#29 - From The Trenches - Mastering MSP Sales Systems - (Mitz Giannakos)

In this From the Trenches episode of the BMK Vision Podcast, Josh Peterson sits down with Mitz Giannakos, Co-Founder of Next Step Technology Solutions, for an executive-level conversation about a truth most MSPs learn too late: sales doesn’t scale because you “hire a salesperson.” Sales scales when you design a repeatable system that turns chaos into a disciplined, measurable operating function.

This is not a conversation about gimmicks, scripts, or “closing tricks.” Instead, Mitz breaks down what separates MSPs that consistently win from MSPs that constantly restart: controlling the sales process (without talking the most), tying technology to business outcomes, and building sales operations from day one so the company becomes duplicatable—not dependent on the founder’s personality.

If you’re an MSP owner who feels busy but not in control—especially if growth is the goal and the sales function still lives in your head—this episode will resonate.

Why do so many MSPs struggle with sales—even with better tools?

Short answer: the tools improved faster than the operating discipline.

CRMs, PSA integrations, and automation are more accessible than ever—but most MSPs still treat sales like an event, not a function. They buy software, hire a rep, and hope activity turns into outcomes. When it doesn’t, they blame the rep, swap the tool, and restart the cycle.

Mitz’s point is simple: sales maturity is an operating system problem. If the sales process isn’t designed, documented, staged, tracked, and coached, the company isn’t building a pipeline—it’s building a personality-dependent streak.

• Tools don’t create clarity—systems do
• Sales must be measurable before it can be repeatable
• Founder-led selling is powerful, but non-duplicatable without structure

The MSP problem this episode solves

Many MSPs “have sales,” but don’t have a sales system. That gap quietly blocks scale, compresses margins, and makes growth feel unpredictable.

This episode addresses three common MSP challenges:

• Prospecting feels like random effort instead of a consistent engine
• The buyer controls the process (early proposals, early pricing, early confusion)
• Hiring salespeople fails because there’s nothing to plug them into

Mitz reframes the goal: stop treating sales as a gift you either have or don’t have—treat it as an operating function you can build.

Chess vs. checkers: controlling the “geography” of the sale

One of the clearest mental models in this conversation is about leadership inside the sales process.

In most MSP deals, buyers will try to take control early—asking for a proposal, anchoring on price, and pulling you into an evaluation sequence that turns your service into a commodity. The outcome is predictable: you become one of three bids.

Mitz’s counter is to control the “geography” of the sale: ask better questions, speak less, and lead the buyer through a structured discovery that forces clarity on what outcomes matter. The goal isn’t persuasion. It’s guidance—so the buyer doesn’t accidentally steer you into a pricing contest you didn’t agree to enter.

From cost center to investment: tying technology to business outcomes

When MSPs struggle to sell, they often respond by talking more about technology. But technology isn’t the buyer’s end goal—profitability and stability are.

Mitz emphasizes an outcomes-first posture: if there isn’t a clear business case (reduced cost, reduced risk, or increased revenue), don’t pitch the shiny thing. Not because it isn’t useful—but because value must be measurable to be believed.

His framework for client conversations is deceptively practical:

• Discover the business need (not the tool request)
• Stabilize the pain that’s already costing the owner money
• Optimize a system so it performs better, faster, cleaner
• Innovate with one idea that creates measurable upside

That shift changes everything: the MSP stops defending price and starts justifying investment.

Prospecting in 2025: why outbound still feels brutal

In most industries, prospecting is hard because you can’t get attention. In MSP, prospecting is hard because you can’t even reliably identify the decision-maker.

Mitz breaks prospects into three common personas: the owner, the operations leader, and the “IT champion” (who might be HR, engineering, admin, or anyone unlucky enough to “know computers”). That reality makes generic outreach nearly useless—and makes precision targeting the real advantage.

Inbound still matters (and intent-driven marketing helps), but the episode also makes a clear point: when outbound is required, it’s often unglamorous work. The winning move isn’t clever messaging—it’s consistent, human, high-integrity effort aimed at the right person.

Why outsourced cold calling fails MSPs

This conversation also names a trap that keeps showing up in MSP growth plans: outsourcing the hardest part of the sale to someone who can’t possibly carry your context.

In product industries, appointment setters can work because the “thing” is stable and narrow. MSP is the opposite: it’s a service that touches every part of a business, and the first conversation can jump from servers to compliance to analytics to culture—fast.

Mitz and Josh land on a blunt conclusion: nobody will care about your mission, culture, and client outcomes more than you do. If prospecting is going to work, it has to be grounded in real belief—not rented enthusiasm.

A practical MSP sales systems checklist

If you want to scale sales past the founder, this episode points to a few non-negotiables:

• Document the sales process (stages, exit criteria, and what “done” means)
• Build the process inside a CRM so the system is visible and coachable
• Track activity and outcomes so decisions become data-driven
• Separate stage movement from status updates (progress vs. motion)
• Choose tools you can scale into, not tools you’ll outgrow and rip out

These fundamentals create leverage: sales stops being “who you are” and becomes “how the business works.”

Episode highlights

• Why many MSPs still “play checkers” in sales maturity
• How to control the sale without dominating the conversation
• Discover–Stabilize–Optimize–Innovate as an outcomes framework
• The reality of prospecting in MSP (and why targeting is harder here)
• Why outsourced appointment setting often fails in service businesses
• How mission, vision, values, and “why” shape growth and retention
• Why sales operations—not just sales skill—is the scaling unlock

About the guest: Mitz Giannakos

Mitz Giannakos is the Co-Founder of Next Step Technology Solutions, an MSP and telecom hybrid helping small and mid-sized businesses gain enterprise-grade connectivity, security, and support. With a deep background in telecom and enterprise B2B sales, Mitz specializes in building scalable, data-driven sales systems that align technology decisions with real business outcomes.

Connect with Mitz Giannakos on LinkedIn →

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest reason MSP sales doesn’t scale?
Because most MSPs try to scale people before they scale the process. A documented, staged, measurable sales system has to exist before hiring sales reps becomes predictable.

How do I stop competing on price in MSP sales?
By leading discovery toward business outcomes, not tools—then tying recommendations to measurable cost reduction, risk reduction, or revenue upside.

What should an MSP track inside the CRM?
Every deal should have defined stages, clear exit criteria, logged communication, and measurable activity and outcome data—so coaching and forecasting become evidence-based.

Why doesn’t outsourced cold calling work for MSPs?
Because MSP is a broad, context-heavy service. Appointment setters rarely understand your market nuance, your culture, or the technical and operational scope of what prospects ask in real conversations.

When should an MSP owner hand off sales?
When the sales role is a full-time job—and the system is mature enough that a salesperson can be plugged in without reinventing the process from scratch.

What’s the simplest first step to building a sales system?
Define your stages, define what moves a deal from one stage to the next, and enforce that every active deal lives in the CRM—starting now, even if you’re the only salesperson.

Related resources from Bering McKinley

• The role of MSP sales consulting in revenue growth
• An IT firm checklist for MSP sales leaders

Want to continue the conversation?

If you’re an MSP owner building a real sales engine—and want help creating the systems, visibility, and execution discipline that make growth predictable—explore the Vision operating system or apply to be a guest on the podcast.

👉 Apply to be on the BMK Vision Podcast
👉 Learn more about Vision