Are you wondering why generating quality leads is such a headache? And even when you do happen to come across some good leads, closing them seems like a whole different ball-game from IT management, doesn’t it? Despite being very good at what they do, most MSPs struggle with lead generation and closure. This blog offers you a game-plan for quality lead generation while requiring you to dedicate a minimal amount of time to the effort.

A game plan for lead generation

The first step in generating quality leads is getting to know your market–determining which audience segment is the one you want to go after and sketching out what represents your ideal lead. Considering your line of business, it makes sense to target prospects who are in the professionals services industry. “Why so”, you may ask? Revenue for service industry participants hinges on maintaining good relations with prospects and customers. That means the service industry audience will be relying heavily on web technologies to connect with their clients and prospects. However, these guys are too busy trying to create positive customer experiences and they don’t have the time to invest in IT. Plus, since IT is not their core business, they are not very comfortable handling it on a daily basis. They’d rather focus on providing the best services to their clients, while outsourcing their IT requirements, which is why having you, a Managed Service Provider, (MSP) on-board is a value-add for them. Plus, as these guys grow, their IT requirements will only increase, creating more business opportunities for you.

So…Who should you be going after?

Now that we have established that you should be targeting professional service industries, let’s narrow down your search even further. Here’s a list of prospect types you should be looking at

• Law firms
• CPA firms
• Insurance companies
• Real estate agents and brokers
• Doctor’s offices
• Architectural and construction firms
• Call centers

Where to find your leads?

So, now that you have zeroed in on the target audience based on their business vertical, where do you look for them?

To make an impact, you should be aware of the challenges faced by these segments. You should be able to identify their pain pain-points first, so you can make an impact by talking about how you can resolve their problems.

Yellow pages

If you think the internet has rendered yellow pages redundant, then you are wrong! A surprising number of local businesses owners still swear by the good old yellow pages. So, pick that fat directory, choose a location, the professional field of your choice and start calling.  

Local Newspapers

Your local newspaper contains more important information than you may suspect. Here’s why, local newspapers take pride in reporting the success and growth of businesses in the vicinity. As you read through such news items, you will come to learn about local businesses that are expanding or new businesses that have recently opened up. In either case, there should be a need for IT services provider and that’s an opportunity for you.

Another section to look for in local newspapers is the advertisements or classifieds. If you notice a local business that’s hiring on a large scale, then you can assume they would want to ramp up their IT infrastructure to match the new staff strength. That’s another opportunity knocking on your door.

Local business groups and trade associations

There are plenty of benefits that result from being a member of local trade associations and business groups. For one thing, they keep you abreast of the latest happenings in your line of business, but what they also offer is a great platform to network and stay in touch with other business owners and key decision-makers–read qualified leads! Participate in events hosted by the local chamber of commerce and any other such credible business association in your community and vertical, place advertisements in their literature and register to be listed on their website or offline directories.

LinkedIn & Facebook groups

Get on LinkedIn and Facebook. Create pages on these platforms for your business. Join groups that are directly related to your business line and also to groups related to your targeted market segment. Then spend time reading and following the discussions. After you become comfortable with them, begin to actively participate in each group’s discussions. Offer your expertise and advice to fellow group members.  If you see someone grappling with an IT problem, offer them a  solution. LinkedIn Answers, in particular, is a great platform for this. In addition to the networking opportunities available on these sites, you can also attract leads by placing advertisements on LinkedIn.

Referrals

Referrals remain one of the best, but too often neglected, lead sources. Many entrepreneurs shy away from asking their existing customers for referrals, feeling it is an imposition. But remember that customers who are really pleased with your service are often more than happy to offer a referral. 

Why are referrals so good? If someone you know really well recommends a product or a service to you, aren’t you more likely to try it out as opposed to when you are approached by an unknown salesperson? So, ask your satisfied customers for referrals and do so at regular intervals. 

PPC Ads

PPC or pay-per-click ads are also a good lead source. One of the most popular PPC Ad Platform is Google Adwords. You can also advertise your business at other popular social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook using the PPC model. Apart from these, there are 3rd party sites which allow you to advertise your services there. You can pick sites that your target customer group is most likely to visit and place your ad there.

Google and other business listings

Also, be sure to list your MSP business on local business listing sites such as Google Business, Bing and Yahoo Business, etc.

Have a good website

The importance of having a good website cannot be stressed enough. Look at it this way. You did your research and zeroed in on leads. You even called up or emailed a few of them. The next thing they will do, if they are interested in your services is visit your website. Make sure your website is accessible, easy-to-navigate and covers all the areas you spoke about when you got in touch with the lead. It would be great if you can capture information about your lead’s visits to your site as that would help you gauge their interest level accurately.

But, Did you know that many MSP engage in some marketing activities for lead generation, but don’t get the results they seek… 

Many spend on lead generating activities such as PPC ads, but have no idea what’s happening to those leads. Ask yourself…

• How many times do you reach out to your leads?
• How many of your leads converted?
• If your ad got 10 ‘clicks’ in a month, and you reached out to 8, met with 4 and closed 2 , what happened to the other 8? 
• Where did you lose your leads?

We can help you answer all these questions and more!

CONTACT US TODAY: 412-381-0230 | SALES@MINDMATRIX.NET| WWW.MSPADVANTAGEPROGRAM.COM