vCIO Roadmap
YOUR NEXT HIRE OR PROMOTION SHOULD BE A vCIO
In the next year, 71 percent of MSPs plan to hire between 1-5 new employees. If your MSP is focused on
growth, then your next hire should be a vCIO—it’s a value add for your customers and your MSP. VCIOs
can provide insight during customer evaluations to determine if a customer is the right fit, so you’re only
onboarding customers who will help scale your business.
DON’T BE A STRANGER
Ongoing communication helps establish your MSP as a partner and not just another technology vendor. Be
proactive in your communications—reach out to your customers to see how they are doing and if they’re
encountering any roadblocks, and proactively schedule meetings or send reports to keep your services,
and their technology needs, top of mind. Keep in mind these aren’t calls for upsells, but genuine wellness
checks that let your customers know you are prioritizing their account and business goals
SHOW AND TELL
When it comes to results, don’t be shy about showing off. If your ideas resulted in productivity gains, cost savings
or process improvements, be sure to call out successes in your next customer meeting. Continually demonstrating
the value you bring to the company is a surefire way to earn a seat at the table and turn customers into partners
Our 6-D Process
01.
Discover
02.
Define
03.
Design
04.
Develop
05.
Deploy
06.
Deliver
YOUR QBR CHECKLIST
You may only get in front of this group of people once a quarter, so make it count. A QBR should provide a transparent overview of operations and pertinent details on specific areas of service. The following represents typical areas of an MSP’s QBR, along with some tips to maximize your impact.
- Executive summary
- Service ticket review
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) review
- Technical review
- Endpoint management review
- Network security and management
- Looking ahead
Take the First Step
The road to positioning your MSP as a vCIO starts with understanding your customers and their needs. A personalized customer experience, from prospect to onboarding and beyond, is crucial to developing a partnership with your customers that extends beyond managed services to strategic initiatives.
WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK
Liongard was founded by former MSP owners who understand the struggles today’s firms face in growing client relationships and scaling their business. We built our platform with MSPs in mind, offering unified visibility across all your customer systems—taking you from data to actionable insights as quickly as possible.
Standardize, secure and scale your IT Managed Services with Liongard, the only automation platform that delivers unified visibility across the stack. With a global partner base, Liongard is changing the way MSPs manage and protect thousands of businesses worldwide. Ready to manage modern IT with confidence?
Learn more at LIONGARD.COM.
Tools of the Trade
SHOW THEM THE MONEY
80 percent of businesses expect IT budgets to grow or stay steady this year, so helping your customers optimize their current dollars and prepare for future spending needs is a key skill for any vCIO. Helping your customers realize the value of their current technology and how it can be used to streamline business processes will help establish your MSP as a strategic partner.
HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS HIT THEIR BUDGET GOALS
Keep these questions in mind when you’re helping your customer plan their IT budgets:
→ What are the top business objectives for the company?
→ Which IT project will have the most ROI?
→ Are duplicate software licenses causing duplicate costs?
→ Will a hardware upgrade now save money in the long run?
→ Does your customer really need to hire another IT employee?
→ Are there any redundant applications or systems?
→ Which departments does IT need to work with to meet their goals?
→ How will you receive executive buy-in to put your budget plans into action?
Would you like to start a project with us?
Let’s have a conversation about what we can accomplish together!