2 Major Obstacles Stunted Our Growth
As President and CRO of iStreet Solutions, I recognized that two major obstacles prevented us from growing. First, our branding and services didn’t stand apart from every other MSP’s. And second, since the California shutdowns, our marketing has been inconsistent and lacked results.
So, my first step was to make a Venn diagram featuring our unique business services. And I have since transformed our company into three unique products: Freedom Cloud™, our fully staffed private cloud solutions business; Freedom Shield™, our security-first cyber security and classic MSP approach; and also Freedom File™, our applications and hosting business.
Next, by working on several previous projects with him, I knew just the man I would hire to be my Director of Marketing and Sales Operations. I hired Imran Lakhani in January 2022. His first responsibility was to go through Robin Robins’ program.
“All Hands On Deck”
Long before I hired Imran, I had attended Robin’s Rapid Implementation in March 2019. Back then, I didn’t have the revenue to hire a marketing manager, assistant and appointment setters. Therefore, every campaign I ran – Aspirin, Co-Managed IT and Closer Look – was all me.
Once my revenue increased enough to hire a staff, I knew it would prove valuable to go through the Rapid Implementation Workshop for a SECOND TIME. But this time, I wanted to bring my entire team from iStreet Solutions so everyone could have a base-level understanding of the interplay between marketing and operations. Imran, along with my appointment setter, Brittany, and my executive assistant, Maryann, all attended virtually. Lee and Ryan, our technical operations team, attended in person.
Imran’s advice: I suggest going through this valuable three-day training and 12-week marketing implementation program at least every two years. Beyond all of the sales and marketing strategies and resources, the coaches and even other MSP owners hold your team accountable to get the work done!
By Upselling Cyber Security To Current Clients,
We Closed $13,139 In MRR And $150,724 In Total Revenue!
After watching the presentations and speaking with other MSP owners at Robin’s 2021 Boot Camp, Lee and I resolved to build a cybersecurity stack that would better protect our clients. So, when I hired Imran, his goal was to help get our clients current on cyber security. His leadership in executing all the details was the reason this process was a success!
Imran put together a masterful plan to consistently connect with all of our 157 customers utilizing multiple channels. First, our appointment setter, Brittany Mullins, worked wonders in scheduling quarterly business review appointments. With no prior telecalling experience, she demonstrated a willingness to learn. Almost all QBR appointments had at least two touchpoints: Phone call – Phone call – E-mail – Phone call – Letter – Phone call.
Next, we drew inspiration from the Shock-And-Awe box and sent out a marketing package to every client who completed a QBR. Our package consisted of:
- A personal letter
- Certificate of completion
- Dark web scan audit
Prior to this year, our QBRs were hit-or-miss, with no regularity and little to no upselling. Because we had a clear cyber security focus, a multichannel approach, as well as Imran and Brittany doing the heavy lifting, we scheduled multiple appointments and gained $13,139 in MRR and $150,724 in total revenue! Going forward, we plan to make these a regular, quarterly occurrence.
Generating 6 Appointments, A New Client
And $10,356 In The Pipeline From Doing
The Aspirin Campaign RIGHT
Riding on the success of our cyber security initiative with our QBRs, we knew we had to start with Robin’s proven Aspirin campaign. Mark previously had GREAT SUCCESS with the Aspirin campaign before the pandemic, so he wanted to roll it out again.
The blessing in disguise was that we’ve been regularly sending out our printed monthly newsletters to existing customers and our farm list for a while. However, since these same groups hadn’t been called in a while, it was time to implement the Aspirin campaign.
Imran wanted to be a hero and send out 50 Aspirin letters a week. But Mark knew that follow-up was key, so he suggested starting with 25 a week to iron out our process. For four weeks, we regularly mailed out 25 letters a week, following each up with three phone calls, as well as three e-mails and LinkedIn connections, just as Robin recommends. After a month, we sent 50 letters per week.
From this first direct mail campaign, we generated seven appointments, of which six were sat. We closed one new client with an annual recurring revenue of $4,632, and we fully expect to upsell them in the near future with QBRs. Even better, from this single campaign, we now have $10,356 in MRR opportunities in the pipeline. WIN!
4 Sat Appointments From Our First-Ever Cyber Security Webinar!
Gaining confidence in each step of the Technology Marketing Toolkit process, we thought we would add webinars to our marketing arsenal. Our strategy is to use Sales Navigator to reach out to our 3,000 connections on LinkedIn. We message them on LinkedIn and also send a three-step e-mail to invite them to our series of six cyber security webinars. Our foot in the door is to offer webinar attendees a free dark web scan.
Our first of six webinars in this cyber security series was a success! It resulted in five first-time appointments! Three prospects also enrolled in our offer. Still learning and improving, we have recently improvised our methodology to “get more butts in virtual seats” for our next five webinars.
A Simple Website Tweak Brought In 2 IMMEDIATE Leads
Our website had been up for a long time. To be honest, we thought it was pretty perfect. Then, two things happened: First, we attended a Technology Marketing Toolkit session on website marketing. And second, TMT’s Lyndsey Beecham evaluated our site from an SEO perspective.
Through this new SEO knowledge, we made a few tweaks to our IT support page, as well as featuring our location. As a result of these quick changes, we got two quality leads that came through our website.
Generating More Opportunities Through Joint Ventures
We may be getting overly ambitious, but why should we stop scaling? Joint ventures give us more exposure and eventually open the door to more leads. We’ve created JV partnerships with SEVEN companies, including Oracle. From these JV opportunities, we currently have THREE DEALS in the pipeline! We expect this channel will continue to produce for years to come.
Respond To Both Clients AND Prospects FAST!
Mark’s advice: In the past, we’ve lost deals because of our lack of responsiveness. We learned our lesson. A case in point: A prospect received our Aspirin letter, perceived a need and called us. I IMMEDIATELY answered and had a conversation with him. The very next day, I sent him a proposal for IT services. Imagine my surprise when I received the SIGNED contract just ONE DAY later!
The message here is that RESPONSIVENESS is key. By answering the phone, talking with the prospect right then and sending the proposal while it’s still fresh in their mind, you prove to your prospects that your claim of responsiveness is REAL. They are more likely to sign because they are confident you’ll be just as responsive when they need your support.
Stop Procrastinating And Start Implementing
Imran’s advice: Everything we learned at Robin’s workshop that we’ve been implementing IS WORKING. It’s just a matter of how well we execute. We’ve experienced wins big and small, from the QBRs to the Aspirin campaign, to the website rework and our current webinar. Because we are already seeing successes, we just need to figure out how we can IMPROVE and SCALE. So, STOP PROCRASTINATING and start implementing the strategies laid out by Technology Marketing Toolkit.
From Skeptic To Genius Of The Month!
After implementing Robin’s proven marketing strategies and earning $13,139 in MRR, $150,724 in revenue and with $10,356 worth of MRR in the pipeline, iStreet Solutions has a bright future. From the results we’ve achieved, we’ve begun to crunch numbers and put into place a five-year projected growth plan.
While Imran was initially skeptical we could produce worthwhile results from Robin Robins’ marketing, we gave it an honest attempt. Today he admits: surprisingly, this stuff WORKS!
Additional Resources: Get the actual marketing pieces our Genius of The Month used by clicking here.
