Mad Data is a husband-and-wife team. We started it in 2004 and my husband, Brian, is like most techs. They start a company and are doing everything. They’re trying to do the marketing, the business and also providing the service. So that’s how we started. It was a side gig, and he was a network admin of a law firm at the time. Then, over the years, we kept growing by word of mouth and kept acquiring. At some point I began to realize we were swamped and needed help. I started helping in the background, stepping in to help with the checkbook, answer phone calls and set appointments. Then we grew and found ourselves in a place where we weren’t really growing anymore and that is when we knew we needed to change. It took years of going through this cycle and then one day we get a campaign in the mail with a dollar on it.
A Dollar In The Mail Changed Everything
That dollar started our path with Technology Marketing Toolkit. We started to implement and go through the process and that changed everything for us. Brian went from being overwhelmed with everything and no monthly recurring revenue, to understanding the concept of MRR. Then the big shift happened in our company, Brian had time to focus on the business and I decided to jump all in and back him up. We started learning everything. Brian came in and dropped all the MAP stuff, and PSA stuff, and I had no clue what to do with them, but we learned. We learned everything.
I learned all of it and started implementing it. Once I understood it, then I was able to explain it. That is when I had my ah-ha moment that this is amazing – and that is when we really started selling. We were not making excuses anymore for not being able to do it. That was, I think, the biggest key for us.
We’ve been doing this now for about four years. We have learned the process of rinsing and repeating things. Everybody feels like they have to have this amazing one campaign, the silver bullet but you don’t. All you have to do is learn and understand the process, then rinse and repeat. So that’s kind of our business in a nutshell and where we’ve come from. Our strategy was following up.
Why Follow Up is Crucial for MSPs to Increase Revenue
We refused to be a one hit wonder. We started the Aspirin Campaign and focused on building the list and following up. I think people underestimate the power of a follow up. We stayed the course, followed the process and followed up. We grew by $1 Million in revenue from 2021 to 2022. We went from a break fix and projects company to having $166,000 in MRR by following the processes.
We also started going to events, asking for referrals, and joint ventures. Referrals really exploded for us. We made sure to get in front of the right people and then asked one question, “Is there anyone you could possibly refer us to?” and this opened up doors to follow up with them. We had the most success asking this question in our quarterly business reviews with our clients. Whether it is a trade show or asking for a referral, it all comes down to the follow up. You have to follow up.
I hear all the time from other business owners that they don’t have the time or not sure how to implement. For us, we made it a priority and we made the time. We prioritized getting a list and following up. Pick a singular focus and make it a priority.
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