Competition is fierce in any market. The IT industry is no different, but there are ways your MSP can stand out from the competition with glaring highlights that will blind you. If your IT firm is stuck in the break fix model…transition as soon as you can to a proactive MSP model.
The MSP Model
If you are not familiar with the MSP model, lets quickly go over it. Managed IT Service firms provide 24×7 support, a fixed cost model that includes unlimited support(maintenance for a Windows environment)and they also guarantee Service Level Agreements. What does the SLA mean? The SLA guarantees the MSP will start working on a problem within a certain amount of time 24×7. If your IT firm only offers business hour support, do not leave money on the table if an opportunity presents itself. A white label MSP partner can take on after hours support so your clients still get the quality support they need.
Eight Ways To Stand Out Over The Competition
- Emphasize to your prospect that customer service is the number one priority at your MSP. Your MSP goes the extra mile to ensure they are 100% satisfied each month. How do you do that? Surveys are key and that’s how you can adjust your team. Make it a point to mention that your HR department only hires experienced techs who can deliver quality support around the clock.
- Pick an industry and focus on how well you know their environment. This information should be littered across your website, your collateral, and your presentation. If you know everything regarding the medical industry and how you keep them HIPAA compliant. Your website should have a compelling story on your site. When you present in person, be sure to focus on the problems you solve. Security is critical to the medical industry and illustrating how you will keep them secure and compliant will go a long way.
- 24×7 support…give them that peace of mind that your firm does not sleep, go on vacation or call in sick. That means your company will always have a team available to remediate their needs within minutes…not hours…days or weeks…minutes. You are no longer in the business hour world. You have entered the 24×7 universe and your team will deliver. If you need a white label SOC or NOC, there are plenty of resources available to make that happen.
- Position yourself as a value-added partner…not just another vendor who solves technical problems as they come up. There are hundreds of IT firms that can deliver tech support. Your entire objective is to position your firm to deliver value. How do you deliver value? Your job is to sound confident and credible when you inform your prospect that your goal is to prevent problems from disrupting their business. Do not use technical terms on how you make that happen. Keep it simple and explain your team can predict issues before they become a bigger problem. When a problem does occur, your team will solve it. You also want to emphasize that you will inform your prospect that you will make recommendations to improve their environment when its justified.
- Your model is predictable and fixed. There is no guess work when it comes to maintenance and support. The only time T&M comes into play is when you have people onsite working on projects or providing support for scheduled visits.
- Security is your top priority when it comes to IT. If you are supporting a regulated industry, highlight your SOC and the compliance tools you have in place.
- Stay flexible when it comes to your clients IT requirements. Inform them that your team is experienced with on-premise and cloud environments. Your team is ready to tackle the direction your prospect wants to take. You also need to share that your contracts stipulate a flexible cost model. If they sign up for you to support 100 end users, they can scale that back to 50 end users if they lay people off. Your model is based on number of endpoints, but that also goes the other way. If they add 20% to their headcount each year, that cost will go up.
- Bundled packages should be part of your model. Companies do not want to manage multiple vendors. Bundle as many services as you can. That includes VoIP, backup, cloud servers, SaaS products, etc. The more products you offer, that more value you bring to your client.
Conclusion
The MSP market is not only competitive, its HOT. Its in high demand and its only going to increase. If you do not have the ability to scale, or you are getting tired of flaky techs, look into a white label MSP partner.
Single Point of Contact is one of the largest comprehensive White Label Managed IT Service Providers in North America. Founded in 1999, we have a proactive approach to information technology (IT) solutions and security services, which gives our clients the freedom to focus on their business instead of worrying about their clients’ networks. We’re qualified to assist with all phases of IT management, security, cloud solutions, procurement services, and complex projects. To learn more about how our services can benefit your IT organization, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
