Running a managed service provider (MSP) business is a tough gig. As an entrepreneur, you’re always on the lookout for ways to build additional revenue for your business.
When you think of earning additional revenue, you probably think about gaining clients. And while onboarding new clients is an obvious way to make more money, getting the most value out of your existing clients is crucial to your success. It’s also easier than starting from scratch with new prospects.
One way to get more out of existing relationships is to sell additional services - sell your clients premium packages that they may need to take advantage of or may not even know about. For more on selling extra services, read: Top 5 Ways to Increase MSP Profitability in 2023
But what if we told you that there was a package you could introduce to your client base that increased your revenue while reducing workloads for your team?
Cue: Print Partner!
We are the preferred print vendor for MSPs of all shapes and sizes, handling your client's printing needs and paying you for the referral.
You’d be amazed at how much your business can make from referrals you send us. We’ve sent checks for over $30,000 to our MSP Referral Partners for single deals. If you put in minimal effort to inquire about your clients’ printing environments, you can see a significant payout.
In this article, we’ll review how your MSP can make more money for doing less work in Print Partner’s referral program.
How to Start Earning with Print Partner
Beginning your journey toward making money with Print Partner is easy and intuitive. We understand how busy MSP owners are with running their businesses - that’s why we’ve made our earning process as straightforward as possible.
We pay you for each referral that comes through our pipeline at multiple intervals of the sales process. And once your client is in our pipeline, we do everything for you.
But how do you enter a client into our pipeline?
It comes down to making a solid introduction to us. To do so, ask your clients about their print.
Here are some easy questions to start with:
- Are they currently receiving managed print services?
- What vendor are they working with?
- Are they satisfied with their current services?
- Are they experiencing any pain points?
Asking questions like these can spark the opportunity you need to get your client in front of Print Partner. And if you’ve been their MSP for a while, you might already know the answers to some of these questions.
We also recommend asking your client for a copy of their print agreement. This document contains detailed information about the pricing, service structure, and other agreement details. For more information, read: MSPs: Always Collect Your Customer’s Print Agreements!
Once you have an understanding of their printing, you can make an easy segue into your Print Partner referral.
Inform them of your preferred print vendor, and ask if they’d like a brief 15-minute call with one of our experts. It’s hassle-free and of no cost to them.
For more information on the introduction process, read: How to Make Introductions to Print Partner
The Commission Process
Once you’ve introduced us to your qualified referral, Print Partner and our parent company, Green Office Partner, will handle the rest of the sale.
By qualified referral, we mean clients who can spend $500 or more on monthly print spend with us. If the client falls below this threshold, we enroll them into our Xerox Direct Program, which has a different commission structure. You can read more about it here.
Throughout the sales process, there will be multiple steps where your business can earn a commission. We’ll go over each step of the process.
Part 1: The Finder’s Fee
When you introduce us to a qualified referral, Print Partner will pay you for your effort. Think of this as a finder’s fee.
If we determine that your prospect fits our criteria for a qualified referral, we will pay you an upfront commission of $250.
As we stressed earlier, print agreements are fantastic resources in the managed print sales structure, offering both your MSP and our sales team a window into the prospect’s printing environment. That’s why we provide an additional $250 for referrals with a print agreement.
$500 for your business, win or lose the deal. Not bad for a start!
Part 2: We Close the Deal
After the introduction, our team will work on the sale. We set up an initial appointment with them to learn about their business. You are welcome to attend this meeting, and for larger deals, many of our partners will elect to sit in on the process.
But if you’d like to make the introduction and leave the rest to us, that works too! Your level of involvement in the sales process is entirely up to you.
Once our fact-finding is complete and we close the deal, we’ll pay you a commission based on the devices your client purchases.
For every A3 copier we sell, we pay you $1,000. And for every A4 copier we sell, you’ll earn $100.
This is our way of thanking you for getting us a sale. A closed deal means you did something right!
Part 3: Mailbox Money
Here’s most MSPs’ favorite part. The part where you get paid to do absolutely nothing.
After the deal is closed and you receive your check for the equipment your client purchased, Print Partner will continue to pay you for the services our parent company, Green Office Partner, provides for them.
We pay your MSP 5% of your client’s annual print allotment.
This means that, years later, when you’ve likely forgotten all about the deal you sent us, we will still be sending you checks every January for connecting us with your client so long ago.
In addition to that recurring 5%, we’ll also pay you for any additional equipment sales we make for the client. Should they purchase three more copiers a few years later, you’ll earn an additional $3,000. You might not even know about the sale until you see the check. Expect some pleasant surprises when your deal closes!
Who doesn’t love passive income?
Print Partner and Building A Revenue Stream
At Print Partner, our goal is to support our MSP partners. That means we protect you from print vendors competing with your business, collaborate with you on service requests, and, perhaps most importantly, pay you!
For the minimal amount of effort it takes for your team to introduce us to your clients, working with Print Partner is often a no-brainer. That’s why we’ve quickly become the trusted partner for hundreds of MSPs across the United States and now Canada.
If you’d like to boost your earnings and protect your business with minimal effort, consider partnering with us, a Print Partner you can trust.
