#11 – Don’t Be That Guy - MSP Sales Management - Effort vs Results (Ryan Alter)

Learn how to stop “re-hiring your first salesperson” and finally build a repeatable sales engine for your MSP. Josh Peterson (Bering McKinley) and former MSP owner Ryan break down the activities-first management approach that scales beyond founder-led selling. ✅ Enjoyed this episode?  Like, subscribe, and share your biggest takeaway below.  https://beringmckinley.com/bering-mckinley-podcast-blog If you’ve been burned by a failed sales hire, this episode gives you the operating system to try again—proper tracking in your PSA/CRM, true time entry for sales, and a phased progression from prospecting → first meetings → proposals → closed deals. Josh explains why outsourced appointment setting rarely works (no emotional attachment to your brand) and how owners can avoid multi-month “gaps” that reset pipeline. You’ll hear practical tactics for quality over volume without abandoning the volume you need, plus a playbook for uniting service and sales—service reviews every proposal, sales respects dispatch, and the owner kills the “us vs. them” narrative. Close with a humane approach to performance management that helps the right reps win and the wrong reps exit quickly, freeing your company to grow.  Guest: Josh Peterson, CEO at Bering McKinley, with guest Ryan (former MSP owner). 👉 Why most MSPs stall at $1–2.5M and what changes to reach $3M+ 👉 “Manage activities, not people”: quotas for prospecting, first meetings, proposals 👉 Effort vs. results matrix: hire slow, fire fast; celebrate effort to create momentum 👉 Prospecting that actually works (cold calling, human LinkedIn, real-world networking) 👉 Bridging sales & service: proposal sign-offs, dispatch etiquette, shared accountability Visit https://beringmckinley.com  for more MSP resources. 🔗 Resources & Links • Ryan Alter Silvertream AV: https://www.silverstreamav.com • Bering McKinley MSP Consulting: https://beringmckinley.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Welcome & why MSP sales stall 00:01 – The million to $1.5M plateau (and beyond) 00:02 – What it really takes to reach $2–3M 00:03 – The “I hate salespeople” loop & how to break it 00:10 – Where to find the full series on YouTube 00:11 – Manage activities, not people 00:12 – Goal alignment and effort expectations 00:16 – Effort vs. results matrix (coach or cut) 00:20 – Humane, timely exits for misfit reps 00:23 – Prospecting that works (cold calls, human LinkedIn) 00:27 – Why outsourced appointment setting fails 00:29 – Phasing: prospecting → first meets → proposals → closes 00:30 – Never allow gaps in sales headcount 00:31 – Owner mindset shifts for sales management 00:37 – AI in outbound: quality vs. volume 00:39 – Perfect practice beats raw dials 00:43 – Track activities in PSA/CRM 00:46 – Have sales enter time (diagnose wins/losses) 00:51 – Stop unstructured onboarding 00:52 – Bridge service & sales (proposal sign-off) 00:54 – Budget-first scoping with service 00:56 – Celebrate effort; results follow 00:58 – Final takeaways & next steps 🔍 Primary Keywords msp sales, msp prospecting, sales management for msps, managed services growth, connectwise sales process, msp pipeline, sales activity tracking 🔍 Secondary Keywords cold calling for msps, sales vs service alignment, proposal sign off, dispatch best practices, msp quota, psa time entry, outsourced appointment setting, sales kpis #️⃣ Hashtags #beringmckinley, #bmkvisionpodcast, #msp, #managedservices, #mspsales, #mspgrowth, #salesmanagement, #prospecting, #coldcalling, #connectwise, #dispatch, #proposalmanagement, #psa, #pipeline, #operations, #serviceleadership