#49 – From the Trenches: Cold Calls & the Financial Wake Up (Alan Moon - Integritech)

In this From the Trenches episode, Alan Moon, co-founder of Integritech, joins Josh Peterson for a wide-ranging, deeply honest conversation about the realities of MSP growth—especially the moments when technical confidence collides with financial reality. Alan shares his unconventional path from Air Force space systems and Fortune 100 IT roles at Walmart and Tyson Foods into entrepreneurship, and why starting an MSP required an entirely new skillset beyond infrastructure, servers, and networks. The discussion reinforces a core theme Bering McKinley sees repeatedly: MSP owners don’t fail because they lack technical ability—they struggle because selling, pricing, and financial clarity arrive much later than they should. Josh ties these lessons back to the importance of Vision as an operating framework and the discipline required to move from “busy” to truly profitable.

The episode becomes a financial wake-up call as Alan and Josh unpack pricing mistakes, early undercharging, and the painful realization that building a job is not the same as building a business. Alan explains how discovering headcount-based pricing, agreement profitability, and metrics like effective hourly rate fundamentally changed how Integritech viewed clients, contracts, and growth. They also dig into the hard lessons around cold calling, outsourced sales, long sales cycles, and why intentional outbound—done the right way—finally unlocked the next phase of revenue growth. Throughout the conversation, Josh connects Alan’s experience to broader MSP benchmarks, emphasizing why understanding agreement gross profit, service margins, and utilization is essential for leaders who want sustainable scale, not just top-line growth.

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Episode Highlights

• 00:01:22 – Alan’s journey from Air Force space systems to Fortune 100 IT and into MSP ownership.
• 00:22:30 – The painful realization: building a helpdesk job vs. building a real business.
• 00:27:00 – Discovering headcount-based pricing and why clients don’t buy “blinky lights.”
• 00:31:15 – The financial wake-up: agreement gross profit and effective hourly rate.
• 00:39:20 – MSP growth benchmarks and what “top 5% revenue” really means.
• 00:55:50 – Cold calling, outsourced sales, and the long road to predictable pipeline.
• 01:00:10 – Final advice: margins matter if you want better people and better service.

About the Guest

Alan Moon is the co-founder of Integritech, an MSP based in Northwest Arkansas. With a background spanning Air Force space systems, enterprise IT at Walmart, and 13 years at Tyson Foods, Alan brings a rare blend of operational discipline and real-world perspective to MSP leadership. Today, he focuses on sustainable growth, financial maturity, and building a business that can scale without burning out its people.

🌐 Connect with Alan on LinkedIn →

About the Host

Josh Peterson is the CEO of Bering McKinley and host of the BMK Vision Podcast. Through the From the Trenches series, Josh has candid conversations with MSP owners about growth, execution, and the financial realities of running service-based businesses.

🔗 Connect with Josh on LinkedIn →