In the world of managed services, the landscape has shifted from traditional offerings like break-fix and help desk services to include cybersecurity. This transition opens abundant opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs) to elevate their services and drive substantial revenue. I'm excited to share insights into successfully selling cybersecurity for MSPs.
Seizing the Opportunity in Cybersecurity Services
The pivot to cybersecurity services offers MSPs a chance to not only enhance the services they offer but also to educate clients on the critical importance of robust security measures. This dual approach not only protects your business as an MSP but also safeguards your clients. So, how do you sell and offer cybersecurity services effectively? To follow are some of the top tips that I have seen when working with our partners for success.
Strategic Partnerships with Specialized Vendors
One of the key strategies I advocate for is establishing partnerships with vendors specializing in specific security spaces. Let me share a real-life example:
Netsurion collaborated with an MSP in the northeast, identifying operational gaps and resource constraints. This partnership resulted in a nearly 34% cost saving, increased efficiency, and allowed the MSP to refocus on essential aspects of their security business.
Partnering with vendors accelerates the route to market, significantly reducing the time and resources required to build an in-house infrastructure. Curious about how much it would cost for you to implement your own SOC without a partner? Well, the number is well above $1M.
Check out this short video How Much Does It Cost to Set-up and Operate a 24/7 SOC for more insights.
Thoughtful Packaging and Pricing
Another crucial aspect is the strategic packaging and pricing of cybersecurity services. Consider the success story of an MSP in the southeast, which developed three distinct security add-ons – basic, advanced, and premium – each with built-in margins ranging from 1.5 to 3 times.
This approach not only incentivized their sales team to push the premium bundle but also ensured alignment with clients' actual needs. The result? A noteworthy 44% year-over-year growth in cybersecurity revenue.
Choose a Framework
The important part is to help your clients make the best choice for them and to feel confident in their choice. Using a framework to build your security stack, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) Identify-Predict-Prevent-Detect-Respond to educate your customers and get the security conversation going, is a great place to start.
Using a gap analysis is a great method to consult your client and help them make informed decisions around the framework. Try the free Cybersecurity Gap Analysis & Maturity Roadmap tool by Netsurion.
Embracing a Customer Success Role
I've observed a growing trend among successful MSPs – adopting a customer success role. This involves dedicated personnel ensuring customer satisfaction, updating clients on industry trends, and showcasing successful cybersecurity use cases. Quarterly webinars and customer events also create valuable opportunities to discuss changes in your business and cybersecurity offerings, making it easier to seek additional sales. This approach has proven successful, with several MSPs leveraging customer success roles to sell more to their existing customer base.
These four best practices – strategic partnerships, thoughtful packaging and pricing, positioning around a framework, and embracing a customer success role – are my insights to empower MSPs to not just survive but thrive in the cybersecurity market. Want to dive deeper and learn The Common Strategy that is Killing Your Cybersecurity Revenue? Check out our previous blog post.
Author Marco Albano is vice president of Channel Sales for Netsurion. Read more Netsurion guest blogs and news here. Regularly contributed guest blogs are part of MSSP Alert’s sponsorship program.
