Do you feel like you’re missing out on deals

you should be able to close?

Are you struggling to follow up with leads in

a timely manner while running your
day-to-day business?

Are your sales efforts unorganized and constantly

put on the back burner?

Sales is hard. IT services providers struggle with it for all kinds of reasons. But
successful IT services providers — those with > 70% close rates and 10-day sales
cycles — all have one thing in common. They have a clearly defined sales process,
and they stick to it.

This guide will help you establish your own winning sales process, and give you
cheat sheets you can use to keep that process visible, measurable, and repeatable.

Before we get into particulars, let’s first establish the core elements every IT
services provider deal is built on.
No matter what the situation is, those are the four things you always need.

Where do nearly ALL sales Trying to get #4 before properly

objections stem from? establishing #2 and #3.

If you establish pain and budget effectively you don’t get objections when you
move to close the deal.

By identifying these as the key things that actually build up to a “yes,” you can
break your sales efforts down into distinct, manageable steps. Better yet, you can
map each call/meeting/touchpoint to the goal of moving a prospect from one
stage to the next.

In other words, you can start creating a defined and repeatable process.

Your sales process should be built around accomplishing these four core things in
a standardized manner that essentially looks the same from prospect to prospect.

Intro call
1st in-person meeting
2nd in-person meeting to share results of eval
3rd in-person meeting to share quote
Every interaction you have with a prospect during your sales process needs to be
tightly focused on actively achieving one of those four things, then teeing up the
next step. Otherwise, you’ll either find yourself wasting your time or leaving
unnecessary openings for the prospect to have uncertainty and doubt and shop
elsewhere.

Speaking of time...

How many steps and how long this takes will obviously vary. It can depend a lot on
the types of clients you’re dealing with, number of decision makers, red tape, etc.
Ex: Selling a mom & pop shop is going to be faster and way less convoluted than
selling a medium-sized healthcare provider or large enterprise.

That said, for many SMB clients,

completing the entire sales cycle — from first touch to quote — in 7-10 days.

How do you get those four core things you need in that amount of time?

Use standard
Day 1
Qualify then schedule list of questions

In-person

Identify
Day 2-3 business pain
Schedule

On-site

See LifeCycle
Day 3-4 Insights template
Schedule

In-person

Get verbal agreement

Day 5-6 on price range
Confirm budget&schedule

In-person

Require yes or no
Day 7 Close the deal before you leave
 Rule out prospect or book 1st in-person (or virtual) meeting
with stakeholders

To whom am I speaking and what is your role in the business?

What is your responsibility in terms of information technology needs?
What is your role in the decision making process in terms of contracting
for services to handle your IT?
What is your vertical / industry?
Where are you located geographically?

Do you have a physical location where the majority of the computers are located?
Do you currently have an IT service provider?
Are you under a formal service agreement or pay as you go?
If under a formal agreement when does it expire/renew?
What does it cover?
How many full time users do you have?
How many part-time users?
How many endpoints do you have in total consisting of servers and desktop/laptop computers?
How long have you been in business?
Approximate age of workstations?
Age of servers?
What are you doing for backup?
Have you had any security incidents in the past year?
o you have an IT problem at present that is stopping them from working efficiently?
In particular, is it a problem that another IT service provider has failed to solve?
Why are you starting to look for help with your IT?
What IT problems have you experienced in the past?
 Identify and confirm current business issues (not technical)
in the prospect’s own words

How long could your business last if it experienced 2-4 days of downtime?
Do you think your IT services provider understands your business?
Does your IT services provider offer 24/7/365 monitoring?
Does your IT services provider offer data backup?
How fast does your IT services provider respond to support inquiries?
Is there a formal process for escalations during a cybercrime incident?
Do you receive regular communication from your IT services provider around
things like updates, new technologies you might be interested in, and potential swaps
to update your hardware?
Is monthly billing usually an issue or stressful process with your IT services provider?
Does your IT services provider offer any sort of leadership or direction for your company's
IT operation?
Do they help you deal with 3rd party vendors?

To gather pain without running down the competition:

“What could your current provider be doing better or different that would have kept
you from calling me?”
Technical Evaluation
Cheat Sheet

This template is provided by LifeCycle Insights. Learn more at https://lifecycleinsights.io/

Baseline Assessment for: ___________________________ Date: ___________________

Hardware

Servers

Not Applicable There are no servers

At Risk Some servers are past EOL or have warranty that has expired.

Needs Attention Some servers are approaching EOL or warranty expiration.

Satisfactory Servers are not approaching EOL or warranty expiration.

Workstations

Not Applicable There are no workstations

At Risk Some workstations are past EOL or have warranty that has expired.

Needs Attention Some workstations are approaching EOL or warranty expiration.

Satisfactory Workstations are not approaching EOL or warranty expiration.

Operating Systems

At Risk Some Operating Systems are no longer vendor supported, which creates
a security risk to the company and places the company out of major
industry best practices and compliances.

Satisfactory All Operating Systems are current and vendor supported.

UTM Internet Security Appliance

At Risk Current device is a router only and lacks monitoring and up to date security features.

Needs Attention Firewall is managed and up to date, but nearing the end of its lifespan.

Needs Attention Current firewall is not configured to block unwanted content.

Satisfactory Supportable UTM Firewall is included and managed.

Switches are beyond end of life as per company. Firmware updates and security
patches will not be made available even if a vulnerability is discovered.

Switches are over 5 years old and not cloud managed/monitored. This will have
performance implications and increases potential for failure and increased downtime.

Switches are managed and VLANs are deployed, but cloud visibility is not available,
which may impede monitoring and troubleshooting.

Client has deployed Next Generation cloud managed switches and refreshing
them on a schedule as part of regular lifecycle management.

WiFi does not exist and the organization has no business case to introduce it
into the environment.

Wireless hardware is beyond end of life. Firmware updates and security patches
will not be made available even if a vulnerability is discovered.

Wireless is ad-hoc and lacks visibility and management.

Wireless is managed, separated into VLANs, and allows for guest access separate
from corporate data networks.
Backups are not currently running.

Backups require human intervention to run or change media.

Backup is being performed to Google Drive/Dropbox or other cloud service.

Onsite BDR appliance caches backups while they replicate to a geo-redundant

cloud infrastructure. Solution is separate from the corporate network and resistant
to malware/encryption.

irect to Cloud backups offer geo redundancy and both bare metal and file level
restore. Solution is separate from the corporate network and resistant to
malware/encryption.

Microsoft and Google both recommend a third party backup of their cloud services.
No such backup has been implemented.

Client understands the risk and is willing to accept the loss of all data stored in
third party cloud environments.

Cloud Backups have been deployed. Monitoring and test restores are part of the
Client’s service plan.

Unknown – more information is required.

The organization relies on vendors to know what to do when disaster strikes and
guide them through the reactionary steps.

Basic continuity planning exists but is not tested or reviewed regularly.

The organization has several continuity plans for different potential disaster
scenarios. These plans are reviewed annually and updated as necessary. Tabletop
exercises are performed at an acceptable time period.
Anti-virus is installed manually with some machines unprotected or out of date.

Quality anti-virus is installed and centrally managed.

Anti-virus is managed internally using a server console and all endpoints are up
to date.

Traditional Anti-virus was replaced with or is supplemented by Next Gen Endpoint

Protection with Endpoint Detection Response.

Office uses consumer grade email with minimal security features.

mail is hosted with Microsoft but security standards are not aligned with
best practices.

oogle pps for Business is in place. e recommend M .

mail is outsourced to a rd party Hosted xchange provider or to M .

There is no email anti spam and or virus filter in use. The email client provides filtering.

Minimal email filtering is provided by oogle pps but may be insufficient.

Minimal email filtering is provided by M but may be insufficient.

There is a rd party anti spam and virus filter that is integrated with the hosted
Exchange provider.

Advanced Central Email program is deployed and protecting the email environment.

Client has sensitive data and/or reporting requirements and Email Archiving is
not in place.

Email archiving is not in place and the Client accepts the risk of lost or incomplete
data searches in the event of a request (ie. FOIA)

Email archiving is in place to protect sensitive data from loss and/or simplify reporting
in the event of a data request (ie. FOIA)

There is no sensitive information in email. Email is deleted regularly to limit exposure

in event of a breach.
Client is dependent on out of date software that is not under vendor support. This
may lead to stability issues, downtime, and/or security breaches.

Client’s Line of Business Applications are modern and under vendor support. These
applications are included as part of Lifecycle Management planning.

Client is aware that redundant solutions exist, but has identified minimal downtime
as an acceptable risk that has minimal impact on the business.

Client is running 2 ISP circuits in tandem.

Client has implemented Verizon 4G Wireless Backup.

The organization is not planning for expansion at this time.

Local resources are at capacity.

ocal resources are limited making scaling the business expensive or difficult.

The organization’s decision to move to the cloud means that capacity and scalability
are exible and cost effective. The organi ation can scale as it grows without undue
expense or delays.

Primary data storage is less than 20% free. Low free space can cause issues with back
and maintenance tasks. It will impede the company’s ability to scale the business.

rimary data storage is less that free. ow free space can cause issues with back
and maintenance tasks. It will impede the company’s ability to scale the business.

There is no shared storage O files reside on local workstations.

rimary data storage is located onsite and offers sufficient room for expansion growth.

Primary data storage is in the cloud and scaleable to meet business needs.
More information needed.

Not applicable.

VPN Access is required to work remotely. Unmanaged personal devices are being
used for remote access.

VPN Access is required to work remotely. Company equipment is furnished for

remote access.

Organi ation’s infrastructure is built for mobility first secure remote access by hosting
all critical components in the cloud.

Asset Inventory is not being performed.

Asset Inventory is manual for Chromebooks and tablets.

Asset Inventory is manual and time consuming.

Asset Inventory is largely automated and included in the service agreement.

Network documentation is severely lacking which makes the environment difficult

to support.

Because all service hours are billable, network documentation lacks details.

Network documentation is performed by the MSP but onsite IT does not properly
document changes, resulting in a decline in the accuracy of documentation over time.

Network documentation is incomplete and needs attention.

Network documentation is perform by the MSP and available upon request.

Network documentation is perform by the MSP and shared with the company
as necessary.
Unknown – more information required.

The company has no policy in place to limit access rights for users to the bare
minimum permissions they need to perform their work.

The company has a defined policy in place to limit access rights for users to the
bare minimum permissions they need to perform their work.

No central source of authentication is in use. This creates unnecessary risk/exposure

caused by lack of accountability and an inability to deploy adequate security policies.

Users, groups, and permissions are managed in Azure (free), which limit group
policy capabilities.

Users, groups, and permissions are authenticated against a robust cloud based
authentication system.

Users, groups, and permissions are authenticated against an onsite Domain Controller.

No Dark Web monitoring is in place.

The Dark Web is being monitored for employee credentials and a process is in place
to provide additional training if/when credentials are breached.

All IT Support is reactive and billable per hour. Budgeting IT support costs is impossible.

IT Support Agreement includes unlimited remote support, but onsite support is

billable and therefore difficult to budget.

IT Support Agreement includes basic automated tasks, but human intervention

when re uired is billable and therefore difficult to budget.

IT Support Agreement includes unlimited remote support and onsite support.

Moves/Adds/Changes and Projects are billable outside of the agreement.
No secure media disposal P&P is in place.

The current media disposal & is ineffective and leaves significant risk of data
exposure/breach to the organization.

The current media disposal P&P is in place and followed every time hardware is
procured and retired from use in the organization.

No defined process exists for deploying Operating System and pplication updates
on a regular basis. These patches are installed manually and there is no method or
process for checking the status.

Some devices cannot be patched due to vendor requirements. Additional steps are
being taken to add additional protections but full remediation is impossible.

defined process exists for deploying Operating System and pplication updates
on a regular basis. These patches are audited for successful deployment and
remediated if/when failures occur.

Technology budgeting is not being performed regularly, making lifecycle

management a difficult or impossible task.

Technology budgeting is a work in progress but a plan out line is in place.

The organization has a formal budget in place for all IT products and services.

The network does not have VLANs deployed which increases the threat from
lateral movement of hackers through the network.

A minimal number of VLANs have been deployed with access rules between them
to provide an additional security layer but further segmentation is recommended
to achieve best practices compliance.

A reasonable number of VLANS have been deployed with access rules between
them to provide an additional security layer and aid in best practices compliance.
Client does not have an engagement for vCIO services. Necessary tasks like Strategic
Technology Planning, Budgeting and Technology Alignment are not being
performed regularly.

vCIO Services are readily available under the client’s service agreement but not being
fully utilized.

vCIO Services are included in the service offering and Strategic Business Review
meetings are scheduled annually.

vCIO Services are included in the service offering and Strategic Business Review
meetings are scheduled semiannually.

vCIO Services are included in the service offering and Strategic Business Review
meetings are scheduled quarterly.
 ommit to ballpar fi ure schedule final proposal meetin to
close the deal

epeat customer pain points and have them affirm in real time

ive detailed stories of a similar client and what outcomes they had by signing on with
your IT services provider
alk away or recommend other options, if the client is unable to pay the ballpark figure
for managed services

To get your budget with bracketing:

“Mr. Customer, I have worked with several clients with similar concerns to the ones you
have told me about, and in those situations they spent between $$$$ and $$$$ in IT
services to resolve those issues and provide adequate IT support. If I came to you with a
price in that range, can we do business together?”
 Close the deal

Come to the client with a detailed proposal outlining services and tech offered
This must include billing terms and timeline on the managed service agreement
Be prepared to take questions or adjust the offering as needed

If the deal looks as if it will fall through, push a special last minute offer to help keep the potential
new client engaged. Ensure this special offer is in line with your magins.
Once the offer set is finali ed, close the deal and prepare to onboard a new client
It gets you organized as a business. A documented sales process allows a
business to quickly onboard new sales talent in a professional and strictly
outlined process that stays in line with brand identity and company tone.

Holds oneself accountable when it comes to making agreements with clients

and formalizing the new client onboarding process.

Develops a baseline:
Regularly recording data and metrics like time on the phone with a
prospect, amount of calls until conversion, and repeated pain points by
prospects can make future sales cadences even stronger.

Ex: You discover you typically fully convert 1 out of every ten prospects; that
allows you to budget your sales and marketing spend accordingly.
Identifies bottlenecks and conversion points you need to improve on as a team
of a business. In many cases, you might hear pain points that your company
does not have a solution for or billing terms are too complex and abstract for
some customers to understand. Either way, it is necessary to take these
bottlenecks and adjust the process accordingly.

In order to attain consistent growth as an MSP it is necessary to develop

a formalized, repeatable sales process that pinpoints prospects pain
points, attaches solutions your offering to solve business problems and
deliver that to the decision makers to build consensus leading to a
closed deal."

, Channel Chief at NinjaRMM