To thrive as an MSP, you must continue to bring in new clients. Your customer base is what defines your success, so building and expanding that base is a necessity.

That’s where sales prospecting comes into the picture. Sales prospecting is the process of making cold calls and sending emails to leads in an attempt to gain a new customer. It takes a lot of digging to find the right lead, which–when all goes well–will become a new business opportunity.

There are countless approaches to sales prospecting. To learn the most effective route for your business, we spoke with some of the best resources Datto has to offer: our partners. In this blog, we’ll share some top sales prospecting strategies from fellow MSPs who have walked the walk and talked the talk (with tremendous results).

When it comes to sales prospecting, it all comes down to solving a problem a business has with your services. First, you must determine where a business is from an IT standpoint and if they are interested in outsourcing. You can learn a lot from a prospect by asking one simple question: “Do you view IT as an investment or an expense?” If a company views IT as an expense, the company will likely look for ways to cut costs and won’t see the true value in IT.

The companies that see IT as an investment will get the bigger picture. They will work with you to proactively solve their technology needs in order to preemptively avoid any issues down the road.

To get started, let’s take a quick look at the three common methods of sales prospecting:

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Consider going through a prospect’s LinkedIn page in order to get a better idea of a company and to identify the main stakeholders. Then, you can reach out to them directly via LinkedIn and get the conversation started. In addition to leveraging social media in sales prospecting efforts, some have found success with the old-fashioned phone book. In fact, if you’re an MSP targeting a specific industry or vertical–such as Healthcare or Legal companies–the Yellow Pages can be your best friend. Learn more about local companies that fit into the profile of your ideal customer by flipping through a few pages. Next, get more information by checking out the company’s website or social media pages.

If you’re interested in learning even more, check out Datto’s recent eBook: Cold Calling Made MSPeasy. In this eBook, you’ll learn the DOs and DON’Ts of cold calling, the 3 most successful prospecting tactics, how to build a high-quality lead lists, and more! Check it out today.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.