· revenue engine
A managed IT support opportunity deserves sales time when the organisation fits the service, the operating environment can be understood and a real decision path exists. A booked meeting alone proves none of those conditions.
Use the gate below before discovery. Keep unknowns visible. An unknown may justify a short validation step, while a clear service mismatch should stop the opportunity.
Managed IT opportunity qualification gate
| Gate | Evidence to record | Pass | Review | Stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery coverage | Sites, working pattern and supported geography | All locations are serviceable | One location or work pattern needs confirmation | Required coverage is outside the approved area |
| Estate shape | Users, devices, sites, core platforms and ownership | Within the approved support profile | Material field is unknown | Known requirement is outside scope |
| Service need | Stated support outcome and current arrangement | Need matches the service catalogue | Need is plausible but unconfirmed | Request depends on an unavailable service |
| Transition | Contract position, documentation and likely dependencies | A responsible transition can be scoped | Incumbent or documentation position is unclear | Proposed timing cannot be delivered safely |
| Decision path | Sponsor, operational owner, approver and next decision | Roles and next action are identified | One role still needs validation | No owner or agreed decision action exists |
The gate is a proposed commercial control. Adapt the fields to the MSP's approved service catalogue, capacity and risk process.
Establish the account before scoring the opportunity
Confirm the legal organisation, trading identity and locations. Companies House offers free access to company status, filings and officers, while warning that the register is not comprehensive and may contain errors or omissions. Treat a filing as evidence for the field it contains. Do not let a company record stand in for the operating estate.
Record the source and date for every material fact. Separate facts from buyer statements and sales interpretations. “Three locations shown on the website” is different from “three supported sites required”. The second statement needs confirmation in discovery.
Define estate complexity in business terms
User count is useful, although user count cannot describe the whole service. Ask about locations, working patterns, device ownership, critical applications, internal IT responsibility, suppliers and support hours. Avoid diagnosing a technical environment from public clues.
NCSC supply-chain guidance frames supplier work around understanding risk, establishing control, checking arrangements and supporting improvement. An MSP can use those business-level themes to ask who owns suppliers and assurance. A qualified technical team should handle any technical or security assessment.
Complexity should lead to a route, not a hidden score. A standard estate may proceed to normal discovery. An unusual platform may go to technical review. A requirement outside the service catalogue should stop or move to an approved partner route.
Qualify the transition as well as the destination
A suitable future service can still be a poor immediate opportunity if the transition cannot be handled responsibly. Record the current provider arrangement, renewal or notice facts supplied by the buyer, documentation availability, internal dependencies and required dates.
Never invent a contract renewal date. Public changes, leadership appointments or office moves can justify a question. They do not prove dissatisfaction with an incumbent supplier.
Map decision ownership
Four roles usually need separate fields:
- the person experiencing the operating problem;
- the person responsible for day-to-day technology or suppliers;
- the person who approves cost and commercial terms;
- the people who will assess delivery, security or compliance.
One person may hold several roles. The point is to know which decisions remain open. End discovery with an agreed next action, owner and evidence requirement.
Fictional example
In a fictional example, a multi-site organisation asks for managed support. Public evidence confirms two offices, while the buyer reports a third small location and hybrid workers. The required hours fit the MSP's catalogue, but one specialist application and the incumbent notice period remain unknown.
The opportunity enters technical and commercial review. Sales does not promise a transition date. The next action is a scoped discovery with the application owner and the person responsible for the current supplier.
Final qualification check
- [ ] Legal organisation and operating locations are separated.
- [ ] Users, devices, sites, core platforms and working patterns have sources.
- [ ] The stated outcome fits an approved service.
- [ ] Unknowns have owners and validation actions.
- [ ] Public changes are treated as questions, not proof of dissatisfaction.
- [ ] Transition dependencies and timing are recorded.
- [ ] Decision roles and the next action are explicit.
- [ ] Technical, security and contractual questions go to qualified owners.
The MSP lead generation guide covers the wider route from account selection to conversation. To review where qualification should sit in an MSP growth programme, visit the MSP page.
Sources and further reading
- Searching the Companies House register · Companies House
- Supply chain security guidance: The principles of supply chain security · National Cyber Security Centre