Want my advice on what your MSP business model should be?
“Find a window, and throw a brick through it.”
At first, that sounds reckless. Unprofessional. Maybe even stupid. But the more I think about it, the more I realised it might be the most honest description of a successful MSP business model in years.
Because the “window” wasn’t a customer.
It wasn’t staff.
It wasn’t technology.
The window was the common advice in our industry. The stuff everyone repeats. The playbooks, frameworks, podcasts, and LinkedIn posts that all say the same thing, just with different branding.
And the brick?
That’s your contrarian move. Your better way.
The Problem With Following the Advice
Spend five minutes in the MSP space and you’ll hear the same guidance:
- “Standardise everything.”
- “Move everyone to a flat‑fee, all‑you‑can‑eat model.”
- “Sell outcomes, not tools.”
- “Niche down.”
- “Productise your services.”
- “Just add more MRR.”
None of this advice is wrong. That’s the dangerous part.
It’s just… crowded.
When everyone is told to do the same things, in the same way, with the same language, you don’t end up with differentiation. You end up with a race to the middle. Or worse, a race to the bottom.
If your website reads like every other MSP website, if your proposals look identical, if your pricing model mirrors your competitors, then from a customer’s perspective you’re interchangeable. And interchangeable always becomes price‑sensitive.
That’s the window.
Clear. Shiny. Widely accepted.
Why MSPs Struggle to Stand Out
Most MSPs aren’t short on effort. They’re short on permission.
Permission to say:
- “We don’t do that.”
- “We disagree with that approach.”
- “That model doesn’t work anymore.”
- “There’s a better way for our customers.”
Instead, many MSPs try to execute harder on advice that was never designed to be a universal truth. They optimise. They refine. They polish.
But polishing the window doesn’t change the building.
The uncomfortable truth is that the MSP business model itself is under strain. Margins are tighter. Customers are more informed. Vendors are moving up the stack. Automation and AI are eroding the value of “doing the thing”.
If your value proposition is still “we manage IT so you don’t have to”, you’re already vulnerable.
The Brick Is a Point of View
Throwing a brick doesn’t mean being reckless. It means being deliberate.
A brick is a clear point of view that challenges accepted wisdom.
For example:
- Refusing unlimited support and charging for consumption instead.
- Focusing on security and governance over helpdesk volume.
- Saying no to certain customers—even when you need revenue.
- Pricing based on risk reduction, not device count.
- Leading with compliance frameworks instead of shiny tools.
These aren’t tactics. They’re positions.
A brick creates a crack. A crack lets customers see that there is an alternative way of thinking. And for the right customers, that’s magnetic.
Contrarian doesn’t mean argumentative. It means intentional.
Customers Don’t Want Average
The MSPs that struggle most with sales are usually the ones trying to appeal to everyone.
The MSPs that grow sustainably are often polarising.
They repel the wrong customers early. They attract the right ones faster. They spend less time justifying their value because their value is obvious to the people they’re meant to serve.
When you throw a brick, some people will walk away.
Good.
Those were never your customers.
The mistake is thinking your job is to be liked by the market. Your job is to be trusted by a subset of it.
What Brick Are You Holding?
Here’s the uncomfortable question most MSPs avoid:
If you removed your logo from your website, would anyone know it was you?
If the answer is no, you don’t need better marketing. You need a brick.
Ask yourself:
- What common MSP advice do I quietly disagree with?
- What do my best customers value that others complain about?
- What do we do that others won’t?
- Where are we already different but afraid to say it out loud?
That’s where your strategy lives.
Not in copying what’s popular.
Not in chasing the latest model.
Not in waiting for permission.
Strategy Isn’t Safe
Real strategy makes you uncomfortable.
It forces trade‑offs. It creates tension. It risks being wrong.
But playing it safe in a crowded market is the riskiest move of all.
So yes—find a window.
Find the assumptions everyone else accepts without question.
Then decide whether you’re brave enough to throw the brick.
Because nobody remembers the MSP that blended in.
They remember the one that changed the shape of the room.
CIAOPS 