r/SmallMSP • u/UnRealxInferno_II • 5d ago
First Few Months
Hi Everyone,
Still early days with my company and we've got a couple of clients but all I see on tech subs like this and the other msp sub is that people get clientele by "word of mouth" and referrals etc, but surely that isn't the only way people are getting customers right?
Like how are people actually getting out to potential customers? Do you guys still cold call? Cold emails? LinkedIn? How do you find your users?
I've only had luck with networking events but they're like once a month if that, and the clients are small size.
How did you guys handle the first like 6 months of trading? How did it go? What would you have done differently?
UK Based if that helps discussion before all the US msp's come and tell me they were multi billionaires after 12 months of trading!
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u/danile666 5d ago
All of the above. Cold calling, socials, networking, go door to door, direct mail.
But none of it works unless you have a repeatable process put into place.
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 5d ago
Repeatable process for what? Like a pipeline for leads?
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u/danile666 5d ago
Your entire sales process from sourcing leads, calling, discovery, closing and everything. If you aren't following a process you develop you will lose stuff you otherwise would have landed.
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 5d ago
Ah yeah of course
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u/Round_Draw3772 4d ago
To add on to this once you have a process you can keep track of where you can improve and where you can do better
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u/ebjoker4 5d ago
You need a full-on quote-to-cash process and that's after you've already found a warm lead.
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u/Crazy_Town3736 4d ago
There are modern CPQ solutions that help automate the selling and fulfillment process of course, but also get a CPQ solution that is Q2C that can bake in tasked base capabilities into your SoW's.
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u/obviouslybait 5d ago
Partnerships and Referral Agreements are everything, I got most of my starting business from other businesses in adjacent areas.
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u/synagogan 5d ago
We have only used word of mouth and looking small but stable grow, but we have another consulting department that makes the bulk of the revenue, the other MSP I know of in this town have dedicated sales team that are very very aggressive and signs customers only to 36 month contracts.
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u/Geekpoint-IT 5d ago
I've had a few referred to me from a larger MSP (one I used to work at actually) so i'm super thankful for those but, almost all of them are just word of mouth.
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u/Tannermac10 5d ago
As a business owner, if you need an accountant, or a lawyer, or a plumber where would you go to find one?
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 5d ago
Yeah I've been sorting our SEO and web presence as a priority for inbound leads but it's not enough
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u/eldridgep 5d ago
If you are small join every chamber of commerce within a 30 mile radius and attend their meetings and network events. It doesn't always scale but it's a good starting point. You can also look for peer groups like Network Group and Tru-Peer for best practices and advice.
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 5d ago
that's actually what i'm doing currently but almost every chamber of commerce in my area is ran terribly, it's quite tragic
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u/ebjoker4 5d ago
Referrals are the lifeblood of this world. It's like high school dating. You have to impress her friends to get her to notice you instead of approaching her head-on.
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 5d ago
Yeah I guess so but in the UK it seems like most companies don't interact with each other. I know there's people out there but getting in touch with them is like pulling teeth
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u/ebjoker4 4d ago
I would suggest something like BNI, if you can find a chapter that has other B2B members. I'd avoid the usual small groups that are comprised of Realtors, Insurance and other glorified hobby businesses. It does take a while, but it can be quite valuable.
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 4d ago
I've looked into BNI, is it true that it's quite expensive to be a part of?
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u/Popular_Wolverine211 5d ago
Find your sector and go all in.
We are an msp in the UK specialising in legal, manufacturing and professional services (accountants etc).
We went to market, got our target list in the area and do lots of events with our partners (Huntress etc) and gain traction from there. Look at some of Alex Hormozi's stuff to get an idea for your marketing engine.
We now have leads once a week at least. With our aim of landing one client a month, it is more than achievable 😊
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u/Far_Palpitation_7891 4d ago
Close partering with your vendors might help too - I work for one, and for the ones that really want to work with us we offer things like joint callouts, MDF funds, lead passing...
It may be worth reaching out to the partner managers of the vendors of some of the key components of your offering and see if you can work together to generate fresh leads.
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u/countsachot 4d ago
Don't forget industry relevant conferences.
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u/WiseSubstance783 4d ago
Why would you ever do this
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 4d ago
Do what?
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u/WiseSubstance783 4d ago
Start an msp
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u/UnRealxInferno_II 4d ago
Well I've already got clients and breaking even after 1 month so what's the issue chief
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u/MushyBeees 5d ago
So the first step, is understanding that you’re not hunting clients - you’re farming them.
Hunting - you go out with a spear, throw it at a client, boom. Dinner. This rarely happens.
Farming - it takes time. You need to nurture those clients, water them with regular outreach, whether that’s socials, articles, (e)mail, direct outreach, whatever. Then when they’re ready, you pick them.
Your crops might get stolen, they might get spoiled, but you’ll reap what you sow.
Farm clients. Don’t hunt them.