Why Features Alone Don’t Win You the Channel
Most MSPs don’t care how technical your product is; they care about if it will help them grow. If you’re a tech creator trying to build a strong partner network, that’s the mindset shift you need to make. Features are fine, but growth is what gets a partner’s attention. That’s what earns loyalty.
That’s where growth technology partners stand out. Instead of leading with spec sheets, they show MSPs how to win new clients, increase average deal size, and shorten the sales process. They give their partners something they can actually use: sales-ready tools, positioning, and messaging that lands with business decision makers. If you’re not doing that yet, your partners are going to go with someone who does.
In this article, we look at how you can become more of an ally for your managed services partners instead of just another provider who doesn’t understand the MSP sales process.
What MSPs Really Want From Their Vendors
If you’re still sending over technical PDFs to your MSP business partners and calling it enablement, you’re missing out on what matters. The MSPs you’re trying to recruit or activate are focused on three things:
- Can I sell this?
- Will it help me grow my business?
- Are you going to support me or compete with me?
Here’s what they actually need from you.
A Value Prop That Helps Them Close
If a partner can’t explain what your product does for their clients in 15 seconds, it’s not going to sell. Skip the jargon. Give them something simple and clear that ties to revenue, retention or operations.
Instead of: “Our tool uses machine learning for endpoint threat mitigation.”
Give them: “This keeps your clients protected without creating extra tickets. You’ll reduce downtime and boost margins on security services.”
This is how you make your product fit within an MSP’s services, not compete with them.
Messaging That Works for Different Roles
MSPs don’t just talk to other IT people. They’re in front of small business owners, CFOs, COOs and even HR. Every one of those roles cares about different things, so give your partners messaging they can tailor for each audience.
- For CFOs: “Here’s how this improves cash flow and reduces tech debt.”
- For CEOs: “This helps you scale without adding headcount.”
- For IT leads: “It simplifies management and increases system uptime.”
Partners need to know how to speak to key decision makers. If you don’t help them do that, you’re forcing them to figure it out on their own, and many won’t bother.
When Product-Led Messaging Kills the Deal
Here’s what happens when you lead with features and forget the growth story:
Scenario 1:
You send a spec sheet about AI-powered automation. The partner’s client says: “I don’t know what that means.” The deal stalls.
Scenario 2:
Your partner tries to pitch your product but doesn’t know how it fits into their MSP sales funnel. They end up falling back on their usual offerings. The opportunity is lost.
Scenario 3:
You talk about integrations and features. The partner says: “I don’t even know who I’d pitch this to.” They don’t bother.
Now compare that with a vendor who sends ready-to-use sales scripts, persona-based messaging, and onboarding tools that show exactly where this fits in the MSP’s stack. That’s the difference between a vendor and a trusted partner.
Equip Partners to Sell Without Being Sales Experts
Most MSPs don’t have big sales teams. Often, it’s the owner, a service manager, or a technician-turned-salesperson handling the process, so if your product takes a polished pitch and ten follow-up calls to sell, it’s not going to move.
What works better?
- Simple talking points
- Email templates for cold outreach
- One-pagers they can send to potential customers
- Questions to help them evaluate prospects based on budget and need
- Quick tools to qualify leads and move them forward
If it takes a 30-minute training video to explain your value, you’ve already lost their attention.
What to Give Partners at Every Stage of the Sales Funnel
Being a growth technology partner means helping your MSPs from the first conversation to the closed deal…and after.
Early stage:
- Persona-specific messaging
- Email intro copy
- Pitch lines that sound natural in a discovery call
Mid stage:
- ROI calculators
- Objection-handling cheat sheets
- Vertical use case summaries
Close and beyond:
- Proposal templates
- Competitive battlecards
- Co-branded decks or one-pagers
- Training to help with renewals and upsells
This is how you stay part of their sales strategy, not just their vendor list. Check out our Marketplace to easily source materials for your partners to use.
Handle Objections Before They Get Asked
Even good partners will push back if they’re not confident. Equip them with answers that work.
- Objection: “It’s too technical for my clients.”
- Response: “Here’s how to pitch the outcome, not the features.”
- Objection: “My clients already use something similar.”
- Response: “Here’s how to show the added value or new revenue stream.”
- Objection: “I don’t have time to learn this.”
- Response: “Here’s a one-pager and a checklist that gets you started in under 30 minutes.”
Make it easier to say yes, and they will.
Support Shouldn’t Stop at Onboarding
Being a true partner means sticking around after the first sale. MSPs want ongoing support, regular check-ins, updated assets, and ideas they can actually use. That could include:
- Monthly messaging refreshers based on market trends
- Training on new features with ready-to-use decks
- Help building out a structured approach to selling new services
- Real-world use cases showing how this grows average deal size
- Access to campaigns that generate high quality leads in specific geographies (like San Francisco, healthcare, etc.)
This kind of support builds client relationships, improves lead quality, and helps your partners see you as a growth enabler, not a product pusher.
Marketopia Helps Tech Creators Drive Partner Growth
At Marketopia, we help tech creators become real growth allies with their partners. We work with vendors to:
- Create partner messaging that speaks to target audiences
- Build sales playbooks aligned with the MSP sales process
- Launch campaigns that generate quality appointments
- Improve conversion rates with better follow-up and sales tools
- Turn channel programs into strategic processes that deliver results
We’ve supported hundreds of vendors in building partner programs that scale because we’ve been on both sides of the table.
Explore Channel Growth-as-a-Service
Assess Your Program With Our Vendor Growth Assessment
Final Thoughts
The fastest-growing MSPs are working with vendors who help them sell. That means helping with messaging, sales resources, market alignment, and actual lead generation, not just access to your product.
If you want your partners to sell more of your solutions, make it easier for them to succeed. Talk about outcomes, build real tools, and stay involved after the sale. That’s what growth technology partners do, and if you’re ready to do that consistently, we’re here to help. Contact us to build a channel program that drives real results.
