In an ideal world, any prospective client that has a need for your products and services would be considered a welcome addition to your portfolio. Sadly, it’s not the case. Some of them may be just motivated by bottom-line costs and ultimately fall under the heading of transactional business. Others may appreciate your offerings but lack the resources to truly leverage your value proposition.
While that latter group may be worth fighting for, there are nonetheless scenarios where doing business with a prospect isn’t feasible. As we will see in this week’s State of the Industry report on managed IT, the most successful service providers often feel the need to adopt a disciplined approach and set parameters for selecting the client personas that most closely align with what they’re trying to accomplish.
Like many dealers, Usherwood Office Technology has evolved its client vetting process beyond technical fit and immediate need. Lindsay Usherwood, general counsel for the Syracuse, New York-based company, notes that assessing long-term alignment, leadership buy-in and a willingness for change supersede a company’s industry or size.
“This long-term alignment is crucial because meaningful change doesn’t happen overnight,” Usherwood said. “Often what we are talking about is their business model, growth initiatives, and operational maturity—all of which determine how organizations approach partnership and accountability. We want to engage with clients where we can drive meaningful and sustainable business outcomes.”
Sweet Spot
Michael Macri, vice president of sales for Watchkeep, the managed IT division of Fraser Advanced Information Systems in West Reading, Pennsylvania, recalls the early days when signing up customers en masse was customary. Over time, it became evident that alignment trumped volume, and providers like Watchkeep adopted a more intentional tack in qualifying prospective clients.
Clients who view IT as a necessary evil and want a solution with a shoestring budget are not the optimal fit for Watchkeep. “Today, we take the time to dig deeper during the sales process,” Macri said. “We look at leadership mindset, IT maturity, existing infrastructure and the urgency of their pain points. If an organization … [is] feeling the weight of growing cyber threats, frustrated by compliance complexity, struggling to scale securely or just needs better IT coverage, they’re exactly who we’re built to serve.”
Watchkeep’s sweet spot is SMBs with 25 to 250 employees, a size that strikes a balance between customers being big enough to face serious IT risks but too lean to address them in-house. Marci points out the ideal clients fall under three key personas:
• IT managers who have a defined budget but are overwhelmed with day-to-day firefighting and need a partner to offload Tier 1, 2 or even Tier 3 responsibilities.
• CFOs who are under pressure to control costs, justify IT spend and minimize financial risk from downtime or breaches.
• CIOs and COOs who are disappointed with their current MSPs lack of follow-through and are seeking true accountability and strategic guidance.
“In terms of verticals, we specialize in industries where uptime, security and compliance are mission-critical, particularly manufacturing, legal, health care and professional services,” Macri added. “These organizations can’t afford reactive IT. They need a partner who helps them move from firefighting to future-proofing.”
By the Book
For dealers such as Marco, new engagements are driven by data as opposed to assumption. Shelly Caldwell, managed service director for the St. Cloud, Minnesota, heavyweight, notes the dealer follows a highly detailed vetting process.
“Before proposing solutions, we assess environmental health, operational maturity, and strategic fit using the Marco Insights Platform and structured assessments,” she said. “This ensures that our recommendations align directly with the customer’s current state and long-term objectives.”
From a vertical perspective, Marco sees robust engagements with health care entities (especially long-term care), financial services, manufacturing and government. “These sectors often face heightened regulatory demands, aging infrastructure, and operational variability, making the impact of modernization both immediate and measurable,” Caldwell noted.
Liability Considerations
There are engagement ramifications that can touch both client and service provider, and it’s imperative that both sides can have a meeting of the minds, so to speak. Les Olson IT takes it a step further. The Salt Lake City-based firm is keen to onboard any and all customers that are willing to partner with them in an effort to elevate system stability and lock down security as a starting point, notes Keith Adams, vice president of IT.
“If we take on a client who chooses not to participate in the use of the prescribed systems that we have found to be essential in their protection or successful use of the systems, then we may either pass on that client or we will create a letter of understanding,” he explained. “That letter outlines the risk associated with the choices they have made, and they acknowledge that we have offered protections that they are choosing to decline or restrict. In that letter the customer accepts in writing the liability that comes from those choices.”
