MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3:4 Key Components to a Business Technology Review

MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

Introduction Business Technology Reviews (BTRs) are becoming an increasingly important aspect of MSP client management. BTRs are an opportunity to regularly meet with clients and assess how to provide them with the best possible solutions to help them meet their business goals and continue to grow and thrive.

A BTR is also an ideal time to drive upsells and cross-sells with existing clients by discussing future changes, such as potential growth, and how the MSP can assist their clients with planning for that growth.

A final outcome of a BTR is to cultivate client retention. SMBs demand good service, and this is the chance for you to ensure that your existing clients are happy and still very much invested in your managed services agreement.S

“As an upsell strategy, quarterly reviews are the best time to communicate changes. We are the technology guides, so we need to advise our clients on technology changes and what that means to their businesses.”

Nathan Austin, VP of Business Development, Mytech Partners

MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

A Business Technology Review and a Quarterly Business Review are the same in theory. However, each of your clients has different needs and may need to have a strategic conversation more or less often than every quarter. A BTR allows you to tailor the pace and cadence of these conversations to meet the specific needs of clients of all sizes.

What is the difference between a BTR and a QBR?

During a BTR, ask questions geared towards reviewing the previous quarter and determining your client’s satisfaction and happiness. Some initial things to consider discussing in your review include:

• Were there any issues that couldn’t be resolved?

• What were the wins?

• How did your IT solutions perform?

Here are four key goals to keep in mind when planning your BTR strategy.

Questions to ask during a BTR

MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

1 More important than reviewing the previous quarter, the BTR is also a key opportunity to shine as a Business Consultant or vCIO for your client. In order to be successful, it’s best to develop an in-depth understanding of the existing client’s business. You need to understand the client’s business goals and be able to effectively tie those goals in with the value that managed services add.

Pro tipBusiness consultants need to be able to comfortably and effectively hold a strategic conversation with key decision makers and executives within your client’s organization, so be sure to hire accordingly for this role.

Provide Business Consulting

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MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

2 The MSP Business Consultant should be able to identify solutions and speak to technology trends that can and will be beneficial to their clients and provide upsell revenue for the MSP as well. For example, if you find out that your client plans to grow their workforce by 10% in the next 6 months, help them plan for those changes by starting to budget for additional costs and services they’ll need to stay productive.

Help Clients with Budget Forecasting

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MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

3 Hardware is not built to last forever, and technology is constantly changing. Your clients may need new machines or other equipment to prevent future downtime. The BTR is a great time to discuss a risk management report, such as what the current product life cycle looks like, and the best ways you can help your clients mitigate that risk.

Review Product Life Cycle

What is a risk management report?

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A risk management report is a summary of the current lifecycle of all your client’s hardware, and what the current risk level is for those machines.

For example, if your client has a policy to replace all workstations after 3 years, your report will include which workstations are nearing that term and the potential risks of not updating those machines within a certain time frame.

The risk management report can also include risks such as malware or virus threats that could negatively affect the client.

MSP Sales Strategies, Part 3

4 Meeting regularly with your clients increases your ability to foster relationships with them. They trust you to provide them with business and IT consulting, so it is important to establish a strong and lasting relationship with all of them. It is also helpful to establish yourself as a first point of contact for your MSP. This way, your clients will always have a trusted advisor to turn to when questions may arise.

Maintain Client Relationships

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ConclusionThe Business Technology Review is an important component for MSPs aiming for a successful sales strategy and business model. It is crucial for your MSP to hunt down new business, but it is also important to “farm” and cultivate existing client relationships, so that you do not lose the clients you’ve already worked so hard to gain.

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