Is Your MSP Business Growing?

How Many New Logos Did You Pick Up in 2015?

That was the question I started with in last nights Check Point/Tech Data event just outside of Boston. From the hand raises it looked like many groups I’ve spoken to in recent months.

Everyone has an MSP offering – meaning there are thousands of resellers offering basically the same thing…and most don’t see big growth. 2016 will probably show a decline in sales – and if you’re hoping to sell more product, forget it. The cloud really is hear to stay. Of course everything seems to go in cycles, so maybe we’ll move back to mainframes next, and then a new type of Token Ring network.

If you’re in sales, you know the technology is not all that important. Conversion is what matters. Do you have something people are interested in, need, and are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on? Last night I shared pieces of a presentation I use to convert small business audiences through lunch & learns. The point of the message is this: Everyone needs more security. This will become even more critical over the next 12 months as many companies adopt more apps, more cloud, and more BYOD.

The problem is, small business owners are limited on budget. If you ask them, they don’t need more security. In fact, they don’t need more of anything…well, what they really need more of is retained earnings and working capital. Better workers would be a plus.

But the truth is, they really do need more security. They just can’t see it. If you had a way to attract them into an educational session, with a message that clearly explained the need…and brought them to a point of wanting to know where they really sit (Assessment), would new business result? It would.

The core message I presented last night comes from my book, The House & The Cloud.It points out the one BIG mistake just about all companies have made. Their security centers around firewalls and passwords. There is no detection, and there is no response. And that means, once a breach occurs, they won’t know it for at least 14 months (According to the FBI – and it could be a lot longer.) Next step – enter the Assessment.

Our meeting ended with Tech Data and Check Point offering qualified resellers a seat in the SVLC Security Sales Mastery Program…the only training program I know of specifically designed for resellers, to teach them how to sell more security to business leaders.

P.S. Looking forward to presenting this later today in NYC. – Sponsored by Ingram Micro.

ingram