The start of a new year is a blank slate—but the best MSPs start strategic planning for annual growth long before January 1st. We get it. It can be hard to make the time when you and your teams are still focused on finishing out strong in 2024. But truly, tomorrow’s success starts now.  Here are five reasons why you should start your 2025 plans now:

 

1. The MSP Industry Moves Fast

New trends and threats are emerging every day. Cybersecurity threats, compliance requirements, and AI-powered tools are evolving rapidly—what’s relevant today might not be tomorrow. Planning now ensures you’re ready to pivot as these trends take shape in 2025.

 

2. Planning Keeps You Flexible Amid Uncertainty

You may wonder if it is counterintuitive to plan ahead, if your plans are likely to change in the future. In actuality, planning helps to ensure that you won’t be set back on your heels. Planning makes room for incorporating contingency plans to account for potential economic shifts or market changes. But even if you don’t go to those lengths upfront, all planning is future-minded. It puts you in a position to better anticipate needs and respond with intention, rather than operate from a reactionary place.

 

3. You’ll Get Ahead of Your Competitors

Here’s a fact you can use to your advantage: Many MSPs are going to wait too long. Your competitors may not start planning until January, giving you a head start if you start now. Early planning positions you to roll out new services or marketing campaigns while others are still strategizing or continuing with their status quo.

 

4. Planning Makes Execution Smoother

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” OK, yes, obviously planning makes knowing what to do first, second and third easier. And yet, so many of us fly by the seat of our pants anyway, so it’s important to drive this one home. When you plan, you can better allocate budget for marketing, training, tools, and staffing without rushing or running out of cash flow, for example. Without a plan, everything is either an emergency or a pipe dream.

 

5. You’ll Align Goals Across All Teams

Sales, marketing, and operations should work toward unified goals. When the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is up to, you get a misalignment of goals that might even run counter to each other. We have to break those communication silos down and ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction without bottlenecks or drag. Early planning is a great way to get everyone aligned, excited and invested in your MSP’s future success.

 

Daunted? Don’t be. Here are three steps to get you started:

 

Leverage Quantitative Data                                                                                                                    

Before you jump into planning your year, it’s important to review 2024. Make sure you’re setting time aside to collect KPIs (key performance indicators) and do some reflection. Review Performance Metrics like sales, service tickets, customer satisfaction, email list growth, and revenue trends. Use these as a baseline for where to grow from here. You might spot underperforming services or get clarity on other markets to tap into in the new year. It’s much easier to create realistic goals when they are grounded in real numbers. In other words, your next steps might begin to write themselves.

 

Consider Qualitative Data

Numbers matter, but so does sentiment. What do your client testimonials say about your business and the service they receive? Do a gut check with yourself: You’ll likely be able to easily name the challenges or failures you don’t want to relive next year. And what about the wins? Are they repeatable? Can you build on them? What are the immeasurable pieces of your MSP that matter most to you? Hold a team retrospective before year’s end to gather input and ideas from everyone.

 

Set Aside Time for Strategy and Planning

CharTec is making it easy for decision-makers and teams to strategize and plan for 2025. All you have to do is join us online Wednesday, Dec. 11 for Virtual Immersion. We’re covering everything from leadership to finance to sales management, operations and more. Get a jump on 2025 plans in just one day.

 

Get in on it. Share with your team. Learn more and register here.