As a MSP, you wear many hats and are always strapped for time. In fact, it is probably one of the key reasons why you decided to invest in a MSP marketing and sales program. A good MSP marketing and sales program can make your professional life easier by helping you with your marketing and sales strategy. This goes beyond simply looking at what’s in your MSP marketing automation software’s account and giving you boilerplate suggestions. An effective MSP marketing and sales enablement program often takes a tailored approach to help you achieve your objectives.

Now, with that said, this blog lists out 3 things that you can do to help generate new leads and increase brand awareness.

1.Be Involved Locally
It’s a poorly kept secret these days that networking is the key to building one’s professional standing. That goes for employees as well as business owners. As an MSP, it is crucial to make yourself known to as many people in your community as possible because although your MSP marketing and sales enablement software will be of immense help to you, leads have to warm up before you contact them. Joining groups like the Chamber of Commerce or your local chapter of the Small Business Administration will offer numerous opportunities for you to get out and show that you are an active professional member of your city. If you can find organizations centered around verticals on which you are specifically focused, that would be of huge benefit to you.

Lastly, be proactive and keep an eye out for any community events in which you either have the chance to volunteer your time or that you could possibly sponsor. These are both excellent ways to get your company’s name out and have your potential clients see that you care immensely about the community at large. A business owner that treats his community like gold is likely to treat his clients in the same manner.

2.Host Educational Events Specific To Your Industry
Many Mindmatrix MSPs have found success with this strategy, and it’s easy to see why. Hosting events to educate potential clients about IT topics is a smart move. Decision makers at companies are very busy people and often don’t have the time to keep up with the latest and greatest technology that is on the market. They’re not going to know about that security threat that’s threatening to disrupt IT. They oftentimes won’t know what ransomware is. That’s why they need you and the knowledge that you bring to the table as an experienced professional.

Hosting lunch-and-learns, webinars, and other workshops to share what you know with your potential clients is something that will be mutually beneficial. They will learn about a topic that they didn’t know that they needed to be informed about, and you will get the opportunity to build a face-to-face relationship with them. Putting a face to a name can be the difference between a client making the decision to go ahead with your business and them opting to back out altogether.

3.Use Social Media To Build Brand Awareness
When used correctly, social media can be a powerful weapon to advance your lead generation and brand awareness goals. Just the act of having a social media page is a large step in the right direction; it increases your credibility as a business to potential clients. Once those pages are created on platforms such as Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter, the real fun can begin because

• You get to post engaging content on your page to draw in your followers
• These social networks allow you to connect with thought leaders in your area of expertise and in your geographic location
• You can join social media professional groups in your area to assist you in increasing your reach

Posting content on your professional social media pages should have the goal of bringing value to your followers. You can either educate or entertain the readers, and that can take many forms. Mindmatrix MSP Advantage clients have the option of repurposing our content to place on their pages; many find that it saves them time while providing their followers with information that is both interesting and useful. Outside of using our content, original content can be posted as well.

Having the option of connecting virtually with thought leaders is one of the greatest blessings of the Internet era. Knowing that building a relationship with those that are at the top of your field is an exciting thought. Likewise, it’s just as exciting knowing that you can build up your reputation as someone that knows their stuff by linking up with others online. Additionally, you can join groups on Linkedin and Facebook that are professionally relevant to you to increase your reach. Interacting with your group members helps to build a rapport with them, which is mutually beneficial because people like to do business with people that they know and like.

The common thread for the three above-listed methods for assisting with lead generation and brand awareness is this: connection and visibility. Many Mindmatrix MSPs that have seen the most success with their companies have taken these concepts seriously. No one likes to think that they’re simply being sold to, and that their service provider doesn’t care about them. Human beings like knowing that the person with whom we’re doing a transaction is genuinely concerned about our needs and our eventual success. As for visibility, you have to be seen in order for anyone to know that you exist. And, you have to constantly provide value so that prospective clients will see you as someone with whom they will benefit from having a professional relationship. I am confident that you will successfully generate leads and increase your brand awareness by following these suggestions. By the time that your leads warm up, you’ll be well on your way to success.