Golden Rules for MSP Excellence: Keep It Real!
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. Before you read another word, grab your ticket to the big show – just a few open spots remain! View the full VISION ’24 Agenda here.
Now, without further ado, introducing our third golden rule. As you’re about to discover, it’s the REAL DEAL…
Is your MSP for real?
What do we mean by that? On one level, we’re talking about whether your MSP business is a serious business – and whether you see it as such.
But we explored this idea in the first installment of this 4-part series – It’s Business Time. Now we want to look at another way an MSP can ‘keep it real.’ It has to do with honesty, transparency, accountability, and authenticity.
Does your MSP keep it real? Keep reading to find out!
Golden Rule #3 – Keep It Real
Elite MSPs don’t typically lie and cheat their way to the top. That’s because being an MSP is about forming enduring relationships with clients. It’s about treating people well. Integrity is at the heart of what we do: service.
But simply not being dishonest isn’t enough to help your MSP stand out. It’s the bare minimum. If you want to be a leading MSP – an elite MSP – you have to do more than abstain from lying; you have to lean into truth and transparency, authenticity and accountability – and lean hard. Here are some specific ways to achieve this…
Real Talk – Skip the Technobabble
Don’t do it. What’s that? You’re not? Think again.
We work a lot of MSPs here at The 20, and we see this all the time. MSPs believe they’re communicating clearly with clients and prospects, using jargon only when necessary. But then we show them what ‘plain English’ really looks like, and it’s like the scales fall from their eyes.
So however much you’re toning down the geekspeak, double your efforts and you might achieve the type of clarity the best MSPs have mastered.
This advice is most directly relevant to your sales and marketing efforts, but the ‘power of plain English’ should pervade every part of your business. So, next time you’re in a sales meeting and you find yourself about to say, “Our proactive and expert team uses advanced, real-time analytics to optimize throughput and ensure minimal latency,” take a beat and find simpler words:
“We have really smart people keeping an eye on your network at all times to make sure it runs fast and smooth. Some providers fix things after they break; we keep things from breaking in the first place so you don’t waste time reaching out and waiting on a fix.”
Notice the second one is a little longer, and that’s because it includes the benefit, and not just the feature. Remember, benefits > features. Tell clients why what you’ll do is a good thing. Explain how it makes their life easier, more fun, better. If you commit to focusing on concrete benefits, ditching the technobabble becomes only natural.
Real Costs – Be Transparent About Pricing
This one is straightforward. Be totally, unwaveringly, and wholeheartedly transparent about your pricing. If your pricing model isn’t truly flat-rate, don’t say it is. If you charge for labor, let clients and prospects know. If there are hidden fees, drag them out into the light.
Transparency builds trust, and when you have trust, everything else gets 100x easier (not an actual stat).
Real Words – Mean What You Say
Mean what you say and say what you mean. This applies to pricing, as we just discussed, but it’s a good policy for every aspect of your MSP business. It’s OK to portray your company in a favorable light, but don’t call your one SDR an “elite sales team” or your basic services package “premium.”
Again, it all comes down to trust. We know you want to impress your clients and prospects with attention-grabbing statements and lofty promises. But you know what will really get their attention? Talking to them as human beings, with honesty, respect, and not an ounce of bulls**t.
Real Reviews – Conduct QBRs
Conducting quarterly business reviews (QBRs) is key for MSPs focused on accountability and authenticity. These reviews give you a chance to evaluate your performance against SLAs and metrics, allowing you to honestly address both successes and areas where SLAs were not met.
Not sure how to approach QBRs? Check out this helpful overview from Zomentum.
But here’s something you should definitely include in a QBR…
Real Recommendations – Tell Your Clients What They Need
This one is huge – no, GIGANTIC. MSPs are supposed to be proactive. That doesn’t just mean we ought to do everything we can to prevent IT problems for our clients; it also means we should actively guide our clients toward improvements that drive their success.
If you need to be firm about something, be firm. If your client is lacking in some crucial piece of IT infrastructure or missing a solution that’s really a no-brainer, be respectful, but don’t beat around the bush. Ultimately, being a good MSP is about telling your clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Of course, this is infinitely easier (again, not a real stat) if you’ve previously established trust.
Final Thought – Get Off Your Island!
We’re going to follow our own advice and tell it like it is:
Growing a large and profitable MSP ‘on an island’ was difficult ten years ago; now it’s virtually impossible.
If you want to succeed in this industry, stop going it alone. It won’t work, or it will until it won’t – until you burn out, run into problems with scalability, etc. The MSPs that attend VISION ’24 later this month are some of the best in the channel, and the reason is simple: they know they don’t know everything, and habitually reach out for wisdom and guidance.
If you want to be king, by all means continue to control every aspect of your MSP. But if you want to be rich – get off that island and plug into the broader MSP community!
Thanks for reading – and don’t forget to register for VISION ’24, your MSP’s path to the gold standard.