3 Tips to Build a Lead Generation Plan at Your MSP

For managed service providers, or MSPs, lead generation can often seem like a daunting process. This is because many MSPs may lack the resources to employ an in-house marketing team. However, it’s important to put lead generation at the top of your “to-do” list if you haven’t already done so, because it will be the key to building your sales funnel.

So what exactly is lead generation? Lead generation, or “lead gen,” as it’s more commonly known, is the process of attracting interest in your MSP’s products and services for the purpose of developing a sales pipeline.

Start by building out your lead gen plan. The desired outcome of building out a plan is to generate a list of potential customers (or leads) with contact information. Specifically, this list should identify a clear number of how many of these leads you would need to generate to hit your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) goals.

You can calculate this magic number in a few different ways:

1. Calculate your ratio of leads to closed deals.

Example: Let’s say on average you close one deal for every 10 leads. If you need to add 5 new customers in Q1 to hit your revenue goals, you’ll need a list of 50 leads.

2. Consider your average deal size.

Example: Your typical monthly contract is worth $2,000.

3. Using the information above, calculate the number of leads necessary to meet your MRR goal.

After you’ve calculated that magic number, it’s important to track your progress. Tracking progress will keep you accountable and help you identify whether goals need to be reassessed. To do this, you can utilize something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet; as you grow, a more sophisticated CRM tool may be a better fit for you. The approach you take for measuring your success will be dictated by the specific needs of your business.

Once you’ve decided upon a measurement tool, bring together the key stakeholders in your lead generation efforts at least once a month to discuss progress. This meeting can also serve as a brainstorming session for new marketing strategies that can help you reach your target.

It’s important to note that there’s no magic lead number, or one-size-fits-all approach to mastering this practice. Regular meetings and being open to trying new things will help you fine-tune your lead generation plan to fit the needs of your MSP.

Ready to take the plunge into lead generation planning and execution? Check out the full eBook, Lead Generation Made MSPeasy, today.

Chris Rudnick is Senior Director, Demand Generation, Datto Inc.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.