About This Episode

The role of the vCIO has changed dramatically over the past decade. In this episode of MSP Business School, your hosts Brian Doyle, Robb Rogers, and Tim McNeil participate in a roundtable discussion about the changes they’ve seen in the world of account management, including the skills and personality types to look for when hiring a vCIO (or when promoting from within), and how to ensure that those in account management have the support they need to keep clients engaged and increase your MSP’s monthly recurring revenue. 

0:57 – The guys dive into what makes a great vCIO or Account Manager. They discuss the intricate balance of technical knowledge, business sense, and emotional intelligence needed by the person in the role in order for your MSP to truly thrive, and how to identify that person either in your team or as an outside hire. 

8:42 – How many accounts can an Account Manager manage? Sounds like a bad tongue twister, but Brian breaks down three different “levels” of clients, detailing the time allotted to each over the course of a year in order to illustrate the importance of not overwhelming your account manager’s roster. 

13:23 – Robb offers an example of how to utilize lower wage employees to support your Technical Account Managers, freeing your account managers of busy work and opening up entry level positions in your MSP that could eventually grow into account managers themselves. 

18:28 – The hosts lay out the typical growth path of an MSP, discussing which positions they see MSPs hiring at different stages, and the milestones companies typically reach before bringing on a vCIO. They point out that as an MSP grows, it eventually reaches a stage where the company will begin to lose customers out of inattentiveness unless it begins to divide the labor. Bringing on or promoting a vCIO ensures that there is at least one person in your MSP whose only focus is customer retention, which will greatly affect your MRR in a positive way.