3 Big MSP Business Challenges – how Outsourcing solves them

MSPs have been facing the same top business challenges for years – generating leads, hiring and scaling. While aspects of all of these have gotten easier over the years, it’s been incremental. 

What I’ve learned after 20 years in the MSP business – if you want to make a real difference in your business you need to make real change. It’s why I set up Benchmark 365. Embracing the concept of outsourcing can take some getting used to for the control freaks amongst us. But, done well, it has the power to up your skill levels across any number of disciplines, reduce your costs and free up time and resources.

Are you generating qualified leads from your marketing plan?

Known for their technical skills, MSPs typically aren’t proficient marketers. Often MSPs can waste tons of time struggling with content, branding, marketing automation, social media and other marketing tactics – all without any real effect on leads or without really understanding what’s most likely to work best for their business.

Marketing consultants or firms are well-versed in identifying the best ways to enhance brands and generate more leads. Good ones are also across the ever changing kitbag of marketing, analytics tools and solutions available to the SMB. They also know how to create content in thoughtful ways to engage with the audience you’re trying to target.

Instead of throwing money away on ineffective marketing campaigns, outside marketing help can help you allocate your marketing budget for the greatest return. But make sure you choose carefully. Depending on where you are in your business, you may not need the skills of a large agency. They tend to be very expensive and really only make sense when you are of significant size. Instead, find a freelancer with strategic and execution skills that can help you focus your efforts in way that’s realistic for your scale and resources.

Marketing and sales go hand in hand. To generate more revenue for your business, your salespeople need prospects, and that’s where your marketing plans come into play. You can’t be an expert in everything, so if marketing isn’t your thing, outsourcing your efforts could be your best bet, especially if you should be spending your time elsewhere.

It’s hard to find good help

For MSPs, it’s never been easy to acquire quality support technicians, system engineers and network administrators. I’ve been in the MSP business for 20 years. I know only too well the costs and effort that goes into training and losing technicians over and over again.

Of course, there are also costs beyond salaries associated with hiring new employees. Onboarding has its own costs, time and resources in particular. Do you have the time in your schedule to train a new employee — especially if your new recruit isn’t familiar with RMM solutions or PSA tools? Probably not. Outsourcing your talent acquisition efforts could assist you with many of your recruiting issues, but don’t forget — not all outsourcing strategies are right for your business, so vet each one of them thoroughly.

For instance, hiring an outside IT recruiting firm isn’t always the best option. Why? There’s still more for you to do after the firm assists you with finding the right talent. No matter the level of your new recruit, you’ll still need to dedicate some of your time to training and managing them. One way to get around this is by outsourcing your customer support entirely. This way recruitment, training and managing becomes your customer support partner’s (such as Benchmark 365) problem.

Am I growing too fast?

As business owners, we all want to grow and expand, but sometimes growing too fast could turn into being a bad thing. We’re not always ready to accommodate the extra workloads more customers bring to the table. For example, the more clients you acquire, the more help desk technicians you’ll need to hire. Would you be able to hire more help desk technicians to your team – and how quickly could you do it.

If you’re having a problem with recruiting top talent (which you more than likely are), then scaling is going to be another obstacle for you, so, again, outsourcing your customer support could help you alleviate some of your business challenges as an MSP.

We can’t do it all (and we can’t expect to know it all). When it comes to IT, you’re the expert — that’s why your clients are calling you and not someone else. But you are also an entrepreneur. The great ones will tell you they can’t do it alone and it’s okay for you to look elsewhere on the business areas you’re unfamiliar with. As I mentioned above, outsourcing saves IT providers time and money in the long run if they can find the right companies to partner with to alleviate obstacles.

With a platform like Benchmark 365 — which tackles hiring, scaling and growing challenges — you’ll be able to construct a servicing model that maximises the opportunity for you to focus on growth. Unlike other platforms, Benchmark 365 helps its partners customise outcomes by reshaping support models from end-to-end.