Your Pricing Isn’t Too High, It’s Too Confusing

A lot of MSPs think they’re losing deals because their price is “too high.”
But here’s the truth most of us don’t want to consider:
The problem usually isn’t the price. It’s the packaging.

If a prospect can’t understand what they’re actually buying, how it protects them, and why it costs what it costs, they aren’t thinking about value and they default back to cost. And when buyers default to cost, you end up defending and justifying rather than showing your expertise.

That’s when selling starts to feel pushy, stressful, or unpredictable.
It’s not because your sales process is broken, but likely because your offer is unclear.

If your packaging is vague, it’s very difficult for your team to sell it confidently. And when salespeople lack confidence, they start selling the cheapest version of your business. 
Does any of this look familiar?

• waiving onboarding fees
   
• trimming down security layers
   
• “customizing” packages (cutting into margins)
   
• discounting out of fear of pushback
   

They’re not doing this because they don't believe in you. They’re doing it because your packaging isn’t built to protect your value.

A salesperson can’t defend what hasn’t been defined.

A lot of MSPs think keeping prices low is a way of “helping” customers. Like they’re doing the market a favor by staying affordable. But low pricing doesn’t help clients. It hurts them.

Why?  Because it places limits on your ability to invest.

If you don’t charge enough to develop your stack, improve customer experience, and acquire customers responsibly, then growth comes at their expense.
 

 “If you’re not charging enough to cover your R&D and your customer acquisition, you’re actually doing a disservice not only to yourself but literally to your current and future clients.” - Brian Gillette

Customers deserve a partner who can afford to innovate, train, improve, and scale.
They don’t benefit from your low margin in the long term. They suffer because of it. When you underprice, you end up delivering a weaker version of your own company:
 

• fewer resources to improve your security stack
   
• less training time for your team
   
• rushed onboarding and stressed service delivery
   
• no room to invest in proactive support
   
• no budget for marketing or acquisition
   

You start running a reactive business, stretched thin, worried about churn, and hoping the next referral saves you.

Strong packaging isn’t about squeezing more dollars out of a customer.
It’s about building a business that can serve them well over the long term.

Before you worry about raising your rates, clarify your value:

Step 1: Define what you include

Not a menu. A standard.

Step 2: Tie your components to outcomes

Clients buy protection, productivity, and risk reduction - not tools.

Step 3: Know your numbers

You need to understand:

• your gross margin targets
   
• your cost of acquisition
   
• your cost to support and deliver service

Step 4: Price based on the business you want to run

If you price for survival, you will always be surviving.
If you price for excellence, you can deliver excellence.
 

 “A lot of MSPs miss it on pricing, then they miss it on margin, and then they don’t invest any time or money into acquiring clients - and they wonder why no one is knocking down their door.” - Brian Hoppe

So how can you fix sales confidence?
By giving your sales team a clear, defensible offer:
 

• predictable roles and responsibilities
   
• clear onboarding expectations
   
• transparent pricing tied to outcomes
   
• proof that the model supports both sides long term
   

When your packaging is aligned, your team stops selling from defensive standpoint and starts selling with clarity. It becomes easy to talk about what you do and why it matters, because the value is already built into the structure.

If you want recurring revenue, predictable forecasting, and a confident sales culture, it starts with one core principle:

Your packaging should make it easy to sell the right thing at the right price.

When you get that right, deals close faster, discounting disappears, and sales starts feeling a lot more honest and predictable.

You don’t build a sales-ready business by yelling “we need more leads.”
You build it by packaging what you do in a way that supports the business you’re trying to build.

Customers don’t need a cheaper MSP.
They need a stronger one.

Watch Episode 28 of The MSP Sales Podcast, where Brian Gillette sits down with Brian Hoppe (Strategic Advisor and Revenue Coach to MSPs)  to unpack why pricing, packaging, and financial clarity shape the entire sales experience.