Had a client ask me, ‘What mistakes do you see beginners making the most?’ Oh, where to begin…
After over 20 years in the trenches with thousands of MSPs, the biggest mistake I see time and again is putting marketing and sales on the back burner. They either underestimate the grind, cost and time it takes to build a solid growth engine—or they dabble half-heartedly, expecting quick wins. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work that way. Growth demands relentless effort and focus, not jumping from one shiny object to the next like a squirrel on Red Bull.
They also grossly underestimate the difficulty, cost and time commitment of getting a customer in the door and building a working marketing and sales function. Because they underestimate what is required, they underfund and understaff the initiative, which then leads to subpar results, which then leads to them getting frustrated and angry, giving up altogether, thinking “that didn’t work” – whatever “that” was that they tried. Then they leap from one “new” initiative to the next, guru to guru, chasing the latest shiny object, writing checks all along the way, getting tired.
Another common mistake is never learning the business end of running a business. They get myopically stuck on the technical skills of doing the work vs. learning the skills required to scale a business. Those are two different things. So they make the mistake of not acquiring the knowledge of how to set appropriate goals, and then set up financial tracking and reporting against those goals. They fail to gain the skills and experience required in hiring, managing and leading a team. They fail to gain the skills of time management, executive discipline and leadership.
It is a GIANT mistake to assume you CAN grow, scale and profit without those skills in place.
Obviously, there are a lot of other mistakes you are going to make along the way, some worse than others. Remember, success is cooked in a messy kitchen, and to a certain extent you need to be okay with that. Bouncing back from a BIG mistake – a bad hire, a major screwup with a client, a financial crisis – is also going to be required. Most problems happen not because of one single mistake but a bevy of poor choices and neglect over a period of time, and will require you to roll your sleeves up and shovel hard to dig yourself out of the hole you got yourself in. Often.
While self-serving, this is why being in a peer group like our program at TMT is a TREMENDOUS asset. It buys you time because you learn from the MISTAKES OF OTHERS so you don’t have to take that lesson yourself. It also buys you the emotional support and borrowed confidence of your peers, who can help you solve the mess you make from your mistakes.
Look, running a business isn’t a neat and tidy affair. You’ll break eggs, scorch a few pans and maybe set the whole damn kitchen on fire once or twice. But that’s the price of progress. The only real mistake is quitting before the meal is served. If you can learn from the mess and keep pushing forward, you’ll find that success isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable. So roll up your sleeves and get it done.
Stop chasing shiny objects and underestimating what it really takes to grow. At the IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp, you’ll learn how to build a real marketing and sales engine, avoid the costly mistakes that keep MSPs stuck and gain the skills needed to scale. Secure your spot now at robinsbigseminar.com.
