This presentation was delivered at the Cloud Partners Conference in Chicago on September 11, 2013. It describes the 3 Critical Success Factors for MSPs who are transforming their business model to become a Cloud Service Broker.

1. 3 Critical Success Factors for
MSPs Moving to the Cloud
Wednesday, September 11
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
McCormick W471b

2. presenter
Dave Zwicker
Partner & Co-founder
MSPexcellence
@cspcommunity
www.cspcommunity.com

3. The Cloud: Threat or Opportunity?

4. Is the Cloud a Threat to MSPs?

5. Or is the Cloud an Opportunity?
 Public cloud services doubling to $210B by 2016, IaaS
growing the fastest with 40% CAGR
 3 in 10 midsize firms plan to implement public cloud
solutions and 2 in 10 plan to add private cloud solutions
 Channel partners will increase their reliance on cloud
software and services from 22% to 27% from 2013 to 2014
 Study finds channel partners selling cloud solutions
experience double gross profits and faster growth

6. How Do MSPs Profit From the Cloud?
• As a Cloud Service Broker (CSB):
• Reseller
• Integrator
• Aggregator
• Other
• As a Cloud Hoster/Service Provider
• Hybrid Models are Everywhere
• Some combination of VAR/MSP/CSB/CSP

7. Three Critical Success Factors
1. Build a Cloud Business Growth Plan
• Business Model
• Revenue Trajectory
• Growth Targets
2. Create High Value Cloud Solution Bundles
• Cloud Service Offerings
• Added Value Services
• Solution Bundles and Pricing
3. Build a Cloud Solutions Sales Engine
• Selling Business Outcomes
• Funnel and Pipeline Management
• Integrated Marketing Machine

8. CSF#1: Cloud Business Growth Plan
• Business model
• Revenue sources
• Deal economics
• Revenue trajectory
• Cost of acquisition
• Cash flow
• Profitability
• Operating plan
• Performance targets

12. CSF#2: High Value Solution Bundles
Map Cloud Services to the Major Adoption Trends:
• Unified Communication and Collaboration
• Mobility Solutions (including BYOD)
• Hosted Business Applications (SaaS and VDI)
• Virtual IT Infrastructure (IaaS and PaaS)
• Security and Business Continuity (BDR)
• Total Service Management (Hybrid IT environments)

13. CSF#2: High Value Solution Bundles
Create Cloud Solutions with Professional Services:
• Planning & Design Services
• Customization & Integration Services
• Deployment & Migration Services
• Technical Support Services
• Administrative & Operational Services
• Strategic Advisory Services

14. CSF#3: The Cloud Solutions Sales Engine
Checklist: The Top 10 Sales Engine Essentials:
 Sales model (direct/indirect, in/outside, FTE/agents)
 A formal program for hiring, onboarding and training
 Solution sales tools and customer-facing materials
 A solutions-based lead qualification process
 A formal sales process (sales cycle stages)

15. CSF#3: The Cloud Solutions Sales Engine
The Top 10 Sales Engine Essentials (continued):
 Performance metrics (sales quota & funnel metrics)
 Aligned targets (leads, conversion, oppty’s, bookings)
 Cost of customer acquisition (under 12 months GM)
 Ongoing solutions sales training and assessment
 CRM integration and reporting (funnel metrics)

16. The Customer Acquisition Process
Measure, Monitor & Manage Your Funnel Metrics
 Conversion Rate
 Qualification Rate
 Close Rate
Suspects
Prospects
Opptys
Lead
Generation
 Lead Volume
 Lead Source
 Cost per Lead
Customer
Acquisition
Quantity
Focused
Quality
Focused
 Sales Cycle Time
 Marketing ROI
Value
Focused
 Avg. Sales Value
 Avg. Margin Value
 Customer Acq. Rate
 Customer Acq. Cost

17. CSF#3: The Cloud Solutions Sales Engine
Checklist: The Top 10 Marketing Engine Essentials:
 Value proposition, target markets and customer profile
 Evidence of your cloud solution business outcomes
 Solutions content on website and marketing materials
 Consistent website traffic and sales inquiries
 Effective use of blogging & social media

18. CSF#3: The Cloud Solutions Sales Engine
The Top 10 Marketing Engine Essentials (continued):
 Webinars and events for consistent lead flow
 Consistent lead-to-opportunity conversion rate
 Consistent sales pipeline customer close rate
 Lead nurturing program (cultivate followers into buyers)
 Integrated marketing plan (programs, targets & budget)

19. Solutions Marketing Engine
Plan
Call To Action
Fulfillment
Proposal
Content Marketing Strategy
WHY?
HOW?
WHAT?
Customer Experience
and Business Outcomes
Best Practices and
Methodologies
Products, Services,
and Technologies
Educate, Inform, Establish Trust, Demonstrate Leadership
Sales Tools
Literature
Presentations
Sales
Enablement
Telemarketing
Email
Events
Outbound
Marketing
PPC-SEO-PR
Social Media
Website-Blog
Inbound
Marketing
Execute

20. Materials For Attendees
• Business Modeling Tool
• 3-Year Cloud Business Revenue and Profitability Model
• Driven by customer value and acquisition rate assumptions
• CSBadvisor Service – Readiness Assessment
• Self-Assessment Form (7 business readiness categories)
• Free 1-hour review session (conducted by MSPexcellence)
• eBook: “3 Critical Success Factors …”
• Overview of the concepts and strategies presented today
• Available at www.CSBcommunity.com (information site)

21. QUESTIONS

22. contact
Dave Zwicker
Partner & Co-founder
MSPexcellence
dave@mspexcellence.com
@csbexcellence
www.csbcommunity.com