In our last blog, we talked about the common myth that MSPs are determined to replace your existing team, and in the first installment of this five-blog series, we also talked about the myth that MSPs are too expensive.

Now we’re turning our attention to another myth that you’ve probably heard when it comes to using an MSP: you won’t get the support you need, when you need it. This is another one that we’re here to dispel. Companies looking for IT managed services might bring this one up a lot, since it’s a common concern.

The Background

Why is this such a persistent myth? Many businesses have had an experience where a vendor or service provider just hasn’t been there in a time of need, but the managed service provider industry works differently. Success for an MSP is built on delivering exactly the right level of service exactly when clients need it.

The Truth

Managed service providers (MSPs) couldn’t survive in the long term if they weren’t providing the right level of support to their clients. In fact, the best MSPs in the industry pride themselves on offering support packages that are specifically customized to the needs of each of their clients’ businesses.

In fact, according to Datto, 89 percent of MSPs report making at least one client site visit per week. On top of that, most MSPs offer options for round-the-clock, evening/weekend and any other coverage times that their clients need most. Flexible remote and on-site support keeps your clients’ internal team from getting weighed down with requests or scrambling to address a problem that happens outside of regular business hours.

Clients can find confidence in a shared MSP SLA that defines service expectations and the consequences for failure to meet those expectations. When you treat your clients as partners and take their priorities into account while designing an agreement, companies looking for IT managed services can have greater trust that their needs will be met.

You can also bring value to the average cost of managed IT services by keeping staff updated with current certifications and skills, so clients don’t have to deal with the fallout of a potentially untrained technician causing damage to their systems. Skilled service, detailed SLAs and flexible hours are key to helping business owners develop trust in the managed service provider industry.

Looking for more benefits and some useful statistics around how to help your clients go from skeptical to sold? Download our guide to Busting MSP Myths today.

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In our last blog, we talked about the common myth that MSPs are too expensive. Now we’re addressing another common myth – the idea that by hiring you to take on their IT support, your clients will have to fire their entire internal team. As a business owner building a team they care about, this is a big concern.

Good news, though. It’s 100% not true.

MSPs Meet Your Needs

Hiring a managed services provider to take on some of their IT needs doesn’t have to turn into a battle of MSP vs internal IT. In fact, as an MSP, you could be exactly what their internal team is looking for to be able to work much smarter. So, when your clients ask, “why use managed services to supplement our internal team?” you can say…

“Glad you asked.”

Here are just a few of the ways a managed services provider can help internal IT teams thrive.

Help Desk Support: You can take on the lowest (or highest) levels of your clients’ help desk calls to free up their internal team’s time. Whether they have high-level experts who should be focused on the big issues or a relatively new help desk that’s only ready for the simpler problems, you can fill the gaps.

After-Hours Coverage: You’re there for them any time they need you, whether it’s 2 a.m. on a Wednesday or noon on Sunday. Letting you cover their after-hours needs saves your clients from maxing out their team with off-hours calls and keeps them from paying expensive overtime.

Cutting-Edge Solutions: Managed services providers are dedicated to what’s new and next in the industry, and which means you can help your clients discover new or better-fit tools and software that help them, and their internal team, do their jobs better.

Safer Systems: Your clients’ internal team would need someone 100% dedicated to security to be able to keep up with the constant onslaught of risks out there. As an MSP, you can take that on, keeping systems and software up-to-date with proactive protection, saving their team from constantly putting out security fires.

Co-Managed Success

Understanding managed services providers and the benefits they can bring to internal teams means opening up a new world for your clients’ businesses. By bringing on an MSP, they won’t be firing their internal team. Instead, they’ll be giving their teams the gift of more productivity, more efficiency and the freedom to focus on the things they do best.

You will cover any skill gaps, support your clients anytime they have needs and help their teams do better work. Basically, you’ll be helping pave the way for their business growth.

Looking for more benefits and some useful statistics around how to help your clients go from skeptical to sold? Download our guide to Busting MSP Myths today.

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Tired of hearing potential clients say that an MSP is just too far outside of their budget? It’s a common misunderstanding that MSPs are cost-prohibitive luxuries that only the biggest companies can afford. Helping your clients understand the importance of managed services for their business, along with the cost savings you can provide, will serve the dual purpose of growing your clients’ businesses and your own.

Where Does it Come From?

Why is the myth of the expensive MSP so pervasive? It can come from a lot of places. Overpriced MSPs in saturated markets can be partially to blame for the high prices in your customers’ heads, but another big part of the issue is a difference in billing models. Businesses that don’t use MSPs don’t have a consistent bill coming in. Instead, they pay only as issues arise. Most MSPs charge a monthly fee, which means convincing business owners to go from no monthly bill to a consistent outgoing charge.

Sticker Shock

So how do you talk your clients through the initial sticker shock? It’s not as hard as it sounds. You’ll just need to walk them through a true managed services cost analysis. Start by pointing out that an MSP means no more costly new hires. That means no more paying a recruiter, taking time for onboarding or paying the salary and benefits for a full-time employee. If they still aren’t convinced, remind them that an MSP can help them move from a reactive IT model to proactive support that can make all the difference in their long-term growth.

In short, it’s your job to help your clients feel good about the average cost of managed IT services and helping them weigh the benefits of MSP vs internal IT. Armed with the right information, you can lead your current and potential clients down the path to faster growth with proactive managed services.

Looking for more benefits and some useful statistics around how to help your clients go from skeptical to sold? Download our guide to Busting MSP Myths today.

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October 1 marks the start of Q4, and now is the time for sales and marketing professionals to start getting their budget proposals ready for 2020. For channel account managers (CAMs), this is the best time of year to ensure they get the budget they need to make the sales team happy.

If you’re a CAM, don’t set yourself up for failure by not fighting for the budget you need. The last thing you want are fingers of the sales team pointing at you when the boss asks why they were unable to hit their sales goals by the end of next year.

So, with that in mind, here are some things to keep in mind so you can make 2020 the year of the channel marketing team by maximizing your budget.

Figure Out How Many Leads You Need

First things first, before submitting your proposal, you have to know how much money you’ll need to spend from your business or marketing development funds. The first step is to conduct an analysis to find out how many leads you need. This will help you figure out how many resellers you need to reach your goals. Based on your close ratio, how many meetings do you need to schedule to ensure you hit your mark?

Once you figure out that number, that’ll give you a starting point on how much BDF/MDF you need to set the sales team up for success.

Be Open–Minded to Third-Party Resources

One way to get the most out of your marketing budget is to utilize third-party resources. These outsourced marketing firms have the scalability, resiliency, redundancy and performance that your internal team does not.

Vendors are now starting to hire third-party businesses to take care of duties such as appointment setting. Turnover on an internal BDR team can hold a company back from consistently closing sales, but third-party firms are used to the turnover and have systems in place so they can continue meeting your lead-gen needs. Consider contacting a third-party firm to get a business proposal you can include in your budget next year and make your money go farther.

Don’t Let Your Budget Go to Waste

When submitting your proposal, remember, it doesn’t matter how much money you have at your disposal if you don’t use it all. The IT channel leaves $25 billion of MDF on the table each year, according to Channel Futures. Often, providers are overwhelmed with the vast amount of options they have on how to spend funds and end up avoiding sales and marketing in favor of other resources.

Promise yourself that you’re not going to let BDF/MDF money go to waste. One way to do that is to use third-party providers to help guide you on how to best spend your funds. Your third-party marketing firm can help advise you on which projects to spend funds to increase your ROI.

If you’re a CAM who needs assistance budgeting for 2020, let Marketopia guide you through the process. Our team of IT marketing specialists can help you plan the right projects to get the most bang for your buck. That way, you can provide the sales team with the leads they need, so you become the hero for your sales team. Contact us today to get started.

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Q4 is upon us and 2020 will be here before you know it. This is a good time for managed service providers to look back at what’s changed in the industry this year. Understanding these changes, trends, victories and pain points can help companies better plan for the future so they can avoid obstacles and not get left in the dust.

With that in mind, here’s what we learned about the MSP Industry in 2019:

The Future is in the Cloud

Businesses are going in one direction — and that’s up to the cloud. According to research by IDC, nearly 80 percent of companies are already using cloud technologies or plan to deploy a cloud solution within the next year. Only 8 percent of businesses say they have no intention of using the cloud to run their business, which is down from nearly 20 percent in 2014. Overall, cloud spending is expected to triple in 2020 to $500 billion.

According to a CompTIA survey, 54 percent of MSPs view cloud-based managed services as a strategic part of their services catalog, and 44 percent support the cloud because their customers request it. That means only 3 percent of MSPs don’t support the cloud. So, if you’re in that 3 percent, it’s time to rethink your position; otherwise, you’ll be left behind.

What’s Keeping MSPs Up at Night?

While many MSPs are going all-in with the cloud, many companies are still losing sleep over it. Making money in the cloud was the biggest issue keeping 62 percent of CompTIA survey respondents up at night. The second most popular reason was customer demand, aka marketing at 57 percent.

That makes sense because most MSPs and VARs struggle to find new customers. They might not be naturally adept at marketing, generating demand and setting appointments. That’s why 62 percent of MSP CompTIA survey respondents say increasing the volume of net-new customers is their top priority.

How Marketopia Can Help

If you’re struggling to adapt to the changing MSP landscape, it’s time to do something about it. Marketopia has roots in this channel and has a team of experts that can help increase customer demand for your services. Contact us today to get started.

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