I constantly get calls from MSPs around the country who complain that they aren’t getting the inbound leads they need to grow their companies.
What I ask them is: “What have you done recently to generate buzz, and get your name out there?” They often say, Google AdWords, but that they’re not having any success with it. Here’s what I always tell them:
Canvass Your Prospects to Get Leads.
Tim Richter, CEO of Raleigh IT Support company RCOR Technologies (a small, growing MSP), and I share some insights with you below. Tim uses this holistic approach with incredible success. In the past 8 weeks, he’s brought in $2 thousand of new business each week. That’s $16 thousand of new, monthly recurring revenue!
How to Begin
- Hire someone to canvass for you. Don’t use a sales person. Your goal is to gain information about your prospect right now—not to sell.
- They shouldn’t be a technical person. If the prospect needs to talk to your tech person, your canvasser can always call them.
- You need someone who’s available from 10am to 2pm, Tuesday through Thursday. These are the best hours, and best days to canvass. (You can hire a part time person for this position. Tim hires university students.)
- Hire someone with a “bubbly” personality. A person who makes others smile! They will be giving a 30-second pitch and need to make a great impression, quickly.
Information to Gather
Give your canvasser a form to complete for each visit:
- Company name and address
- Phone number, email address, website URL
- Name of their IT person or other decision maker, and their contact info
- Do they use IT staff or outsource?
- How many computers do they have?
- Do they have any IT problems right now?
Note: Your canvasser should also drop off some simple, but professional marketing materials—Not your entire packet of tools. Contact Stuart for information about this.
Where to Canvass
- Canvass the businesses around your best customers.
- Visit industries that you specialize in servicing.
- If you know there are businesses lacking good IT services, visit them.
What Now?
Once you have the information you need, it’s time for you to qualify these prospects. Decide which ones are your best leads and contact them personally.
- Provide them your full marketing packet with testimonials from your best customers. Contact Ulistic about this.
- Call them and market to them on a regular basis. (e.g., Invite them to your webinars.)
Keep Going.
Shift the gears in your brain from being a technology company to a marketing company that sells technology. You must use multiple avenues to get your name out there using:
- Social Media
- Webinars
- Print Newsletters
- E-Newsletters
- Email Campaigns
- Telemarketing
- Post Cards
- Sales Letters
- Follow-up Calls
- Press Releases
Use a holistic approach to marketing and keep it going all the time. You can’t just depend on one thing, three things, etc. You must do it all. This will get you the leads you want.
Want to get more leads and business like Tim does? Get out there and start canvassing! Ulistic can help. For details contact us at: 716.799.1999 or info@ulistic.com
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