Successful MSPs don’t grow by accident. They grow by continuously evaluating their business, adapting to changing market conditions and investing in the services their customers need most.
This checklist is designed to help Virginia MSPs assess their current strategy, identify new revenue opportunities, and build a stronger, more resilient business. Whether you’re looking to expand into new verticals, strengthen your cybersecurity offerings or improve your operations, these practical action items can help you prioritize your next steps.
Market Focus
Review your market strategy at least twice each year to ensure your target industries still align with Virginia’s evolving economy. Markets change over time, and regularly evaluating where demand is growing helps keep your business development efforts focused on the best long-term opportunities.
☐ Identify the top industries in your region where IT spending is increasing. Understanding where businesses are investing helps you focus your sales and marketing efforts on organizations that are actively looking for technology partners rather than trying to create demand where little exists.
☐ Evaluate whether your current customer base reflects Virginia’s strongest economic sectors. Comparing your existing clients against the state’s strongest industries can reveal untapped markets and diversify your customer base.
☐ Research the largest employers within a 50-mile radius of your office. Large employers often create opportunities not only within their own organizations but also among the vendors, suppliers and professional services firms that support them.
☐ Identify businesses expanding or relocating into Virginia. Growing companies frequently need help building infrastructure, onboarding employees, improving cybersecurity and scaling their technology operations.
☐ Build prospect lists around industry clusters instead of individual companies. Specializing in industries rather than individual accounts allows you to reuse your expertise, marketing and service offerings across similar organizations.
Government and Defense Opportunities
Instead of being a generalist, position your MSP as a trusted advisor on cybersecurity and compliance. Organizations increasingly want partners who can reduce business risk, not just resolve technical issues. This makes strategic security expertise a powerful differentiator.
☐ Determine whether pursuing government-related business aligns with your MSP’s strategy. Government work can provide stable, long-term revenue. It also requires additional planning, continuous documentation and security practices that may not fit every MSP.
☐ Learn the basics of CMMC and determine which existing clients may be affected. Even if you never pursue government contracts directly, many commercial clients support defense contractors. These clients will need guidance around cybersecurity compliance.
☐ Identify clients that serve federal agencies or defense contractors. Many organizations are part of larger supply chains and may have security requirements they don’t yet fully understand.
☐ Develop security offerings that help clients prepare for compliance requirements. Compliance services often lead to recurring revenue while strengthening customer relationships and improving security outcomes.
☐ Build relationships with organizations serving government contractors. Industry associations, chambers of commerce and local business groups can become valuable sources of referrals and market intelligence.
Network with MSPs from the Mid-Atlantic region at the ChannelPro: LIVE event in Alexandria, Virginia, on Sept 1-2, 2026. Details here.
Vertical Market Strategy
Continuously refine your vertical expertise as industries adopt new technologies and face new business pressures. The more knowledgeable you become about an industry’s evolving needs, the more valuable your MSP becomes as a long-term strategic partner.
☐ Select two or three vertical markets where your team can develop expertise. Industry specialization allows you to solve common business challenges more efficiently. This differentiates your MSP from generalist competitors.
☐ Create marketing materials tailored to those industries. Prospects are more likely to engage with messaging that reflects their specific business challenges, regulations and technology priorities.
☐ Develop repeatable service packages for each vertical. Standardized offerings improve operational efficiency while making it easier for prospects to understand the value you provide.
☐ Publish customer success stories relevant to those industries. Real-world examples build credibility and demonstrate that your team understands the unique needs of similar organizations.
☐ Train sales staff on each industry’s business challenges. Sales conversations become more effective when they focus on business outcomes instead of technology features.
Cybersecurity Growth
Treat cybersecurity as an ongoing business conversation, not a one-time technology project. The most successful MSPs build recurring security programs that evolve alongside changing threats and customer needs.
☐ Offer recurring security assessments. Regular assessments create ongoing engagement while helping clients identify and address emerging security risks before they become incidents.
☐ Add vulnerability management services. Continuous vulnerability monitoring generates recurring revenue while improving your clients’ overall security posture.
☐ Review your MDR/XDR offerings. Managed detection and response services are among the fastest-growing managed security offerings for MSPs.
☐ Offer cyber insurance readiness assessments. Many organizations now need help meeting insurer security requirements before obtaining or renewing cyber insurance coverage.
☐ Create incident response planning services. Helping clients prepare before an incident occurs positions your MSP as an essential risk-management partner.
☐ Package security awareness training into managed services. Employees are among the most common attack vectors. This makes ongoing education an important layer of protection.
AI and Automation
Approach AI as a business transformation opportunity instead of another software product to sell. MSPs that combine technology expertise with strategic guidance will be best positioned to capture long-term AI consulting revenue.
☐ Evaluate where AI can improve your internal operations. Using AI within your own business helps your team gain practical experience before recommending solutions to clients.
☐ Help clients develop acceptable-use policies for AI. Clear governance reduces organizational risk while encouraging responsible adoption of emerging technologies.
☐ Offer AI readiness assessments. Many businesses want to embrace AI but need guidance on security, data quality, governance and operational readiness.
☐ Learn how Microsoft Copilot and other AI platforms are impacting your clients. Understanding the tools your customers are already evaluating positions your MSP as a knowledgeable advisor.
☐ Identify new consulting opportunities created by AI adoption. AI creates demand for infrastructure upgrades, security reviews, workflow redesign and user training.
Cloud and Infrastructure
Position infrastructure modernization as an investment in business resilience and future growth rather than simply a hardware refresh. Business-focused conversations help clients understand the strategic value of technology investments.
☐ Review cloud migration opportunities among existing clients. Many organizations still operate legacy systems that would benefit from modernization and improved scalability.
☐ Offer backup modernization assessments. Modern backup strategies help organizations improve resilience against ransomware and operational disruptions.
☐ Expand disaster recovery offerings. Business continuity disaster recovery (BCDR) services create recurring value while helping clients recover quickly from unexpected events.
☐ Evaluate opportunities around hybrid cloud environments. Many organizations require flexible infrastructure that balances cloud services with on-premises resources.
☐ Assess whether clients can benefit from infrastructure modernization. Replacing aging infrastructure often improves security, performance and long-term operational efficiency.
Sales and Marketing
Referrals are helpful, but it’s a good strategy to build a repeatable marketing engine that consistently demonstrates expertise. The strongest MSPs combine referrals with thought leadership, digital marketing, events and strategic partnerships to create predictable growth.
☐ Update your website with industry-specific messaging. Visitors should quickly recognize that your MSP understands the unique challenges facing organizations like theirs.
☐ Create Virginia-based customer success stories. Local references increase credibility by demonstrating experience with organizations operating in similar markets.
☐ Attend regional business networking events. Consistent participation helps build relationships that often lead to referrals and long-term business opportunities.
☐ Join local technology organizations. Industry groups provide valuable networking, educational resources and visibility within the regional business community.
☐ Develop quarterly educational webinars for your target industries. Educational content positions your MSP as a trusted resource while generating qualified sales conversations.
☐ Create referral relationships with accounting firms, legal firms and cybersecurity consultants. Strategic partnerships can become a consistent source of high-quality introductions to new clients.
Talent
Invest in building a workplace where talented people want to stay and grow. Long-term success depends just as much on retaining great employees as it does on attracting new clients.
☐ Build relationships with Virginia colleges and universities. Developing local recruiting pipelines can help address long-term hiring challenges while creating opportunities for internships and entry-level talent.
☐ Develop a recruiting strategy for military veterans transitioning into civilian IT careers. Virginia’s large veteran population represents an outstanding source of disciplined, technically capable professionals.
☐ Review compensation against regional competitors. Competitive compensation helps attract qualified candidates while reducing costly employee turnover.
☐ Create a technical career development plan to retain employees. Clear growth opportunities improve retention and encourage employees to expand their technical and leadership skills.
Operational Excellence
Build operational discipline that allows your MSP to grow profitably without increasing complexity at the same pace. Scalable operations create healthier margins, happier employees and a better customer experience.
☐ Review service profitability by customer. Understanding which clients generate healthy margins helps guide pricing, service offerings and future business development.
☐ Standardize your technology stack. Reducing unnecessary complexity improves technician efficiency, documentation and customer support.
☐ Document internal processes. Well-documented procedures improve consistency while making it easier to train new employees and scale operations.
☐ Measure client satisfaction regularly. Regular feedback helps identify improvement opportunities before they become retention issues.
☐ Review automation opportunities inside your PSA and RMM. Automation reduces repetitive work, improves consistency and allows technicians to focus on higher-value services.
Annual Planning
Make strategic planning an ongoing business discipline rather than an annual exercise. The MSPs that consistently outperform their competitors regularly evaluate where they are, where the market is headed and how they will adapt to meet tomorrow’s opportunities.
☐ Review business goals quarterly. Frequent reviews help align your business with changing market conditions and organizational priorities.
☐ Identify emerging technologies affecting your clients. Staying ahead of technology trends allows your MSP to proactively recommend new services before competitors do.
☐ Update your cybersecurity roadmap. Security threats evolve rapidly. Regular planning is essential for protecting both your business and your customers.
☐ Refresh your business development strategy. Successful MSPs refine their messaging, target markets and service offerings as customer needs change.
☐ Attend regional ChannelPro events to stay informed and connected. Networking with peers, vendors and industry experts provides fresh ideas that can directly influence your business strategy.
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