MSP Growth OS Exec: Don’t Expect Sales Reps To ‘Do Everything’

‘Salespeople want to be supported, not micromanaged,’ says Brent Morris, partner at MSP Growth OS. ‘They want clear expectations, fast compensation and a team that backs them up. If we build that, if we coach and challenge and celebrate wins, we’ll build sales engines that actually grow the business, not just hope something happens.’

MSPs must stop thinking that marketing alone will land deals and start building real, accountable sales engines, according to one MSP executive.

“You can’t lead with marketing to win new business. It just doesn’t produce enough, frequently enough,” said Brent Morris, partner at MSP consulting firm MSP Growth OS.

Morris spoke to a room full of MSPs at CRN parent company The Channel Company’s XChange August event in Denver this week about the dos and don’ts of successful sales engines and said it all comes down to people.

At the core of this strategy is one key metric: first-time appointments. “It’s the only thing a salesperson can control, their ability to pick up the phone, to network, to create those meetings.”

He urged MSPs to have a documented, visible sales process and a culture that treats sales like a discipline.

[Related: TruNorth Dynamics CEO To MSPs: Start Referring Or Risk Losing Clients]

“One of the biggest mistakes I made, and I see others make, is expecting a rep to do everything,” he said. “That’s a full-cycle sales rep, and they cost a minimum base of six figures. What we focus on instead is helping reps get really good at two things: finding and qualifying.”

Qualification, he explained, happens on two fronts: identifying the right kind of client and knowing how to represent the business in a way that builds trust. And that starts with an ideal client profile.

“We ask what events they attend, what software they use, what their buyer persona looks like, not just job titles, but what actually keeps them up at night,” he said.

Differentiation also came under scrutiny.

“Fast response times? Proactive support? Cybersecurity? We’ve all said it,” he said. “That’s not different anymore. We’re in red ocean territory. Everyone is saying the same things.”

Instead, he encouraged MSPs to define a true niche whether through local presence or expertise in a specific vertical or application.

And sales success, he said, comes from operational clarity and consistent coaching.

“When I conduct interviews, I might say, ‘I know you’re great. But I want an honest conversation,’” he said. “I got fired from my first sales job because I was afraid to pick up the phone. I can see that fear in others, and if we don’t push through it in the interview, we hire the wrong people.”

He recommended four to six hours of interviewing to reveal the truth about a salesperson’s abilities, especially their willingness to cold call.

“If you post for a hunter, be crystal clear: ‘You will get no leads. You are expected to cold call.’ Make them say it back to you,” he said.

On-boarding and development of these salespeople can also be overlooked, he said. They need training, coaching and exercises to keep them sharp, according to Morris, who said he role-plays once a week with sales reps to challenge them and make them better.

“Salespeople want to be supported, not micromanaged,” he said. “They want clear expectations, fast compensation and a team that backs them up. If we build that, if we coach and challenge and celebrate wins, we’ll build sales engines that actually grow the business, not just hope something happens.”

Tanaz Choudhury, president and CEO of Houston-based TanChes Global Management, said she has felt frustrated with repeated failed sales hires despite rigorous vetting.

“I’ve also been fooled numerous times,” she told CRN. “People from large and small organizations who looked great on paper ended up being a bust.”

After running a referral-only, no-sales team for 27 years, even winning government contracts through word of mouth, her MSP is now trying to build a formal sales engine, with mixed results.

“Maybe it’s them. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s both,” she said. “But I haven’t found the right fit yet.”