Here’s a practical, no‑fluff playbook any MSP can use to increase the number of products and services their customers buy. These steps work across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise MSP models and don’t require huge marketing budgets—just process and consistency.
1. Map Every Customer to a “Tech Stack Gap Analysis”
Most MSPs unknowingly miss revenue because they don’t know which customers are missing which products.
Create a simple table for each customer:
| Category | Current State | Gap | Opportunity |
| Security | AV only | No EDR | Upsell EDR/ MDR |
| Backup | Local only | No cloud | Offer cloud backup |
| M365 | Business Basic | No VoIP | Suggest 3CX |
Why it works: Customers often assume they’re already fully covered. A visual gap map changes that.
2. Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) — Even Light Versions
You don’t need a full enterprise QBR.
Include:
- Ticket trends
- Security posture score
- Risk areas
- Upcoming tech changes
- 2–3 “recommended next steps”
Why it works: QBRs subtly shift the relationship from break/fix support to strategic advisor, making upsells feel natural, not salesy.
3. Bundle Products Into “Good / Better / Best” Packages
Instead of offering 15 individual products, create 3–4 bundles.
Example:
- Essential → M365 + AV + basic monitoring
- Professional → Essential + patching + backup + email security
- Premium → Pro + EDR + SOC + vCIO
Why it works: Humans buy bundles more easily than standalone items.
4. Add Products During Onboarding or Renewal Windows
These moments already involve:
- Contracts
- Budget discussions
- Strategy conversations
Perfect time to recommend additional protections or efficiencies.
5. Train Technicians to Identify and Flag Upsell Opportunities
Most upsell insight comes from engineers — not sales.
Train staff to flag:
- Repeated security incidents
- Out-of-warranty hardware
- Unsupported software
- Frequent tickets tied to missing tools
Give them a simple form:
“I noticed this issue is happening because X is missing. Customer would benefit from Y.”
Reward them for doing this.
6. Use Automated Reporting to Show Value Gaps
Tools like:
- MSP RMMs
- Security reports
- M365 Secure Score
- Backup success reports
These reports expose gaps automatically and make future product recommendations data-driven.
7. Standardise Your MSP Stack
Upselling is easier when you have a defined, opinionated stack.
Examples:
- “We run Bitdefender on every endpoint.”
- “We don’t support servers without cloud backup.”
- “All customers require MFA and email security.”
This lets you “upgrade laggards” instead of “sell more stuff.”
8. Offer Trials and Proof-of-Concepts
Customers often resist new tools because they haven’t felt the benefit yet.
Examples:
- 30-day EDR trial
- Keeper password manager trial
- Temporary cloud backup protection
Why it works: Experience → Buy-in.
9. Use Case Studies & Real Incidents
Nothing sells like a real story:
- A ransomware incident that a certain product could’ve prevented
- A downtime event due to missing backup
- Cost savings from Teams Voice migration
Stories beat feature lists every time.
10. Improve Customer Education
Create simple, non-technical assets:
- One-page product explanation sheets
- Monthly newsletters with security trends
- Short videos showing risks and solutions
Your goal:
Make the customer realize they’re behind—before something breaks.
11. Introduce a “vCIO Lite” Function
Even for small clients.
This includes:
- 6–12 month tech roadmap
- Upcoming renewals
- Budget planning
- Standards alignment
Customers buy more when they see a plan.
12. Track Product Penetration KPIs
Measure:
- Average revenue per user (ARPU)
- Average number of products per customer
- % adoption of core security stack
Review monthly.
“What gets measured gets improved.”
TL;DR — If you do nothing else, do these three:
- QBRs every quarter.
- Tech stack gap analysis for every customer.
- Standardised, opinionated MSP stack that every customer must meet.
These three alone can increase product adoption by 20–40% within a year.
Ready to boost your MSP revenue without increasing your marketing spend?
