What is the Dream 100 Strategy for MSPs

The Dream 100 strategy for MSPs is our interpretation of the Dream 100 strategy popularized by Chet Holmes. It is a targeted marketing and sales strategy focusing on reaching out to your ideal, high-value prospects.

The idea is to identify and cultivate relationships with the top 100 ideal potential clients or customers, who, if converted, could exponentially increase your business revenue.

In this post, I’ll explain why the Dream 100 strategy is good for MSPs, who should use it, and how to get started.

We have a complete implementation guide for our community here.

Why the dream 100 strategy for MSPs is valuable

There is a perception that the best way to grow an MSP is to spend lots of time and money marketing it.

That’s wrong.

Well, at least it’s wrong for small MSPs, say below $10 million.

Marketing is great when you know your avatar inside and out, when you have a problem so well-defined that you dream about it, and your sales process is as automatic as beating your heart. It is hard to overstate the depth of understanding and preparation a marketing campaign requires.

However, when you don’t have such a handle on your avatar, marketing is costly and often doesn’t yield results.

Should you market absolutely? But, probably, not yet. Focus instead on adding your next $1 million in ARR by gaining 30 customers and/or increasing your price so that you need fewer.

You don’t need 100s of customers. You need, on average, 30.

You still need to understand your avatar for your MSP Dream 100

All sales require knowledge of your avatar.

The difference between selling early on and marketing later is specificity. There is some wiggle room when you implement your Dream 100 for MSPs. You might be able to sell to “architects.” When you spend money on marketing, your avatar must be tighter: Architects who use ArchiCad to design commercial buildings wear pink on Wednesday.

You often don’t have that kind of specificity when you are starting. Instead, focus on one “Killer App,” get to know your avatar, and later invest in marketing.

A couple of clarifications:

Sales and marketing are the same; marketing is an automated process. When I say no marketing, I mean automating the process by spending money on ads, funnels, and other creative ways to reach people.

Marketing includes the definition of your product and where you sell it, but I’m not focusing on that broader definition. I mention this because someone will 100% bring that up to me.

On to the Dream 100 strategy for MSPs.

Here’s the idea: instead of reaching out blindly to the whole world, you identify 100 targets that would be your top clients. They are your avatar, have the problem you solve (or should anyway), and are the correct size.

The tradition is a list of 100, but you can start with 20 or 50. Or 100. The point is that it is a list of companies you want to have as clients.

You prioritize the list and start with the top 10 once you’ve identified the companies you launch a multi-channel outreach campaign:

• Identify the key people by name.
• Connect with them on social media and comment on their posts.
• Find their email address and email them.
• Find their postal address and send them paper mail.
• Invite them to exclusive events.
• Visit them at their office.
  

The idea is that you become present in their lives and tailor your outreach to their specific circumstances.

You might create a report, especially for them, do some sort of custom evaluation for them and send it to them, hack into their systems, and show how easy that is (no, wait, don’t do that).

I do know a security company that sent phishing emails and then sent a report to the CEO about weaknesses.

The idea is to be valuable, helpful, and engaging.

The Dream 100 Escalation Process

We recommend that you follow a structured approach to outreach that follows the customer value journey. You start with awareness; they have to know who you are before anything. Then, you follow a defined process for more powerful engagement.

You don’t want to meet someone and go straight for the sale; they must get to know you first. This is like dating: build trust and relevance, and then you can make your offer.

Watch, What is value and why is trust and relevance so important:

Once you make it through the first 10 of your MSP Dream 100 – you keep going

Once you go through the first ten, you can start working on the next 10, the next 10, and so on.

There are several reasons why the MSP Dream 100 strategy is so effective

It is a Focused and Targeted Approach

Precision Targeting: By focusing on the top 100 ideal clients or customers, you precisely target those most likely to buy and gain the most value from your offering and whom you most want to work with.

Resource Optimization: Resources are not spread thin across a broad, undifferentiated audience of thousands. That allows you to deliver more personalized and impactful outreach: you make it about them.

Enhanced Personalization:

Tailored Communication: The Dream 100 strategy for MSps allows for more personalized and relevant communication tailored to the needs and situation.

Increased Relevance: Prospects are more likely to respond positively to messages and offerings that are highly relevant and resonate with them, improving conversion rates.

Builds Strong Relationships

Trust Building: Regular, value-driven interaction with prospects helps build trust and establish credibility.

Customer Loyalty: Strong relationships often translate to customer loyalty and long-term association, which can be more profitable.

Maximizes ROI on Marketing Efforts:

Higher Conversion Rates: A targeted approach with a well-researched list of prospects typically results in higher conversion rates than mass marketing strategies.

Cost-Effectiveness: By concentrating efforts on high-value prospects, businesses often experience a higher return on investment (ROI) on their marketing spend.

Enhances Brand Reputation and Visibility:

Positive Word of Mouth: Successfully converting high-value clients often leads to positive word-of-mouth referrals and enhanced brand reputation.

Industry Influence: Associating with top clients can increase a company’s influence and standing in the industry, attracting more high-value prospects.

Effective for Account-Based Marketing:

Alignment with Sales: The Dream 100 strategy for MSPs aligns well with account-based marketing (ABM) approaches, fostering closer collaboration between sales and marketing teams.

Strategic Accounts Development: It facilitates deeper penetration and development of strategic accounts, aiding in upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

Creates Scalable Growth:

Referral Opportunities: Satisfied clients from the Dream 100 strategy for MSPs can provide valuable referrals, leading to scalable and sustainable business growth.

Replicable Model: The Dream 100 strategy for MSPs creates a framework that can be replicated and scaled for different segments or product lines.

Conclusion

The Dream 100 Strategy for MSPs is very effective for MSPs starting from zero or growing a small (under $10 million) business. It focuses you on your prospects and allows you to create a structured program around their needs. Since this is so relevant to them, they are much more likely to want to do business with you.

The strategy works best when you have a clearly defined target market and avatar with an apparent problem you are solving for them. Personalization combined with a pain they feel and want to solve is almost irresistible.

The final benefit of this strategy is that it sets you up remarkably well for your marketing strategy. Once you’ve done this you probably have what you need to market your business.