If your MSP looks like all the others, there’s no compelling reason for a prospect to buy from you.
That’s why differentiating yourself from the competition is such a critical part of the closing conversation with a prospect. This service differentiation is a key component of step 4 of the 5-Step Process to Closing an MSP Sale. Sitima Fowler and Ray Green, MSP sales experts who teach this process, explain how to separate yourself from the competition and pre-frame your solution—so that when you do present it, your prospect is primed and ready to buy.
If you missed the previous installment on how to present the tech assessment, see The Tech Assessment: Your Ultimate Sales Tool.
Separate Yourself from the Competition: Your USP
It goes without saying that your MSP should have a well thought out unique selling proposition (USP). But it’s critical that USP is actually unique—because the moment your competitor says they offer the same “unique” differentiator as you, your prospect goes right back to deciding on price.
He Said: If you can’t highlight what your unique strengths are as a company, then you’re in trouble. When you have overlapping strengths with competitors, effectively, you’re not leaving your prospects much to choose from, other than the quote at the end. If you can highlight those differentiators, you give your prospects a reason to potentially even pay you more; that’s where the premiums are.
There are four critical components to a good USP.
- First, it has to be unique; what attributes are unique to your company?
- Second, it has to have meaningful specifics—meaning it should be understandable, measurable, and quantifiable, so it feels “real” to the prospect.
- Third, it must have a strong appeal to your target market; what they care about may not align with what you think makes you different and better than the competition.
- And finally, your USP should be defensible before the sale. In other words, when you say something makes you different, can you defend it and prove it before they buy?
She Said: Most of the problems you’re going to be solving for the prospect aren’t going to be technical. They’re usually service related. It’s really about the intangibles—support, communication, your people, and your processes. Not so much your tech stack.
Here’s a soundbite to segue from the technical assessment to your USP:
“The good news is that you have problems we solve here every day. Let me tell you how we’re uniquely qualified to help you get all of those resolved.”
It’s tempting, but resist the urge to present your plan just yet—that comes next. Right now, you’re still showing the prospect why you’re the best fit and building their trust. That way, they’ve already bought into you when you show them the price.
Tie Your USP to Their Pain Points
Remember when we said earlier in this series that everything comes back to the discovery meeting? This is why. Your differentiators should be the unique things you do exceptionally well, and tie into the pain points the prospect shared with you in the discovery meeting.
He Said: To do this, tailor your USPs for each prospect’s pain points. If you use the same three for every presentation, you haven’t really heard what they told you in the discovery meeting.
She Said: Right. And keep in mind, you don’t have to rack your brain over what to include. For example, if a prospect says their pain point is that their current MSP is a revolving door of new technicians, share how you thoughtfully hire and train technicians and offer competitive compensation so they don’t leave. Don’t just say your employees stay forever—show them why. That’s how you’ll gain more credibility and trust.
Framing Your Solution Presentation
The next step is to transition from explaining how your service is better to preparing to present your action plan. By framing your solution before presenting it, you’re able to choose how the prospect receives the information you’re about to give them.
He Said: You’ve done the tech assessment; you’ve seen their current state and know where you want them to be tomorrow. But remember, this isn’t an information dump; you’re not just presenting numbers or a quote. Everything in this sales process is designed to help you close the deal. To that end, you want to frame the presentation of your solution intentionally.
Here’s a soundbite you can use to transition into this part of the presentation:
“Let’s talk about an action plan to resolve the issues that we found. We find most business owners that we meet with and clients that we have fall into one of three categories.”
This is a framing technique. We’re starting to rank the types of prospects we meet with, to make sure the prospect is going to receive all the information we have in the way we want.
She Said: Exactly. Here are the three types: One, those with a super tight budget; they’ve never used IT services before and aren’t even sure they need it. They’re looking for bare bones, economical IT support. Two is a standard, good fit client. And three is the premium buyer.
He Said: The business owners who really depend on their IT systems fall into category two. They recognize the need to keep everything in good working order to keep the business running. They’re cognizant of security and don’t want a ransomware attack, data loss, or some other disaster. That’s the category that most businesses fall into.
Premium buyers don’t like risk. They want complete peace of mind when it comes to cybersecurity, and they want you to take care of everything. Their IT systems are probably critical to running the business, and IT is part of their strategic growth plan. They want things like after-hours support.
Once you’ve described the categories to your prospect, use this soundbite:
“I think you fit into the second or third category I just described, so I’ve put together two plans for you to consider.”
What you’ve done is create two reference points for the prospect. One is the premium buyer, which may be the one they fit more into. But you’ve also created a reference point with category one; they don’t belong there, because they recognize the need for IT (be sure not to badmouth this category, though). This way, you’ve guided them toward that middle category—that’s what you’re targeting.
Keep in mind that you’re not describing the plans you offer; you’re describing the mindsets of the buyers—the people you typically sell to.
She Said: The framing process creates clarity for the prospect. It lets them see why they should choose a plan and whether or not it’s going to be right for them. You’re basically framing the information and doing that work for them.
Also, MSPs always think they need to sell category three, but the majority of my clients were in category two. And I think prospects appreciate that you’re not trying to sell them the most expensive plan. That said, don’t refuse to let people sell themselves into your premium plan if they want it!
Don’t Skip the Money Talk
Don’t wait until the end of the closing meeting to bring up the price. Giving your prospect a reference point early on provides insight into what to expect and makes closing the sale more likely.
He Said: You’re not asking for the sale right now, but get specific about your fees. Be prepared to explain why your fees are extremely reasonable, even if the prospect is going to spend more than what they spend now. This process allows you to handle objections they may have in advance.
Don’t be afraid of your price; be confident. If you look and sound like you think it’s a lot of money, the prospect will start questioning whether your services are really worth it.
Here, you’ll want to use a soundbite like this:
“As an example, a company of your size should be spending somewhere in the 4% range of top line revenue for IT. Right now, you’re at 1%, which is one of the reasons that you’re having these problems. The other reason is that your current provider’s failing to do X, Y, and Z, which is putting you at risk for a serious outage or ransomware attack, which would be really expensive and disruptive to your business.”
You don’t need to say it verbatim, but you want to inject some of these points. Reassure them that the investment they’re making is tied back to what their concerns are, and your plan is going to sufficiently take care of them.
She Said: For many in our industry, having the money talk is so hard. It was for me too; I was so comfortable with the service delivery that I would almost hide the price. But this is a sale. The only reason you’re doing it is to get them to sign. So we’re purposefully saying, talk about the money first—or at least talk about what it’s going to be, before you show them your proposal and services.
Basically, you’re framing the fee in advance. Remember, up until now, we have not presented the solution, and we have not presented any firm pricing.
Start Your Engines…
All this framing and upfront differentiation means that when you do present your proposal, you will have already addressed your prospect’s objections and concerns. Now, they will focus only on what you want them to—how you’re going to improve their business. Next time, we’ll dig into the ins and outs of presenting your solution.
