· revenue engine
A new office can create IT work. It can also be a registered-address change, a small serviced-office move or an announcement with no immediate buying project. For an MSP, the signal is useful only when it leads to a careful question rather than a confident assumption.
The practical unit of research is an evidence card. It connects a dated, public fact to a plausible requirement, records what is still unknown and tells a salesperson what must be verified.
1. Establish what changed
Start with the company’s own announcement, property statement or official filing. Record the exact language. “Opened a regional hub”, “moved registered office” and “leased a second floor” describe different events.
Companies House makes company status, registered office, filing history, officers and other public records available free. It also warns that the service is not comprehensive and may contain errors or omissions. Use the register to corroborate identity and filings, not to claim that a registered-address change proves a live operational site.
Capture:
- source URL, publisher and access date;
- announcement or filing date;
- address or region, if relevant and appropriate;
- words used to describe the site;
- planned opening date, if stated;
- source limitations.
If the only evidence is an undated directory entry, stop. The event is not strong enough to support a current conversation.
2. Map the event to requirement families
Do not jump straight from “new office” to “needs our managed service”. List the technical jobs that may exist, then mark them as unconfirmed:
- connectivity and resilient access;
- network design and secure configuration;
- identity and device provisioning;
- meeting-room and collaboration setup;
- backup, monitoring and support coverage;
- security controls for new connections or suppliers;
- transition from a temporary to permanent site.
The NCSC’s supply chain guidance groups its principles under understanding risk, establishing control, checking arrangements and continuous improvement. Those broad categories support asking how responsibility and assurance will work across the company, landlord, connectivity provider and MSP. They do not prove which supplier the prospect needs.
3. Add disconfirming evidence
A strong evidence card tries to rule the opportunity out. Check whether:
- the address is only a registered office;
- the site is a coworking space with bundled IT;
- the announcement concerns a future plan with no committed date;
- an incumbent partner is publicly responsible;
- the site is outside your support coverage;
- the required work falls outside your approved service scope.
This protects sales time and makes the eventual conversation more credible.
Fictional evidence card
Alder Components is fictional. A dated company announcement says it will open a 20-person service office in Bristol in November. A property page confirms the building, but neither source describes connectivity, support or security arrangements.
| Evidence card field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Observed fact | Company says a 20-person service office will open in Bristol in November |
| Primary source | Fictional company announcement |
| Corroboration | Fictional property page |
| Plausible IT jobs | Connectivity, identity, devices, collaboration and support |
| Confirmed requirement | None |
| Disconfirming checks | Bundled building service, incumbent MSP, remote-only staffing |
| Verification question | Who owns the office technology plan and which parts are already covered? |
| Stop condition | Site is address-only or fully supported under an existing contract |
The card creates a reason to investigate. It does not create permission to describe the company as having an IT problem.
4. Prepare the conversation, not a diagnosis
Give the salesperson three things:
- the exact observed fact;
- one requirement family that fits the MSP’s real scope;
- one open question that tests ownership or coverage.
Avoid a long service list. If the evidence concerns a serviced office, a useful question may concern the boundary between building-provided connectivity and company-managed devices. If the company is consolidating sites, the relevant question may concern transition and support continuity.
This is a conversation framework, not live prospect messaging. Any operational outreach still requires fresh evidence, the appropriate lawful basis and channel rules, suppression checks and approval. ICO guidance says publicly available personal data used for B2B marketing still falls within data protection obligations.
New-office evidence card worksheet
| Field | Your entry |
|---|---|
| Company and site | |
| Exact observed change | |
| Primary source and date | |
| Corroborating source | |
| Plausible requirement family | |
| Why your service scope is relevant | |
| What remains unknown | |
| Disconfirming evidence checked | |
| Responsible function | |
| Verification question | |
| Stop condition |
Before handing the card to sales:
- [ ] The site event is current and based on a primary source.
- [ ] A registered office is not presented as an operational office.
- [ ] Plausible requirements are labelled unconfirmed.
- [ ] Disconfirming evidence was actively sought.
- [ ] The MSP capability is within approved scope.
- [ ] The contact is selected by responsibility.
- [ ] Privacy, suppression and channel checks are complete.
- [ ] The card includes a clear stop condition.
For the broader category strategy, read Hyper’s MSP lead generation guide. To compare the evidence-card method with Hyper’s MSP approach, visit the MSP growth page.
Sources and further reading
- Searching the Companies House register · Companies House
- Business-to-business marketing · Information Commissioner’s Office
- Supply chain security guidance: The principles of supply chain security · National Cyber Security Centre