“Never mistake activity for achievement.” – John Wooden
Zig Ziglar used to tell the story of the experiment conducted with processionary caterpillars, named as such because they follow each other in procession. I believe this to be a very relatable to MSP business owners that want to make it, but are holding themselves back by staying in the same place, doing the same things, expecting different results.
In this experiment, a naturalist lined them up on the rim of a flowerpot in a head-to-tail circle to see what they would do. Once they got going, they kept going – after he checked in at the end of the day, 10 hours after he started them, they were still circling the pot, each following the one ahead of them.
The next day, they continued to march on. After two days, the naturalist tested putting pine needles in the center of the pot (their primary food source) to try to entice them to break rank, but they ignored the pine needles and marched on. Apparently, this continued for seven days, until the caterpillars simply died from exhaustion and lack of food.
I’m finding many MSP business owners are acting in the same way.
Most are BUSY but not accomplishing anything, their businesses dying from a lack of profits, despite the fact that they are inches away from the coaching, templates, tools, and support to RAISE their prices, get better clients, and right the ship so they start making money again.
In the last few weeks, I’ve seen a slight uptick in members calling in to cancel their memberships, stating they’ve run out of cash and are offloading as many expenses as possible. Our membership consists of over 1,500 active paying (not the 6,000+ clients we have), so that’s only 0.3%, BUT where there’s an ant there’s an anthill. I can also confirm that margins and profits for most MSPs are down (except for the top 25% of best-in-class MSPs who have raised prices by 20% or more this year) due to inflation and rising costs of everything across the board.
No matter what you’re hearing, we are, technically, in a recession. How bad will it get? I’m unsure. Hopefully, it will be a mild correction that works in the favor of those of us who are running tight ships and find a downturn useful in getting rid of a lot of the “cheapo” competitors and freeing up the labor market.
It’s SHOCKING to me that any MSP could be struggling to make money right now.
Demand is HIGH for IT services. If you are struggling with low margins and insufficient new client acquisition, I’m sorry to tell ya, bubba, but it’s ALL your fault.
Last month I hosted a special session on how to raise your prices with Mr. “Blue Suit” Will Nobles and “One In A Row” Mike Bazar, and it was FANTASTIC. If you attended and used the strategies we gave you, it would have PAID FOR YOUR ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP FOR THE YEAR. I’m not exaggerating even a bit. Sadly, only 243 attended out of the 1,000+ members invited. Sure, some will catch it on demand – but if I were an MSP struggling to make sufficient profits, and that’s 83% of our industry, folks, then I would have cleared my calendar and got my arse on there LIVE so I could ask questions. What else could be more important right NOW?
A great detrimental behavior in many people’s lives, particularly business owners, is the constant, chronic behavior of choosing to skip and skimp on the time (and money) invested into personal development and learning. The people who sat out the “Raise Your Prices” webinar I hosted, probably spent a couple of hours that same day on frivolities – scrolling social media, watching TV, living in their inbox, etc. I’d bet my house on it.
We are, yet again, in Roadshow season, this year with three more cities to choose from (www.ITmarketingRoadshow.com). The information we’re sharing is PURE GOLD…yet many are telling us they “can’t” attend because it’s too far, costs too much, or they have other plans during the time we’re hosting the one in their area and don’t want to travel. They are choosing to stay in their little corner of the forest, chopping, chopping, chopping with a dull axe, too busy to venture out and discover that someone could hand them a chainsaw.
They behave like the guys who cut my grass. Wake up and ride the mower back and forth, back and forth, day in and day out. Unthinking. On autopilot, looking down, mufflers on their ears. Routine work that requires very little creativity or thinking. There’s no challenge in it. To a certain extent, those of us who achieve should be happy that the majority behave this way about work. As the old man said to his young caddy Danny in the movie Caddyshack, the world needs ditch diggers too. The bottom 80% is what makes the top 20% a reality. Someone has to wake up and “make the donuts,” but does it have to be YOU?
You’re here, with US. You have access to what are, without a doubt, the most proven, time-and-field tested resources for profit and growth at your fingertips FOR YOUR SPECIFIC BUSINESS. No interpretation and very little modification are needed. You WERE smart enough to invest, but are you consuming it and putting it to good use, or are you continuing on like the tired processionary caterpillar, marching along, day in and day out, never taking a different path until you die of exhaustion?
Don’t be a dull blade, stuck in the bottom 80% or, worse, the bottom 20%! You’re here, with us. Make the most of it. And for pity’s sake, get registered for Roadshow already! When you do, you’ll also get IMMEDIATE ACCESS to that “Raise Your Prices” webinar I shared info on up above.
If you’re an owner of an MSP or IT services business, who wants a plan to succeed and is willing to put in some work (this is NOT a bad word) to do it, then make sure to join me at the IT Marketing Roadshow. Spots are just $97 and I guarantee it’ll be worth your time away from your business. Go to www.ITmarketingRoadshow.com.
