https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
Banking Technology
    • Newsletter
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Content Resources
    • From the Industry
    • Galleries
    • Our Sponsors
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Think Tank
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Digi Awards
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • Talkin’ Cloud 100
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Advertise on Channel Futures
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Calendar
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Content Resources
    • From the Industry
    • Galleries
    • Our Sponsors
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Think Tank
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Digi Awards
    • MSP 501 Rankings
    • Talkin’ Cloud 100
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Advertise on Channel Futures
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

MSP 501


If I Were Launching an MSP Now  Dan Polk

If I Were Launching an MSP Now | Dan Polk

  • Written by John Busse
  • June 19, 2017
The owner and president of Bismarck, N.D.-based Silicon Plains, shares three suggestions he’d apply if he were launching an MSP from scratch today.

Dan Polk, owner and president of Bismarck, N.D.-based Silicon Plains, shares three suggestions he’d apply if he were launching an MSP from scratch today:

1. Join peer groups – If we were to take another look at what was most important for us, even just to refocus on what we are doing now, peer groups ultimately became important to the success because of the "you don't know what you don't know" factor.

So often, when we had an opportunity to leapfrog a competitor, it's become really clear how much this industry likes to help other people in the same industry.

With the MSP market maturing pretty rapidly, the answers are out there.

None of us for a second should believe that if we're starting an MSP, or just restarting ourselves, trying to figure out what we want to do in the coming years, that somehow we're inventing the wheel.

The answers are out there.

There's plenty of money to be made by using the systems, the processes, and the solutions that have been built by others.

And they are happy to share them through peer groups.

It really helps to work with other business leaders so that you can understand your business as well as you understand yourself.

That's where the power of the peer group comes in, especially if you're new or smaller.

2. Develop a sales focus – Selling keeps businesses alive.

It keeps them growing.

I think it's easy to believe – especially with smaller MSPs where there's still a very strong technical component in the leadership – that you're in the business to fix things.

While being asked that question, a lot of people might say "I'm in business to be in business."

I don't know that everyone truly thinks about why they're really in business, with a business hat.

I think it's a tough thing to do.

Customers of ours in this industry want advice, counsel, efficiency, and trouble-free solutions.

We can't deliver these things if we think that somehow we're the kingpin in the solution, like a technician is prone to do.

So, if we were to go back and say how we would leap frog ourselves, it'd be that we'd just go out there and use what's out there, build our solution set that we think fits best with our customers and our demographic and whom we want, and do it in the most predictable, efficient way possible.

That starts with only selling what we can predict.

Take advantage of mature products with real market strategies behind them.

It makes it so that you can harness the power of industry relationships, and it gets you out of that repair mode and starts you focused on margins and partnerships with vendors.

This is an everybody-wins scenario.

Over the course of time, what's changed and grown in the way that I see things is how much advantage you can have by understanding that sales focus in the beginning.

Make no mistake: the sales side of things is hard work.

There's no silver bullet.

It takes time, focus and workflow, just like any other part of the business.

I think it's easy to believe that somehow, especially if you're new in this industry, that finding the right sales person is some sort of high-level fix to your sales process, and that's just not true.

You do need to find good sales people, but you have to have a good process behind it.

That starts with understanding that if you want to grow, and you want to grow quickly, and you want to stay alive as a company, you've got to be sales-focused.

3. Consider your exit strategy from the start – Every business owner needs to understand themselves and that starts with the end in mind.

Why we start something isn't always what carries us through.

When we understand that, exit strategy becomes kind of a guiding force in every decision you make.

For example, if you own a lifestyle business, maybe you're drawing what the company makes out of the company on a regular basis, and following trends in the industry more closely might be more important for you.

So, as you're looking at what's coming, what's around the corner, what's next and what's new, you might say, "this is what's going to help me be sustainable over the very long term – staying on the cutting edge of these things."

If the idea is to sell, then producing predictable growth using tried and true solutions that have been around for a while may be a better choice.

Knowing that exit strategy helps guide every choice.

This helps you stay on top of the value-driven decision-making.

The only way to know if it builds value is if you know how it is all going to wrap up for the leadership – for the owners.

And, eventually, it absolutely does for everyone.

 

Editor’s note: Comments are edited to improve readability.

If you’d like to be featured on a future “If I Were Launching an MSP Now,” email us with your name, company name and phone number at MSPmentorNews@Penton.com.

Tags: MSPs MSP 501

Related


  • Datto February Blog Image
    What the Next Generation of WiFi Means for MSPs and Their Clients
    There will be an opportunity for MSPs to step in and take the lead, preparing their clients for the next generation of WiFi.
  • Business Traveler on Laptop
    AI, Automation Poised to Make Big Impact on Mobility, Remote Work
    New technologies are freeing mobile and remote workers from routine tasks.
  • Ebook icon
    11 Habits of Highly Effective MSP Marketers
    We surveyed more than 150 IT service providers about their marketing habits, and we gained some eye-opening insights into what’s working and what’s not. Find out what MSP marketers who feel highly confident about their marketing activities—and the impact it will have on their business—are doing right.
  • Three, 3
    3 Prime Channel Opportunities for MSPs
    The growth of IoT-connected devices and multicloud environments gives MSPs a great opportunity.

One comment

  1. Anonymous June 28, 2017 @ 3:31 pm
    Reply

    I’m beginning the process of
    I’m beginning the process of defining a MSP for my company. I’m new to the firm and industry. We have a few managed service clients but it’s very disjointed and not well defined. How do I connect with the peer group you discuss above?

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • SolarWinds Debuts Flow Tool Bundle
  • Massive Rubrik Data Leak Provides Lessons for Security Providers
  • How to Mitigate IoT Security Risks
  • Sophos: Processes, Policies Critical in Health Care Security

From the Industry


Sponsor Content

10 Ways MSPs and MSSPs Can Deliver Managed Detection and Response Services

February 21, 2019
Sponsor Content

Email Security: A Smart Addition to Any MSP’s Layered Security Strategy

February 20, 2019
Sponsor Content

Grow Your Business by Reducing Complexity for SMB Customers

February 20, 2019
view all

Galleries


Check Point CPX360 Featuring VMware, Versa Networks

February 8, 2019
view all

Webinars


Sponsor Content

Social media and email phishing: How to protect financial information from fraudsters

February 19, 2019
Sponsor Content

Double Your Revenue with Backup and DRaaS

February 12, 2019
view all

White Papers


Sponsor Content

A Business Owner’s Guide to Cybersecurity

February 6, 2019
Sponsor Content

The Seven Types of Power Problems

February 6, 2019
Sponsor Content

The Lean MSP

January 29, 2019
view all

Videos


Sponsor Content

Video: Ivanti Unified IT: Automate Service Requests

January 14, 2019
Sponsor Content

Linksys Cloud Manager Tutorial – Dashboard Overview

January 13, 2019
Sponsor Content

Linksys Cloud Manager Tutorial – How to Set Up a Network, Access Points, and SSID

January 13, 2019
view all

Twitter


ChannelFutures

Can PQC be used to create encryption that defeats the cracking power of quantum computers? goo.gl/fb/kLphnT

February 22, 2019
ChannelFutures

@Arcserve unveils new disaster recovery capabilities for #SMBs through virtual machines on the #cloud goo.gl/fb/W2vSn6

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@Lastlineinc signs first #distribution agreement in NA with #Synnex. goo.gl/fb/fxXAAz

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

@HarmonyPSA hopes to build on 2018 growth and cement its place in the crowded #MSP mgmt software space @MSP_501 goo.gl/fb/16XbRG

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

@googlecloud #CSP lets enterprise run cloud workloads on-premises #hybridcloud @awscloud @Azure goo.gl/fb/bjze9r

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

.@HP rolls out updates to its #Device as a Service (DaaS) program. goo.gl/fb/HxxCNQ

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

CMIT Solutions of the Outer Banks (CMIT of OBX) goo.gl/fb/YGs885

February 21, 2019
ChannelFutures

Latest #SecurityRoundup features @ThreatConnect @solarwinds @FollowContinuum and @365datacenters. goo.gl/fb/6AQoqm

February 21, 2019

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for the Doyle Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Update and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

Channel Futures

© Channel Futures 2019. All rights reserved.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Related Links

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow us

Websites are now required by law to gain your consent before applying cookies. We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Parts of the website may not work as expected without them. By closing or ignoring this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
X