Episode 240: MSPs: How to reach hot prospects other MSPs can't

Paul Green's MSP Marketing Podcast

The podcast powered by the MSP Marketing Edge

Welcome to this week’s episode of the MSP Marketing Podcast with me, Paul Green. This is THE show if you want to grow your MSP.

In this episode I suggest that instead of cold calling, you could approach hot prospects by offering to interview them, creating an easier, more engaging conversation that can lead to valuable business opportunities. (jump to)

I also explain how identifying website visitors allows you to target marketing efforts more effectively and maximise every lead’s potential. (jump to)

My guest this week, Kyle Mealy, helped an MSP achieve a 500% increase in sales efficiency with significantly reduced expenses by focusing on streamlined systems, customer-centric messaging, and optimised resource allocation. (jump to)

Lastly, I tackle a question from Mark in Dallas, who wants to know if SEO (search engine optimisation) is worthwhile for his MSP. (jump to)

Join me as we unpack these topics and learn from some triumphs and trials in the MSP world. Oh, and don’t forget to join me in the MSP Marketing Facebook group.

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How to reach hot prospects other MSPs can’t

Are you struggling to reach your hot prospects? Stop trying as an MSP salesperson and use this technique instead.

Back in 2005 when I started my first business, I was cold calling and quickly discovered something disheartening… no one wanted to take my call. Is this your experience with outbound calls? The constant stream of “no” was nightmarish. Just months earlier, as a radio presenter, people were eager to hear from me. What changed? The context.

As a radio presenter, calling people was exciting – they welcomed my calls because I could help them. But as a business owner looking for clients, the reception was cold. This led to a genius idea for reaching dream prospects, which several members of my MSP Marketing Edge program have successfully implemented.

Instead of approaching as a salesperson, ask if you can interview them. This makes the conversation easier. Gatekeepers are less suspicious, decision-makers more willing, and you get quality time talking to your dream prospect about their favourite subject – themselves and their business.

You might wonder, “What am I interviewing them for?” Today, anyone can create content. You could interview them for a LinkedIn newsletter, a blog, a podcast, or a YouTube channel about local business leaders. The audience size doesn’t matter, the showbiz of being interviewed is often exciting enough.

The goal isn’t a great interview but spending quality time with a hot prospect. Afterward, they might say, “That was fun. Let’s talk about our technology needs,” opening the door to engagement. Pretty clever, right? Are you going to try this in your MSP?

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How to know the names of prospects visiting your website

If you knew who was visiting your website, you could target marketing efforts more effectively, right?

Many services promise to identify site visitors, but my experience over the years has been underwhelming… until recently. About a decade ago, I got locked into a pricey contract which didn’t deliver. But a few months ago, I decided to revisit these services, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried three services and settled on Leadinfo, which I now pay for. It’s worth noting that this is more beneficial if your site gets decent traffic. Leadinfo identifies visitors and shows details like which pages they visited and how often they return. This helps you understand their interests – known as intent data.

You can tag visitors, such as clients, former clients, vendors, irrelevant visitors, and prospects. Currently, my marketing and sales teams can target around 70-80 MSPs who have visited our site but haven’t bought from us yet. Leadinfo provides visitor details, including business names, key players, LinkedIn profiles, and sometimes even financials.

The service integrates with CRMs, allowing you to automate actions like sending emails without seeming intrusive. At around $149 (£120) a month, it’s a small investment for maximising every lead’s potential, especially considering the significant lifetime revenue a hot prospect could bring. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

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The MSP that increased sales by 500% at a fifth of the cost

Today’s big interview is with Kyle Mealy, a small business Chief Revenue Officer, who’s podcast pitch cut through the noise immediately. He promised to share a revenue formula that increased an MSP’s efficiency by 500%, with drastically reduced marketing and sales expenses. Naturally, I was hooked.

Kyle’s journey started in a small business, where he doubled revenue in three years sparking his passion for marketing and sales. At a marketing agency, he helped raise revenue from $3 million to $7 million, working with many small businesses, including MSPs.

He noticed that many B2B businesses, especially MSPs, were overly technical and couldn’t afford full-time marketing and sales leaders. This led to the creation of Next Level, a small business Chief Revenue Officer role, to streamline efforts and drive growth.

In working with an MSP, Kyle introduced the ROASS metric—Return on All Sales and marketing Spend. Initially, their ratio was a poor 1.17. By addressing inefficiencies and reallocating resources, they improved their efficiency to nearly 7.2. This involved cutting underperforming sales team members, revising commission structures, and focusing on customer-centric messaging.

Kyle emphasised thinking like a business owner: focusing on costs, headaches, and safety. They revamped their marketing using email campaigns, LinkedIn outreach, webinars, and updated websites for lead generation. The results? An impressive 500% increase in efficiency and a significant revenue boost.

For MSPs seeking similar growth, Kyle advises understanding and optimising sales and marketing efforts.

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FEATURED GUEST:

A dynamic leader, teacher, and speaker, Kyle Mealy leaps out of bed everyday to unlock the trapped potential in entrepreneurial businesses and their leaders.

Wherever Kyle aims his energy, businesses and people breakthrough to their next level. Kyle’s passion for teaching and speaking allows him to easily hold the attention of thousands while making it feel like it’s just a small circle of friends.

His infectious love of life, self deprecating humour, and gifted storytelling moves his audience to action! His speaking topics are practical lessons and methodologies extracted from helping entrepreneurial businesses and their leaders turn visions into reality.

As a small business Fractional Chief Revenue Officer, Kyle has helped entrepreneurs increase year over year profits by 10x. Over the course of his career, businesses leveraging his knowledge achieve an average of 35% year over year top-line revenue growth.

Kyle lives in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin with his beautiful family including his wife, six-year old daughter and three-year old son. When he’s not being a mad marketing scientist and whiteboarding strategies, he loves to cook for his family and teach his little ones karate. He also runs a non-profit called Second Gear Group.

Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn or visit his website: Next Level Coaching

Is SEO (search engine optimisation) worth it for your MSP’s website?

Got a question about your MSP’s marketing? Submit one here for Paul’s Personal Peer Group.

Mark from Dallas, Texas, is approaching the five-year mark with his MSP and is eager to grow efficiently without wasting time. His question: Is SEO worth it for his website?

Great question, Mark. The goal of SEO is to get your MSP to rank higher in search results, ideally on page one, putting you in front of people searching for solutions you offer. While important, SEO is complex and technical. So, yes, you should do some SEO, but it’s not an early priority.

Instead, focus on my three-step marketing system for faster leads in your business’s early years:

1. Build multiple audiences on platforms like LinkedIn and your email database.
2. Develop relationships with them through content marketing.
3. Convert those relationships with outbound calls to find prospects ready to switch MSPs.

Consider SEO as your business matures. Start with improving your Google Business profile, using tools like Semrush to identify issues, and creating original content. If time and expertise are constraints, hiring a trusted expert might be necessary, but be prepared for the investment of time and resources.