Pushing Through the $1 Million Revenue ‘Barrier’
A new Continuum blog offers five suggestions for taking your managed services provider to the next level.
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Scaling and keeping costs in check requires wise use of resources and, for a smart MSP, that means outsourcing network operations center (NOC) and help desk functions.
About 34 percent of MSPs already outsource their help desks, Bauer says.
Continuum offers both services white-labeled and in an OPEX model, allowing a small MSP to turn its technical talent from technicians, to project managers.
“Their shift will be rid of day-to-day maintenance or filtering through tickets and instead, they’ll be more empowered to focus on revenue-generating projects and serve as your clients’ trusted business advisor,” the blog states.
It’s a recommended best practice for every type of business, but experts regularly place this among the most oft ignored of commercial fundamentals.
An MSP seeking to surpass $1 million in revenue is more likely to succeed if there’s a clear vision and plan to get there.
The blog suggests including in this business or “growth” plan, target metrics, like the number of clients and devices, or the amount of monthly recurring revenue.
“Before you set goals, make sure they’re Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART),” the blog states. “Then, track your progress in meeting them, and adjust as necessary!”
Reaching the coveted milestone likely means you’re not just faking the sales process anymore.
Developing a marketing plan is going to increase your exposure and bring you more eyeballs, but then what?
It takes a professional sales mind to convert those prospects into actual dollars.
“You can’t just put your tech in a suit and call it good,” the blog states. “Strong sales talent knows how to talk to prospects, understands the sales funnel, and is able to change the way they sell.”
Bauer refers to the need to avoid becoming “trapped” in the “I get all my business from referrals” mindset.
Generating $1 million in revenue requires making your company known to a broader assortment of potential customers and deepening the relationships you do strike up, with tactics like shrewd placement of content on your website.
Most important, is ensuring you work marketing into your actual business and growth plan, rather than treating it like a half-hazard, incidental effort that you pursue with whatever spare dollars present themselves.
“Whether you decide to bring on full-time marketing staff or work with an agency, you must align marketing with sales and build it into your business plan,” the blog states.
This is the kind of thing MSPs have been hearing about for years: evolve into a trusted advisor who teaches SMB clients how they can leverage technology to achieve a desired business outcome.
If you find yourself speaking in technical jargon, your tone is probably heading in the wrong direction.
“Are you offering a holistic, proactive IT solution or are you only there for them after disaster strikes and the damage is done?” the blog states. “Be your clients’ trusted advisor, their ‘phone a friend!’”
This is the kind of thing MSPs have been hearing about for years: evolve into a trusted advisor who teaches SMB clients how they can leverage technology to achieve a desired business outcome.
If you find yourself speaking in technical jargon, your tone is probably heading in the wrong direction.
“Are you offering a holistic, proactive IT solution or are you only there for them after disaster strikes and the damage is done?” the blog states. “Be your clients’ trusted advisor, their ‘phone a friend!’”
Sure, it’s just an arbitrary figure.
But it’s hard to deny there’s something seemingly magical about taking a company past that first $1 million in annual revenue.
In a new blog post, Frank Bauer, senior channel development manager at toolmaker Continuum, offers some sage advice for tightening up an IT services operation and positioning your business to scale.
Most of the suggestions fall into the category of “tough love,” in that the recommendations can require an owner that’s already been doing lots of things pretty well, to break from their comfort zone and try something new to reach that milestone.
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