Key Points
- Evaluate and Segment Existing Clients for Managed Services Readiness: Assess client technical maturity, growth stage, and fit for proactive IT management. Prioritize clients most likely to transition successfully to a managed services model.
- Position Managed Services as a Strategic Upgrade: Highlight how managed services deliver predictive monitoring and proactive problem prevention, contrasting them with the reactive, unpredictable costs of break/fix IT support.
- Handle Common Objections with Data and Value-Based Proof: When clients say, “We’re fine with our current setup,” respond with evidence. Show historic downtime costs and invoicing patterns and explain how managed services provide consistent pricing and peace of mind.
- Offer Outcome-Based Onboarding and Transparent Service Agreements: Introduce outcome guarantees or short trial periods backed by measurable results. This builds trust and demonstrates tangible ROI while encouraging client commitment.
- Standardize Your Managed Services Offering and Enforce SLAs: Define clear service tiers and require all clients to sign an SLA. This reduces inefficiencies and positions your MSP as a professional, scalable provider, not a reactive break/fix vendor.
- Let Go of Unprofitable or Noncompliant Clients: Don’t be afraid to part ways with clients who resist managed services. Focusing on aligned, high-value partnerships allows you to dedicate more time to automation, AI-based monitoring, and cybersecurity services—the cornerstones of modern MSP success.
Note: The following is an excerpt from The Break/Fix to Managed Services Transition Kit, which includes a 4-step action plan about making the switch from break/fix IT to managed services along with bonus templates and tools you can use to get started right away.
Transitioning your IT business from break/fix to a managed services is no small feat. It often involves completely revamping the way you and your techs work, and it requires you to make a variety of important decisions…
- What exactly is your services offering going to include?
- What PSA and RMM are you going to use? (Additionally, how will you incorporate AI-based monitoring, predictive analytics, and automation?)
- What additional tools do you need?
- What are you going to charge?
Each of those questions takes careful forethought and consideration. Answering them will get you ready to make the switch – but what about your current customers?
Unless you’re starting over from scratch, you’ll have to find a way to get existing clients on board.
Remember that transitioning them from the break/fix model they’re accustomed to isn’t always easy for them, either. The good news is if you’ve been cultivating a good relationship and laying the proper groundwork you may be surprised. Some may not bat an eye at all.
Some clients are going to be more receptive than others, and technical maturity is probably going to be one of the biggest key indicators. We’ve created a Managed Services Client Evaluation Form (below) that you can use to segment and prioritize your customers in terms of how likely they are to switch.
Click here to download a PDF version of this form.
Once you identify a few top candidates, get the ball rolling by approaching them first. If they’re growing rapidly or actively engaging in project work can give you a natural opening to let them know you have a new offering that’s a better fit for their changing needs.
Keep in mind that the more you position the new offering as a definitive change in your service rather than just a new option, the more successful you’ll be in getting clients to commit.
Handling objections to managed services
Be prepared to respond to predictable objections, including the one Karl Palachuk refers to as “the killer objection”. “We’re getting what we need right now.” According to Palachuk, the best response isn’t to argue that they aren’t, but instead to stress what makes your new offering so different from what they’re currently getting.
Smaller clients in particular may also balk at the idea of paying a fixed fee, regardless of whether it’s ultimately comparable to the amount they’ve been paying you in emergency break/fix work. If that’s the case, the key is to show them the past invoices, and remind them of the downtime or inconvenience they suffered while the matter was being resolved. Explain to them that, under the new agreement, all that work would have been covered. No more big, unexpected bills for emergency work. Instead, they get the peace of mind knowing issues are being prevented and tackled immediately, and their payments are going to be smaller, consistent, and spread out over time.
Finally, show them a list of all the other great things they’ll be getting under your new agreement.
As an incentive, you may consider offering your service package as a 60 or 90-day trial, after which they can cancel if they don’t see the value. Even better, in place of a trial, consider using value-based metrics, outcome guarantees, and zero-risk onboarding.
What to do with clients who won’t switch from break/fix to managed services
Despite how well you lay the groundwork and how convincing you are in your pitch, you may have some clients who just refuse to switch.
In addition, you’ll need to decide what options you’re going to leave available to these clients. As difficult as it can be, the approach that many successful MSPs recommend is showing them the door.
For example, this MSP fired customers that accounted for 25% of his company’s revenue, and he only had one regret — that he didn’t do it sooner.
Firing clients may seem drastic, but the clients most likely to resist managed services are those who take up a disproportionate amount of time and resources and bring in little revenue. Keeping one foot in the break/fix game just to support them isn’t a position you want to be in.
The easiest way to cut ties with problem clients is to let them know you’re requiring every client you support sign a service level agreement (SLA). They don’t have to sign, but if they don’t you’ll no longer be able to support them.
If you have good clients who, for whatever reason, just aren’t ready to switch, another option is to keep them on while raising their rates and steering them toward block-time billing as a stepping stone. Just keep in mind, the highest performing MSPs have gotten to where they are by
- standardizing their offering,
- standing by its value, and
- saying no to opportunities that aren’t a good fit.
The less time break/fix customers take up, the more time you can spend on acquiring and supporting more profitable managed services clients.
Recap: Key do’s and don’ts
- DO evaluate your current clients. Identify and prioritize the ones most likely to switch.
- DON’T be shy about laying the groundwork early. Point out work that’ll be covered under your new agreement, and keep tabs on how much break/fix work is costing clients.
- DO prepare for common objections. A big one is, “We’re already getting what we need.”
- DON’T be afraid of losing problem clients. If they don’t want to make the switch it’s a good excuse for you to part ways.
- DO consider offering a trial period. However, be firm that this is a change you’ve committed to – and you need clients to commit to it, too.
Next step: Download our free guide
Looking for more actionable advice on providing managed services? Check out our Break/Fix to Managed Services Transition Kit. It provides a 4-step action plan you can follow plus some additional templates/tools that can give you an easy jumpstart.
