Managed Sales ProsI want to thank ChannelPro for inviting me to participate in their SMB Forum in Atlanta last week, and also say thanks to the attendees that took time out of their days to sit in on my session. (The next ChannelPro Network SMB Forum is in Chicago on May 2, 2017)
A question was asked of our panel, and we only had a couple of minutes to discuss it, and I think it’s an important question, so I’m devoting some time on the blog this week to answering it. The question was: “If a company was going to choose only one thing to do right now to improve their sales and marketing, what do think the single most important thing would be?”
The panelist answers varied – one presenter said you should make a really great website, but frankly, with no way to push people to that great website, it’s just a big black hole that you’re throwing money down. You may as well take your 10K and give it to charity or take a vacation with it, both of those things will do you more good than your shiny new website will.
I’m not saying it to be controversial. I’ve tested it. Last year we inserted code into some of our clients’ websites. We tracked every visitor to their site. We called every person that visited their website. Would you like to know how many good opportunities we generated from calling web site visitors? None. That’s right. Zero. Six months and ten clients in ten different markets, and not one additional appointment generated from following up on website visitors. All other variables remained the same – and our ice-cold cold calls continued to generate a handful of new opportunities every month.
Alternately, we wanted to see what, if any, chain of events gets set off when someone cold calls a company to introduce a service. Personally, the first thing I do when a salesperson calls me is check their company website. If it looks like they built it ten years ago, if it’s riddled with spelling errors, if it’s hard to navigate and most importantly if there is no way to contact them directly (ie, is there a phone number or are they forcing me to communicate with them via a web form or email only) I cut the conversation off pretty quickly.
My assumption: everyone else probably does the same thing, right? Our motive in measuring this metric had nothing to do with trying to prove or disprove the value of a “really amazing website”. Our interest lied in being able to show our clients that our calls led to more site visits and better brand recognition. Turns out, that’s not true. Even those companies that were qualified and interested and scheduled an appointment did not visit our client’s website during or after the completion of that initial call – or at any time before their scheduled meeting. Even when we called to confirm the appointment for the following day.
A big caveat at this juncture – this is true for a very specific niche focused market – this study was executed with MSP IT companies who were targeting service-based, technology-dependent companies with over 20 but under 200 employees in Canada and the US. So to say that it applies universally would be a ridiculous statement. In this instance, under these circumstances, for this subset of companies, I have found this to be true. (Selling TO MSPs is a completely different ballgame, and we have the landing page feedback to prove that as well. So, while your prospects aren’t looking up your websites, you’re certainly hitting your potential vendors sites, which I am sure is what leads to the thought that you need an amazing website.)
So, back to the original question, if you are an MSP owner and you’ve only got a very little bit of budget, should you put it into a website? My reply to that is NO. Get yourself a modest, managed MSP specific website that is clean, easy to navigate and mobile friendly. A template is fine. Hell, a FREE website is fine. It’s not your website that is going to differentiate you from your competitors. It is YOU that is going to differentiate you from your competitors. You. Your attitude. Your relationships. Your willingness to be of service. Your interest in other people and your community. Your reliability and your focused execution on the things you promise to your friends, your peers, your prospects and your clients.
So, what are some free and easy things you can do to start building your business right now?
Volunteer. Are there fundraisers and events in your community that you can’t afford to sponsor? Volunteer at them. You want to meet decision making executives in your community? Volunteer at the golf tournaments they’re sponsoring or playing in, and donate your time to the charities they sponsor. Volunteer your expertise to the associations they belong to or the non-profits they sit on the board of.
Teach. Write. Contribute. Help out. Do it without expectation, then be delighted when it leads to unexpected new business. We started becoming “experts” by calling every MSP-specific publication, creating relationships with their content directors and offering sample content. We did the same thing with vendors who published guest content. Now we write for several blogs regularly and get a lot of leads from people who read something we published a year or even two years ago.
This article is a great example of how you can just write something helpful and publish it online. Teach someone something. I don’t lose business helping you get better at building yours. Hopefully my advice leads you down a path of success that wins me business in two years when you’re wildly successful and trying to figure out your next phase of growth.
Host seminars at schools teaching kids and their parents about online safety. Some of those parents own businesses, are married to people who own businesses, live next door to people who own businesses. Hopefully you’ll remember this article if it’s helped you, and the next time you’re at a tradeshow and someone says “I need help with sales” you’ll think of us and refer them to me.
And now back to the original question. The single most important thing you can do to grow your business on a limited budget is network. Everywhere. All the time. End every conversation with “Who do you know that might be able to use our business?” Talk to everyone you know about what your business goals are and how they can help you achieve them. More importantly, start by asking about theirs and ask what you can do to help them. Do this at Starbucks. At the gym. At your kids soccer games. On the airplane. At networking events. At church. Everywhere! Join things, do things. They’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends…and before you know it you have built a powerful referral network with people who are helping you not because you gave them an Ipad or a gift card, but because they truly, genuinely want to.
Remember, there’s no hail Mary. Nothing replaces consistent, process driven prospecting. One day of networking isn’t going to fix a failing MSP. You don’t double your MRR this year by waiting for the phone to ring and sending out a couple of emails every day.
Want some help? We can get you started with some training or consulting. Email hello@managedsalespros.com to set up a time to discuss your requirements.
Want some free help? Visit our YouTube page and our blog for plenty of free sales tips!
And as a final takeaway, I’m reading a book right now called “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. This is a great book, and this post has nothing to do with the book. It’s merely coincidental that my post is called this, but I do suggest you read the book. It is completely changing how I structure my day to day activities. Check it out!
