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How to get more clients for an MSP

Pick a vertical, earn referrals from the people who hear about IT pain first, and reach owners when something breaks.

Find [type of business] owners in [city or region] who need managed IT, and write to them about [compliance, insurance or support problem] in my voice.

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How to get more clients for an MSP

Pick one or two verticals you already serve well, like dental offices or CPA firms, and rewrite your site around their compliance and uptime problems. Build referral partnerships with cyber insurance brokers, accountants and commercial real estate brokers, who hear about IT pain before you do. Run Google search ads on "managed IT services [city]" and "IT support near me" terms. Then send short, trigger-based cold email and LinkedIn messages to owners and office managers in your vertical, tied to events like insurance renewals or a departing IT person.

Ask AI about this guideChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AI
  1. 01

    Pick your verticals

    Pull your client list out of your PSA, whether that's ConnectWise, Autotask or HaloPSA, and sort it by industry and margin. Pick the one or two industries where you have the most happy clients and know the line-of-business software. Write down the compliance rules, apps and insurance questions that matter to them. That list becomes your messaging.

  2. 02

    Rebuild your site around those clients

    Create one page per vertical, like "IT support for accounting firms in [city]", that names their software, their busy season and their compliance worries. Add a case story from a real client in that industry, with permission. Put your assessment offer and booking link on every page. Drop the generic stock photos of server racks.

  3. 03

    Fix your Google Business Profile and reviews

    Set your categories to computer support and IT services, list your service area and add photos of your actual team. Ask your happiest clients for reviews right after a good ticket or a smooth onboarding. Ask them to mention their industry and what you fixed. Owners comparing MSPs on the map read those reviews closely.

  4. 04

    Sign up referral partners

    List 20 cyber insurance brokers, CPA firms and commercial real estate brokers in your area. Offer each one something useful, like a one-page checklist their clients can use to answer insurance security questions. Meet them in person and tell them exactly which clients to send you. Report back when a referral turns into a client so they keep sending.

  5. 05

    Start targeted outreach

    Build a list of 100 companies in your vertical within driving distance and find the owner or office manager at each. Write short emails and LinkedIn messages tied to a real trigger: an insurance renewal, a new office, a job post for an IT role. Offer the assessment, not a contract. Follow up a few times, then stop.

  6. 06

    Add search ads and measure

    Run Google and Microsoft search ads on "managed IT services [city]", "IT support for [vertical]" and "[current problem] help" terms, sending each to its matching vertical page. Add negative keywords for jobs, certifications and free help so you don't pay for job seekers. Track which channel booked each assessment in your PSA or CRM. Cut what doesn't book calls.

Who buys from a managed service provider

The owner or managing partner of a small or midsize business signs the contract. The office manager, operations lead or a lone internal IT person usually finds you and makes the shortlist.

  • Owners of professional firms (law, accounting, architecture)

    They care about client data, email that works and not paying billable people to fix printers. They start looking after a phishing scare, a botched Microsoft 365 migration or a break-fix bill that stung.

  • Healthcare practices (dental, medical, veterinary, physical therapy)

    HIPAA, imaging software and practice management systems like Dentrix or eClinicalWorks make them nervous about generic IT help. A failed audit, a new location or a vendor telling them their server is end of life pushes them to switch.

  • Office managers and operations leads

    They are the ones fielding the "my computer is slow" complaints and chasing the current provider. They want a responsive help desk and someone to own onboarding and offboarding.

  • Defense and aerospace subcontractors

    CMMC and DFARS requirements from their prime contractors force them to find an MSP that can document controls. The trigger is a flow-down clause or a supplier assessment with a deadline attached.

  • Companies with a solo internal IT person

    They want co-managed IT: tooling, after-hours coverage and security stack support while the staff person keeps the relationships. They start looking when that person burns out, gives notice or asks for help.

Where to find them

Cyber insurance brokers and commercial insurance agents
Renewal questionnaires now ask about MFA, EDR and backups, and clients who can't answer yes need someone fast. A broker who trusts you will send those clients your way.
CPA firms and business attorneys
They sit with owners during tax season, sales and audits, and they hear about the ransomware incident or the IT person who quit. They also make good clients themselves.
Commercial real estate brokers, cabling contractors and office furniture dealers
Office moves and buildouts are when businesses rethink IT. The people handling the move know weeks before anyone calls an MSP.
Vertical associations (state dental societies, local bar associations, CPA societies)
Sponsoring a meeting or giving a short security talk puts you in a room full of your exact buyers. Members trust a vendor the association already knows.
Google Business Profile and the local map
Owners with an urgent problem search "IT support near me" and call from the map. Reviews that mention the client's industry help you win the call.
LinkedIn
Owners and office managers of the companies in your vertical are easy to find there by title and location. It works for direct outreach and for showing up with practical posts about the problems they face.

What to say

Insurance renewal

Your cyber insurance renewal will probably ask about MFA and backups again. We help [vertical] firms in [city] answer yes to every line, and I can show you how [client type] got there.

Vertical software expertise

We support [number] [vertical] offices running [Dentrix / CCH / Clio], so your techs won't be learning your practice software on your time.

Departing IT person

Saw [name] is moving on from [company]. If the IT knowledge is leaving with them, we can document your setup and cover the gap while you decide what's next.

Break-fix fatigue

If you're paying hourly every time [common problem] happens, a flat monthly plan usually ends the surprise invoices. Want me to look at the last [few] months of tickets with you?

Which channels fit

  • Referral partners (insurance, accounting, real estate)Strong fitTrust moves easily from an owner's broker or CPA to their MSP, and these partners see the triggers before you do.
  • Google search adsStrong fitOwners with a broken network or an unhappy provider search "managed IT services [city]" with intent to call this week.
  • Cold email and LinkedIn outreach to one verticalStrong fitA short note to a dental office owner about their imaging server lands better than a generic "we do IT" pitch, and it reaches buyers before they start searching.
  • SEO and vertical landing pagesSometimesPages like "IT support for law firms in [city]" pay off over time if you commit to a niche, and they get cited when owners ask AI tools for recommendations.
  • Local networking groups (chambers, BNI)SometimesThey can produce referral partners, but only if you go every time and ask for introductions to brokers and CPAs, not just end clients.
  • Vendor-supplied canned newsletters and contentWeak fitHundreds of MSPs send the same pre-written security tips under their own logo, and owners can tell nobody wrote it for them.
  • Facebook and Instagram adsWeak fitBusiness owners scroll there for personal reasons and rarely act on an IT pitch, so you pay for reach that doesn't turn into discovery calls.

Lead generation

Lead generation for MSPs

MSP lead generation works best when you stop chasing "any business with computers" and go after one kind of company with one kind of problem. Start with a vertical, then look for signals that someone is about to switch: a job post for an IT coordinator, a new office lease, a merger, a practice adding a location, a contractor bidding on defense work. Those signals beat any purchased list of small businesses. Skip lead marketplaces that sell the same "IT support request" to several MSPs at once, because you end up in a price war with strangers. For example, an MSP that serves law firms can watch the local bar association for firms announcing new partners or offices, then reach the managing partner with a note about onboarding new staff securely. Pair that outbound work with referral partners so leads come from more than one source.

Cold email

Cold email for managed service providers

Cold email works for MSPs when it's short, local and specific to an industry. Owners delete anything that reads like "we offer comprehensive IT solutions". They read a few lines that name their practice software or their insurance renewal. Send from a separate domain so your main domain's reputation stays clean. Include your physical address and an easy opt-out to follow CAN-SPAM. Keep each email under a short paragraph, ask one question and offer the assessment or a quick call. Skip attachments and links to long PDFs, since they hurt delivery and nobody opens them. One example for a dental vertical: "Hi [name], we support several dental offices in [city] running [Dentrix]. When your imaging server gets slow, who do you call? Happy to take a look for free." Follow up two or three times with a new angle each time.

Advertising

Advertising for MSPs

Google and Microsoft search ads are the paid channel that earns its spot for MSPs, because owners search when something is broken or when they're fed up with their provider. Bid on city-plus-service terms and vertical terms, and send each ad group to a matching page, not your homepage. Add negative keywords like "jobs", "salary", "certification", "free" and "Geek Squad". LinkedIn ads can work for co-managed IT or compliance offers aimed at operations leaders at larger companies, but they cost more per click, so keep the targeting tight to title, industry and region. Skip broad display ads and social ads aimed at all business owners. For example, an MSP in a defense manufacturing area might run search ads on "CMMC IT support" and a LinkedIn campaign to operations directors at local machine shops, both pointing to a CMMC readiness assessment page.

How clients decide

Someone feels pain first, usually the office manager or a partner who lost a morning to an outage, and they bring in the owner once a few MSPs are on the list. The owner wants a network assessment, a clear onboarding plan and references from a similar business, and existing contracts or a hardware refresh can slow things. A free assessment that ends with a written risk report, plus a reference call with a client in the same industry, moves the decision along faster than any discount.

One prompt, worked through

We're an MSP in Fort Collins, Colorado that supports dental offices and small CPA firms. Find more practices like ours within an hour's drive, write to the owners about HIPAA and cyber insurance renewals, and run Google ads on dental IT support terms.
  1. 1Revnu reads your website and works out that your clients are dental practice owners and CPA firm partners around northern Colorado.
  2. 2It finds those practices and firms, picks the right person at each, and writes emails and LinkedIn messages in your voice about HIPAA and insurance questions, holding every message for your approval.
  3. 3It runs Google and Microsoft search ads on dental and accounting IT support terms, and writes pages built to rank on Google and get cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
  4. 4When owners reply, it drafts your responses and sends your booking link, then reports what moved every morning on Slack or iMessage.

Frequently asked questions

Should my MSP pick a niche or stay general?

Pick one or two verticals for your marketing even if you keep serving everyone. A dental office owner trusts an MSP that already knows their imaging and practice software. You can still take good general clients that come in through referrals.

Do free network assessments actually bring in clients?

They work when they end with a written report that names real risks in plain language and a clear next step. They don't work when they feel like a disguised sales pitch or when you hand over a raw scan export. Qualify the prospect first so you aren't doing free work for someone with no budget or no pain.

Is cold email legal for MSPs in the US?

Yes, B2B cold email is allowed under CAN-SPAM if you use honest subject lines, include your physical address and honor opt-outs quickly. If you email businesses outside the US, check the rules there first, since some countries are stricter. Keep your lists to businesses, not consumers.

How do I compete with bigger MSPs that have marketing teams?

Compete on knowing a vertical and a city better than they do. Bigger MSPs often send generic content and assign a rotating help desk, so specific messaging and a named point of contact stand out. Local referral partners also care more about who answers the phone than about logo size.

Should I use the marketing content my vendors provide?

Use vendor co-op funds or MDF to pay for ads or events if they fit your plan. Skip the canned newsletters and blog posts, since many other MSPs publish the exact same text. Write about your own clients' problems instead, even briefly.

What does it cost?

Plans start at $99 a month, and Revnu starts on what you typed as soon as you sign up. Cancel any time in Settings.

Does anything run before I sign up?

No. Nothing is checked or generated on this page. Revnu does the work inside your account, where it can read your website, keep what it finds and carry on from there.

Last updated October 14, 2026

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