mspmarkets

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/

Guest

Name: Taher Hamid https://www.linkedin.com/in/taherhishamhamid/
Company: MSP Camp https://msp-camp.com/

Hosts

Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylemetathinq/
Robb Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-rogers-07415251/
Tim McNeil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/

Sponsors

vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com
OSR Manage: https://osrmanage.com

3:45 - Taher Hamid introduces himself. He talks about how they started with three people but now they have over 28 staff in a state-of-the-art building with amazing facilities.

6:53 -  Robb asks about the number one mistake made during his first year. His biggest mistake, he says, was not learning enough. He also discusses how long it took him to land his first major client. Taher further explains how producing relevant content and attending various events may help with marketing. 

10:18 - Taher discusses the MSP Camp and how helpful it would have been if he had known about it when he was just starting out. He also highlights how detailed and particular social media content should be in order to have a successful campaign.

16:33 When it comes to marketing, Brian agrees with Taher. Marketing should concentrate on "what do they care about?"". Robb adds that engaging in social media is also highly important. Tim expresses his observation that many MSPs do not have marketing staff or outsource marketing to a marketing business but do not devote enough effort to it. 

19:37 Taher points out how important time is in marketing, “time is a strategy”.

22:05 Taher talks about MSP Camp and what to do if you want to join in one.

In this episode, our team discusses The Game of Risk here at MSP Business School.

2:20 – Brian suggests that organizations engage with customers to understand risk and take the next step in risk management by introducing frameworks to them to manage their organization. Cyber liability insurance can be a challenge for some organizations, so it is important to engage with customers and understand risk during the sales process.

3:11 – Robb said that he’d like to define a little bit better about “What are we talking about when we're talking about risk? Are you talking about it as it relates to the insurance side? Are you talking about the hacking side? What exactly do you mean when you say the global word risk?”

7:21 – Brian explains that there is a challenge of not all risks needing to be solved right due to the cost justification versus the percentage opportunity of risk. For example, if a customer has 3 to 4 risks, it could be that they have a realistic budget and are looking to protect to the best of their capabilities. 

12:12 – Robb inquires how to coordinate the sales process between the sales rep, the owner, and the sales LED. He is blown away by the variety of ideas discussed.

17:19 – Brian emphasized the importance of having a good cyber security posture for businesses. There are a lot of different frameworks and regulations that are industry-based, so it is important to focus on cyber frameworks. These frameworks are groups of controls that businesses can define and measure against over time.

21:12 – Brian explains that CIS is geared towards non-targeted companies that don't have security professionals on staff. It focuses on protecting and detecting the first 3 identities, then moving up to implementation where they usually have security professionals, and then dealing with vendors that are the companies that support us publicly.

24:53 – Robb stated that the ads of services are picking up for code management, and they are seeing a lot of interest and opportunity on the upper side as well. There is a lot of opportunity out there right now.

27:54 – Brian's most important idea is to understand the risk and not focus on fear or uncertainty in doubt. He emphasizes that not all risks are equal and not all risks need to be attended to immediately.

Today we discuss the marketplace as the pandemic rages on.  May MSP's are fighting to stay afloat as we head into what looks like it can be a long winter.  Robb starts the discussion sharing that in the peer groups he operates sales pro's are indicating that the race to the bottom is on.

We then dive into the difference between building strategic relationships for the long-term vs. solution selling.  The goal of a strategic approach is getting closer to the customer and by leveraging a more aligned approach to client management, margins can be preserved.

Brian talks about the fact that the solutions starts through understanding.  We are seeing a trend to solution first selling where solutions are't being fully fleshed out and quotes are hitting the streets.

We then discussed how both companies strategies need to be aligned to have a successful relationship and to box out commoditized competitors. Tim and Brin discuss how sales reps can struggle with the strategic discussion as it is a conversation that many reps are not accustomed to holding and as a result their only sales tool is the discount.

We then discuss that training and a culture of empowerment can help sales teams to elevate and preserve margin when taking on a small shop delivering only a lower price.

Robb then shares practical tactics for how sales people can approach their meetings.