One of the toughest challenges that we see MSPs facing today is the struggle to stand out in a highly competitive market. Most MSPs are offering the same services, presented in the same way.

But you don’t have to stick with the standard, repetitive offerings that everyone else has. If you’re looking for an opportunity to drive business in a fresh way, it might be time to productize your services. 

What does it mean to productize?

Productizing your services can completely overhaul the way you approach selling your packaged solutions as an MSP. It involves taking your current services, and packaging them in a way that is more marketable and accessible to your clients. 

Typically, this is done by bundling services together at various price points, and clearly indicating what your clients will get when they choose a bundle.

The MSP Sales Struggle

If you pull up a variety of MSPs in your area right now, you will likely find that they all have a services menu that looks pretty similar. They might present offerings like managed services, managed IT services, cybersecurity services and project consulting. To a potential client, those words all mean basically the same thing. There is no easy way for a potential client to know which MSP will be right for them, because on the surface, they all look the same.

If you find that your business, website, and marketing is looking too much like everyone else in the industry, don’t worry: that is the perfect opportunity to bring something new to the market.

The Productization Possibility

Your offering can truly look and sound different than anybody else. 

You can sell something that nobody else has available to sell. 

And you can communicate the full value of your services in a very concise and simple way that proves you’re the better option.

Let’s walk through the principles around productizing your services so you can sell more, and do it in a differentiated way:

1.) Brand your services to become the only MSP that offers your specific solutions. This is especially true for that service, or services, that you do particularly well.

To give you an example: At ONEFIRE, we have a revenue operations framework called the ONEFIRE GrowthPlan™. This plan incorporates how we think about modern marketing for the clients that we work with. It includes four stages, all working together to generate more revenue for your organization.

The ONEFIRE GrowthPlan™ is packaged, productized and trademarked. It is a solution that is only ours, which allows us to differentiate ourselves from the competition. 

2.) Clearly illustrate what your productized solution includes. Minimize any confusion by making your offer very direct. Your client should know exactly what they’ll be getting if they purchase a package from your business.

3.) Reduce the fear of the unknown by highlighting the delivery process of your productized service. In sales, there is a fear that clients have when they aren’t quite sure what they’re buying, or they don’t know what to expect. When you’re selling your productized services, your clients need to know what the entire process will look like, and what the impact will be to them. 

Common Productization Pitfalls

Productizing your services does not come without challenges. Here are a couple of the most common pitfalls we’ve seen for MSPs:

1.) Not aligning your marketing, sales and service delivery teams around your productized solution. Everybody needs to be rowing in the same direction, presenting the same messaging, and really leaning into that solution and why your offerings are unique.

2.) Making the value proposition of your solution too complex. If you’ve got so much value you’re trying to communicate, it can be too overwhelming for your prospect to grasp. Instead, share that one big problem that you can solve for them.

The good news is that these challenges can definitely be overcome with a strategic approach and a clear, unified vision for your productized services.

Should You Productize Your Services?

At ONEFIRE, we love building out productized solutions for our MSP clients. Many of our clients are implementing this approach – and so are we. 

If you feel like your business is getting lost in a sea of competition, it might be time to offer your top services in a way that speaks directly to the needs of your prospects. Solution-based products can meet them where they’re at, and bring in new, right-fit customers for your business.

What does it look like to productize your services? Get in touch with our team: