Dave leads a B2B services firm with a dedicated sales team of three. Over the past year, they’ve invested time and resources into cold outreach, hiring sales reps, and launching marketing campaigns. Despite these efforts, the results have been underwhelming, with little to no new revenue generation.
Their outreach strategies aren’t yielding the desired conversions. The sales team struggles to gain meaningful traction, effectively use tools, and build relationships.
This situation is common. Many managed service providers (MSPs) face similar challenges because traditional methods don’t accurately reflect how sales work today.
Why B2B cold outreach is difficult and how MSPs can fix it with AI
Dave’s team spent the past year emailing a cold list purchased from a data provider. Instead of generating leads, they spent time chasing the wrong contacts while better-fitting opportunities were overlooked.
Here’s why this approach falls short, and how artificial intelligence (AI) helps you improve it.
- Outreach without context gets ignored: Emails that don’t consider where a prospect is in their decision process get deleted. Buyers expect relevance from the first message.
AI fix: Analyze behavior with AI tools and get recommendations for the right time and message for each prospect.
- Automation without personalization lowers results: Generic automated sequences are easy to launch, but they often miss the mark.
AI fix: Adjust outreach based on real-time behavior. Use AI to refine language and follow-up timing so that messages feel personal.
- Sales and marketing operate in silos: When sales teams don’t have visibility into marketing engagement, they waste time guessing who to pursue.
AI fix: AI tools can score leads based on engagement, making it easier for Sales to focus on prospects who are already interested
Success doesn’t come from sending more messages. It comes from sending smarter ones, backed by data and guided by timing, behavior, and alignment across your team. Get started with this free guide, AI Prompt Cheat Sheet for B2B Prospecting.
The power of strategic partnerships
Cold outreach has its place, but Dave’s lack of results reminded him of something more powerful. His company had shifted focus away from the partnerships that once drove strong referrals.
For small teams, partnerships can scale lead generation faster than outbound tactics alone. Trusted referral sources provide direct access to qualified prospects, eliminating the need to start from scratch. Here’s how to get started:
- Choose the right partners – Find noncompeting companies that serve your ideal clients. For a cybersecurity-focused MSP, these might include cloud infrastructure providers, IT compliance consultants, VoIP vendors, or Microsoft 365 specialists. They often encounter security needs they don’t handle, which creates a natural opening for your expertise.
- Build trust before asking for leads – Partnerships work best when they’re built on mutual value. Share helpful insights, collaborate on small efforts, or offer tools that benefit your clients. AI can surface potential partners based on overlapping client profiles or industries.
- Stay engaged – Many partnerships fade simply because teams stop following up. Use your CRM and AI to keep engagement on track. AI can prompt outreach at the right moment, highlight recent interactions, and recommend meeting times that fit both calendars. A consistent rhythm helps you stay top of mind and build lasting partner relationships.
New business development requires more than outreach
Many sales teams fall into the trap of thinking that more outreach equals more results. However, companies that are seeing new business development are doing more than just contacting prospects. They’re engaging them early, building trust well before a sales call ever happens.
Dave noticed this in his own team. His reps were sending emails and making calls, but they weren’t creating the kind of early engagement that moves a prospect from cold to curious.
Don’t treat sales like a numbers game
AI can help identify which leads are actively interacting with your emails, website, or marketing content. Instead of working through a cold list, reps can focus on leads who have already shown signs of interest, whether that’s downloading a cybersecurity checklist or visiting your services page multiple times.
Build credibility before making the pitch
AI-powered tools can recommend relevant content to share with prospects based on their industry or recent behavior. That might include a ransomware trends report, a recent blog post about cloud security, or a client success story. Sharing resources like these positions your team as a knowledgeable guide, not just another vendor.
Align sales and marketing with shared data
When marketing and sales operate from the same set of insights, lead handoffs improve. AI can score leads in real-time, helping Sales prioritize companies most likely to convert based on activities such as repeat visits, form fills, or engagement with email campaigns.
AI helps all sales teams do more
Even with a lean sales team, AI tools extend your reach and free up time for higher-value activity.
Use your CRM to uncover insight
When sales notes, meeting recaps, and pipeline updates are logged in your CRM, AI can spot trends and predict which opportunities are most likely to close. Without this foundation, you miss out on meaningful insight.
Let buyer signals guide your timing
AI can detect when companies are researching cybersecurity services or browsing specific pages, like endpoint protection or compliance. That allows your team to reach out with relevant, timely messages.
Automate tasks without losing the human touch
Use automation for scheduling, reminders, or first-contact emails. Then follow up with personal outreach that reflects the prospect’s needs. AI should support your relationships, not replace them.
The key to winning more clients
Dave realized his team had been relying too much on digital outreach. For complex or high-value deals, nothing replaces the connection built through in-person meetings.
Streamline the process – AI helps your team focus on the right prospects by spotting when someone is showing real interest. It pulls together past conversations, web activity, and CRM notes, so reps walk into meetings prepared. After the meeting, it suggests thoughtful follow-up based on what was discussed, making it easier to keep the conversation going.
Want smarter outreach and higher conversions?
If your team is stuck relying on cold outreach and not seeing results, it may be time to shift. We help MSPs like yours utilize AI-powered sales strategies to attract stronger leads, enhance follow-up, boost conversion rates, and drive revenue.
Contact KLA Group today to see how strategic engagement, supported by AI, can turn your sales process into a consistent growth engine.
Photo: SaiArLawKa2 / Shutterstock
This post originally appeared on Smarter MSP.