The One: An MSP Marketing Lesson
He says it ten times. Four words, four syllables: It’s not your fault.
The line was delivered by the late great Robin Williams in the 1997 film, Good Will Hunting. In the unforgettable scene, Williams’ character, a therapist named Dr. Sean Maguire, helps his patient, Will (played by Matt Damon), achieve a breakthrough by telling him what he needs to hear most. It’s not your fault.
If you want to cut through the noise as an MSP business – if you want to leverage marketing to attract new clients and grow – take a page from Sean’s book and learn to harness…
The Power of One
As an MSP, you face a crowded industry, which means it’s important to take marketing seriously, as it’s what allows you to stand out from the crowd (sales can also be a powerful differentiator). Attention is what you’re after, and marketing’s how you get it.
Now, there might be a lot of things that set your MSP apart, but it’s important to resist the temptation to make your sales and marketing about everything that makes you great, and instead, figure out the one thing you want prospective clients to hear. The one thing you need them to hear. This is your core message. This is your one thing.
Once you’ve settled upon your one thing, the next task is to deliver that message incessantly, clearly, and without a stutter. Don’t dilute your one thing by constantly listing it alongside a bunch of other things. Sean didn’t tell Will “It’s not your fault” plus five other reasons he should allow himself to be happy. He told him the important thing, over and over and over again.
Get Specific
Want “excellent service” to be your MSP’s one thing? That’s a good starting point for a managed service provider – the word “service” is right there in the name! But don’t just say that your MSP has great service. Be specific. How about fast service?
A great way to test the specificity of your one thing is to sloganize it. Would “Fast Service” be a compelling slogan? Eh. How about lightning-fast service? Now we’re getting somewhere.
Let’s say you want your one thing to be “friendly service.” Like “fast service,” this one thing doesn’t really hold up on its own. So jazz it up. You could humanize the message further by telling prospects that your MSP offers “Unmatched Support with a Smile”. Or, if you really want to swing for the fences, say you’re the “Friendliest MSP in the Midwest”! These work as slogans, and in turn, indicate that you’re homing in on an adequately specific core value/benefit.
Specificity ≠ Uniqueness
You want your MSP’s one thing to be specific, but that doesn’t mean it has to be something that’s entirely unique to your business, which is why we’re going with “one thing” over the more familiar marketing concept of a “unique selling proposition” (also, your core message or ‘one thing’ is a slightly broader concept that a USP).
M&Ms aren’t the only candy that melt in the appropriate place. Arby’s isn’t the only fast-food establishment in possession of ‘the meats.’ And yet, these messages are etched into our collective consciousness, and help give these brands a distinct voice in their respective markets.
Furthermore, you don’t, in your marketing materials, need to focus on your one thing exclusively. Just make sure it’s the focal point of your marketing efforts, the recurring message that comes to mind whenever potential clients (as well as current clients) think of you.
Why This Matters Now More than Ever
With the AI revolution in full swing, it’s easier than ever before to generate content quickly and cheaply. But if you have experience working with large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, you know that these artificially intelligent assistants tend to … overshare. They’re trained on vast amounts of data, and it shows.
For example, go ask ChatGPT: What core benefit does an MSP offer?
In mere seconds, it will have typed up a whole list of possibilities (when we tried this experiment ourselves, we got back 10 answers, including “24/7 support,” “cost efficiency,” and “cybersecurity.”
In this age of information abundance, the risk is not in the scarcity of content but in the overwhelming excess. When AI can help you say everything, your job becomes figuring out how to say the right thing. And the right thing is often one thing: a single message to which you are wholly and unapologetically committed.
A Thought Experiment
Here’s a useful ‘thought experiment’ to help you craft and refine your core marketing message:
Imagine your prospect. The key here is to imagine a real person – a living breathing individual with hopes, dreams, fears, etc. Picture them, sitting across from you.
Now, let’s say you have 30 seconds to tell them about your MSP. What do you say?
You could try to rattle off your MSP’s manifold virtues – but good luck fitting all that into 30 seconds without sounding like an auctioneer hopped up on caffeine.
Alternatively, you could embrace the elegance of simplicity and choose the one thing you think will have the greatest impact.
We can’t tell you what that one thing is without knowing more about your MSP. But chances are, it’s less about how great your MSP is, and more about what your MSP can do for the prospect. Make it about them. Paint a vivid picture of what life will be like with your MSP at their side. Speak to them. Speak about them. And then, when you’re done, listen.
Struggling with the ‘business side’ of running an MSP?
Many MSPs find themselves wrestling with the challenges of sales and marketing, crucial elements for sustained growth. That’s where we come in.
When you join 170+ MSPs and become a member of The 20, your MSP gains access to our world-class marketing department. While you excel in IT services, we’ve got your back on the business front. Just ask Bill.
We work with small and medium-sized MSPs committed to excellence and hungry for growth. If that sounds like you, let’s chat!
Schedule your call with The 20 today.
CX is King
Crafting Top-Notch Customer Experience as an MSP
Customer experience matters. In fact, it matters a lot. In fact, it might be the single most important aspect of your managed IT services.
We’re big fans of what the renowned business leader Kate Zabriskie said about the importance of customer experience:
“The customer’s perception is your reality.”
Think about that. In most situations, perception and reality are contrasted. Reality is truth, perception opinion. Reality is real, perception is not. But this gets turned on its head in the context of business – especially business founded on service.
Your MSP provides a service, and the core of service is making clients feel a certain way – namely: valued, taken care of, and yes, even loved. Maya Angelou’s timeless wisdom is relevant here:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
None of this is to say that you shouldn’t strive to provide objectively good service and support – the sort of service and support that accords with best practices and meets, if not exceeds, industry standards. Just keep in mind, none of that matters if your clients hate you; if they believe you’re not doing a good job or perceive your work to be subpar, they will, eventually, leave you for another IT provider.
So let’s talk about Customer Experience (CX), because it doesn’t matter if the “customer is always right” (they’re not) when it’s the customer who decides your fate as an MSP.
Preaching to the MSP Choir
We’re not going to spill a lot of ink trying to convince your MSP that CX is vitally important for success in the managed services space. If you don’t believe this already, there’s not much we can do for you. Fortunately, if you’re an MSP executive or key decision-maker, there’s a good chance you do believe this:
Kaseya’s latest comprehensive study of MSP trends – Global State of the MSP Report: Trends and Forecasts for 2024 – surveyed MSPs in North America and found that 44% identify “improving customer experience” as the top strategic priority, sharing the top spot with “growing revenue” as the highest priorities recognized by MSPs.
This is hardly surprising, as MSP respondents identified, for the third consecutive year, heightened competition as their biggest challenge. When competition is stiff, the need to stand out becomes imperative, and how does a company in any industry distinguish itself? Well, a lot of ways, but providing a top-tier customer experience is undeniably one of the most – if not the most – effective ways to stand out from the crowd.
So instead of preaching to the choir and lecturing you on the crucial role that CX will play in your future success, we’re going to zoom in on what CX mastery involves – the nuts and bolts of keeping your clients not only safe, secure, and technologically thriving, but happy.
Without further ado, here are some key CX strategies your MSP can leverage to reach new heights.
Make it About Them
There’s an old marketing proverb – “People don’t buy drills; they buy holes.” In slightly less ‘proverby’ terms, people don’t care about products, services, and features; they care about what those products, services, and features can do for them. In short, they care about benefits.
Along similar lines, clients don’t want to hear you go on and on about how great you are – especially if that means hearing you expound on all the technical details of your services and offerings. So what do they want to hear about?
How great you can help them be! This one is obvious, but often forgotten in the course of sales, onboarding, and so forth. So, make a commitment to keeping the focus on your clients from the get-go.
And don’t make the all-too-common mistake of talking more than listening. To be blunt, learn to shut up so your clients can tell you what they want and need, what their biggest pain points are, etc. As important as solutions are, you can’t develop satisfying solutions without first giving clients the time and space to let you know what it is that needs solving.
Optimize Your Onboarding Process
First impressions are just as important in business as they are in life. Start out your relationship with a new client on the wrong foot and prepare for an uphill battle to get back on the right track.
For this reason, it’s crucial that your MSP become master onboarders. Great MSPs are obsessed with perfecting their onboarding process. That doesn’t mean creating an unadaptable process and expecting that ‘one size’ to fit all your clients and their unique needs. Prioritize personalization to show that you care, and for the sake of all that is good, do not forget to check in after onboarding is officially complete. This brings us to our next key strategy…
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
It’s so important we had to say it three times. Communication is the name of the game in the managed services realm. If you’re not a great communicator, work on your skills – or hire people who excel in this area. When hiring a pet sitter, you don’t just want someone to take good care of your fur babies; you want someone who will let you know how your animals are doing. For the most part, your clients share this wish. That said, no two clients are the exact same, so strive to tailor your communication to their preferences. Some clients want you to fill them in on every detail, while others prefer a more hands-off approach. That’s why the next strategy is so fundamental to CX…
Get to Know Your Clients – And Not Just as Businesses!
A lot of MSPs agree that it’s good to get to know your clients on a human level, but when it comes to putting this idea into practice, very few MSPs truly nail it. That means if your MSP can forge that strong personal connection, you will be a breath of fresh air in the IT provider landscape.
So how do you get to know your clients? By talking to them, yes, but more importantly, by listening to them. This harks back to the first strategy we shared, and indeed, the ability to listen is a thread that runs through all of these CX-enhancing strategies, as listening skills are fundamental to successful social interactions, and in turn, the cornerstone of a healthy client-MSP relationship.
Think Outside the Corporate Box
Some MSPs tick all the boxes traditionally associated with white-glove service but fall short in going the extra mile with personal gestures that truly convey genuine care. While communicating with clients through official business channels, such as automated email sequences during escalations, is undoubtedly beneficial, what elevates your service from good to great is the personal touch. Consider going above and beyond by surprising clients with thoughtful gestures, like a handwritten note. These small, unexpected touches leave a lasting impression and demonstrate a level of commitment that goes beyond the standard corporate approach.
If you have any doubts about the power of a handwritten note, read up on the greatest car salesman of all time, Joe Girard.
Don’t Forget About Metrics
CX is subjective – it’s about feelings – and thus, it cannot be measured in any kind of objective way…right?
Wrong! While it’s important to listen to your clients and gather their feedback informally (i.e., by simply conversing with them), it’s essential to complement this with measurable metrics. Objective data, such as response times, CSAT scores, and issue resolution rates, provides a quantitative foundation for evaluating and enhancing the customer experience. Striking a balance between the emotional and the measurable is key to delivering a comprehensive CX strategy.
The 20 Helps MSPs Become CX Pros
The 20 helps MSPs become CX pros, as well as marketing pros, sales pros, scalability & standardization pros, vendor management pros, cybersecurity pros – the list goes on! We offer a comprehensive success platform with everything you need to thrive as an MSP, all in one place. There’s a reason we have 170+ MSP members across the nation – our system works!
If you’re struggling to grow your MSP and want some help conquering the ‘business side’ of things, schedule a call with The 20 today. We can help you, just like we helped Bryan, Scott, and Seann.
Now get out there and make your clients happy campers!
Keeping IT Current
How to Nail Software Updates as an MSP
As an MSP, your job is highly multi-faceted, and that’s a large part of your appeal – organizations hire you to take on all (or at least a large chunk) of their IT duties, so they can focus on, well, not IT.
This do-it-all-so-they-don’t-have-to is perhaps best exemplified by software updates, one of the peskier IT tasks organizations struggle with – or worse yet, ignore altogether. Your updating expertise and patching prowess are superpowers, not to mention strong selling points, so make sure you…
- (a) Develop and document a robust software update program: a set of processes that collectively encompass all aspects of software updates, from planning to deployment to testing.
- (b) Communicate and demonstrate the value of your software update program to clients and prospects.
Some MSPs take care of (a) but neglect (b), an all-too-familiar pattern in the managed services space: we work our tail off taking care of clients, but don’t receive recognition for our efforts because we don’t effectively convey everything that we’re doing, much of it behind the scenes.
Another common mistake we encounter is MSPs developing a program for keeping systems updated, but failing to enshrine it in documentation. This is particularly common among smaller MSPs, who don’t always feel a pressing need to document their core processes, preferring to keep them ‘stored in the head.’ But this can hamper growth in major ways by limiting scalability.
Also, as well-documented processes become more and more the norm, you’d better believe prospective clients will notice the absence of robust documentation, and count it as a strike against your MSP.
Now that we’ve discussed some general objectives related to software updates, let’s delve into the nitty-gritty and talk best practices.
Put Security First
The threat landscape is a veritable minefield – and has been for quite some time. And while it would be nice to write that we are, slowly but surely, winning the war against cybercrime, it’s just not true. Things are getting worse.
Every MSP should be adopting a ‘security-first’ mindset, and such a mindset should definitely inform your approach to software updates. So, create a program that prioritizes security updates. For example, if there’s a security patch available to fix a known, actively exploited vulnerability, you should prioritize and apply that patch first, even if it means temporarily delaying less critical updates.
Harness Automation
As your MSP grows, managing updates for multiple clients can start to become a big time drain. That’s why you want to utilize automation tools and scripts to streamline the process. However, keep in mind that while a good MSP automates effectively, a great one will strike the perfect balance between automation and manual intervention. This is where knowing your clients’ businesses can work wonders.
For instance, understanding that a client in e-commerce experiences a surge in traffic during the holiday season may lead you to temporarily adjust the update schedule to avoid potential disruptions. Bottom line – talk to your clients so you can get to know their businesses and their unique needs.
Stick to a Schedule
This is one of those things that almost every MSP will fully endorse in theory. But in practice? Let’s just say that we’ve encountered a lot of smaller MSPs that plan to stick to a strict updating schedule, but let things slide when they get busy.
When creating your timetable for updates, you’ll want it to reflect the security-first mindset we discussed earlier. For some concrete advice on how to schedule in light of security prioritization, check out UC Berkeley’s Patching and Updates Guidelines.
You should also strive to create client-specific schedules. A one-size-fits-all approach is limited, especially if your client base is diverse and spans multiple industries, each one with its own compliance landscape to navigate. We understand that customization is time-consuming, but the investment in client-specific schedules pays off in terms of improved security, client satisfaction, and trust. It shows that you’re attuned to your clients’ unique needs, a hallmark of excellent MSP service.
Test to Be the Best
Software updates can be a double-edged sword for organizations. While they promise enhanced features and security, the lack of rigorous testing can lead to unexpected disruptions or vulnerabilities. This is where your MSP can shine.
Testing software updates meticulously is a specialized skill, and most organizations’ in-house IT staff can’t carry out testing nearly as effectively as an MSP dedicated to the task. Make sure your clients not only understand that you’re committed to testing updates before deployment, but also, the value of testing – i.e., avoiding of severe disruptions to everyday operations and protecting essential software applications and data systems.
If you have the bandwidth, consider setting up a lab environment in which to test patches for functionality and compatibility with your client’s existing applications and systems.
Be in the Know
As an MSP, you want your clients to view you as the ultimate authority on all things IT. Needless to say, it would look pretty bad if one of your clients caught wind of a crucial patch from a vendor before hearing about it from you. So stay informed about the latest software vulnerabilities and corresponding updates. Also, make sure to maintain an accurate and up-to-date inventory of each of your client’s IT assets, as doing so will help you provide timely and targeted support, as well as strengthen one of the most valuable aspects of your managed services business: client trust!
Final Thought
You want your clients to take software updates seriously – to not roll their eyes and ignore the latest notification. But keep in mind, threat actors are quick to use your clients’ desire to
remain updated against them, and a common phishing attack involves masquerading as legitimate software updates or security alerts. It is in this complex security landscape that your role as an MSP becomes even more critical. Your job isn’t simply ensuring efficient and secure software updates; it’s also training your clients to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent update requests.
As with so many things in the IT realm, the name of the game here is communication. Talk to your clients. Engage them in ongoing discussions about the importance of keeping their systems updated and secure.
And if you need help, get in touch! The 20 is a business development group for small and medium-sized MSPs looking to get to that next level, whether that’s $500k, $1M, or even $5M in annual recurring revenue. We give you the tools, processes, and expertise to become a major player in this fiercely competitive industry. Just ask any one of our 170+ MSP members – growing a large and profitable MSP business is a lot easier with The 20 at your back!
Schedule your call today.
Phear the Phish: How to Get Your Clients to Take Phishing Attacks Seriously
The goal of this article is simple: we want to help your MSP convey the seriousness of phishing attacks to end clients, so they take a more proactive and vigilant stance. As an MSP owner, you know all too well just how big of a problem phishing is for the business world, and how good threat actors have gotten at digital deception. So we’re not going to waste any breath convincing you.
Instead, we want to share some resources that we think will help you light a fire under your clients’ proverbial derrieres. Here’s how to get your clients to… PHEAR THE PHISH!
Stats Are OK, But Not the Best
Stats can be a good way to draw attention to the problem of phishing. They’re objective (well, depending on their source), serious-sounding, and they showcase your expertise and involvement in industry matters. Here are some good ones pertaining to phishing (gathered from here). These might give your clients pause:
84% of organizations fell for a phishing scam in 2022.
Employees at small businesses are 350% more likely to be targeted by phishing than those at enterprise-level companies.
A CEO, on average, is targeted by a phishing attack 57x/year.
But these statistics, by themselves, aren’t likely to create any radical shifts in your clients’ behaviors. It’s not your clients’ fault; it’s just how the human brain works. Study after study has shown that we remember information presented in a story much better than information presented in a purely factual manner.
Jennifer Aaker, a behavioral scientist at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, sheds light on this phenomenon:
“When most people advocate for an idea we think of a compelling argument, a fact or a figure. But research shows that our brains are not hard-wired to understand logic or retain facts for very long. Our brains are wired to understand and retain stories.” (source)
So true. Stories make an emotional impact, and that’s precisely the sort of impact you need to make if you want your clients to actually start behaving in a new way – in a more skeptical, alert, and vigilant way, to be specific.
To help you convey the serious threat that phishing attacks pose to your clients’ livelihoods, here are some resources that we’re confident will elicit a visceral response.
The Friendliest Hacker in the World
If you want your clients to wake up and smell the phish, there may be no better video on the internet to show them than this one (we recommend watching the whole video, but the link takes you to the craziest part).
It features Jessica Clark, an ‘ethical hacker.’ She meets with Kevin Roose, a journalist, at DEFCON, the world’s largest hacking convention held annually in Las Vegas. Roose gives her permission to demonstrate the power of social engineering. Her challenge: try to obtain Roose’s email from his phone provider.
What ensues is truly impressive, as well as downright terrifying. You can see the shift in Roose’s demeanor as Clark effortlessly persuades the customer service rep to divulge the journalist’s sensitive personal information. When Clark finishes, smiling and triumphant, Kevin says, “Holy sh–!”
We think your clients might have a similar reaction.
Tell Them About Roger Grimes
Like Jessica Clark, Roger Grimes is an ace hacker. And like Clark, Grimes uses his skills to help rather than hurt people. In his 30+ year career in cybersecurity, Grimes has encountered a lot of folks who are confident they can’t be phished. He then tells them to give him two weeks to see if he can’t successfully phish them. Want to know Grimes’ success rate?
100%.
That’s his own claim at least; over multiple decades, Grimes has never failed to phish someone who challenges him to try and do so. Not once.
This is scary. When a determined hacker decides to phish you, there’s a good – no, a great chance – they will succeed. As Grimes puts it, “Anyone can be tricked into clicking a link. We are just human.”
Even Grimes himself isn’t immune to phishing. So, in the spirit of using stories to motivate your clients to get proactive about cybersecurity, tell them this one:
Grimes got hired by KnowBe4, an IT security company, shortly after publishing Data-Driven Computer Security Defense. Grimes calls the book his “magnum opus.” Needless to say, he’s proud of it, and stands behind the claims made in that book, such as this one:
Social engineering is the leading root cause of malicious breaches, involved in 70-90% – and second place isn’t even close.
Anyway, Grimes received an email that appeared to come from his CEO. To give some context, Grimes knew his CEO had read his book and had hired him largely because of how much it had impressed him.
And yet, the email, which was sent out to the entire company, said that a new survey showed “unpatched software” to be the primary root cause of malicious breaches. It also provided a link to the survey details.
What?! Unpatched software! No way! That’s only a root cause in 20-40% of breaches!
Grimes was, as he himself admits, “incensed.” So he hurriedly clicked the link to see what preposterous study was peddling such a lie.
If he’d taken his time and hovered over the link, he would’ve seen that the URL was: “ThisisafakeURLtotestyou.”
This is a great story – read the extended version in Grimes’ own words here – because it illustrates the fact that anyone – even the savviest security professional – can be phished. It also shows the role that emotion plays; Grimes clicked the link because he was angry.
But if you tell your clients that anyone can be phished, might they not throw their hands in the air and say, “Well I guess I’m screwed then. What’s the point of trying?”
This is a legitimate concern, so it’s crucial to emphasize that cybersecurity isn’t about ‘all or nothing’; it’s about probability. It’s about mitigating and minimizing risk. So tell your clients this:
“No matter what you do, you can be phished – you’re only human, after all. But if you do nothing – or way less than is recommended by security experts – you WILL be phished.”
Emotion Leads to Motion
Emotion is at the heart of why phishing is so powerful. Like any type of social engineering, phishing preys upon our psychological tendencies – on our very humanness.
However, emotion is also at the heart of defending against phishing attacks. It’s not enough to get your clients to appreciate the dangers of phishing on an intellectual level. You have to get them to feel it. And you do that by sharing stories, not just stats.
Emotion leads to motion. The question is what type of motion. Emotions can lead your clients to click unsafe links. But if you do a good job of conveying the dangers of phishing, their emotions can also lead them to do the opposite: to be hyper-vigilant and ultra-skeptical of any message they receive with links, attachments, or requests for sensitive information.
And remember, the stronger your relationship with a client, the more readily they will consult your MSP before taking any questionable actions online. So build those relationships!
And get them emotionally involved in their own digital safety, because that’s the only way to empower them to make the right choices.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another cybersecurity-themed blog next week, as we wrap up #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth.
Stay safe out there, y’all!
Getting Real About MFA
Undeniably a fantastic security strategy, multi-factor authentication has its limitations. But is that something you should share with clients?
In a perfect world…
There is no cybercrime, donuts are good for you, and your MSP doesn’t exist because technology takes care of itself.
In a less-perfect-but-still-pretty-good world…
You help one of your clients, Dorothy’s Donuts, set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect the company’s email account. One day, a cybercriminal decides to mess with Dorothy and uses advanced password-cracking methods to figure out her email password. But when the troublemaker tries to log in, it’s MFA to the rescue. Crisis averted!
Meanwhile, in the real world…
Dorothy gets an email alerting her of suspicious activity on her business email account. She’s prompted to provide her email password plus a one-time passcode sent to her cell phone. The email looks legit, so Dorothy complies. She feels good entering the one-time passcode. This will PROVE it’s me, she thinks.
And just like that, poor Dorothy’s handed over the keys to her email to the threat actor, whose plan is to send emails out to Dorothy’s customers asking for donations ‘during a difficult time.’
The Moral of the Story?
Train and educate your clients!
Cybersecurity is about people, so make sure you’re taking care of yours. That means sharing information, conducting training sessions, and being honest.
Don’t tell your clients that MFA will solve all their security problems or throw out some statistic about how it stops 99% of cyberattacks (we’ll talk about this stat in a second).
So what should you tell them about MFA? If you ask us, the truth is always a good place to start.
And the truth is, MFA is an essential security strategy. The concept behind it is simple and powerful: it’s a lot harder for hackers to obtain two or more ‘proofs’ of your identity than just one (usually just your password).
Does MFA make things slightly more inconvenient on end users?
Yes. Logging into an MFA-protected account takes longer than logging into one without MFA protection.
Is MFA still worth having, despite the slight inconvenience it creates for end users?
Absolutely. The benefit of enhanced security provided by MFA far outweighs the minor inconvenience it adds. Remind your clients that while it’s a lot harder for hackers to obtain two or more ‘proofs’ of your identity than just one (usually your password), it’s only a little bit harder for you. And that’s how it should be; security should involve a fair tradeoff between safety and convenience, and MFA hits the sweet spot – it makes things a lot safer and only marginally less convenient.
So by all means, sing MFA’s praises – just don’t tell your clients that it repels 99% of all cyberattacks. The origin of this bogus stat seems to be two similar-sounding, albeit not quite as impressive statistics.
The problem with the 99% claim isn’t just that it’s a misrepresentation of actual statistics; another issue is that it characterizes MFA as some sort of “super tool” – “the answer to all your security problems…or 99% of them at least.”
And this is precisely how you want your clients not thinking about cybersecurity. If they assume one tool or method will do all the work for them, they may not exercise proper vigilance or consistently employ best practices, creating vulnerabilities that experienced threat actors can easily exploit.
Hard Truths
The lessons here have all been pretty simple. Tell your clients the truth – about MFA, and everything else, too. They can handle it. They can even handle the hard truths about MFA, like…
MFA isn’t infallible
It’s highly effective, but not a complete (or anywhere near complete) defense against cybercrime. But don’t tell your clients just this; also highlight specific ways that threat actors can bypass MFA:
- Prompt Bombing
- Phishing
- Social Engineering, etc.
MFA creates inconvenience
While some MFA solutions are more user-friendly than others (we’re particularly proud of our ID 20/20 software for offering a seamless user verification process), there’s no such thing as an MFA solution that creates zero inconvenience. It’s an extra step by definition – no reason to pretend it isn’t.
MFA is necessary
Perhaps the hardest and most important truth of them all. MFA won’t solve all your security problems, but you still need it. If you’re looking for a clear analogy to help illustrate this point, talk about seatbelts: people need to wear seatbelts – or really should, at least – but that doesn’t mean seatbelts offer complete protection in traffic, or that you don’t need to do other things to stay safe on the road, like pay attention, follow traffic rules, go the speed limit, etc. Using MFA is like wearing a seatbelt.
In some case, MFA is literally necessary, as it’s now common for cyber insurance companies to require MFA for cyber coverage. If this is what it takes to get your clients using MFA, so be it.
Closing Thought – Relationships Matter!
Let’s say your client gets hit with a prompt bombing attack. All night long, their cell phone buzzes and lights up with notifications: one authentication request after another. At 5 am, exhausted and annoyed, they…
Well, that depends. Does your MSP have strong relationships with clients? Do your clients like you? Do they feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling your help desk – even at 5 am?
When people say cybersecurity is about people, this is what they mean – this exact moment when your client encounters something strange and suspicious. What do they do?
If they have a strong relationship with your MSP, if they’re comfortable calling you at the drop of a hat, if they like and trust you, then…
They will call you about it first, before taking any other action.
This is just one example that shows the importance of building strong relationships with your clients – one of many. When you establish genuine relationships with clients, it not only makes things easier (like sharing hard truths about MFA); it also enhances overall security by fostering transparency and teamwork.
Communication, collaboration, cooperation. Even with the latest AI-fueled innovations, these remain the most powerful security tools at our disposal.
But how do you build strong MSP-client relationships?
Lots of ways – but this blog post has focused on a particularly important aspect of building strong relationships: telling the truth! It’s not always easy, but if you’re consistently transparent with clients, they will come to appreciate your honesty and trust you. And when that happens, they will be much quicker to accept a hard truth from you than an ‘easy lie’ from the MSP down the street.
So keep it real, stay safe, and stay tuned for more security-focused content as we celebrate #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth here at The 20.
Learn more about The 20 MSP Group and how we help small and medium-sized MSPs find success in our fiercely competitive industry.
The Friendly Face of Cybercrime
The recent MGM breach serves as a wake-up call for businesses of all sizes – especially MSPs – emphasizing the urgent need to defend against social engineering threats.
As an MSP owner, you’re no stranger to the cyber threat landscape – how it’s constantly evolving and shifting as cybercriminals find new ways to make honest, hardworking citizens’ lives a living nightmare. But one truth remains, and it’s a truth we’re revisiting in this blog post:
Cyberattacks are not always launched by an act of technical wizardry or digital deception. Oftentimes, they begin with a simple phone call, and wear a friendly face – and that’s what makes them truly scary.
The Friendly Face of Cybercrime
For most people, the word “hacker” conjures an image of a guy typing furiously in a dark basement, pausing only to rub his palms together and cackle like a movie villain.
But the truth is, cyberattacks often wear a much friendlier face – and that’s what makes them so effective.
Take the recent attack on MGM – a devastating breach that has cost the casino giant $52 million in lost revenue (and counting). Plus, think about the reputational damage!
It started with a 10-minute phone call. The threat actor – purportedly part of the ransomware gang ALPHV – found an MGM employee on LinkedIn, called the help desk pretending to be that employee, and asked for a password reset.
And just like that, this cybercriminal gained access to MGM’s network.
Social Engineering – The Biggest Threat to Your MSP
The threat actors responsible for the MGM breach used “social engineering” (a fancy term for tricking people).
Social engineering doesn’t rely on technology; it relies on human nature – on how much trouble we have saying “no” to someone who is polite, convincing, friendly.
It turns out we have A LOT of trouble with this, which explains why 98% of cyberattacks use some form of social engineering!
And when 43% of all cyberattacks are on small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), having a robust defense against social engineering isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity.
ID 20/20 – Your Solution Against Social Engineering
You can’t change human nature, but you can give your MSP a tool that stops social engineering attempts in their tracks.
Our patented ID 20/20 software is purpose-built for MSPs, delivering a user-friendly, cost-effective, and supremely effective defense against social engineering threats. We understand that MSPs require robust tools not only to protect their own sensitive data but that of the businesses they serve, and failure to do so could lead to catastrophic breaches with far-reaching consequences. You are in effect a gateway to a whole network of organizations and a veritable treasure trove of sensitive information.
How does it work?
ID 20/20 enlists MFA (multi-factor authentication) to verify a live caller’s identity.
When “John” calls your MSP’s help desk, how do you know it’s really John?
If you have ID 20/20 software, a code is sent to so-called John’s email or cell phone. If “John” can’t verify the code, there’s a good chance he’s not really John.
The whole thing takes less than a minute, requires zero downloads, and will protect your MSP – and your clients – against the most common type of cyberattack. We’re confident that if MGM had implemented a solution like ID 20/20, they could have sniffed out the threat actor right away and saved themselves millions.
We’ve made ID 20/20 cost-effective for small and mid-sized MSPs, convenient for your end clients, and the last thing hackers want to encounter when they come for your business.
Click here to discover why ID 20/20 is quickly becoming the go-to live caller verification tool for SMBs across the country, and a popular choice for MSPs of all sizes. If you’re interested in using ID 20/20 at your MSP business, you can schedule a call and we’ll go from there!
Do we hope your organization decides to use ID 20/20 as a defense against social engineering attacks? Of course! We’re proud of the tool and know it makes MSPs and the businesses they serve immeasurably more secure.
But whatever you decide to do, please – PLEASE – don’t do nothing. Social engineering attempts are rampant and they’re wreaking havoc in both public and private sectors. Make today the day you took a stand.
Change.
If you want to grow your MSP, you’ve got to change. It’s really that simple – and complicated.
Here at The 20, we work with hundreds of managed service providers (MSPs) from all over the United States – and some in Canada, too!
These MSPs come to us looking for help. They want to be the best at what they do – delivering managed IT services – and they hear we can help with that. It is in our name, after all: we can help your small to medium-sized MSP reach the top 20% of the managed services industry.
But some of the MSPs that join The 20 grow a lot faster than others. Why is that?
While there’s no single answer to this question, only a number of reasons why some of our MSP members grow faster than others, one reason does seem to loom large above the rest – a trait that we find predicts an MSP’s future success with startling accuracy…
The Ability to Change
Every MSP owner who joins our community is enthusiastic, passionate, ready to grow. But they’re not all equally thrilled about the prospect of making big changes to their respective organizations.
And we do mean big. In almost every single case we encounter – and we’ve worked with a lot of MSPs over the years – “getting to the next level” is largely a matter of making large-scale, foundational shifts.
Is it easy convincing MSPs to make these big changes? Not always. Even though seeing the success our other members is usually enough to convince newer members to go ‘all in’ on our model, there can be some resistance – especially at the outset.
This doesn’t surprise us. Change is hard, and it’s not like we’re asking these MSP owners to try out a different brand of dish soap or a new ringtone. This is their business we’re talking about here, and being asked to change something you care about deeply can be extremely daunting.
But if you really want to grow your MSP and ascend to the top of our large and competitive industry, you’ve got no choice. It’s change and grow, or don’t and don’t.
Time to get more concrete. Let’s consider a specific type of change MSPs must make if they’re aiming for steady, long-term growth.
The Art of Letting Go
Change is hard. Everyone knows that. But why is change so hard? Here’s one answer:
Change is hard because it forces us to step outside of our comfort zones. Thus, the key to change is embracing discomfort.
You’ve probably heard some version of the above a million times. But is that the whole story? Is mastering change really just a matter of learning to embrace discomfort?
We’re not convinced – especially when it comes to change in the MSP space. That’s because as counterintuitive as it may sound:
One of the biggest and most challenging changes most MSPs have to make actually makes life easier and more comfortable.
But how can that be? How can a change be “one of the biggest and most challenging” when it makes things easier?
The answer has to do with scalability. If you run a smaller MSP, you’re likely accustomed to doing everything more or less on your own, juggling multiple roles from sales and customer support to technical operations and administration. This ‘one-person band’ approach can work when you’re small, but it’s not scalable. With the one-person band approach, things fall apart when your MSP starts getting big, preventing it from ever getting really big.
Transitioning to a more scalable model requires a radically different approach: letting go.
If you want to grow a large, successful MSP, you’ve got to hand over parts of your business to others – as well as develop a playbook of documented processes to make sure things go smoothly without your direct oversight.
In our experience, many MSP owners find it incredibly challenging to make this shift and truly let go. And this is in spite of the fact that letting go – and, just as importantly, finding the right people to manage the various parts of your growing business – makes things much, much, much easier on you.
Again, this doesn’t surprise us. When you’re used to doing things one way, doing things another way is going to be tough – even when, paradoxically enough, the new way actually makes things easier! Moreover, it’s easy to fall in love with being busy – to equate feeling stressed out and ‘at capacity’ with doing right by your MSP. You might find yourself thinking, “Hey, I’m barely sleeping, working all the time, and I’m a nervous wreck – surely I’m doing my part to facilitate my MSP’s success!”
But this way of thinking can be dangerous and unproductive, leading to burn-out while also hindering your MSP’s growth (remember, the one-person band model isn’t viable long-term because it’s not scalable).
So find ways let go. Hire, outsource, join peer groups – figure out where you need help, and get it. Because the sooner you can build your trusted team and peer network, the sooner you can experience the sort of business growth you dream about.
We know letting go is hard, so we’re sharing some strategic shifts in mindset that we think might help you loosen your grip on the reins of your MSP business…
Reconceptualize Your Role: From Player to Coach
To help cultivate trust in others and delegate tasks more effectively, you might try thinking differently about your own role within your MSP business. Instead of viewing yourself as the ‘star player,’ try thinking of yourself as the coach – or some other figure whose job is to educate, guide, and bring out the best in others.
Work On (Not In) Your Business
Leaders at truly successful MSPs spend much more time working on their business than in their business. When you delegate daily tasks to your capable team, you can step back and work on your business – see the bigger picture so you can identify opportunities for growth, innovation, and greater overall efficiency. Remember, your primary job as the leader of your MSP isn’t busy work – it’s making your business work.
Glorify Working Smarter, Not Harder
We live in a culture that glorifies ‘the grind,’ but the hustle mindset can be detrimental in the entrepreneurial space, where success isn’t simply a matter of putting in the most hours. Yes, you should work hard, but think carefully about how you work – and how your team works. When your goal is to work as smart as possible – not as hard as possible – delegating to others quickly becomes second nature.
From Head to Paper
When you’re a one-person band, you can get away with keeping your MSP’s business-critical information in your head (although it’s not ideal, and a robust documentation program is something we recommend to every MSP, regardless of its size). Documentation becomes particularly important, however, as your MSP grows. Documenting your MSP’s processes not only allows you to solidify operations, it also allows you to delegate tasks and train new employees more effectively and efficiently. Instead of hovering over your team and directly guiding them, you can be ‘present’ in the form of your stellar documentation.
Consider The 20
What’s the real lesson here? If growing a large and successful MSP requires letting go and making the transition from a one-person band to a bona fide, process-driven, and highly scalable company, does that mean you should create and document your key processes, hire a bunch of people, and just wait for the revenue to start rolling in?
If only things we’re so simple! Hiring a capable team isn’t exactly cheap, and attracting/retaining quality talent is a notoriously difficult task in the MSP space at the moment (according to a recent Kaseya study, hiring is the third biggest business challenge for MSPs, right after “security” and “acquiring new customers”).
If you’re struggling with growth and scalability at your MSP business, but don’t want – or simply can’t afford – to hire your way out of trouble, consider becoming a member of The 20.
When you join The 20, your MSP can be “bigger than it is” – and without necessarily making a single new hire!
Just ask Bill, who joined The 20 and gained access to a world-class marketing department he could never have built through hiring alone.
Or ask Mark, another member who was able to start selling more aggressively, knowing The 20’s 24/7 US-based help desk was there to help him handle larger clients.
Curious to learn more? Visit our website for more member success stories as well as information about The 20 – who we are and how we help small and medium-sized MSPs find success in our fiercely competitive industry.
VISION ’23 Recap
From Good to GREAT!
We came. We saw. We VISION’d.
It’s over, folks – our seventh annual VISION conference – but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. We’re certainly still feeling the buzz – and judging by the feedback that’s already rolling in, so too are the event’s hundreds of attendees.
Every year, something special happens at VISION. We call it “VISION magic.” But whatever you want to call it, it’s a powerful thing that emerges when people come together with open minds and good hearts – and an indomitable desire to succeed.
That said, this year’s event felt magic in a major way. Especially special. Truly great.
Maybe that’s because of the conference theme – taking an MSP from good to great – but we’re pretty sure it’s because this MSP community is made up of some of the most kick-a**, hardworking, and kindhearted people on the planet.
So while the memories are still fresh, we want to look back at the events of last week – at the GREAT time we had at VISION ’23.
We want to talk about the people, the ideas, the moments, and of course, that VISION magic.
We hope you enjoy this recap of VISION ’23. And if you missed out on the events of last week, don’t despair. We’re determined to raise the bar yet again at VISION ’24 – maybe our theme next year will have to be … “from great to greater”!
Tuesday – “The Kickoff”
The sun was out and the MSPs were flooding in. From Wisconsin. From California. From New Jersey. From Canada. Hundreds of MSPs, all looking to get better. All looking to grow.
Everyone arrived safely and we could tell right away that the MSPs in attendance we’re pumped up and ready for the very thing we promised in many of our marketing materials: “a conference experience like nothing else in the channel.”
We wasted no time getting things started, taking to the rooftop patio at the Omni Hotel (an absolutely top-class establishment next door to the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters) for the VISION ’23 Kickoff Party.
Cold drinks were sipped. New friends were made. And even though it was hot – like, really hot – the patio was still full at 7 pm, two hours after the party got under way.
And it wasn’t because attendees were determined to get their photos taken with our special guests, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. It was because they were having a blast with each other. It was because of that VISION magic.
Wednesday – Day One
We got started bright and early on Wednesday morning. After getting their breakfast tacos and coffee, attendees filled the Omni’s grand ballroom for our very own Tim Conkle’s opener, The Thin Line Between Good and Great.
Tim’s energetic, enlightening, and entertaining presentation set the tone for the rest of the day’s sessions. Some highlights:
FTC Safeguard Rule and Contracts: Navigating Rough Seas – Joseph Brunsman and Daniel Astin
Joe and Dan are a dynamic duo in the realm of cyber and professional resilience, and their presentation was packed with the type of actionable guidance our attendees have come to expect at VISION. Hats off, gentlemen – you rocked it.
Exploring the Intersection of Cybersecurity and AI – Allies or Adversaries? – Rob Boles
Rob Boles (President of BLOKWORX) is one cool dude, and his no-nonsense presentation at VISION ’23 had the undivided attention of every single MSP in the room. Thank you, Rob, for sharing invaluable insights that can save livelihoods.
Return on Energy – Mike Rose
Mike Rose’s ideas on leadership, communication, and building team culture have transformed thousands of businesses around the globe. And at VISION ’23, Mike took to the Main Stage to deliver an eye-opening Keynote that left us all feeling charged up. The way Mike laid out the differences between vision, strategy, and tactics made so much sense. We can’t wait to apply his ideas at The 20 – and we know a lot of MSPs in attendance feel the same way. Now let’s go get that ROE!!!
The Art of Continuous Improvement – Ken Pecot
Since joining The 20 back in 2021 as COO, Ken has helped us transform our operations and team culture in ways that continue to reverberate and drive us forward. Naturally, a lot of us have been curious about how Ken developed his powerful business philosophy and came to be the incredible leader he is today. We – and everyone else in attendance at VISION ’23 – got the answer to that question thanks to Ken’s awesome and candid presentation. Thank you, Ken, not only for what you do at The 20, but for sharing your wisdom with the MSP community. Your words carry serious weight, and your ideas have helped – and will help – a lot of MSPs make some serious breakthroughs.
Marketing – Old Truths and New Lies – Crystal Conkle (Moderator), Andra Hedden, Jimmy Hatzell, Emalee Sugano, Anne Stobaugh
What happens when you bring five of the brightest minds in MSP marketing together for a panel discussion? Well, if what went down at VISION ’23 is any indication, you get nothing less than a marketing masterclass. We had high hopes for this one, and the conversation between Crystal (The 20), Andra (Marketopia), Jimmy (CyberQP), Emalee (BLOKWORX), and Anne (Microsoft) blew our expectations right out of the water. So many good ideas. So many refreshing takes. So much fun. Brilliant stuff all around, panelists!
State of the Channel: Straight Talk – Fred Voccola & Tim Conkle
It’s a good thing the VISION stage is so big, because last week it needed to hold two industry giants. Fred and Tim sat down for a lively and far-ranging discussion about what’s been going in the MSP space – but not before Crystal Conkle put Fred in the hot seat with some … unexpected questions. Thanks for being a good sport, Fred!
And thank you both Fred and Tim for not only a terrific and refreshingly honest conversation, but also, for kicking off a spontaneous fundraiser for the Coventry Reserve. Your generous contributions inspired a series of donations, and reminded us all just what a big heart this MSP community has.
***
After two engaging and informative Breakout Sessions led by BLOKWORX and Nerdio, plus another word from Tim, we all retired to our rooms to get a good night’s –
Just kidding. This is VISION. We wrapped up Day One with Happy Hour at the Omni. After a day of learning, it was great seeing everyone come together for drinks, laughs, and games.
Thursday – Day Two
We hit the ground running on Day Two. Tim took to the Main Stage after breakfast for his presentation on M&A in the MSP Space: Not All Roads Lead to Rome. It’s no secret that we’ve been on an M&A spree here at The 20 over the past year or so, acquiring nearly two dozen MSPs as we pursue our goal of building a national MSP with unmatched scale and service delivery. At VISION, Tim shared lessons he’s learned along the way – lessons that will surely help out MSP attendees with their own M&A journeys.
More M&A lessons came later in the day when Scott Renkes and Bobby Renkes of Pinecrest Capital Partners delivered an eye-opening presentation, M&A for MSPs: Growth and Value Drivers. Coming from the invaluable perspective of private equity, these two M&A experts gave attendees a clear look at the state of M&A in the managed services industry, along with actionable advice on how to navigate the intricate landscape of M&A effectively. MSPs are hungry for M&A guidance, and these two experts delivered the goods. Great job, guys!
Sales Wisdom
On Day Two of VISION ’23, we heard from a stellar MSP Sales Panel moderated by Tim and featuring Andy Gainor (The 20), Jacob Sanders (The 20), Seana Fippin (Red Box Business Solutions), and Gary Blawat (The 20). These panelists know MSP sales like nobody’s business, and their collective expertise shined a light on what it takes to be not only good at sales, but great.
Later in the day, after two outstanding Breakouts led by Cytracom and Dell, Miguel Lopez (SVP and GM at Kaseya), drove home the importance of sales and marketing to success in the managed services industry. Miguel’s energetic and hilarious presentation, Consultative Selling, was filled with a multitude of important lessons, our favorite of which was … Marketing isn’t bullsh*t. We love it, Miguel!
Elevating Your MSP with Marketing Automation – Nabila Moumen
Joining us from Paris, France for her second consecutive VISION, Nabila Moumen rocked the house with a lively, insightful, and captivating presentation on automation – and its power to drive MSP growth. After her session at VISION ’22, we knew Nabila would dazzle us, and dazzle us she did – with her knowledge, with her humor, with her warmth. We hope you come back next year, Nabila, to make it three in a row!
Navigating Life’s Challenges with True Grit and Grace – Amberly Lago
Wow. Wow. Wow. What a story. What a presentation. What a message. Amberly’s highly anticipated Keynote at VISION ’23 made it clear to everyone in attendance why this woman is one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. Her energy, her wisdom, her heart – Amberly Lago is the real deal, and we are SO grateful for the wisdom she shared this year at VISION. Thank you, Amberly. Thank you.
Do Your Clients Know You Love Them? – Eric Kehmeier
Eric joined The 20 as an MSP owner with big plans. He worked hard, applied our proven methods, and grew a tremendously successful MSP called “Integrated Business Technologies.” Now, Eric is our VP of Client Services, a position that allows him to cultivate the most important aspect of our growing business: relationships. At VISION ’23, Eric spoke on the importance of relationships – of truly loving your clients – and simply put, his presentation was awesome. We love you, Eric!
Speaking of love, we wrapped up Day Two by showing love to this year’s VISION Award winners. Taking home prizes were…*drumroll*…
- MSP of the Year – Sean Morreno, Data Tech Café
- MSP Business Growth – Reade Taylor, Cyber Command
- Most Engaged MSP – Brandi & Chris Couse, Mash Grape Technologies
- Support Desk Favorite – Greg Padgett, Eagle’s Wings Technologies
- Ambassador of the Year – Forrest Smith, ASGARD IT Services
- Best Revenue Booster – Galactic Advisors
- Most Disruptive Solution – Cytracom
- Most Helpful Vendor – Huntress
- Product of the Year – Pax8
- Partner of the Year – BLOKWORX
Congratulations everyone – y’all are doing big things and the recognition is well-deserved!
VISION Party!
It wouldn’t be VISION without the one and only VISION Party. And so, after a productive second day, we all headed over to Concrete Cowboy for our end-of-conference bash.
Was it fun? Oh yeah. And is it true what they say – “no one parties like The 20”?
We’re not going to toot our own horn, so if you really want to know, you’ll just have to attend VISION ’24 and find out for yourself.
Day Three – Members Only
VISION is open to all MSPs, but we like to host a special half-day just for members of The 20 MSP Group, our MSP ‘co-op’ devoted to giving small and mid-sized MSPs the tools and resources they need to get to that next level.
What went down at our Members-Only Half-Day?
We can’t divulge any of our in-house secrets, but we will say this: the camaraderie between our members never fails to hearten us. To see a ballroom’s worth of people – people who are supposed to be competitors – all working together and sharing ideas … It’s humbling to say the least, and a powerful reassurance that we’re doing something special here at The 20.
Final Reflection – More Than Worth It
VISION is three days, but it’s multiple months in the making. It’s thousands of hours of planning, strategizing, ordering, designing, writing, sharing. It’s countless conversations. It’s continual collaboration between our marketing team members. It’s work, work, and more work.
But it’s more than worth it. That’s because however much energy we put into our planning, the energy we get in return – from our attendees, from our speakers, from our sponsors, and from our wonderful MSP community – makes the monumental undertaking feel like a privilege.
So does feedback like the following we received from Fred Voccola, a man who knows a thing or two about IT events:
“VISION is an awesome event – one of the best in the channel. And I can say that because at Kaseya we host events. We host really big events. And every time I do this, I ask Tim and his team how can we do it better, how can we be more like VISION. VISION’s fantastic.”
Thank you, Fred. That means a lot. And a Texas-sized thank you to everyone who participated in VISION this year – MSPs, speakers, sponsors, hotel staff … The list goes on. VISION is about people, and y’all truly are the best.
Till next time, wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and productive rest of 2023. Let’s make it great!
VISIONs of Greatness – Want to be Great? Relax.
If you want to be the best, you have to outwork the rest. Early mornings, late nights. Go, go, go – Actually, scratch that. If you want to achieve greatness, you have to know when to grind and when to unwind.
Hustle culture. It’s a thing. And it’s dangerous. Not only does constantly working prevent you from enjoying the life you’re supposedly building for yourself, but it also hurts the work itself!
A Stanford study found that male basketballs players’ performance dramatically improved when they aimed for 10 hours of sleep a night.
Night shift air traffic controllers performed much better on tests when they were given 40 minutes of “nap time”.
People need rest – it’s really that simple.
This is particularly true for business owners, whose jobs can be more demanding than most. Entrepreneurs not only need to think about how to work effectively, but also, how to not work — how to chillax to the max.
To give you some inspiration, we’ve collected some highly successful people’s rest tactics: what do the profoundly productive do when it’s time to take their feet off the gas and unwind?
Brad Pitt
“… if I have something that I’m dealing with that’s causing me a lot of stress, my mind goes to architecture. I walk around the yard and start thinking about what I need to do to the house structurally.” (2009 Parade Magazine Interview)
Home repairs? While those might not sound particularly relaxing, as Pitt explains, “As a boy, you play with Tinker Tors, Lincoln Logs, Legos, and you get interested in how things are made … Years later, you come back around to what interested you as a boy.”
Ah, that actually makes a ton of sense.
Insight
Want to relax and feel lighter and more joyful? Revisit the things you loved as a child!
Novak Djokovic
“…you need to have a place where you know you can switch off and recharge your batteries.”(Independent)
So where does the world’s most dominant tennis player go to recharge? One of Djokovic’s favorite places to unplug is a Buddhapadipa Temple. Though not a Buddhist himself, he appreciates the serene atmosphere, and enjoys “hearing the peaceful sounds of the water.”
Insight
It’s important to think not only about how you relax, but where. Find your “happy place” and pay it frequent visits!
Elon Musk
“Sunday morning: to bake or not to bake cookies – that is not even a question. Definitely bake.”(Twitter post)
The man responsible for revolutionizing the auto industry and pushing the frontiers of space travel finds time to bake cookies. What else is there to say?
Insight
No one is too busy to relax. No one.
Katie Couric
“Bubble baths, yoga, sitting and doing nothing.”(HuffPost)
The renowned journalist revealed her preferred methods of mellowing out at Arianna Huffington’s 2-day Thrive Conference, and they all sound great – especially that last one. Sometimes, nothing beats nothing.
Insight
The modern hustle mentality is so pervasive it even shapes – or distorts, rather – the way we relax. Resist the urge to make relaxation one more item on your to-do list. That is, be careful not to make unwinding just another ‘something’ that must get done. Get comfortable doing nothing, and if your inner critic tries to make you feel guilty for not being productive, tell it to shut up!
Viggo Mortensen
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast … We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” (The Scotsman)
Spot on, Mr. Mortensen! Take on your to-do list one thing at a time, give each task your full attention, and do your best to stay as calm, cool, and collected as Aragorn in battle.
Insight
Relaxing isn’t just something you do after the work is done – it’s a crucial part of work itself, a tool that allows us to operate more efficiently and effectively.
Oprah Winfrey
“What I do for fun is I literally hang with my dogs, the four-legged ones … I love walking in the woods with my dogs.”(Makers)
We take care of our pets, but they also take care of us. And as Oprah reminds us, spending time with animals is FUN. There’s nothing like a dog’s zest for life to remind us not to take things too seriously and to stop and smell the roses – and in a dog’s case, anything else with a good, strong odor!
Insight
Fun is relaxing and relaxing is fun. If you’ve tried to jump on the meditation bandwagon and you just can’t get into it, don’t beat yourself up. Find something that brings you joy, because nothing restores us like having a good time!
David Goggins
“If it’s a rest day, truly allow your mind and body to relax. Turn your phone off. Keep the computer shut down … It’s not a day to lose yourself in technology or stay hunched at your desk in the form of a damn question mark.”(Can’t Hurt Me)
David Goggins is arguably the toughest human being on the planet. But what does the man who wakes at 3 am to run 20 miles – the man who completed more than 4000 pull-ups in 24 hours (a world record at the time) – do to relax?
He relaxes!
Simply put, if you want to get the most out of yourself and reach new heights in your personal and professional life, you have to commit as fully to your downtime as you do to your go-time.
Insight
When it’s time to go fast, go fast. But when it’s time to slow down, take your foot off the gas. All the way off. That doesn’t necessarily mean unplugging like Goggins, but it does mean avoiding those things that stress you out, even if only in subtle ways.
So ask yourself, “Does scrolling through my feed really help me decompress?”
If not, close that laptop, put down your phone, and find something else to do!
***
If you enjoyed this piece, look out for the next “VISION of Greatness” from The 20. And don’t forget to register for VISION ’23, the MSP event of the year!
Spots are filling up fast, so secure your seat today – and get ready to take your MSP from good to GREAT!
Beyond the Buyout
How The 20 Nurtures MSP Growth While Respecting Ownership Boundaries
Chances are, you’ve caught wind of The 20’s M&A activities. We’ve certainly been busy, acquiring several MSPs each month as we pursue our mission of building the first premier MSP with coast-to-coast reach.
But with all the press surrounding our rapid expansion and unique consolidation strategy, it’s easy to lose sight of what The 20 is really all about: not acquiring MSPs, but helping them grow and find success in our hyper-competitive industry.
In this blog post, we want to clarify a few things about our M&A strategy, and address a question that’s been coming up: Do we recruit MSPs to join The 20 simply because we want to buy them?
The 20 MSP vs The 20 MSP Group
The first thing to make clear is that The 20 MSP and The 20 MSP Group are distinct entities – and not just legally speaking, but conceptually as well.
The 20 MSP is an individual MSP. We want The 20 MSP to become the first MSP with extensive, coast-to-coast reach and premier service delivery.
The 20 MSP Group is, on the other hand, exactly what it sounds like: a group of MSPs, all of them independently owned and operated. When MSP owners become members of The 20 MSP Group, they sign on to our way of doing business, but retain complete ownership of their MSPs.
Now, here’s where the connection lies between The 20 MSP and The 20 MSP Group: We’re pursuing MSP acquisitions to facilitate the expansion of The 20 MSP, and, for the sake of seamless integration and cultural/operational compatibility, we’re only looking to acquire MSPs that belong to The 20 MSP Group.
This raises an important question: Do we recruit MSPs to join The 20 MSP Group simply because we want, at some point, to acquire those MSPs and integrate them into The 20 MSP?
Let’s talk about that.
To Acquire or Not to Acquire? – That is the Question!
Let’s start with the short answer. Do we recruit MSPs to join The 20 MSP Group simply because we’re looking for acquisition targets?
No!
A slightly longer answer: While the 20+ acquisitions we’ve completed (at the time this was written) might seem like a lot, the number pales in comparison to the 170+ MSPs that belong to The 20 MSP Group. And a good number of these 170+ MSPs are interested in selling to us – i.e., we have no shortage of quality MSPs in our acquisition pipeline.
In other words, we’re not feeling any pressure to find MSPs to acquire – in fact, we have more than enough ready to roll up, and if there’s any pressure, it’s to consolidate quickly enough to meet this demand!
We think there’s some confusion around this because the following two sentences do, admittedly, sound pretty similar:
- The 20 MSP only acquires MSPs that belong to The 20 MSP Group.
- The 20 MSP Group only accepts MSPs that want to be acquired by The 20 MSP.
Sentence #1 is one-hundred-percent TRUE. We’re looking to acquire MSPs from our group exclusively for a very simple reason: We know these MSPs! They use The 20’s tool stack and business model, which makes integration relatively seamless and minimally disruptive for end clients.
But, more importantly, we know the people at these MSPs. The question of cultural compatibility isn’t a question for us, because by the time any deals are inked, cultural compatibility has long been established.
Sentence #2 is, on the other hand, one-hundred-percent FALSE. In fact, when MSPs approach us about joining The 20 MSP Group, we’re not even thinking about M&A.
For one thing, we have, as previously mentioned, plenty of MSPs ready to roll up.
Secondly, when an MSP first joins The 20, we have no way of knowing if they will grow into an MSP worth acquiring.
And thirdly – and most importantly – creating acquisition targets just isn’t the point of The 20 MSP Group. It never has been and never will be!
The purpose of The 20 MSP Group is to help small and mid-sized MSPs grow, scale, and get to that next level – faster and more easily than they could on their own.
That’s it?
Yep. That’s it.
OK, but what if an MSP becomes a member of The 20 MSP Group, and, as a result, achieves remarkable growth? Once an MSP gets big, do we start applying pressure and pushing them to sell?
Let’s talk about that.
Your MSP, Your Call
MSPs that become members of The 20 MSP Group tend to find success. That’s not a boast, just a fact. Our industry-leading tool stack, battle-tested business model, and above all else, our awesome community of supportive MSP owners – these things all feed into our members’ growth.
So, what happens when an MSP joins The 20 MSP Group and grows into a large and profitable company? Do we start hassling the owner about selling?
In a word – well, two words – H*LL NO!
In fact, it’s the opposite. We let MSP owners come to us. We keep our members in the loop about our M&A activities and intentions, because we want to know that selling to us is an option – if they’re interested in going that route.
But the most important word in the above sentence is if. We’re not interested in pressuring our members to sell – nor is it worth our time. Again, we have no shortage of acquisition targets, and if an MSP wants to remain a part of The 20 MSP Group without ever selling and joining forces with The 20 MSP, that’s A-OK.
In fact, we wouldn’t want to acquire all of our members as that would mean the end of the The 20 MSP Group! We’re incredibly proud of what The 20 MSP Group has become – a genuine community of peers who actively support and help each other win.
Do we want to build a premier national MSP? Yes. Do we also want to keep growing The 20 MSP Group and providing small and mid-sized MSPs with the tools and resources they need to succeed? Yes!
In short, we want to keep both projects going, and have no interest in sacrificing one for the other.
The Bottom Line
If you become a member of The 20 MSP Group, you’ll get an awesome tool stack, powerful processes for everything from sales to service delivery, and the warmest and most supportive community in the MSP space.
What you won’t get is pressure to sell.
If you decide you want to sell your MSP, we have a proven process in place to acquire and integrate your company. But if you decide you don’t want to sell, we won’t try to change your mind. It’s your business, your call.
We hope this clears some things up and dispels any rumors that we only want members so we can buy them.
Is Your MSP Coming to VISION ’23?
Stay tuned for more M&A news from The 20, and don’t forget to register for VISION ’23, our annual event for growth-minded MSPs. You don’t have to be a member of The 20 MSP Group to attend VISION, but you do need a ticket, so click the link below to register and get ready for a conference experience like nothing else in the channel.
Secure your spot at VISION ’23!
