“I had completely written off Kaseya.”
That’s how MSP business owner Tommy Thornton felt before he heard Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola speak at an MSP Account Management Masterclass in Miami this past December. The CEO of Automates, an MSP in National City, California, said Voccola’s candidness and vision during his Q&A with TMT CEO Robin Robins at that event turned his skepticism into trust.
What, Exactly, Did He Say?
During that Q&A, Voccola provided an inside look at how Kaseya has instrumented and automated account management to fuel its own growth and why MSPs business owners should look to drive more revenue from existing customers. He also discussed his vision for IT Complete, why it will benefit Kaseya partners, and how the vendor’s ProfitFuel program is helping MSPs tackle three primary challenges.
In addition, Voccola shared how he came to Kaseya (it starts on a beach in Miami!) and fielded some tough questions live from MSP partners. (His responses may shock you! Be sure to view the video, and stay through the end, to hear the exchanges.)
A Look Inside Kaseya’s Account Management System
A key part of the vision Voccola discussed is a focus on account management, which he said drives success at Kaseya. It is “by far the most important part of our go-to-market operational strategy,” he told Robins.
Good account management relationship principles that are measured and managed are key to customer happiness and the ability to grow recurring revenue with existing customers, which lowers the revenue acquisition costs (RAC), Voccola said. A lower RAC is what fuels profitability and growth, he stressed.
“At Kaseya we measure revenue acquisition costs by how much it costs to get a new logo and how much it costs to grow a dollar from an existing customer. It costs us $1.38 to get a new logo [and] a dollar of recurring revenue. It costs 31 cents to get a dollar of recurring revenue expansion from an existing customer. Just to simplify things, of the $200 million that we will sell [in the fourth quarter of 2023], $140 million of it comes from existing customers; $60 million of it will come from new logos. And that’s why we’re so profitable at the growth rates we have. “
Kaseya’s account management system is critical to that strategy; more than 1,600 account managers around the world are using it.
It tracks KPIs “like dials, talk time, meaningful conversations, a whole bunch of things,” Voccola said. “We’ve instrumented our go-to-market very thoroughly. That’s not done to micromanage people. We’re micromanaging the process. So once something gets off a little bit, we know something’s wrong.”
Voccola likens managing customers to a factory, with the output being happy customers. While the output, or end result, is important, Voccola said it’s critical to have defined goals to achieve that output, and then instrument them and pay attention to the process.
For example, he said, say the goal is $5,000 a month of MRR sold to a current customer. “Deconstruct it,” he advised. “How many conversations do you need? What is the opportunity? Open rate? What is the conversion rate? What’s the time between milestones? So you can build your ‘assembly line.’”
How Kaseya Is Addressing MSP Pain Points
Voccola also discussed how Kaseya’s vision for its IT Complete platform is designed to address MSPs’ three primary challenges:
- Vendor fatigue
- Technician efficiency and cost effectiveness
- Cost of tools in the service delivery stack
The company’s ProfitFuel program helps MSPs act on that vision. With ProfitFuel, Kaseya staff will audit, inventory, and analyze any MSP’s (not just Kaseya partners) existing technology stack, contract terms, usage, and costs, and then make recommendations for how MSPs can save money and reduce the number of tools techs need to master. The service is free, and no commitment is required to implement the suggestions.
Thornton said Automates recently went through a ProfitFuel audit after the Masterclass. “As advertised, they worked to lower my TOC. I listened for once, rather than shutting down during the meeting with my arms crossed. It was productive, to the point, and all it took was a little bit of time on my part,” he recounts.
But it was Robins’ interview with Voccola that pushed him happily over the edge to sign his 36-month term with Kaseya.
“I’m openly doing so only due to the presentation and talk that Fred gave during the Masterclass in Miami,” Thornton said. “The presentation was brilliant, spoke directly to the concerns of the community, and finally removed the veil slightly, giving us a peek into the mindset of the CEO. I found trust where previously there was none. Suddenly I was relating to Fred when he shared his origin story. Suddenly, I saw his impact … and I understood the brilliance of his vision.”
He added, “Welcome back to the conversation, Kaseya.”
MSPs will be able to hear more of Voccola’s vision for how MSP partners can achieve business success at Kaseya Connect Global, its annual conference taking place April 29-May 2 in Las Vegas.
