In the effort to streamline operations and enhance cost efficiencies, organizations large and small are turning to managed services providers (MSPs) to outsource key IT activities. In fact, this shift is so broad reaching that the global MSP market is expected to exceed $375 billion by 2025! Indeed, outsourcing to MSPs brings many advantages.

Managed service providers (MSPs) have been around for more than 20 years, and my how things have changed since they grew out of the original application service provider (ASP) model. Until recently, MSPs have focused primarily on remote monitoring, security, network management and other routine IT tasks that CIOs would rather outsource for cheaper than they can run internally.

The COVID-19 crisis has proven to be a challenging time for IT support teams and managed service providers (MSPs). It hasn’t only left these organizations in a vulnerable position, but also in a state of uncertainty as to what may be in store for them. OnPage interacts with current and prospective clients ranging from large businesses to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In 2016, we wrote about the exponential value of computer networks and the importance of IT professionals as champions of the network, “doing their part to secure, maintain, and advance the engines that keep everything running.” Today, those words ring true in ways we could never have predicted four years ago.

If you sit back and look at what you’ve actually achieved over the last couple of weeks, you should feel very proud of yourself and your team. With virtually no warning, you’ve supported your clients well through the greatest business upheaval in modern times. You’ve probably set up countless VPNs. And no doubt you’ve been hunting around for new laptops, just like everyone else. While the COVID-19 situation is changing daily, the dust is starting to settle a little.

I speak to a lot of MSPs every day, and I’m always asked for advice on meeting new prospects. Finding new clients is one of the biggest challenges they all face. “Have you tried asking your existing clients for referrals?” is my stock answer, and with good reason—prospects referred to you by an existing client are four times more likely to buy than any other opportunities you’ll chase. Here are my tips on supercharging your referrals and winning new business.