So let me justify this statement, and I do understand why this needs justifying, and that it may not be a popular read, but I caution; one of the best pieces of advice I received in my business career was this; “Always Listen To The Person Delivering The Bad News Because It Is The Most Important News Of All!”
So let’s begin by looking at how the market, in general, has evolved for MSP’s and VAR’s. The most prevalent and common business story and growth model for MSP’s and VAR’s over the last 10 to 20 years appears to be something along these lines, as it was for us.
You set up your own MSP or VAR because you had customers who you could take with you from your last position and continue to service, which gave you immediate income sources. You have then grown over this time due to 3 major factors; Organic Growth from your existing customer base, referrals which came your way, (mainly because other potential customers were unhappy with their existing IT arrangements), and growth from a desire and need from business to embrace all things IT and infrastructure, what we affectionately call “The First Purchase Market.”
But now the industry is hitting the buffers and this growth model has slowed to a snail’s pace at best/disappeared at worst. So why has this happened? Well the main contributors are the combination of improving network reliability, the culling process eliminating the “Cowboy” IT providers and the worst thing of all, for any market, customer apathy towards what we have for sale.
And for those of you in any doubt of how big a hurdle all this represents, let me put you into the mind-set of your average target customer. They are a busy owner/senior director just like you, and like you, every day they come into work to face the challenges that running a business entails and they will of course, just like every other established business, have an existing IT system and service provision!
Now this is an important point that goes right to the heart of the challenges you face when targeting new businesses in order to obtain their business. If the immediate new supply market has now been fulfilled, (and it has), your business model now is in effect; “Overcoming apathy to change and the removal of existing suppliers of IT infrastructure and servicing provision!”
Now this is not an uncommon challenge in other markets, in fact all the B2B sales channels involve this process; your journey to new business involves approaching your target markets via the decision makers and convincing them that they should change their current IT provider over to you, a business that they don’t know! And to clarify how skilled a process that can be, remember this; the person you are approaching may not be entirely satisfied with their current IT supplier, in the same way as you and I are probably not that happy with our bank.
And I am not happy with my bank, I have been with them for over 20 years and probably should have changed banks every year during that time, so why don’t I? The answer, apathy! I just can’t be bothered because my perception is that it will be a lot of hassle to end up exactly where I am already, only at another bank, and this is the mind-set of everyone you are likely to approach, in regard to their IT arrangements!
And overcoming all this is a highly skilled process and the professionals with the ability to overcome all these hurdles are very scarce, thus my statement that your immediate skills requirement is very likely to be for new business development professionals.
For sure the ability to deliver complex IT infrastructure is of paramount importance, but without selling new IT systems and infrastructure in the first place, you have nothing to deliver, and the industry is now, in general, capable of delivering what will be required over the next 5 – 10 years; because in past you have always worried, quite understandably, about your ability to deliver and support complex IT systems and infrastructure, to the point that you lay awake at night wondering how you would deliver on the IT contracts you were signing.
So quite rightly you chased the professionals with the technical skills required to be able to deliver and support the systems you were selling, and these people are, of course, still vital to your business. But here’s the catch; every MSP and VAR we are working with, probably just like your business, has enough technical resource now, in fact they are probably over supplied, because the rate at which their business is selling and delivering new systems has ground to halt.
Thus my point that the immediate skills shortage within your business is likely to have changed, from technical resource to new business development resource. It will be no coincidence that the salaries being paid to genuinely capable and proven new business development professionals are the fastest growing in the sector; because without an effective strategy to build and deliver the new business development campaigns required for growth, many MSP’s and VAR’s will effectively be treading water at best/going under at worst.
So just where are these professionals? Well they are a rare breed, possessing a very different skills-set to the account managers your already employ, who again are vital in growing existing accounts, but this can only get you so far! As discussed in my post, MSP’s and VAR’s; Account Management Is One Thing, New sales Success Is Another, [insert the following link behind this text; http://it-business-growth-strategies.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/msps-and-vars-account-management-is-one.html ] the ability to target new customers and obtain their business is a very different skill to account management, and in all likelihood these professionals are already employed and handsomely rewarded for their skill sets, because right now they are the “King Makers”.
But all is not lost because luckily help is available to the owners of MSP’s and VAR’s looking for the answers to the challenges that growing sales pipelines and delivering sustained growth present. My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses, including growing an MSP from £900k to £3.5 Million turnover during the last recession, and as such, can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience that is IT sector specific, straight to your door.
Working on a flexible basis around the needs of your business and supplying the skills and expertise required in order to succeed on your behalf, we have already constructed and delivered highly targeted sales, marketing and business development campaigns for MSP’s and VAR’s, building bespoke product offerings including public Wi-Fi services, secure cloud based hosted desktops and traditional IT infrastructure services, for companies looking to expand into the Pharmaceuticals, Law, Independent Schools, Recruitment, Accountancy and Financial sectors, to name just a few.
In many cases we build and run the campaigns from the ground floor up, operating as outsourced sales and business development resource partners, or alternatively just build the highly targeted and effective marketing campaigns required to feed your sales operation and to drive growth to your business.
We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!
If this post has resonated with you and you would like to explore how we can help you achieve your growth aspirations, then please do not hesitate to contact myself or my colleague Jane Gatfield on 0118 947 1010, or email us at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk or janeg@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk
For more information about our services please visit www.virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk To read more posts covering all aspects of sales, marketing and business development for MSP’s and VAR’s, please visit our blog; to http://it-business-growth-strategies.blogspot.co.uk/
DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER
This post forms a small portion of a white paper I have written covering The Art of The Approach, a specific sales based white paper written for the IT Sector. To request a copy please email me directly at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk
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