Successful MSPs have one thing in common: they use 7 principles that allow them to grow and adapt quickly. And that’s crucial in the fast-changing tech world. By consistently applying these principles, they not only achieve better results for their customers but also strengthen their own market position.
In our previous blogs, we covered the first two of these principles: formulating a clear value proposition and providing the right tools for your team. The third principle might surprise you: dare to challenge your customer.
What do we mean by this? And why is it important for your success as an MSP? Let’s dive in.
Have the Guts to Say No
Sometimes you need to bite the bullet and say ‘no’ to a customer. Not because you don’t want to help them, but precisely because you do. Your customer comes with a specific question or request, but with your knowledge and experience, you see it’s not the best solution. Maybe it doesn’t fit the long-term strategy, creates unnecessary complexity, or there are better alternatives available.
It’s tempting to say ‘yes’ in such cases. After all, you want to be customer-friendly and win the business. But in the long run, you’re doing yourself and your customer a disservice. You saddle yourself with inefficient practices and your customer with suboptimal solutions.
So, don’t be afraid to be critical and say ‘no’ when necessary. Explain why you recommend a different approach. You’re the expert, the trusted advisor. Your customer relies on your knowledge and experience to make the right choices.
Rethink Past Decisions
We see this regularly in the IT world. It’s inherent to the constantly changing technology and business needs. What was a good choice five years ago might not be anymore. Yet many organizations cling to outdated systems and processes, simply because they’re already in place.
Over the years, more and more systems, connections, and exceptions are added, often for very specific use cases. This creates a tangled web of dependencies that makes the IT environment as a whole fragile and difficult to manage. This complexity is a silent killer for the organization. It makes them less flexible.
As an MSP, it’s your job to advise your customer on this. Analyze their IT environment with a critical eye. Are all components still necessary? Are there more modern, efficient alternatives available? Can you streamline things by phasing out certain systems? Aim for simplicity and standardization where possible.
Keep It Simple
Challenge your customer to take a critical look at all those exceptions and customizations. Can the needs be met in a simpler way, for example by adjusting the process instead of building a technical marvel?
By ditching outdated baggage, you create room for your customer to innovate and grow. Yes, change can be tricky and costs time and money. But the investment pays off double in better performance and more time for employees to focus on other things.
Simplicity leads to better oversight, fewer errors, and faster adjustments. It makes the customer more flexible as an organization. And as an MSP, you can manage the environment more efficiently and innovate faster. In short, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Focus on the Need, Not the Want
Another situation where you might need to contradict your customers is when they ask for specific solutions. How often do they explicitly ask for product X or functionality Y? Sometimes that’s not what they really need. It’s important to dig deeper and understand the underlying need.
Let’s say a customer asks you to set up a specific authorization structure in their system. Instead of blindly executing this request, it’s better to first ask: why? What does the customer want to achieve with this authorization structure?
- Maybe the standard role-based access control of the platform with some adjustments can already meet their security requirements.
- Perhaps the desired restrictions can already be realized by cleverly configuring existing user groups and permissions, without a completely new structure.
- Maybe we can also achieve the goal by training the customer in the optimal use of the existing authorization options.
By focusing on the need behind the wish, you come up with smarter, more efficient solutions. You prevent unnecessary customization and really help your customer move forward. Always ask yourself: what is the customer really trying to achieve here? And how can we best facilitate that with the capabilities our platform already offers?
From Challenging to Excelling
It’s good to be critical and say ‘no’ when necessary. The art of challenging lies in the balance. You need to have enough courage to contradict your customer and suggest alternatives, but do this in a constructive way. Explain why you recommend a different approach. It’s not about being right, but about finding the best solution together. And remember: you’re the expert. Your customer relies on your knowledge and experience to make the right choices.
If you do this well, your customer will start to see you as a full-fledged sparring partner. Someone who doesn’t just execute blindly, but thinks proactively and advises. Someone who’s willing to have difficult conversations in their interest. That’s the position you want to take as an MSP.
The Ydentic platform helps you fulfill this role. You can standardize and automate processes in it. This creates room for strategic conversations with your customer. And by having everything centralized and visible, you can back up your advice with hard data.
Want to know more about how Ydentic can help you challenge your customers and take your service to the next level? We’d love to chat. Get in touch with us for a personal demo.
Keep following us, because this is just the 3rd principle of the Ydentic MSP framework. There are 4 more blogs coming with valuable tips on how to grow as an MSP.
