Your MSP Sales Rep Is Presenting Too Much

If you have to rewrite your rep's proposal before every meeting, the rep still depends on you to decide what belongs in it. You can fix that presentation yourself, but you will be doing the same work on the next one.

Start by making the rep explain which buyer problem each part of the proposal addresses. The buyer needs to decide whether the proposed change solves a problem worth paying to fix. A longer tour of your MSP does not help them make that connection.

This is Problem #6 in Fox & Crow's MSP owner sales coaching series: helping your rep present a proposal that supports a buying decision without handing the deck back to you.

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Why MSP Sales Proposals Get Too Long

Some deals need detail. Length becomes a problem when your rep includes company history, every service, and every tool because they cannot explain what this buyer needs.

The buyer has to connect all that information to their own problem. Your rep should have done that work before the meeting.

If discovery did not establish a business reason to buy, go back to weak discovery. When the rep understands the problem but cannot decide what belongs in the presentation, review how they chose the material.

Use Your MSP Buyer's Problems to Choose What Goes in the Proposal

Review the proposal in three parts: Current State, Future State, and Our Solution. Your rep should be able to explain how the solution addresses the current problems and gets the buyer to the condition they want.

MSP Sales Proposal: Show the Current Problem's Cost

Most of the proposal discussion should cover the 4-6 big items from discovery with their monetary impact. Have the rep show you which problems the buyer described, what those problems cost, and why they matter to this purchase.

The rep needs to choose the discovery findings that belong in this decision. Putting every note into the deck leaves the buyer to sort out the priorities.

Ian says, "If I don't understand the issue, I can't quote you anything. I'm just guessing at that point."

Before the rep quotes, they should be able to explain the buyer's problem back to them.

Show Your MSP Buyer What Needs to Change

Describe what the buyer wants to be different after the problem is fixed. Use the outcomes the prospect has already established.

Cut the wish list of improvements your MSP could make someday. The proposal needs to support this purchase.

Map the MSP Solution to the Buyer's Problem

Monitoring, security, backups, support, tools, and process do not each earn a slide just because your MSP offers them. Keep material your rep can connect to a problem the buyer said matters.

When reviewing the deck, use this test: "If part of your solution doesn't hit any of the buckets, don't talk about it."

Make the rep explain which documented problem a section addresses before you agree it belongs in the presentation.

MSP Proposal Meetings: Get the Approver In Before Pricing

Confirm who can approve the spend before you critique the slides. If your rep presents a complete proposal to an influencer, that person has to explain the problem, the proposed plan, and the price to the approver afterward.

Ian says, "Never, ever disclose pricing without the people in the room."

Some buying processes give the rep less control over who attends. The rep still needs to know who can approve the purchase and work on getting that person involved. Treat a missing approver as a decision-maker access problem to resolve before calling the proposal meeting complete.

MSP Proposal Pricing: Put Investment Next to Business Cost

Before showing the investment, the rep should return to the buyer's priorities and the cost of the current problems. Without that context, the buyer has a price to evaluate without enough information about what the purchase would fix.

Use the impact the buyer actually supported. Do not invent an ROI calculation because the deck looks stronger with one.

At Your MSP Proposal Meeting, Ask for Business When the Buyer Is Ready

Once the rep has explained the proposal and presented the investment in context, they should ask for the business. Another ten minutes of features can be a way to avoid waiting for an answer.

When you review the meeting, listen for the point where the buyer had enough information to decide. Did the rep ask for a decision or keep presenting?

Your MSP Should Present Last When It Can Control the Order

In a competitive process, Fox & Crow's preference is to present last when your rep can choose the order.

Ian says, "You always present last."

Presenting last can put your proposal closest to the decision, after the buyer has heard the other options. Some buying processes will not let your rep choose the order, and going last will not compensate for a weak proposal.

Make Your MSP Sales Rep Defend Each Proposal Section

Pick one upcoming proposal. Have the rep walk you through it, then choose a section they have not clearly connected to the buyer's decision. Ask why it belongs.

If the answer is "we always show this," make the rep reconsider it. When the answer is "the buyer asked about it" or "this directly addresses one of the problems we documented," the rep has given you a reason to keep the material.

Have the rep make the edit. Check the next proposal to see whether they can choose what belongs without you doing it for them.

If you take the deck back and rewrite it, you have fixed one presentation and kept the rep dependent on you. MSP owner sales coaching should teach the rep how to choose what belongs in the next proposal.

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MSP Proposal FAQs

What should an MSP sales proposal include?

An MSP sales proposal should show the buyer's problem and why it needs attention, what should change, what your service will do about it, and the investment. Then ask for the business.

Why Do Your MSP Proposals Get Too Technical?

MSP proposals get too technical when the rep includes features without choosing which buyer problems matter to this decision. Ask them to connect each section to something the MSP buyer said, then remove the sections they cannot justify.

Who Should Attend Your MSP Proposal Meeting for Pricing?

Your MSP proposal meeting should include the people who can approve the spend before your rep presents the price. Ian says, "Never, ever disclose pricing without the people in the room." If they cannot attend, resolve access to the approver before treating the proposal meeting as complete.