4 MSP Pain Points and How to Solve Them

In the fast-paced world of managed services, MSPs face a recurring set of challenges that, if not addressed proactively, can undermine efficiency and profitability. Understanding these MSP pain points, and having actionable solutions ready, is the difference between an MSP that struggles and one that scales.

Read on to discover the most common challenges MSPs face and the proven approaches to tackle them.

The Problem

Talent shortage is one of the most pressing MSP challenges today. The rapidly changing threat landscape requires a level of expertise that isn’t easy to find, and the competitive nature of the MSP space makes it even harder to attract and retain the right people.

The Solution

• Train Internally: Create a company culture that inspires loyalty, training your high performers to scale their careers within your organization.
• Leverage Vendor Partnerships: Utilize your premiere vendor partnerships to leverage the resources that come with the relationship, such as cybersecurity training, technical support, marketing resources, and threat research.
• Consider Small Acquisitions: If you’re in the position to acquire another MSP, be sure to factor in the value of their existing talent pool.

For many small and mid-sized MSPs, the fastest fix isn’t hiring at all; it’s partnering with a 24/7 Security Operations Center so you’re not trying to staff round-the-clock coverage in-house.

Read About Partnering with a 24/7 Security Operations Center

The Problem

Most MSPs come from a technical background, which often means an underdeveloped sales and marketing function. This leads to difficulties in lead generation, customer engagement, and building a differentiated value proposition, one of the most common challenges for founder-led MSPs, and especially for small MSPs operating with limited marketing budget and staff.

The Solution

• Identify Your Target: Know your audience and what drives them, then develop a pitch that caters to their specific desires and pain points.
• Pricing and Packaging: Focusing on pricing strategies like subscription-based, fixed fee, and per-user pricing revitalizes revenue, enhances customer satisfaction, and provides cost savings and convenience for your clients.
• Keep it Simple: Your value proposition must differentiate you from your competitors but must be simple enough for every member of your team to articulate effectively.
• Fix Underperforming Content: If your content isn’t generating leads, the most common causes are talking about services instead of outcomes, inconsistent publishing, and generic messaging that reads like every other MSP’s site. Anchor content around specific, measurable client outcomes instead.

Explore Blackpoint’s partner growth resources for co-marketing support and sales enablement built specifically for MSPs.

Review Blackpoint’s partner growth resources

The Problem

As the threat landscape evolves, MSPs often add vendors to keep pace, leading to alert fatigue, fragmented communication, and billing complexity. Managing too many vendors is one of the most universally shared MSP challenges, cutting across MSPs of every size.

The Solution

• Identify Your Business Goals: Choose one or two vendors to form full-fledged partnerships with, being sure to consider their offering and roadmap. This will ensure their evolution supports your mission to scale.
• Consider Resources Needed to Manage: Fewer vendors mean less staffing to manage each relationship. This saves time on training your internal resources on various systems and solutions.
• Consolidate for Security: A streamlined vendor stack is easier to monitor, reduces your attack surface, and makes it faster to isolate potential breaches. A unified platform like CompassOne brings detection, response, and posture management into one system instead of several disconnected tools.

Consider a unified platform like CompassOne

The Problem

Client expectations are rising and competition is fierce. MSPs that fail to evolve their offering, communicate their value, and stay responsive to client needs will struggle with retention, one of the most costly MSP challenges in the long run.

The Solution

• Understand Your Clients’ Needs: Each client is different but understanding their top priorities and requirements is critical. Doing so enables you to tailor your engagement with them, positioning yourself as their trusted advisor.
• Manage Expectations: Set a cadence in which you interact with your clients to ensure they’re up to date on the latest enhancements and potential issues. This will give your clients a level of stability. Trust will be built when they know what to expect from your partnership.
• Showcase Value Consistently: Showcase the value you’re bringing to your clients through reports, metrics, success stories, and more. See how other Blackpoint partners demonstrate that value in practice.

Read real partner success stories

Navigating MSPs’ challenges requires a combination of insight, adaptability, and strategic action. From addressing the talent gap and refining go-to-market strategies, to streamlining vendor relations and bolstering customer retention, the path to success is multifaceted. As we’ve explored the predominant pain points and their actionable solutions, it becomes evident that proactive management and a focus on delivering consistent value are instrumental.

By understanding these challenges and implementing the recommended approaches, MSPs can not only survive but thrive in the demanding landscape of managed services, ensuring sustained profitability and robust client relationships.

How Blackpoint Can Help

If any of the pain points above are one of your MSP’s biggest pain points, it’s time to see how CompassOne consolidates detection, response, and posture management into one platform.

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