Fear.
It's a surprisingly strong driver of your prospects.
Put more precisely, they are more driven by the avoidance of pain, than they are by the opportunity to gain.
You have to bear this in mind every single time you chat to a potential client, whether that be over email, the phone or face to face.
They have fears. Yet their specific fears are very different depending on the context of their situation.
If they are a business owner: They fear making a mistake. Not because it costs them money. But because they won't move forward (and may even move backwards).
If they are an employee, such as a manager: They fear looking stupid in the eyes of their boss. And the penalties that come from that.
If they are an internal IT manager: They fear that you will uncover that they are incompetent. And then the standard employee fears kick in.
Whenever you're pitching your MSP, can you see how you need to alter your message according to the audience you're talking to?
It becomes even more complicated when you factor in whether someone is the Decision Maker, or the Influencer.
An internal IT manager might not be the Decision Maker, but you can sure as hell bet they will block your company getting the contract if you haven't addressed their fears.
In any sales conversation, ask lots of open questions Until you can confidently answer these three questions in your head
What does this person need?
What does this person want?
What does this person fear?
Needs are almost irrelevant. They are decisions made by the brain. And almost universally, the only uneducated prospects who pick an MSP with their brain are the ones who choose on price alone. Aka the wrong kind of clients.
Wants are decisions made by the heart. This is why your marketing must talk directly to their emotions. You paint a picture of safety, of partnership, and of a path well trodden by hundreds of other clients.
Fears have to be addressed directly as part of this process. Otherwise, the fears will block the heart from making the buying decision.
In fact, you know when someone throws up an objection? That's them verbally expressing their fears.
I've always said that objections from prospects are to be welcomed. Most of the time, it's a chance to allay the fears they are trying hard to avoid.
Just make sure you answer those objections at an emotional level. Never forget, the brain is only the Influencer. The heart is the Decision Maker.
