How to Create an MSP Offer That Stands Out in a Crowded Market
Most MSPs blend in—here’s how you can stand out and grow your business.
The Importance of Product Design for Managed Service Providers
When most people start a managed service provider (MSP) business, they often approach it from a consulting mindset: How can I make money providing IT services?
You open your doors, hang up your shingle, and take on any opportunity that comes your way.
Every client feels like a win—whether you’re working for next to nothing or chasing a big payday.
But here’s the problem: this approach isn’t sustainable.
At this stage, you’re essentially a computer handyman.
Even if you’ve managed to scale your business to a few hundred thousand dollars a year, you’re still playing the role of “fix-it” guy for whoever calls.
And unless you truly enjoy being a handyman with a shop that fixes anything and everything, this isn’t a great way to grow or scale your business.
Yet, this is the default for many MSPs.
If you’re serious about building or growing your company, the key is to design a specific product offer that aligns with a well-defined market.
Why? Because having a focused offering allows you to:
Create targeted sales and marketing strategies.
Build processes and procedures around your product.
Lay the foundation for a scalable business.
Without this focus, you’ll end up selling an unfocused mix of services.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what many MSPs do.
Their pitch sounds something like:
We handle your help desk. We manage your network. We do projects, security, printers, Wi-Fi, laptops, PCs, and hard drives. We do it all.
This “we do everything” approach reflects a hobbyist mindset rather than an entrepreneurial one.
Many IT professionals start out passionate about specs, tinkering, and tech—what got them into the industry.
But carrying that DIY mindset into a business often means improvising instead of building with intention.
To grow, you need to shift from hobbyist to entrepreneur, focusing on structure, strategy, and a clear product offer.
Shifting to an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Starting out this way is understandable, but to grow, you need to shift gears and structure your business intentionally.
The first step?
Design a clear and compelling product offer.
Here’s an example:
One of the most widely used platforms for businesses is Microsoft 365. It’s powerful, feature-rich, and widely adopted.
If you have expertise in Microsoft 365, you can position yourself as a specialist.
Next, define your target audience.
For instance:
We set up, manage, monitor, and maintain Microsoft 365 environments specifically for dentists.
With this approach, you’ve nailed down two crucial elements:
Your product offer: Microsoft 365 expertise.
Your target market: Dentists.
This clarity gives you a solid foundation.
And if dentists aren’t your thing?
No problem. Pick a different market.
For example:
We specialize in managing Microsoft 365 for law firms.
Now your message is crystal clear:
We help lawyers manage, monitor, and maintain their Microsoft 365 environments. It’s an entire IT ecosystem that requires care and feeding, and that’s what we do.
Why This Works
A well-defined offer and target market give your business focus.
Prospective clients instantly understand what you do and how it solves their specific problem.
Compare that to the typical MSP pitch:
We offer help desk, field support, projects, VoIP, networking, cabling, virtualization, vCIO, and CISO services.
To a business owner, this list is overwhelming and confusing.
They don’t know what half of it means, let alone whether they need it.
What they do know is that they pay for Microsoft 365 every month—and they’re having issues with it.
So, who do you think they’ll choose?
The specialist who manages Microsoft 365 for businesses like theirs?
Or the generalist offering a grab bag of IT services?
The answer is obvious.
By honing your product offer, you create clarity for your clients—and a roadmap for your business.
What will your focused product offer look like moving forward?
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