Most MSPs I talk to want to be seen as the leader in their patch. They want the referrals, the respect and the clients who call them first. Then they try to get there by being louder. More ads, more logos on more slides, more posts about how great they are. I think that misses the point. Leading a market isn’t a title you claim. It’s a job you do. Think of it as being the mayor of your town, and the mayor’s real job has never been prestige. It’s service. Whoever is most useful gets the role.
Usefulness beats volume
Your clients are drowning in noise right now. Copilot keeps changing. Every week brings a new security scare. Microsoft licensing still confuses people who have bought it for a decade. Nobody needs another voice shouting. They need someone calm who makes sense of it all.
I wrote earlier about how to make your business easier to buy. This is the same idea seen from the other side. When you’re consistently the person who explains things clearly, buying from you stops feeling like a risk. People already trust your judgement before they ever see a quote.
Three jobs every mayor takes on
The way I see it, the work comes down to three habits.
- Turn fear into confidence. When a scary phishing story hits the news, don’t wait for panicked emails. Send clients a short note covering what it means for them, what you’ve already checked in Entra and Defender, and the one thing they should do.
- Turn uncertainty into clarity. Picture running a twenty-minute monthly Copilot briefing in Teams. Show what changed, what’s worth trying in Outlook or Word, and what to ignore. No pitch, just clarity.
- Answer before they ask. If Microsoft is about to change something in Teams or Outlook, you already know the question your clients will raise. Put a plain-English explainer in their inbox first. When licensing shifts again, give them a one-page summary in SharePoint showing what it means for their seats and their budget.
None of this needs a marketing department. It needs attention and a willingness to share what you already know. Copilot can even help you draft these updates faster, as long as the judgement in them is yours.
The rewards follow the service
Here’s what I’ve seen over many years. Status, influence and revenue rarely go to the loudest operator in town. They drift towards the person everyone already relies on. When people know you’ll tell them the truth, they bring you their problems. That’s a far stronger position than any campaign can buy.
It also changes how you sell, or rather how little you need to. In Stop Selling. Start Letting People Decide. I argued that pressure drives good clients away. Being genuinely useful is the opposite of pressure. You give first, consistently, and let people come to you when they’re ready.
Being useful also compounds. Every clear explanation makes the next one more trusted. Every early warning makes clients a little more likely to forward your notes to a colleague. Over time you’re no longer one provider among many. You’re the person the town turns to.
Take the job
So here’s my challenge. Pick your market, whether that’s a suburb, an industry or a niche within Microsoft 365. Then commit to being the most useful person in it. Start this month with one briefing, one explainer or one early warning. Nobody is going to hand you the mayor’s chain. You earn it by showing up and serving. The job is open. Take it today.
