Does Your IT Managed Services Sales Funnel Get a Passing Grade?

How does your IT-managed services firm do at adapting to change?

More often than not, most companies figure out ways to keep their technical skills sharp across project management, network integration, desktop support, mobile support, cloud, and security.

However, it’s not just disruptive IT platforms that challenge the status quo.

The entire sales funnel and playbook for marketing and sales have changed drastically in recent years. Has your firm kept up? Or are you barely treading water in an attempt to get a passing grade at least?

In this blog post, we’ll examine why so many in the managed services space act like deer in headlights.

Trusted Advisor or Obnoxious Salesperson – Your Choice

The moment of truth for IT-managed services firms is getting found before the 70% point – so your firm earns a seat at the table as a trusted business advisor rather than begging your way to the table as an obnoxious salesperson.

Getting found early -- before 70% of the decision-making process has been made – is critical to competing in today’s managed services and IT consulting markets.

The way to do so is to invest in creating and distributing helpful, original, remarkable content.

This content must position your company’s subject matter experts as teachers or professors. This mindset shift is what true differentiation is all about!

Differentiation for IT Managed Services Isn’t Your Call

All too often, managed services providers and IT consulting firms are selling services that are largely similar to the company down the street, the company across town, and the company the next town over.

One of the only ways for you to be able to differentiate managed services in the eyes of strangers that have never heard of your company is to do this through thought leadership, educational content, and resourceful content.

The idea here is to be the best communicators and the best explainers about what it is that you do and what it is that you excel at.

You’re not the one who gets to decide whether you’re differentiated. This is all in the eyes of your buyer personas.

It’s the same way when you go shopping for a car.

The car salesperson can tell you, “Trust me, I’m honest.”

But we all know that no one can tell you that they’re an honest person. It’s all demonstrated by actions.

So you don’t get to decide whether your company is differentiated or not.

And this is a huge mistake that so many IT-managed services firms make – assuming that their services delivery model equates to differentiation.

But it is your marketplace and your ideal buyers that get to decide whether your firm is truly differentiated.

Company Cultures Either Accept or Reject This Marketplace Reality (No Middle Ground)

So the question is: Is your company on board with these changes? And making appropriate responses and investments in light of the massive disruption that’s happened in the traditional marketing and sales playbook?

Or are you still coasting along and hoping your business is relevant?

Or one of these other platforms that, back in the day, were a big deal for the VAR and MSP community.

But we all know now that the sun has largely set on those platforms and technologies.

Have you adapted? Or are you living in the past?

How does your company do with participating in the modern buyer’s journey for IT-managed services? Are you positioned as world-class expert teachers? Or are you still pounding the phone begging for sales appointments? Share your take in the Comments below.