EP294 - The Real Reason your MSP Marketing Didn't Work with Ian Luckett

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, I tackle one of the most common frustrations I hear from MSP owners every single week, the belief that MSP marketing simply does not work. I hear it constantly. Someone has tried an agency, a friend who knows social media, some pay per click, or a few Facebook ads, and each time the results fell flat. The real issue, as I explain, is not the tactic itself. It is the absence of a system that connects every activity back to booked calls and revenue. 

 

I open by challenging you to interrogate your marketing agency with one question, how does what you are doing connect to more booked calls. I have found that many agencies do not understand the MSP model, focusing on surface level activity like website redesigns and vague positioning work rather than a measurable path to pipeline. Inside The MSP Growth Hub, this connection between activity and results sits at the heart of the New Client Runway framework I teach from day one. 

 

I also address the MSP habit of leaning heavily on referrals. While steady referrals feel comfortable, I point out that this approach leaves owners exposed. If your biggest client leaves or a referral source dries up, you can lose a significant chunk of monthly recurring revenue overnight, with no backup plan in place. This is where account management, paired with consistent MSP marketing, becomes essential for protecting and growing your income. 

 

A central theme of the episode is what I call the stop start marketing cycle. I describe the familiar pattern, a quiet pipeline triggers a burst of marketing activity, a referral arrives, focus shifts back to delivery, and a few months later, the cycle repeats. I call this Groundhog Day marketing and I link it directly to why so many MSPs remain stuck under a million pounds in turnover. Without consistent visibility, you never build the compounding authority needed to be recognised as the expert in your niche. 

 

To fix this, I share five practical steps for building an effective MSP marketing system. The first is committing to a twelve-month runway rather than a three-month test, broken down into quarters and months so you know exactly what to focus on and when. The second is setting leading indicators, tracking visibility, conversations, and engagement rather than only watching for closed deals. I share a real example of a client who needed fresh leads, better numbers, and a profit first mindset, showing how leading indicators reveal what is really happening in your business. 

 

The third step is building weekly consistency. I recommend posting on LinkedIn at least three times a week from your personal profile and a couple of times from your company page, alongside keeping your Google Business Profile updated. I remind you that people buy from people, and visibility builds the trust required before anyone books a call. I also stress that the money is in the follow up, encouraging you to stay professional, purposeful, and persistent with every new conversation rather than sending one message and giving up. 

 

The fourth step is tracking pipeline momentum using our ONCAM framework, One New Client A Month, which helps you understand how many conversations and what conversion rate you need to hit your growth goals. The fifth step is treating MSP marketing as a genuine cost of growth, with a proper budget attached, reported on regularly alongside your other key performance indicators. 

 

I close by reminding you that sustainable growth is built on visibility, not luck. I encourage you to step outside your comfort zone, commit to the process, and trust that consistent MSP marketing compounds over time into a stronger brand, a healthier pipeline, and a more confident position in your market. 

 

Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It’s 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. 

 

Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK 

 

And when you’re ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you’ll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. 

 

If you’re serious about growth and want to explore what this could look like for your MSP, you can book a Right Fit Clarity Call with us HERE. 

OR  

To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE 

Until next time, look after yourself and I’ll catch up with you soon!