Hey there, MSP business owners! Let’s be real—if you’re reading this, you’re the question “how do I grow my business in 2025?” has probably been keeping you up at night. You’re not alone. Every MSP out there is asking the same question. The catch? The answer might be sitting right in front of your face: a massive friction between your sales and marketing teams.
Time to take out the olive branches because these two departments are meant to work together. Unfortunately, it’s more like a bad office sitcom where the two teams barely speak, let alone work together. But what if I told you there’s a really simple way to fix it, and it starts with a checklist?
Let’s break this down, because if you don’t fix this now, you might as well be trying to close deals with one hand tied behind your back.
The Sales and Marketing Divide is A Recipe for Disaster
Here’s the deal. I’ve spoken to dozens of MSPs who have one thing in common: they can’t convert prospects into leads. They’ve got the right traffic coming in, but somehow, they’re not closing the deals. And guess what? It’s usually because their sales and marketing teams are operating in two completely different worlds.
Take, for example, a scenario we see all the time: your marketing team is happily targeting big financial institutions, like “mega banks” and generic financial businesses, with big campaigns, while your sales team is out there trying to land smaller, niche clients like credit unions. These two efforts aren’t even in the same ballpark, and guess what happens? They don’t talk about it. They don’t meet to align their goals, and they certainly don’t figure out how their efforts are supposed to intersect.
Big problem. When your sales team is targeting a specific niche and your marketing team is casting a super wide net, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. Those “big bank” leads aren’t going to be viewed as qualified prospects by your sales team because they’re not actually after those leads. This misalignment? Can cause a real rift in the galaxy (Aka your sales process).
Is Your Team Even Talking? Probably Not.
So, here’s another thing that’s likely happening: your marketing team and sales team aren’t even meeting. Seriously. They’re out there doing their own thing, but they aren’t getting together for strategy sessions. It’s like trying to run a two-person race with only one person showing up.
I can hear the excuses now: “Oh, we’re too busy.” “We don’t need to meet every week.” Yeah, I get it, but guess what? Without regular check-ins, your sales team has no idea what new campaigns are running, and your marketing team doesn’t know what sales events are coming up. This leads to missed opportunities—especially if your sales team is out there attending chamber meetings, industry conferences, or speaking engagements, and marketing doesn’t even know about it until the last minute.
This lack of communication creates chaos in your business development process, and it’s no surprise when leads don’t convert. Without a rhythm of communication between your teams, you’ll always be playing catch-up.
The Fix: Simple Goals, Clear Communication, and a Checklist
Ok ok, I promise I am done trying to scare you. Let’s talk about how to fix this.
You are going to start smacking that easy button on your desk once you hear the solution.
First, your marketing team needs to know exactly what your sales team is even trying to achieve. This means having common goals and agreeing on what a “qualified lead” actually looks like. It’s imperative that your marketing team is aligned with the specific industries your sales team is targeting. And this can’t just be a vague concept—it needs to be granular. Are you targeting credit unions? Banks? Insurance companies? Each team needs to have a precise understanding of the target.
Next, both teams should hold regular meetings to make sure everything is running smoothly. I’m talking about syncing up on campaigns, progress, and even upcoming events. These meetings should be structured, and both sides need to come to the table with a game plan. If the marketing team has new campaigns or content to share, your sales team should know about it in advance so they can capitalize on it.
Ok so now that we have explained the problem, pull our your thinking cap because it’s time……that’s right….test time. Well, it’s more of a checklist….but its still going to really help you understand where you and your team sit.
This checklist asks a few key questions that will have you thinking, “Wait, do we even know each other’s names?” Seriously, it can highlight everything from whether your teams are aligned on industry targeting to if they’re actually meeting regularly. The goal here isn’t to make you feel bad; it’s to get you thinking and, more importantly, take action to fix the gaps.
Here are a few example questions you’ll find in the checklist:
-Are marketing and sales targeting the same industries or accounts?
-Are your team members meeting on a regular basis?
-Do your sales team members know the specifics of upcoming marketing campaigns?
-Do both sides agree on what a quality lead is?
By answering these questions, you’ll get a clear picture of where the friction lies and where you need to improve. It’s like a personal check-up for your business development processes.
Closing the Deal: Get Your Teams On the Same Page
If you’ve gone through the checklist and realized things aren’t as aligned as they should be, don’t stress. You’re not alone. This is very common, and with the right fixes in place, it’s totally solvable.
The first step is getting your marketing and sales teams on the same page. From there, setting up regular meetings and aligning on campaign goals will create a smooth handoff process. When your marketing team knows exactly what kind of leads your sales team is after, and your sales team knows how to nurture those leads, the magic happens. Leads become opportunities, opportunities become clients, and clients become loyal customers.
In short, clear communication, defined goals, and a little checklist magic is the secret to growing your MSP business in 2025.
You might be asking yourself, what comes next?
Now that you’ve read through this, you probably already know what’s holding you back. But don’t worry—this isn’t a hopeless situation. In fact, you can start solving these issues today by taking our MSP Growth Checklist. It’s designed to give you that “a-ha” moment, so you can evaluate your team dynamics and start fixing things immediately.
Trust me, your sales team will thank you, and your marketing team will be so much happier when everyone is pulling in the same direction. Ready to take the first step toward smoother sales and marketing alignment? Click Here to get started!
