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Doug Miller of Brightworks spent 15 years trying to fix his MSP's sales problem. Cold email blasts, LinkedIn programs, hired reps who couldn't prospect - everything, really. Then he found a process that actually worked. In this episode, host Carrie Richardson talks with Doug about why a business built entirely on referrals can't be sold, why cold calling still works in the IT channel, and how stepping back from sales completely helped Brightworks post its best year ever, with an internal sale to his son and COO already in motion.

Topics covered:

• Why an MSP built on referrals can't actually be sold
• Why owners can't just teach their own sales playbook to a rep
• Why cold calling isn't dead for MSPs
• How Brightworks built and supported a top-performing sales rep
• Red flags for disqualifying the wrong-fit client
• Doug's exit plan, and what he's doing to prepare for it

Watch the video here.

Read the blog post here.

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

They are the co-founders of Fox & Crow Group, a software development company building growth platforms for MSP and IT channel businesses.

Learn more at:

Fox & Crow Group - the MSP Sales Process platform and all-in-one CRM solution

Fox & Crow Instinct - the MSP Decision Intelligence Platform for IT Channel Vendors

Fox & Crow Jackdaw - Competitive Intelligence Reports on Demand for MSP businesses

Book time with Carrie here!

Be a guest on WIN! We host MSP channel founders, executives and sales and marketing leaders who are willing to share advice with other IT channel firms on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.

Send us Fan Mail

How David Reid Sold His MSP for 8X (and Got a Decade of His Life Back)

David Reid sold his business before he turned 50. That wasn't luck. It was the plan.

He built Epic Information Solutions in Winnipeg back in 1995, rode the shift from break-fix to recurring revenue, and decided at 40, sitting at his cabin, that he wanted out by 50. Eight years later he sold to the local telco he'd been quietly courting the whole time, for just over 8X.

David wrote the book Getting to Exit and built a nine-step framework for planning an MSP exit that's actually sellable, not just profitable. Carrie sits down with him to talk about what most MSP owners get wrong about exit planning, and what he'd tell his 40-year-old self.

Read more about David's approach to exit planning on the Fox & Crow blog here.

In this episode:

• Why David picked his buyer eight years before he sold to them
• The nine-step framework for an MSP exit, starting with "figuring out your why"
• Why a legacy exit (selling to family or employees) usually means a lower valuation and a longer wait to get your money
• The classic MSP hiring mistake David made: promoting his best salesperson to sales manager. He calls it a cardinal sin.
• Why five-plus years is the real minimum runway for exit planning, not two or three

Guest: David Reid, author of Getting to Exit.

Find the book and his exit-planning resources at gettingtoexit.com.

If you're an MSP owner thinking about your own exit, or you just want to hear a "Holy moly, that's a big gap I gotta fill" moment turn into an actual plan, subscribe.

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

They are the co-founders of Fox & Crow Group, a software development company building growth platforms for MSP and IT channel businesses.

Learn more at:

Fox & Crow Group - the MSP Sales Process platform and all-in-one CRM solution

Fox & Crow Instinct - the MSP Decision Intelligence Platform for IT Channel Vendors

Fox & Crow Jackdaw - Competitive Intelligence Reports on Demand for MSP businesses

Book time with Carrie here!

Be a guest on WIN! We host MSP channel founders, executives and sales and marketing leaders who are willing to share advice with other IT channel firms on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.

Send us Fan Mail

Matt Koenig Shares Winning MSP Event Strategies for New IT Channel Vendors

Trade shows eat a huge chunk of a new vendor's marketing budget, and most of them get it wrong in the same handful of ways. This episode kicks off WIN's Fall 2026 relaunch with Matt Koenig, the channel sales veteran who built a 45-person team at RapidFire Tools, spent years as VP of Sales at Nodeware, and just launched his own practice, White Tiger Consulting.

Matt and Carrie get into what a brand-new IT channel vendor actually needs before committing sponsorship dollars: which shows are for branding versus lead generation, what belongs on a banner nobody's going to read anyway, how to build a $50,000 first-year event budget, why swag is either worth doing well or not worth doing, and how to avoid showing up with your booth stuck in customs.

Read more on the Fox & Crow Group website here.

In this episode:

CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Welcome Back to WIN
00:00:43 Catching Up Before ChannelCon
00:00:59 Launching White Tiger Consulting
00:03:01 What Vendors Can Expect From White Tiger
00:05:15 Where New Vendors Should Start
00:06:32 Event Logistics and Shipping Timelines
00:10:00 Getting Ready to Commit Sponsorship Dollars
00:12:32 Bare-Bones Budget: Booth Basics and Banners
00:14:26 Crafting Your Talk Track and Slides
00:15:21 Stage Presence and Public Speaking Lessons
00:17:02 Building a Marketing Budget and Picking Shows
00:18:20 Working the Show Floor Between Booth Time
00:20:23 Off-Site Dinners and Vendor Politics
00:20:55 Swag Strategy That Actually Works
00:23:50 Attracting Booth Traffic Without Swag
00:24:43 Wrapping Up and Where to Find White Tiger

Matt is offering a free 30-minute consultation to vendors and MSPs, no strings attached. Learn more at White Tiger Consulting.

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

They are the co-founders of Fox & Crow Group, a software development company building growth platforms for MSP and IT channel businesses.

Learn more at:

Fox & Crow Group - the MSP Sales Process platform and all-in-one CRM solution

Fox & Crow Instinct - the MSP Decision Intelligence Platform for IT Channel Vendors

Fox & Crow Jackdaw - Competitive Intelligence Reports on Demand for MSP businesses

Book time with Carrie here!

Be a guest on WIN! We host MSP channel founders, executives and sales and marketing leaders who are willing to share advice with other IT channel firms on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.