Creating Clarity and Consistency in Your MSP Portfolio
An MSP portfolio grows one deal at a time. A custom backup add-on for one client, a renamed security package for another, and before long three services overlap and two reps describe the same one differently. Here is how to bring it back to a portfolio your team can sell and your clients can understand.
- Overlapping names make reps rebuild proposals and leave clients unsure what they are buying.
- Group services by what they do for the client, with a small number of tiers and a clear step between them.
- Use the same service name, description and price on the website, the proposal, the contract and the PSA.
- Review the portfolio once a quarter: what sells, what clients still ask for, and where the gaps are.
Table of contents
What a Messy Portfolio Costs You
Overlapping services and inconsistent names slow everything down. Reps rebuild proposals from scratch because they don't trust the templates. Clients can't compare options, so they ask more questions and take longer to decide. Your delivery team isn't sure what was actually sold. The aim is to keep the range of services clients need, presented in a way everyone reads the same way.
Start From What Makes You Different
MSPs used to serve businesses within a ten-mile radius. Today your prospects can choose providers from much further away, and many MSPs offer the same generic services to every industry. Before you tidy the portfolio, decide what it should say about you.
Know your outcomes. List the results you deliver for clients in business terms, such as response times you commit to, the compliance work you take off their plate, or regular business reviews. Put those outcomes at the centre of your value proposition.
Consider a specialism. Many MSPs focus on a few sectors, such as healthcare, legal and professional services, financial services, or manufacturing. Knowing a sector's compliance rules, software and problems makes you harder to replace and easier to choose.
Build the offer around it. Use bundles and add-ons to package services for the clients you want to win, and drop services that don't fit.
Organising the Portfolio
Group by business function. Sort services by what they do for the client, for example Infrastructure Management, Security Services, Business Applications and Strategic Consulting. Clients then see where each service fits in their business.
Use tiers. Within each group, offer a small number of service levels with a clear step up between them. Our article on simplifying your MSP pricing plan covers how to price them.
Name services for the client. Use names a non-technical decision-maker understands, and use the same name everywhere. "Managed Workplace" tells a client more than the name of the RMM tool behind it.
Writing Clear Service Descriptions
Give every service a short description in the same format:
- What it is: One or two sentences in business terms.
- What it does: The problem it solves for the client.
- Who it's for: The type of client or situation it fits.
- How it's delivered: Hours, response times, onsite or remote, and what the client can expect.
See one catalog behind every quote
Bring your service list. We will show how the name on the quote is the name that lands in the PSA.
One Source for Every Channel
Your website, proposals, contracts and PSA should use the same service names, descriptions and prices. When each lives in a different file, they drift apart. Salesbuildr syncs both ways with Autotask, ConnectWise or Halo, so the service name and price on the quote are the ones that land in your PSA. Bundles let you sell a package as one line on the quote while each component reaches the PSA for billing and delivery.
Reviewing the Portfolio Every Quarter
Once a quarter, check four things:
- Performance: Which services sell, and which don't?
- Relevance: Do your services still match what clients ask for?
- Gaps: Which client needs does your portfolio not cover, and which clients don't buy services they should? Whitespace, on the Advanced plan and up, shows which clients lack which of your services.
- Clarity: Can a new rep explain the portfolio after a day?
Start from the services you sell now
We will look at overlaps and names with you, before you rebuild templates.
Making the Change
Start with an audit of what you sell today and mark the overlaps, gaps and inconsistent names. Involve your sales team: they know which services clients misunderstand. Roll out the new structure in new proposals first, then update existing material and client communication. Train every rep before the first client sees it.
To check it worked, track two things: how long it takes to prepare a proposal, and how often a client or rep asks what a service includes.
Want to go further? Download our free guide, The MSP Productisation Guide.