Our awesome partner, ImageQuest, was recently recognized for excellence in managed IT services, and we could not be more thrilled! Named to CRN’s 2016 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category, ImageQuest, formerly an office equipment (OE) company, sets an example all MSPs should strive to achieve.
While there’s no “one size fits all” managed services approach, to provide more context around a business model that’s proven to pay off and help his company successfully pivot, we reached out to ImageQuest CEO Milton Bartley to learn more. What does he attribute to their impressive growth, and what sales tactics could you consider emulating? We cover it here!
1. What do you attribute to ImageQuest’s recognition for excellence in managed IT services?
“I think our story resonates. We are disciplined and deliberate about our business, and that has translated into some serious growth over the past three years. Not just revenue growth, but profitability and market footprint as well. It takes a team of committed individuals to build and grow a business in today’s world of rapidly changing technology, and we have that at ImageQuest.”
2. What unique sales approach was ImageQuest selected for, and can you describe it?
“We call it Chocolate Cake. We don’t sell any of the pieces and parts (ingredients) as it relates to IT as one-off solutions. We believe a customer cannot take those ingredients, mix them up, and make the cake taste as good. They simply don’t have the expertise; they don’t have the refined and perfected recipe; they don’t have the years of experience; they don’t have the dedicated team who does this day in and day out for every customer. We learned to say no to clients who simply want to buy ingredients.”
3. Can all MSPs benefit from this approach? If not, who’d find it valuable?
“Each MSP has to find their own version of Chocolate Cake. For some, that will look a lot like our cake. For others, it will be ahybrid break-fix and managed services offering. Yet, for others it will be a focus on a certain suite of products like backup and disaster recovery (BDR) or telecommunications. The important thing is for the MSP to clearly define their client and their offering, and have the discipline to stick to it.”
4. How do you systematize your managed IT services offering, and what is the benefit of this?
“This is one of our biggest struggles. We are constantly working to create, refine, validate, and manage to standard processes. The more we have standardized our offering [Chocolate Cake], the easier it has been to systematize. The benefits are two-fold. First, when we follow standard processes and checklists, client satisfaction is higher, and that leads directly to the second, higher margins. Higher margins result from both increased revenue from happier clients, and lower costs as we drive efficiencies in our labor force.”
Keep reading the rest of Continuum’s blog post here