It's not as nuts as it sounds. The most successful MSP owners dedicate a large proportion of their time to marketing. Here's why
Most MSPs have a very common origin story.
It often begins when the owner quits an unsatisfying job to start their own business. This is normally about gaining control - over the quality of the work they're doing, what they do with their time, and of course over their personal income.
Was that why you started your business?
Maybe in the first few years you got too busy to do it all yourself so you took on staff, and watched in horror as a) the quality of the work dropped a little, and b) you realised buying 40 hours of someone else's time doesn't really free up 40 hours of your time 🙄
You kept pushing the business forward, trying to run it at the highest possible quality while growing it at the same time. And of course always tired from working too much and the odd sleepless night (mostly over cashflow, right?).
This is the rollercoaster nature of being a business owner in your first few years!
And always there, lurking in the background, is a massive problem... that of 'how to get new clients'. This is the biggest headache for most MSPs.
In the early years you overcame that problem through the sheer force of the energy, time and passion you put into the business. That activity and momentum opened doors and uncovered low hanging fruit through word of mouth and referrals.
But as the business started to mature and you returned to a more balanced lifestyle, the leads seemed to dry up.
Today you haven't got a clue where the next client will come from. Is that where you are today?
(by the way, this is the classic tale we hear from new members joining the MSP Marketing Edge. It's why we designed an easy and simple marketing system to help you with this exact problem).
If you're at this stage, the answer is to start taking marketing WAY more seriously. Starting with the amount of time you put into it.
I believe you have to transform yourself again...
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Once you successfully transformed from being an employee to being your own boss
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Then you successfully transformed from being the MSP's primary technician to being the owner
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Now you need to transform from being the owner of an MSP into being the marketer of an MSP
This might mean working towards spending the bulk of your working time on the marketing of your business. Generating new leads, turning them into prospects, qualifying them into opportunities, setting up sales conversations, and closing the deal.
I know this isn't why you got into business. Back then you just wanted to help people and have fun with computers, right?
But that was then. This is now. Things have changed. Now you want to grow your business... take more money home... pay your staff more... invest in better tools... better protect your clients... spend more time with your family.
All these things need more clients buying more Monthly Recurring Revenue services. And the only way to get more these clients is to spend more time on marketing.
UNDERSTAND THIS: The MSP owners who spend a greater proportion of their time marketing their business will always end up with a dominant share of their marketplace. Because that constant focus on marketing turns you into a massive and unstoppable client magnet.
Do you agree?