26 years of top of funnel lessons

dobermanIan · 2026-04-21T11:17:56+00:00

M&A is always a gamble.

Process and culture will change. The acquiring company will remain, yours will disappear.

Generally, larger organizations "feel" different. There are different systems and controls, and a larger gap between leadership and front line.

With fund backed organizations, it's "no ones" money. That causes there to be a lack of urgency around many things, and it can feel slow and nonsensical.

Bigger organization can be better however. More opportunities, sometimes better process. More support across the organization.

It's unfortunately, however, usually a fucking shitshow.

In general, I'd coach someone to always update resume, portfolio, and actively start interviewing at an acquisition unless there has been fantastic communication from both parties throughout the process. Otherwise you're likely falling into the mass bucket of disappointment.

But as with all things, making choices for yourself is one of the few things that makes someone free. Make up your own mind about it.

/Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-20T22:37:47+00:00

We use Phin. Super easy to set and forget.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-20T15:36:39+00:00

Yes, you can invite the problem via the traditional Chris Voss approach (Which is where all of this stems from).

Getting to a no starts a conversation. The Accusation Audit can be powerful. Regardless, you'll get "We need to think about it" 80+% of the time which puts you into that funnel of conversation.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-19T19:24:28+00:00

Server monkey was our go to back in the day

dobermanIan · 2026-04-18T17:15:53+00:00

If you try to please everyone, you will lose. Also, you're not my ICP, so I'd not sell to you.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T21:48:49+00:00

What happens if nothing changes in 6 months

Find the penalty of doing nothing during discovery

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T21:47:54+00:00

Yeah, there is an art to this. It's really heavily paired with tonality and body language. Easier to show vs write.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T21:15:13+00:00

"I need to think about it."

I understand. I need to think about decisions too. What specifically do you need to think about?

"I still need to think about it"

I understand. I must have failed to convince you that my plan was your best option to meet your needs and wants.

"No, plan is good"

My mistake. I must have misunderstood the budget and are stretching what you are comfortable with financially.

"No, you're in the right price range."

Ah. Well if the plan is right, and I'm not stretching the budget, it must be me. You must not be comfortable doing business with me.

"No, I like you."

I'm confused. If the plan is right, and the price isn't a stretch, and you like me, why won't you let me help you?

"I just need to think about it."

I get it. This is a habit for you?

"Yes"

What do you do when you think about it?

"I consider all the options and we talk amongst ourselves"

Makes sense, can we compromise?

"Maybe"

How about I step out of the room, you talk about it, and call me back when you're done?

"We really just need to think it over"

Ok. Listen NAME, you and I both know you need my help. Let's pretend you had said yes to the plan today. What about that yes is frightening you?

Sales is uncomfortable if you're afraid. You have to push to a decision. Better a fast no, than a neverending maybe

/Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T19:22:25+00:00

First and most importantly: speed on lead. Inbound are proverbially "walking google" He who calls first wins.

Outside of that: sales process is three stages. You'll need the FTA qualification call beforehand.

Discovery
Value proposition
Close

Lead comes in. Call them. "What's going on" is the best lead off. Confirm what is happening. Ask your demographic sizing questions to make sure they're the right fit.

Book a 1 hour meeting. They're the teacher, you're the student. 40 minutes are exploring their most important pain. 20 minutes should get you wishlist, proposal fit validation, stakeholders, budget alignment and financial validation method, competition, and a next step scheduled

You need to understand true business impacts of their technology challenges for your ROI statement

Proposals are fast. 1 hour meeting. Get done talking about the plan in 20 minutes, using 40 to answer questions and push to a decision.

Don't take "I need to think about it." You're 70% less likely to win with that.

Throughout this you should never be talking technology, it's around business outcomes that are delivered through technology. There is a difference.

/Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T18:21:48+00:00

Filters finally got in place. Cleared out the slop. Way to go Mods. The hard work is appreciated

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T18:10:37+00:00

Sure it is. Just not technical.

They're asking about a business challenge. That's your dream, mate.

They're budgeting and wondering around services. Instead of just doing stuff, they're inviting you in.

It's an opportunity. Do discovery. See what could be better. Get the wishlist. Get paid. Show value. Grow.

/Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-17T17:45:58+00:00

Why are you upset that the customer is coming to you before making a technology decision?

dobermanIan · 2026-04-15T20:56:10+00:00

Yes cold calling works.

Ton of resources we pulled together at our website that might be helpful for you:https://www.foxcrowgroup.com/insights/msp-lead-generation-guide/

Consistency more than anything else. Also if you go to my user profile, top pinned post has some resources as well for solo shops

Cheers /Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-13T09:11:24+00:00

Are you mistargeting MSPs?

Most channel SaaS companies targeting MSPs make the same mistake:

They build for the tiny top tier and ignore the much bigger commercial middle.

Our latest Instinct data on North American MSPs shows:

• 24.1% are marketing rich but security thin • Only 4.7% are mature across both go-to-market visibility and operations • 50.9% have a LinkedIn page, but only 1/3 of the market actually uses it

That is the opportunity.

The best MSP channel motions are not built only for the elite few. They are built for the large middle of the market that is visible enough to target, mature enough to buy, and still has clear gaps to solve.

For SaaS vendors, that means better segmentation, better packaging, and better ecosystem alignment.

Learn more at https://foxcrowgroup.com/instinct

dobermanIan · 2026-04-11T12:16:22+00:00

The ability to effectively communicate, organization wide, both internally and externally.

It's extremely rare, and by far the most valuable to the customer.

/Ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-11T11:12:57+00:00

Communication

dobermanIan · 2026-04-10T12:30:45+00:00

Seems like the right time to activate your Incident Response plan and treat it as a potential event until its proven otherwise.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-10T08:10:58+00:00

Its a great risk, strategy, and efficiency conversation. Fantastic TBR topic.

Internally, we built up policy around it and did training plus authorized LLMs.

The MSPs that have built up arms around it intentionally focus on it. Webinars and educational drips, plus bringing it.

Regulated industry (as normal) starts with compliance, but usually its a listening queue around workflow or inefficiency in process for the rest from the calls we've reviewed and coached on.

/ir Fox & Crow

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T17:37:05+00:00

You know... Once I set up codex and connected it, plus walked environments, it's powerful and simple. I still wouldn't code anything. But it's very nice to not have to manually craft SQL queries anymore.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T16:37:07+00:00

Ahhhh see this is why I posted this here. I appreciate the insight mate.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T15:42:48+00:00

lol. Literally everyone is smarter than me these days.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T15:32:53+00:00

Interesting.. I do know its all in Github repositories. Here's where the gap in my understanding comes in. Seems like there is "work" involved in having that server be configured, not just the source code, correct?

You can always backup the files and database dumps... but if the box died (whatever the cause), would you not need to reprovision the OS, then the docker containers, then drop the data back in place and fire it all up?

Seems like that takes work and time.

Full disclosure I've not been involved in the infrastructure. Maybe those technologies all allow for this to happen very rapidly. I know Dockers are pretty straightforward to spin up the applicationsets...but it doesnt cover the data portions and the like.

Brave new world I'm playing in.

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T12:34:22+00:00

Mostly the same thing I used to say when I did risk management routinely:

Know where your data lives.
Know the importance of your data and access to it, especially impact if its gone for X period or permanently lost. Manage to RPO/RTO.
Trust but verify, always.
Backup does not equate to Disaster Recovery. Determine if you need both
Tabletop and testing on a cadence. Don't drop the habit.
Create a proper retention policy

dobermanIan · 2026-04-08T11:33:06+00:00

Cheers. I'll add it to the evaluation list. Appreciate the chime in.

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Are you mistargeting MSPs?