there’s live-the-life-you’ve-always-dreamed-of money. There’s money, and then there’s retire-early-and-ride-off-into-the-sunset money. So, who is making ‘real money’ in the MSP game?

Great MSPs, that’s who. This isn’t just some vague remark intended to motivate you, either. It’s a quantifiable fact: the best (top 25%) of MSPs are currently dominating the market — capturing the lion’s share of revenue and achieving unprecedented levels of growth and profitability. As for ‘the rest’ (the other 75% of MSPs)? Well, if you’re in that category, you already know the answer: it’s a struggle!

Truth is, most MSPs are scraping by, struggling to survive let alone grow. And, what’s more, most of these MSPs are good. Solid. Not bad. But as mentioned, that’s not going to cut it; if you want to make real money as a managed service provider, you can’t just be good. You’ve got to be great.

In this blog post, we’re going to talk about 3 Ways Great MSPs Differ from Good MSPs. But first, let’s explore a fascinating idea concerning the general difference between being good and being great — whether we’re talking about athletes, comedians, or MSP owners. This concept is a real mind-blower, so brace yourself …

Being Good is Harder than Being Great

There are a lot more good basketball players than great basketball players. Tons more good jokes than great jokes — just think of the dizzying number of groan-inducing ‘dad jokes’ being told this very moment! And finally, for every great MSP, there are a bunch of good MSPs struggling to break through to the next level.

In a word, there’s a lot more good in this world than there is great. And this is true almost by definition; to be great is to be special, rare, elite. A mountain narrows to a peak, reminding us: there’s not much room at the top.

OK, but what’s the lesson here? That turning your MSP into a great company is a statistical improbability? A pipe dream even?

No way! In fact, the lesson we can glean from the above observation is actually a very heartening and positive one. And it boils down to one simple concept: competition.

When you’re just good — i.e., when you’re ‘just another MSP’ — you face a lot more competition than you would if you were a great MSP. That’s because there are so many good MSPs, all competing against each other for the same opportunities.

Author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss summarizes the situation perfectly when he says, “ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time- and energy-consuming.”

Wow. When you settle for less, you face more — more competition, more difficulties, and more obstacles. And it’s all because most people don’t have the guts to really go for it.

So, even though it might be scarier to pursue greatness than to pursue goodness, it’s also easier in the long run, as very few people — MSP owners included — are actually willing to do it. At the end of this blog, we will discuss one reason why this truth applies particularly well to running an MSP — why running a great MSP is actually a lot easier than running a good one (hint: it has to do with scalability).

Want to learn more about why so few people are willing to pursue greatness? Check out this highly entertaining and illuminating animated video. But first, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. Here are three differences between ‘the best’ and ‘the rest’ in the MSP space. The differences, as you will see, are subtle, which means greatness is well within your reach. Your MSP can get to the next level. You’ve just got to go for it.

Difference #1: KPIs — Keeping People Informed

If you’re thinking that using metrics like Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is the mark of a great MSP, think again. Nowadays, most MSPs use some metrics (some use too many). In short, simply tracking and measuring data at your MSP isn’t something to write home about. All good MSPs enlist metrics to measure, monitor, and improve performance.

Where great MSPs differentiate is in the way they use metrics such as KPIs to drive continual improvement. An entire book could be written on the various ways an MSP can elevate its use of metrics, so we’ll focus on just one way here: the involvement of employees, and specifically, technicians.

A great MSP not only uses a variety of metrics — financial metrics, operational metrics, system metrics, security metrics, etc. — but also, involves employees in the process.

More specifically, great MSPs keep team members in the loop; instead of being something that management looks at every so often, a great MSP’s metrics are readily accessible to employees (especially techs) on a daily basis. And it’s ideal to set up a visual representation of metrics — at least key ones — that your technicians can easily see, process, and respond to according to a ‘corrective action’ baked into the metrics themselves.

That last piece is of particular importance: your metrics need to not only reveal when there’s a problem, but also, point to a corrective measure. When metrics not only capture what has occurred, but define a path forward, you will start to see real improvements on the operations side. That’s greatness in action.

Want to revamp your MSP’s metrics program? Here’s a list of twenty metrics that MSPs ought to consider tracking.

Difference #2: Playing the Long Game

Similar to the use of metrics, marketing is no longer the mark of an elite MSP, but a standard practice that practically every MSP embraces. Well, ’embraces’ might be too strong a term; sadly, many MSPs still view marketing as a necessary evil.

Perhaps that’s why so many MSPs fail to check the most important box in their marketing to-do list: KEEP GOING! Good MSPs market, and some market quite well, enlisting a variety of channels — email, social media, video, blogs, etc. However, only great MSPs market tirelessly, which is to say — they stick with it! They don’t get discouraged when the leads don’t start rolling in right away. They push and they push and they push, making adjustments as needed, exercising patience, keeping the faith — because that’s what it takes to truly tap into marketing’s power.

Our CEO Tim Conkle, in a recent interview with CanvasRebel Magazine, spoke on why a lot of business owners struggle with this aspect of marketing: “What business owners want from marketing is for it to work like a coke machine — put a dollar in, get something sweet right away. But in reality, it could take three months for that dollar you spend on marketing to yield something.”

So take Tim’s advice and “trust the process.” It takes time to get a healthy ROI on your marketing efforts, but then again, all great things do.

Difference #3: Improvement vs. Evolution

Good MSPs improve; great MSPs evolve. This might sound like a cryptic riddle, but it actually describes a concrete difference between good and great MSPs.

Good MSPs get better at what they do, grinding out gradual improvements that add up over long periods of time. They don’t fail big, but they also don’t win big — i.e., experience huge breakthroughs that catapult them to the next level. They improve, but they don’t evolve.

Great MSPs, on the other hand, grind out gradual improvements, but also, they take risks by trying out radically new things — a new product, a new tool, a new marketing strategy, a new support desk structure. Just as biological evolution relies on mutations — sudden deviations that introduce something radically new and different — so too does evolution in business. The gap between good and great isn’t huge, but it’s hard to close without taking the occasional leap of faith.

There’s just no way to sugarcoat this. If you want to be great, you have to think big and go big, which means taking risks and trying things that scare you. Burger King didn’t just improve by adding the Impossible Whopper; Charmin didn’t just improve by embracing ‘potty humor’; Apple didn’t just improve by focusing on phones back in 2007 — No, these companies evolved. They refused to keep chugging along, getting better at what they’d always done, and instead, chose to try something entirely different.

It paid off in the end, and strategic risk-taking can do the same for your MSP.

Final Thoughts — Learn to Let Go!

The differences between good and great MSPs covered here are not vast. They’re subtle. It’s not the case that great MSPs market, and good ones don’t. It’s not the case that great MSPs use metrics, and good ones don’t. And it’s not the case that great MSPs continually improve, and good ones don’t. The differences between great and good MSPs lie in the details — not in what great MSPs do, but in how they do it: how they use metrics, how they market, how they change and improve.

That said, when you add up all the subtle differences, they get to be a lot. This is especially true if you’re a ‘one-person band.’ Implementing changes across the board is too much for one person to oversee, which is why a lot of MSPs get stuck in a ‘good’ gear, never shifting to ‘great’ — the owners are afraid to let go and hand over parts of their business to others.

But becoming a great MSP means learning to let go. It means creating scalable processes that don’t require your direct oversight and intervention. Letting go is scary, but if you can pull it off — if you can make your business scalable and less dependent on you as an individual — that’s a huge step toward getting to that next level. Moreover, your life as a business owner will become immeasurably easier once you learn to scale and hand over parts of your MSP business.

The 20 helps small and medium-sized MSPs become great with its MSP blueprint. Instead of trying to figure out a recipe for success all by yourself, you can plug into our model and start operating like an

elite MSP right away. Will joining The 20 require making some big changes to your business? Of course! But as we’ve learned, this is a good thing and a key ingredient in a recipe for greatness.

Check out this 5-minute video to learn more about what The 20 is, and how we help MSPs grow.

What a Year!

Looking Back at the The 20 in 2022 — the Wins, the Lessons, and the GROWTH

What a year it has been! 2022 saw The 20 enter the M&A arena for the first time; implement large-scale operational changes; build out a new HR department; come together with our MSP community for a 3-day conference for the ages — in short, we’ve been busy!

We’re excited for 2023 and for the challenges and opportunities it will bring, but we want to look back at the past year before we tackle our to-do list for the new year. After all, that’s what the holidays are all about — slowing down, taking a breath, and reflecting on the journey.

So join us as we take a stroll down memory lane. Let’s go over the wins, the lessons, and the growth our organization has seen this year, before we start the next chapter in our story.

The 20 by the Numbers

We’ve been busy in 2022, doing our best to continually push the frontiers of managed services so we can bring our clients game-changing IT support that drives business forward. Just how busy though? Let’s see, in 2022 we …

Closed 53,492 tickets
Hired 100+ new employees
Expanded our footprint in 12 states and entered 14 new markets
Received 5 awards
Published 37 blogs
Held 50+ webinars
Produced 40 videos
Created hundreds of new pieces of marketing collateral for MSPs
Participated in 32 events (virtual & live)
Hosted 300+ VISION attendees
Forged 5 new vendor partnerships (NetSuite, Qlik, Zomentum, MSP360, Marketopia)
Featured in over 26 articles & publications (including Canvas Rebel, MSP Today, CRN, ChannelPro Network, Channel Futures)
Acquired 13 companies

Then there are the things that can’t be easily measured — the laughs we’ve shared; the moments of excitement when our MSP members got a big win; the ideas and a-ha moments — the list goes on and on.

But behind the above numbers is one number, the importance of which cannot be overstated. That number is ONE.

The 20 started as a company devoted to helping MSP owners conquer ‘the business side’ of IT. The experiment of bringing together independent MSPs and uniting them with a single tool stack and service delivery model has been a roaring success, and although there’s no single key to that success, there’s a case to be made for one of our core values: We Win Together.

The 20 MSP Group might consist of many independent MSPs, but we are, in the truest sense of the word, a community. We are one team with one goal: providing our end clients with managed IT services that are second to none.

M&Aking it Happen

The 20 entered the M&A arena in 2022, acquiring thirteen top-notch managed service providers and making significant strides toward building the first premium MSP with coast-to-coast reach. The companies we acquired (listed below) all came from our co-op group (The 20 MSP Group), and are now part of a single MSP (The 20 MSP). Welcome to the team …

Stratocent Technologies (WA, CEO – Jim Bachaud)
Cirrus Technologies (OH, CEO – Chris Traxler)
INGRAIN IT (WI, CEO – Gary Blawat)
Monroy IT Services (TX, CEO – George Monroy)
Network Management Solutions (CA, CEO – Darren Fippin)
Peterson Technology Group (WI, CEO – Kevin Peterson)
Your IT Group (FL, CEO – Michael Vu)
WOLFGUARD IT (MT, CEO – Chris Kimbell)
BOLDER Designs (DE, CEO – John Rutkowski)
Byte-Werx (TX, CEO – Michael Wayland)
JS Computek (MO, CEO – Caleb Brown)
Code Red Networks (MI, CEO – Dennis Ward)
CSP Technologies (AZ & NC, CEO – Chris Plouffe)

M&A activity is currently red-hot in the managed services space, but our approach to consolidation is fairly unique in that the companies we’ve acquired — and will acquire — all belong to The 20 group. As members of the group, these MSPs plugged into our way of doing things — the tools, the processes, and perhaps most importantly, the people-first culture that anchors our entire operation. This means that much of the integrative work that traditional mergers require was already done when we closed the deals. As we’ve learned, because we’re already lined up, it’s easy to roll up!

We’re incredibly excited to welcome our new team members. The thirteen MSPs joining The 20 team are operationally mature companies that understand the importance of building real relationships with clients. It’s been a pleasure to watch them leverage The 20’s business model to grow into industry leaders, and an honor to bring them on board.

The future’s looking bright, and we will continue to acquire MSPs through 2023 and beyond. Next year, we expect to add two to four MSPs a month.

VISION ’22 – Our Best One Yet!

With three keynote speakers, a plethora of panel discussions, breakouts galore, an impromptu fundraiser for a good cause, and of course, an awesome party to go out with a bang, VISION ’22 exceeded even our ambitious expectations.

The 3-day conference for growth-minded MSPs took place at the beautiful Omni Frisco Hotel in the heart of The Star, a 91-acre entertainment district built around the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and the Ford Center. The venue and setting were so perfect, we’ve decided to go back for VISION ’23 (more info here).

We cannot express how grateful we are to the wonderful people — MSP owners, sponsors, speakers, channel pros, hotel staff — who make VISION what it is: AWESOME! A Texas-sized THANK YOU to each and every one of you.

The MSP community truly is the heart of the channel, and our unmatched camaraderie was on full display at this year’s event. If you missed out — or simply want to relive the good times — check out our VISION recap video.

Sensational Operations

We implemented some sweeping changes this year on the operational side. The impetus for much of this change was the hiring of Ken Pecot in 2021. Ken is an operational mastermind who has, since joining The 20 as our new COO, taken our efficiency and service delivery to a whole new level.

Whether it’s restructuring our support desk or sharpening our analytics and metrics, Ken has impacted The 20 in numerous and profound ways. Tim Conkle, our CEO, called the hire one of the best business decisions he’s ever made, adding: “If you’ve ever wondered how to multiply magic, it’s all about putting the right people in the right seats.”

Expect us to continue elevating our operations and evolving our service delivery as we grow and deepen our national footprint. The managed services game is all about finding new ways to help your clients succeed, and here at The 20 MSP, we’re feeling excited to keep doing exactly that.

Final Thought

The title of this blog post says it all — what a year! 2022 zoomed by, and it’s hard to believe how much has happened in just twelve months. And while we’re not sure what the future will bring, we do know this much: we have an incredible community of MSPs who work together and win together. Knowing this is enough to give us the confidence that whatever comes our way, we’ll be able to handle it.

Here’s to growing, evolving, and changing what’s possible in the MSP space!

Meet Colt Williams, Junior Graphic Designer!

Colt Williams quickly became a tremendous asset to the entire team at The 20. Read below to find out more about Colt.

What do you do here at The 20?

I am the Jr. Graphic Designer! I work off of several templates, create different social media posts, and animate motion graphics here and there.

Describe The 20 in three words…

Ultimate Game Changer

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was real young, I really wanted to be a pizza delivery driver. That was my grand end goal. Throughout my childhood, I really wanted to be a preacher.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

Adapting with trends, while staying consistent. You don’t want to look outdated, but you also don’t want to step too far away from your brand, especially to the point where it’ll be very out of style once the trend dies off. You have to find a perfect balance of using the brand as a foundation and then adapting it to what works and what the target audience will respond to.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Nothing stands out too much, I’ve been blessed with a lot of achievements to be thankful for. Something I never thought I’d be able to do was skateboard a quarter-pipe or a bowl, which I have come to be able to do, so I definitely would put that somewhere towards the top of the list since most people can’t do that.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

I think respect and excitement towards others is strong for success. Most of the time, people will reciprocate and it creates more connections. Something as simple as always wearing a smile and remembering people’s names is an easy way to build relationships that can be useful when you need them.

What do you like most about The 20?

It’s a great environment, with strong driven leadership that understand the field. It’s promising and it gives me an outlet for creating things that I enjoy creating!

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?

Skateboarding is definitely my go-to in my spare time. It’s something fun to do with friends, it helps me stay active, and it costs no money at all.

Where are you going on your next vacation?

I’m going to Panama in February for my honeymoon! It’ll be one of the only places that’ll be hot around that time so I’m pretty excited for that!

What is your top life hack?

Your brain feels greater fulfilled the more routines you break for new experiences. The older you get, the faster time flies by, because unlike when you were a kid, your brain isn’t being exposed to new experiences so it processes information faster. Even if it’s as simple as going to a new restaurant every night, new experiences help your brain slow down and enjoy things.

What are your favorite movies?

American Psycho, Fight Club, and Bullet Train all the way.

Favorite artist/band?

My favorite artist is Kid Cudi, and my favorite band is The Home Team.

What is your favorite food?

Fried chicken, and it’s not even close. I’m addicted honestly. Doesn’t matter where, Chicken Express, Cane’s, wherever. Bonus points if it’s spicy.

Interested in working with Colt at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

An Exciting Announcement from The 20!

The roll-up keeps rolling in December as The 20 acquires two more MSPs.

The 20 MSP is on a mission to become the first premium MSP with a deep national footprint, and we’ve just taken another step closer to this goal. We are thrilled to announce the completion of two more MSP acquisitions, bringing the total number for the year to thirteen.

We warmly welcome the following managed service providers to The 20 MSP family:

CSP Technologies, Arizona & North Carolina, CEO: Chris Plouffe, Website
Code Red Networks, Michigan, CEO: Dennis Ward, Website

CSP Technologies and Code Red Networks have, as members of The 20’s business development co-op, The 20 MSP Group, experienced rapid, year-after-year growth and success across a variety of industry verticals. Under Chris and Dennis’s leadership, these client-first companies have grown into industry leaders with strong track records of helping businesses of all sizes leverage technology to achieve unprecedented profitability and productivity.

Our CEO, Tim Conkle, recently sang the praises of these stellar MSPs. “They do all the little things right, and never lose sight of the true role of an MSP – helping your clients succeed. It’s that client-first mentality and commitment to excellence that has allowed both of these businesses to stand out in our crowded industry and grow – and it’s a huge part of the immense value they’re bringing to The 20.”

As with any M&A deal we make, these latest acquisitions grow out of a preexisting business relationship. We’ve worked closely with Chris, Dennis, and their respective teams, and know firsthand just how committed both of these organizations are to continual improvement. CSP and Code Red haven’t just implemented The 20’s growth model to achieve outstanding results; they’ve also brought their own ideas to the table and helped our community of MSPs in countless ways.

“We’re not just adding resources and clients, but also, great people and collaborators who share our values and vision,” Conkle said. “This isn’t just about getting bigger; it’s about partnering with quality, process-driven MSPs that know how to innovate and adapt to our ever-evolving industry.”

One Team. One Dream. One Brand.

We are on a mission at The 20 to build the first and best premium national MSP platform in the United States. This year, we’ve made considerable progress, fueled by a combination of organic growth and an aggressive M&A strategy. Our plan for next year is to remain in hyper-growth mode, as we have many MSPs in the acquisition pipeline, ready to be rolled up.

It’s important to point out that our M&A strategy is anchored by a firm commitment to partnering only with MSPs that belong to The 20 MSP Group. Acquiring member companies exclusively not only minimizes the usual hiccups and friction points of a traditional merger; it also ensures that we’re joining forces with organizations that share our core values and vision for the future. As Conkle explained, “There is already a real relationship in place, and a deep compatibility that’s hard to build on the fly.”

It’s the relationship piece that makes us confident that these deals will benefit everyone involved, from end clients to techs to the C-suite. The importance of cultural compatibility in successful M&A deals is vastly underestimated, but it’s at the very center of our approach – and a big part of why these acquisitions have been so successful.

As we approach the end of the year, our sights are set squarely on continued consolidation and growth. We hope to carry out 2 to 4 MSP acquisitions a month in 2023, or a total of 24 to 48 for the year.

“After doing thirteen of these deals, we’ve settled into a rhythm that works,” said Conkle. “The integrations are smooth and, for the most part, painless, and end clients don’t have to adjust to a whole new model of IT support. As for the owners of the MSPs we’re acquiring, we place them in roles that allow them to shine. It’s about coming together and getting stronger – something we’ve believed in at The 20 from the very beginning.”

Stay tuned for more exciting M&A news from The 20!

About The 20 MSP

The 20 MSP has been helping businesses succeed through better technology since 1986.

As a leading provider of managed IT services, The 20 MSP serves hundreds of businesses nationwide, providing each one with white glove service, secure and streamlined IT infrastructure, and 24/7/365 support. We believe in building lasting relationships with clients founded on trust, communication, and the delivery of high-value services for a fair and predictable price. Our clients’ success is our success, and we are committed to helping each and every organization we serve leverage technology to secure a competitive advantage and achieve new growth.

Business is better when IT runs smoothly.

The 20’s Alexis Williams Being Recognized as One of CRN’s 2022 Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders

CRN Celebrates the Up-and-Comers of the IT Channel

Full Press Release Here

Plano, Texas, November 15, 2022 – The 20 MSP is proud to announce that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has chosen Alexis Williams, Digital Marketing Manager, as one of the 2022 Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders. This list honors the exceptional individuals who are key contributors to driving growth and strategic direction for the companies they work for today and are poised to be tomorrow’s channel innovators.

The third-annual Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders list includes rising star executives, managers and directors, 40 years of age or younger, who have demonstrated clear leadership qualities in their roles at integrators, VARs, MSPs and other IT solution provider organizations.

Williams started out at The 20 as an intern and now serves as Digital Marketing Manager, where she is responsible for boosting the digital presence of The 20 and its MSP members through content creation and coordination, social media campaigns and strategic marketing initiatives. Those efforts have paid off with increased brand awareness and accelerated revenue growth for The 20.

“We are excited to see Alexis Williams recognized as one of CRN’s 2022 Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders,” said Crystal McFerran, Chief Marketing Officer of The 20.  “Alexis is a rising star in the IT channel, bringing energy, dedication and expertise to help The 20 accelerate nationwide growth.”

“CRN’s Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders list pays tribute to the IT channel visionaries and trailblazers who are ushering in the next era of the IT channel,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “We would like to formally congratulate the individuals featured on this year’s list for bringing fresh ideas and innovations that exemplify the very best of what the IT channel has to offer.”

The Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders list will be featured in the December issue of CRN Magazine and can be found online at www.crn.com/NextGenSPLeaders.

About The 20 MSP

The 20 is an exclusive business development group for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) aimed at dominating and revolutionizing the IT industry with its standardized all-in-one approach. The 20’s robust RMM, PSA, and documentation platform ensures superior service for MSP clients utilizing their completely US-based Help Desk and Network Operations Center. Extending beyond cutting-edge tools and processes, The 20 touts a proven sales model, a community of industry leaders, and ultimate scalability. For more information, visit https://www.the20.com

Follow The 20: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace.

thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

The Channel Company Contact:

Natalie Lewis

The Channel Company

[email protected]

Meet Brandon Ford, Sales Development Representative!

Brandon Ford quickly became a tremendous asset to the entire team at The 20. Read below to find out more about Brandon.

What do you do here at The 20?

I’m a sales development representative.

Describe The 20 in three words…

Industry-leading, ever-evolving, collaborative

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Forensic Investigator

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

The most challenging thing about my job is sometimes the rejections, but you just have to remain positive and keep pushing!

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is marrying my best friend.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

Perseverance

What do you like most about The 20?

I love the people I sit with!

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?

I enjoy playing video games, watching sports, and traveling with my wife.

Where are you going on your next vacation?

Maine or Vermont

What is your top life hack?

Buy the largest size of wing stop ranch to keep in your fridge.

What are your favorite movies?

Billy Madison, Land of the Lost, Remember the Titans, and Hardball.

RIP G baby…

Favorite artist/band?

JuiceWRLD, The Weeknd, The Killers

What is your favorite food?

John’s of Bleeker Street Pizza

Interested in working with Brandon at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

Differentiate to Dominate: How Your MSP Can Stand Out from the Crowd

Our own Tim Conkle spoke at Channel All-Stars, a virtual event hosted by Channel Program. He covered important topics such as competing at parity, differentiation, and common sales mistakes MSPs make. Catch up on key ideas from Tim’s talk here!

There are a lot of MSPs out there, competing for business. Some estimates put the number as high as 40,000 — in the U.S. alone! Needless to say, our industry has gotten crowded. It’s also gotten extremely competitive, with the bulk of business going to top-tier MSPs, the major players that gobble up available revenue and leave everyone else fighting over the scraps (the Pareto principle in action).

So how do you stand out as a smaller MSP? You want to win new business and grow your organization, and you’re confident in your service delivery, but …

How do you get potential clients to choose you?

Your MSP needs differentiation.

Our CEO and the man behind The 20, Tim Conkle, spoke on this very topic earlier this week at Channel All-Stars, a virtual event hosted by Channel Program. Tim shared his thoughts on differentiation, and gave actionable tips and no-nonsense advice to small and mid-sized MSPs with big growth plans.

Here are some key ideas from the talk, just in case you missed it!

Competing at Parity vs Pitching at Parity

You want to compete at parity. You want to keep pace with larger MSPs. You want to give clients 24/7 support. You want to enlist best practices and best-of-breed tools. You want to do what elite MSPs do, and you want to do it well. But there’s a problem with all of this.

The problem isn’t with pursuing parity per se — again, you want to keep pace with larger outfits and remain competitive and relevant. The problem arises when you not only strive to compete at parity, but pitch at parity, too.

A lot of MSP owners want to assure prospective clients that their service is just as good as the MSP down the street — perhaps a larger MSP, one of those revenue-gobbling ‘major players.’ And so, they spend their whole pitch talking about their 24/7 help desk, their tool stack, their shiny new cybersecurity toy — in short, the technical side of things.

The problem with this is that if you spend your whole pitch trying to sound just as good as the MSP down the street, you’re going to get what you wish for — you’re going to blend in with the competition. You’ve failed to differentiate, and the potential client has no reason to choose you — unless you’re the biggest or cheapest option.

So strive to compete at parity, but don’t pitch at parity. Pitching time is differentiation time; stand out, or lose the deal.

Let’s go over Tim’s advice for strengthening pitches to help achieve differentiation for your MSP business …

Tone Down the Technobabble

MSP owners generally come from technical backgrounds. They know computers. They like computers. And they like talking about computers. It comes naturally.

But during a sales meeting, your focus shouldn’t be on the technical side of your business — unless the potential client keeps steering the conversation that way (if you find a fellow tech person to geek out with, go right ahead!).

This bit of advice might sound counterintuitive. After all, you’re an IT company selling IT services. Surely, you want to talk about those services.

Of course, you want talk about your services and the technical side of your business — just be careful not to get carried away. Tim has, through The 20, worked with hundreds and hundreds of MSPs, and he’s noticed that a lot of them struggle with sales because they insist on keeping the focus on the technology, and not on what the technology can do and the problems it can solve. They make the age-old sales mistake of discussing ‘features’ instead of ‘benefits,’ and lose out on tons of revenue as a result.

If you can avoid making the same mistake, it can help you increase your close rate and capture new business.

Listen Up

Tim’s been selling IT services for decades, and has spoken with thousands of business owners. The conversations can go in all sorts of directions, but there’s one thing Tim always makes sure to ask a potential client: What’s your goal?

This simple question is a powerful one. It gets people talking. And it helps you better understand where they’re coming from and what they’re looking for. This is crucial, because you’re not selling technology; you’re selling solutions to problems. You can’t sell solutions to problems you don’t understand.

So ask prospects what they want. Ask them what they’re struggling with, what they’re looking for, what they picture when they imagine working with an awesome IT company. Ask away, and then listen. Really listen.

If you can do that, you’d better believe they’ll remember you. That is differentiation.

So, what do most business owners say? When Tim asks them, “What’s your Goal?”, what’s the response he gets most often?

“We Just Want it to Work!”

That’s right — by far and away the most common response Tim hears is: “We just want it to work!”

This is telling. Potential clients don’t care how their IT works, only that it works. They want computers that do what they’re supposed to do — and they don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it.

This reinforces a previous point — tone down the technobabble! Technobabble is ‘how’ and potential clients don’t care about ‘how’ — at least most don’t. They just want assurance that your MSP is going to take care of their technology. Explaining how you plan to do that is putting the cart before the horse; before you get into any technical details — to the extent that you need to get into those details at all — you have to convince the person you’re talking to that you’re on their side and that you have their best interests at heart.

And how do you do that? By telling them how nice of a person you are, and how you’re not in this business to make gobs of money, but simply to help people?

No way! You convince them by explaining how it’s in your best interest to keep their technology running smoothly. In other words, you talk business alignment.

“This is about how we do business” – Shifting the Paradigm

As Tim reminded the Channel All-Stars audience, a lot of the business owners you (or your sales team) encounter in the sales process have had bad experiences with IT companies. They’ve been burned. They’ve been slapped with hidden charges. They’ve dealt with sluggish response times and unprofessional technicians. And they certainly haven’t experienced the type of robust business alignment that a really good MSP can give them.

It’s your job, then, to call their attention to the very possibility of such a thing. Really take the time to explain the difference between the break/fix model of IT support and the managed services paradigm. Explain how with your pricing model, you make more money when everything ‘just works.’ That will definitely get their attention!

Let your competitors brag about how their fancy solutions can keep things running smoothly, while you enlist a much more effective sales strategy: explaining why your MSP will keep things running smoothly. Put things in terms of incentives — in terms of goal alignment.

If you can explain the principle of alignment clearly, you can help business owners have an epiphany of sorts. They will realize: “This isn’t about price; this is about how we do business.” They will start to think about which MSP is actually going to give them this amazing thing called alignment. And they will think of you and your wonderfully clear explanation of how alignment works. You will stand out as the MSP that helped them see things differently — in a better light.

Final Thought

People remember people.

Think about movies you’ve seen. Do you remember the endings? The details of the plot? Maybe, but that’s probably not where your mind went first. What you remember — what pops into your head without effort — are the characters. Their faces, voices, ways of behaving. You remember the people.

What does this have to do with sales and differentiation?

Well … everything! When it comes time to pitch to a prospective client, you want to stand out from the crowd — to appear as a distinctive and appealing option and not ‘just another IT company.’ The best way to do that is by connecting on a human level. Don’t ‘pitch’ to prospects; talk to them. And don’t just talk; listen, too!

MSPs that are good at sales understand that the primary purpose of a sales meeting isn’t to impress potential clients; it’s to connect with them — to start building a relationship even before any contracts have been signed. Because in a sea of MSPs with similar-sounding services and selling points, a prospective client will remember the one with a human face.

The 20 MSP Presents $140k Contribution to the Coventry Reserve

Full Press Release Here

The 20 MSP, leading managed service provider with offices nationwide, today presented a check for $140,000 to the Coventry Reserve, an organization that provides life enrichment opportunities for adults with special needs.

The funds were raised at VISION ’22, The 20 MSP’s annual conference for growth-minded managed service providers. During a session featuring The 20 MSP’s CEO, Tim Conkle, and the CEO of Kaseya, Fred Voccola, Conkle announced a call for donations. Voccola pledged $100k, and joining him with their own pledges were Conkle, the cybersecurity firm BLOKWORX and a number of other conference attendees.

“I’m humbled, grateful, and deeply moved by the response we got,” said Conkle. “These generous contributions are going to help Coventry better serve the adults with special needs community. As the proud father of a member of this community, I can’t express how thankful I am for the kindness shown by my peers — and for the tireless efforts of the Coventry Reserve. This is a very special moment for me,” Conkle added.

“This timely donation has our entire organization feeling energized and hopeful about the future,” said Darlene Blakey, Executive Director. “Here at the Coventry Reserve, we’re currently working hard to expand our mission and bring even more opportunities to adults with special needs. The 20’s call for contributions couldn’t have come at a better time, and on behalf of our whole team, I’d like to thank everyone who donated. Your contributions are going to have an immediate and tangible impact.”

Darlene Blakey accepted the donation on behalf of the Coventry Reserve. Pictured from left to right are: Crystal McFerran (CMO, The 20), Tim Conkle (CEO, The 20), Darlene Blakey (Executive Director, Coventry Reserve).

To find out more about the organization and how you can contribute: https://coventryreserve.org/

The 20 Recognizes Top MSPs and Vendors at VISION ’22

Full Press Release Here

Last week was VISION ’22, our annual conference for growth-minded MSPs looking to get to that next level. The event was a huge success — we’re still feeling the buzz! It felt great to get together with the MSP community and celebrate each other’s successes.

Speaking of which, we capped off Day 2 of VISION with an Awards Ceremony recognizing MSPs and vendors for their outstanding achievements over the past year (list of winners below). Our CEO, Tim Conkle, shared his thoughts:

“The 20 is proof that MSPs can work together and take pride in each other’s success. Giving out awards to recognize the tireless efforts of the MSPs in our community is gratifying in and of itself, but it’s especially gratifying in the context of our group — we love seeing each other win, and anyone who was in attendance Thursday could see that. It was also a tremendous honor to recognize top-performing vendors for their innovative solutions, which not only empower our MSP members to do more with less, but also push our entire industry forward.”

Well said, Tim!

Now, presenting the winners of the VISION ’22 Awards …

- MSP of the Year – George Burke, The Computing Edge
- MSP Business Growth – Dennis Ward, Code Red Networks
- Most Engaged MSP – Gary Blawat, INGRAIN IT*
- Support Desk Favorite – Chris Kimbell, Wolfguard IT*
- Ambassador of the Year – John Rutkowski, BOLDER Designs*
- Best Revenue Booster – Zomentum
- Most Disruptive Solution – Cytracom
- Most Helpful Vendor – Ciardi Ciardi & Astin
- Product of the Year – BLOKWORX
- Partner of the Year – Kaseya

*Now part of The 20 MSP (full press releases here and here)

Congratulations, everybody, on these well-deserved recognitions!

And a big, Texas-sized THANK YOU to everyone who attended VISION ’22. MSP owners, speakers, vendors, IT pros — it was truly a privilege and a pleasure to spend a few days with you. Our community is awesome, and we love giving y’all an opportunity to get together and connect.

Here’s to the accomplishments of last year, and to the opportunities of the coming year!