Golden Rules for MSP Excellence: Do What They Don’t
In honor of this year’s VISION theme – Achieving the Gold Standard as an MSP – we’re publishing a special 4-part blog series: Golden Rules for MSP Excellence. You can find the first installment here. In this second article, we’re introducing a new rule – a rule that separates the wheat from the chaff, the great from the good…
Enjoy the article – and check out the VISION ’24 agenda, now live!
We work with a lot of managed service providers (MSPs) here at The 20 – a lot. This gives us a window into certain patterns – a bird’s-eye view of what separates the so-so MSPs from the really good MSPs, and the really good MSPs from the great MSPs.
The purpose of this article is to give MSP owners a clearer idea of what it takes to make it in this industry. And by ‘make it’ we mean thrive, not survive. We figure most MSP owners founded their companies with high hopes – you don’t set out on your own entrepreneurial path to build something ‘not bad’ or ‘pretty good.’ You start an MSP because you want to create something special and leave a lasting legacy.
So let’s talk about what that really requires. What do you absolutely have to do if you want to grow an elite MSP business?
Golden Rule #2 – Do What They Don’t
It’s nice to think that everyone can be great. But reality begs to differ. Mountains narrow toward their peak, and there’s only so much room at the top.
So, if you want to build a really successful company – an elite MSP in the top quartile of our industry – you have to do what others don’t do, won’t do, can’t do…
That might sound like a tired sports cliché, but remember, clichés become cliches for a reason – they’re typically true! That’s definitely the case here; we’ve worked with hundreds of MSPs over the years, and we’ve observed some consistent trends. In what follows, we’re revealing three things ultra-successful MSPs do that other MSPs simply don’t do.
Is your MSP willing to do these things to get ahead?
They Do What’s Boring
Here’s a simple but profound truth every entrepreneur – and really anyone pursuing dominance in their chosen field – should never lose sight of:
The ‘best in the biz,’ regardless of industry, aren’t necessarily on top because they’ve worked harder than everyone else; they’re there because they did the boring stuff.
Not once, not twice, but again and again and again and again. James Clear, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits, hit the nail on the head when he wrote:
Somehow, top performers in any craft figure out a way to fall in love with boredom, put in their reps, and do the work.”
This is as true about MSP owners as anyone else – and in fact, it might even be more true for MSP owners! There are countless aspects of running an MSP business that aren’t exactly glamorous: keeping impeccable financial records, updating documentation on a regular (and scheduled) basis, performing compliance checks – to name a few of the less sexy tasks that keep an MSP running smoothly.
So, what’s the takeaway here – that if you want to grow your MSP, you’d better brace yourself for some serious boredom?
Not exactly, for two reasons. One, at a certain point in every MSP’s growth journey, delegating or outsourcing areas of business becomes a must. It doesn’t have to be you doing the boring stuff, as long as you’ve got someone on the job you can trust and rely on.
More importantly – and this ties back to the James Clear quote – most really successful MSP owners don’t find the boring stuff, well, boring. In fact, many love it. They love process. They love fine-tuning. They love tracking metrics. They love finding ways to become more efficient.
Are you willing to fall in love with boredom – or find enough ‘process freaks’ to join your team and make sure your MSP is crossing its T’s and dotting its I’s?
They Do What’s Uncomfortable
It’s true – if you want to grow, you need to accept that growing pains are a thing. Now, we want to be careful here not to perpetuate a harmful and counterproductive stereotype: that building a large and profitable MSP is supposed to drive you into the ground and leave you with just a few scraps of sanity.
In fact, our primary goal here at The 20 isn’t just helping MSPs grow and scale; it’s helping them to do so without undue stress and difficulty. We also know that as MSPs get larger and more operationally mature, things actually get easier. In our experience, the MSPs in the bottom half of our industry work harder on average than those at the top. Cruel irony – or the power of scalability in action?
With all that said, there’s no way to bypass discomfort entirely on your way to the top. If you’re looking to take your MSP to the next level, here are a few trips outside the ‘comfort zone’ you’ll likely have to make:
The No Trip
Part of growing a profitable MSP is learning to say no. Whether it’s to an outlandish client request or to taking on (or retaining) a problematic client, strategic denials are a cornerstone of healthy business growth. If something is, on balance, detrimental to the health of your company, remember, it’s OK to just say no.
The Self-Promotion Trip
Self-promotion – yuck, right? Wrong! It might not come naturally, but promoting yourself and your MSP is a powerful tool for unlocking new growth.
Thinking about dabbling in video to build your brand on social media? Go for it! You don’t have to put out a perfectly edited and polished product, either. Even humble videos will attract attention, build brand recognition, and foster trust among clients and potential clients. This is hardly surprising, when video accounts for more than eighty percent of all internet traffic!
Will putting yourself out there be scary? For the introverts (of which there are many in the MSP space), it almost certainly will be. But embrace the feeling of discomfort – it’s a sign you’re on the right track!
The ‘Loosen Your Reins’ Trip
A lot of the MSP owners who approach us looking for help with growth share a common problem: they are their businesses.
What does that mean? It means their MSPs run only by virtue of these hardworking folks’ direct, continual, and at times herculean efforts. They oversee everything, do everything, are everything – engineer, technician, sales, even janitor! This all-encompassing involvement often leads to burnout and hinders growth, as they become the bottleneck for every decision and task within the company.
This approach simply isn’t sustainable in the long run. To truly grow and scale their business, they need to transition from being the doer of all things to being the leader and strategist. Delegating tasks, building a reliable team, and implementing efficient processes are essential steps towards creating a thriving MSP.
They Do What’s Uncertain
Try new things! Try new things! Try new things! We said it three times because it really is that important. You want to create repeatable, scalable processes for everything in your business. Most MSPs owners accept this (fewer act on it). However, it’s the why that loses a lot of folks. So listen closely to what we’re about to share…
You don’t create repeatable, scalable processes so you can rest on your laurels and go through the motions. You do it because you want to build a foundation that allows you to innovate, grow, and adapt. By having reliable systems in place, you free up time and mental energy to explore new opportunities, tackle bigger challenges, and focus on strategic initiatives.
So by all means standardize where you can, implement processes where you can – but never stop looking for areas of your business to improve and evolve. And remember, oftentimes the big breakthroughs come on the heels of risk and uncertainty. If you want to grow, you have to embrace uncertainty.
Rub Shoulders – A Final Thought
We’ve considered three things the best and successful MSPs do that others don’t: they do what’s boring, they do what’s uncomfortable, and they do what’s uncertain.
Striking a balance between these activities is tough. For instance, there’s no foolproof system for optimally dividing your time and attention between ‘the boring’ and ‘the uncomfortable.’ Allocating your time wisely is one of those things you get better at through experience – and also, by plugging into a broader community of MSP owners. Here at The 20, the business-savvy habits and tactics of our larger, more experienced members provide an example for newer members to follow.
You can study elite MSPs from afar and learn as much as you can from them. But there’s just no substitute for getting directly involved in a peer group, and talking shop with other MSP owners who share your goals and struggles.
Want to check out our wonderful group? Take a look…
It’s VISION Time!
If you enjoyed this piece, look out for the next installment in our 4-part blog series, Golden Rules for MSP Excellence. And don’t forget to register for VISION ’24, taking place later this month (Aug 27-30) in sunny Dallas, TX.
The MSPs you’ll encounter at VISION are some of the most motivated, process-driven, and business-savvy companies in the game. Want to know what it takes to make it in this competitive industry? Come hang out with the best of the best at VISION ’24!