The Secret Sales Strategy That Turns Prospects into Clients—Even When They Say No 

I just got off the phone with one of our partners. He’s smiling—because his sales are working. 

And let me tell you, it’s not because he hired a new closer, overhauled his marketing, or discovered a magic bullet. It’s because he’s following one simple, repeatable playbook. 

Let me walk you through it. 

Step One: Let Us Be the Bad Guy 

He starts by asking us to do what we do best: run a third-party penetration test on his prospect’s environment. 

Why third party? Simple. No conflict of interest. He’s not the one auditing his competitor. He’s not the one pointing fingers. We are. We go in clean and unbiased. 

And because we’re not trying to land the deal—we’re just doing the analysis—we can call out the problems objectively. No spin. Just evidence. 

Step Two: Share the Cold, Hard Truth 

Then he walks into the prospect’s office and shares the report. No fluff. Just facts. 

In one recent case, we found: 

  • The CFO had global admin access.
  • He wasn’t using MFA.
  • And he stored every single password in a desktop file named Payroll.xls.

Yes, you read that right. Payroll.xls. On the desktop. No password. No encryption. Just sitting there like a candy jar for hackers. 

This is the kind of stuff we find all the time when we do these assessments. 

Step Three: Present the Fix (Without the Pressure) 

After the readout, our partner presents his solution. He doesn’t hard sell. He just shows what needs to happen to fix the mess. 

And guess what? About 50% sign on the spot. 

But the other half? They hesitate. “We’ve got a guy.” “We trust our current vendor.” “We’ll pass this along.” 

Sound familiar? This is where most MSPs walk away. Not this guy. 

Step Four: Play the Long Game 

He offers the prospect something brilliant: a recurring third-party assessment every quarter. 

Here’s why that matters: 

  • It keeps him in the room.
  • It keeps the prospect accountable.
  • And it builds trust—one report at a time.

Every 90 days, he sits down with them, reads out the results, and calmly shows whether their existing vendor is actually fixing anything. 

Spoiler alert: they’re usually not. 

Six months later? The relationship with the old vendor has eroded. Trust has shifted. And our partner closes the deal. Every single time. 

This Is How Smart MSPs Win 

This is the power of evidence. Of patience. Of leading with facts instead of fear. 

You don’t need to trash your competitor. You don’t need to discount your services. You just need to outlast their BS with a flashlight and a calendar. 

So if you’re looking to turn your cold leads into warm clients—without burning bridges—here’s the move: 

Schedule a third-party penetration test and vulnerability scan. 

Let us do the digging. You deliver the solution. Book a 25-minute consult today. It might just be the smartest sales move you make this year.