The six things your prospects are looking for in an MSSP and how you can provide them

The threat of cyber attack is increasing annually and over the next three years, global cybercrime costs are predicted to grow by 15 percent per year reaching $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. The work required to keep a business safe is overwhelming and many organisations seek the support of a managed service provider like yours to keep their business protected. But, with so many MSSPs out there, how do you ensure your proposal stands out? To help, here are six things your prospects are looking for in an MSSP and how you can provide them.

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1. Proof of quality and expertise

Every managed service provider will claim their service and expertise are the best around so prospects will look for reviews and customer feedback to get an independent assessment before making any hiring decision.

Make sure your homepage features testimonials from happy clients to demonstrate your experience, reliability and expertise. Prospects may want to test the authenticity of these testimonials by contacting these clients for a reference so don’t make any of them up!

If there are specific services you wish to promote or events that you are particularly proud of, you can work with a copywriter to create a case study which you can host on your website and share with prospects as part of the sales process.

Google also remains a powerful tool for generating new business. Prospects can see a company’s customers have scored their performance out of five via Google Reviews so don’t forget to ask happy clients to support you there too.

Not sure your clients would agree to a testimonial or case study? Learn how to develop deeper client relationships so making such a request won’t seem so challenging in the future.

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2. Value

For many MSPs and MSSPs, there’s a race to the bottom on price when it comes to attracting new business. However, a full-scale managed security service is expensive to set up given the associated costs of recruitment, training, infrastructure, tools, and maintenance. To offer a low priced service would mean scrimping on some or all of these elements and this is incredibly damaging not just for the industry as a whole but also for organisations seeking cybersecurity help.

What you should be showcasing is high value which can be done by investing appropriately in your people and tools and then being open with clients and prospects about where the money is being spent and why. By demonstrating this, you highlight that a cheaper service might not be up to scratch and is a risk the prospect must not take.

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3. Clear reporting that shows short term and long term effectiveness

While cybersecurity budgets are increasing, IT leaders must still demonstrate a solid ROI to their boards for every purchase they make. The appointment of a managed service provider is no different.

By providing your clients with clear reporting of your effectiveness, you are in a stronger position to retain that customer, upsell or even attract new business through word-of-mouth. After all, it’s easier for clients to talk about you if they have clear and compelling evidence that you’re performing well.

When it comes to prospects that haven’t been generated through word-of-mouth, by showing them example reports as part of your proposal, they can determine if your form of measurement will be sufficient for their needs, and see real examples of how you’ve helped businesses just like theirs over the long and short term.

A robust reporting method also indicates that you take your work and duty to clients seriously.

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4. Speed to react to problems

In cybersecurity, every second counts. This is just one reason why so many tools and platforms boast “real-time response” or “continuous” operation nowadays.

To stand a chance of winning over prospects, you need to be able to show them that you can provide an expert and experienced security team that can react to problems, breaches, and vulnerabilities rapidly and effectively.

This may feel like a promise you cannot keep what with skills shortages and burnout, but with the right technology, it can be a reality. There are an abundance of tools that you can use to support your delivery such as continuous vulnerability scanning, automated vulnerability prioritisation, deception technologyand more.

Automation in particular can bring a wealth of benefits: saving time and money; eliminating human error; enhancing productivity and employee satisfaction; and delivering more detailed reporting and data analysis. RankedRight can save teams several days a month by automating the time-consuming yet crucial process of vulnerability prioritisation. By following rules set by the user, and enriching MSPs’ clients' scan data with the most up-to-date vulnerability intelligence, RankedRight prioritises vulnerabilities in order of criticality and delegates them to the most appropriate team to resolve. This means a more profitable way of working for managed service providers and a more efficient and effective vulnerability management program for your clients.

5. Low staff turnover

As with any service-based business, your people are what make it great. Every time someone leaves, it can cause huge disruption to operations and damage client relationships. Therefore it’s critical that you look after your employees and help them to see that their future lies within your business.

To avoid a skills shortage or any personnel disruption, we have created a guide to help you retain your staff. Even if your teams seem to be content, don’t underestimate the impact covid has had on them. Taking time to conduct an employee satisfaction survey or to run 1-2-1s with line managers might uncover some problems that you can resolve before it’s too late.

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6. A business that stands out

Believe it or not but it is possible to differentiate your business from all of your competition, even in your busy market.

Don’t market yourselves in the same way as everyone else; instead look at delivering video presentations instead of powerpoint, or by ensuring the delivery team are part of the pitch process rather than the Head of the Business. It also helps to interview your existing clients to identify any USPs you might have that you can promote in your marketing materials. In doing so, you might also uncover some new client needs that you can quickly develop solutions for and add these to your new business proposals.

The new business process can be incredibly time-consuming and costly. Put that investment to good use by following our tips above and we hope to help you with the increased workload very soon.

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