nDataStor’s high standard of quality customer care is largely responsible for their growth over the years. Peter Prieto, the California-based MSP’s CEO, credits his business’s steady 10-15% YoY revenue growth to his education strategy—by teaching his customers about risk, they’re more willing to invest in cybersecurity best practices to protect their assets. Here are his tips for growth.
Creating nDataStor
nDataStor was originally founded in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the organization really hit its stride. “Providing bulk servers and storage solutions was something I knew I didn’t want to do long-term,” states Prieto, “so I started researching other types of technology businesses and landed on MSP—a model that allowed us to proactively and remotely manage our customers’ evolving technology needs.” This changeover made sense for the organization on multiple levels. “First of all, we were already doing some managed service-type work for a few of our clients, so that was helpful,” Prieto comments. “Secondly, we already had the technology experience, so now it was just learning more about how to deliver a superb MSP experience. By taking some courses and working with a few companies to beta test, we figured out how to structure our services, price our offerings, and so forth.”
Growth, Growth, Growth
Prieto cites customer education as the biggest catalyst for nDataStor’s growth. He believes in educating his customers about why they need what they need so they can make informed decisions, rather than simply selling a product.
In particular, he informs prospects of the benefits of utilizing an entire team for IT. This is because a singular person is more likely to make mistakes, and less likely to know all the critical information necessary to keep businesses safe, than a team. “Having a singular employee manager, in my opinion, just doesn’t make sense today,” he says. “If that one person is out sick, [there’s no one to handle a tech emergency]. If you upset that person, you’ve already given them the keys to the castle. Besides, the temperature has changed with the reality of today’s landscape, with AI and hackers using AI as well. Why would you depend on one person when you can have a team?”
Providing Premium Service
In addition, the MSP stresses not overwhelming their customers with too much technical jargon. “Most customers aren’t tech savvy, so we train all of our techs so they can, for lack of better words, speak English with our customers,” says Prieto. “Our goal is to deliver a high level of service, and you can’t do that with a tech who’s impatient, has an ego, or can’t speak the client’s language. So, we break it down so it makes sense to our customers.”
Today, nDataStor is known as a premier provider of IT services with an eye for consistently exceeding their customers’ expectations. For example, Prieto and his team are always looking for ways to leverage best-in-class IT services for its clients. Prieto explains, “I have no problem calling in a specialized technician if my techs have looked at a problem and don’t know how to fix it. From my perspective, my highest priority is assisting our customers in the fastest time possible, and sometimes, that means calling in additional help. Plus, it’s also a training opportunity for my employees.” He adds, “Overall, I always tell my team: Don’t focus on the problem, focus on the solution.”
Minimal Risk, Maximum Profit
One of the biggest strategies for growing revenue that nDataStor currently employs is a focus on mitigating risk. “We made the switch about a year ago,” Prieto explains. “We have a three-step process. The first conversation is to ask the prospect what they’re currently doing to mitigate risk and if they have cybersecurity insurance. We then offer a third-party assessment and share the results in a follow-up meeting. We’ll point out any red flags that need to be addressed immediately, but our overall focus is never time and material-based services. We’re more focused on offering our customers a specific bundle.”
An Education-Based Growth Strategy
Prieto’s biggest piece of advice for MSPs who are looking to grow and improve their business is to take an educational approach to sales and focus on content. “I think it’s the MSPs who [focus on education] and don’t just sell IT services that are going to survive. You have to incorporate some form of cybersecurity prevention, cybersecurity discussions, and risk mitigation.”
In terms of what kinds of content to produce, Prieto recommends videos over still images. “We’re a generation where people prefer videos over images. So, you have a long video, such as a podcast, or a video discussing a technology—anything that will educate your customer on why and how they need to protect their business. Then, you chop that video up into short clips, which you can put on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.”
By speaking the customer’s language and instructing them on cybersecurity best practices, nDataStor gives the SMBs the power to make smart choices to protect their businesses from cybersecurity threats. This risk mitigation style of salesmanship also minimizes the chances of nDataStor being held liable for a data breach. MSPs shouldn’t assume that SMBs know enough about technology to make informed decisions about what’s best for their business; instead, lead with education to minimize risk.
