Co-managed IT is the biggest growth opportunity for MSPs in 2026
And here’s how to win contracts
Saving $70 every month.
Win just one co-managed IT contract, and add more MRR than signing lots of smaller clients
A single deal can be worth more than ten small business clients.
And the work can be more satisfying, as you’re supporting other IT professionals.
These teams need reinforcement. And a well-positioned, understanding MSP is exactly what they're looking for.
However… most MSPs treat marketing for co-managed IT like a bigger B2B sale.
It isn't. The psychology and buyers are totally different. And so your marketing must be too.
This is your big opportunity.
I built this MSP Marketing Edge co-managed membership to help you dominate co-managed IT in your area.
It gives you a full system, including the strategy, tools and marketing content to get in front of IT directors.
Let’s transform your business.
Why co-managed IT is your smartest growth move
What co-managed IT is
Co-managed IT is a model where a business already has an internal IT team (often an IT director with a small staff) but they need more capacity, specialist expertise, or both.
They don’t want to outsource IT. They don't want to hand over control or let their internal team go.
What they want is a trusted partner to work alongside their team. To:
- Be trusted to fill the gaps
- Bring the expertise they don't have in-house
- Help their IT director focus on what only they can do
In other words: they're not looking for someone to replace their IT function. They're looking for someone to strengthen it.
And that makes your message to them clear:
"We don't replace internal IT. We strengthen it."
Why this is worth pursuing seriously
One worth more than ten
Grow your MSP faster
Larger and more stable
Build strong relationships
Here's why most MSPs struggle to win co-managed contracts… even when they're perfectly capable of delivering them
There are three problems I see again and again.
Problem 1:
Your B2B marketing is actively working against you
All the messaging that works in B2B marketing sounds threatening to an internal IT director.
They don't want to hear about you taking away stress or removing the IT burden.
Think about it from their perspective. They ARE the IT department! Telling them you'll handle everything or take it all off their hands doesn't sound reassuring. It sounds like you're coming for their job.
So they go cold. And you walk away wondering what went wrong.
Just that you used the right message in the wrong market. B2B messaging works on business owners who don't live inside technology.
And it backfires spectacularly with people whose professional identity is technology.
Problem 2:
You're selling to two completely different buyers at once (and most MSPs don't realise this)
In co-managed, there are always two groups of decision-makers involved.
First, there's the IT director. They're technically fluent, so they understand what MSPs do... and they may be suspicious of you.
They're worried about control, credibility and career risk. If they don't feel safe with you, the deal doesn't happen.
Then there's the board or executive team. They don't live inside technology. They care about risk, cost, resilience and business growth.
They're not evaluating your technical capability. They're asking whether this makes commercial sense.
These two audiences have different fears, motivations and questions. And they each evaluate you through a completely different lens. If your marketing speaks to one and ignores the other, you'll get stuck. Most MSPs do.
Problem 3:
Trust is built differently in this market
In conversations with IT directors, you're speaking to someone whose professional identity is technology. They'll spot vague claims and challenge anything that sounds like a standard sales pitch. And will test your thinking before they let you near their team.
That means the trust-building process is longer, more structured, and requires genuine substance.
You can't rely on charm and a decent website. You need to demonstrate the kind of thinking that makes an IT director feel safe bringing you into their world.
Most MSPs don't have the strategy or content to do this. So they never get past the first conversation.
Co-managed marketing isn't harder than B2B marketing. It's just different. And now there's a system for it.
Before a single piece of content was written for this membership, we did extensive research.
We interviewed IT directors to understand how they evaluate MSPs, what makes them suspicious, and what earns their trust.
We spoke to MSPs who already have co-managed clients, to understand what worked, what didn't, and what they wish they'd known earlier.
What you're getting isn't theory. It's built on what actually works in real co-managed conversations, with real decision makers, in the real world.
Out of our extensive research came three principles that now underpin everything in this membership.
Principle 1:
Control stays internal
Principle 2:
Boundaries are explicit
Principle 3:
This is reinforcement, not replacement
My 3 step lead generation system, rebuilt for the co-managed market
The job of your marketing is to get the right message in front of the right person at the right time.
What changes in co-managed IT is who you're building audiences with, what content you're using to grow relationships, and how you structure the conversion process once someone is ready.
Build audiences
Systematically reach the people who can say yes to a co-managed contract.
Your co-managed audiences are different from your B2B audiences. You need to reach IT directors at mid-sized businesses. The people who champion you internally.
And you also need to reach the commercial decision-makers above them: CFOs, CEOs and boards who ultimately sign off.
Grow relationships
IT directors are cautious and protective of their domain. They've probably had MSPs pitch them before in ways that felt threatening or shallow.
Earning their trust requires demonstrating structural thinking: Proof that you understand how co-managed IT works and can operate within someone else's team without undermining them.
Every piece of content in this membership is designed to do that job, while also speaking to the board about risk, resilience and commercial logic.
Convert relationships
Co-managed deals involve more stakeholders, longer timelines and more sophisticated questions than a standard B2B sale.
This membership gives you the tools to navigate all of it: From conversation frameworks designed for IT directors, to commercial framing for boards, to the responsibility agreement that turns a vague discussion into a concrete, documented proposal.
You’ll get everything you need to market, position and win co-managed contracts
Your membership gives you two things: a constant flow of fresh monthly content, and a growing library of evergreen tools, all built specifically for the co-managed market.
Everything is done for you. Add your logo, follow the instructions, and deploy it. You never have to write a word from scratch.
Fresh monthly content, released on the 10th of every month Each monthly pack includes:
The co-managed IT toolkit:
Evergreen resources that move conversations forward
Monthly content keeps you visible. But winning co-managed contracts requires more than visibility.
It requires tools that do specific jobs at specific moments:
I've built all of those for you.
The website page template
The board-level overview
The self-assessment tool
The board presentation slide deck template
The sales proposal template
The co-managed IT Buyer's Guide
The 90 day transition framework
The capacity and risk discussion tool
The case study template
The IT review and recommendation document
The responsibility agreement
Step by step instructions,so you always know what to do next
Every tool, template and piece of content comes with clear instructions:
What to do with it
Where to use it
What to do with it
Or delegate your marketing to our expert done for you team
Not everyone wants to handle implementation themselves.
Our done for you team can take care of many of these tasks on your behalf.
This is an optional upgrade that’s available whenever you're ready for it.
Why I built this… and why I know it works
I'm Paul Green, the world’s go to MSP marketing expert. I've been helping MSPs since 2016.
More than 700 MSPs around the world use the B2B version of the MSP Marketing Edge to grow their business.
When they asked me about co-managed IT, I had to be honest: my B2B system wasn't built for that market. So I built something that was. This is it.
Remember: You are never alone
As an active member, you'll benefit from:
- Unlimited 121 support calls with my team: Whenever you need to talk something through
- Fun live events: Weekly live 'Tactical Tuesdays' group call on Teams
- A responsive helpdesk: Staffed by humans who understand this market, not a chatbot
- A private community of non-competing MSPs: Share what's working, ask what isn't
- A Knowledge Base: With answers to hundreds of the most common questions
You'll never sit there wondering what to do, or whether you're doing it right. Help is always a message or a click away.
What changes when you join
You'll have a proper co-managed marketing strategy, probably for the first time
You'll have a clear plan and know what to do, step by step, right from day one.
You'll know what to say to IT directors (and what not to say)
You'll know how to position your MSP as a peer-level partner rather than a threat.
You'll know how to influence the board as well
You'll have a repeatable system, not just content
You'll have tools that build trust before you ever get a meeting
You'll have direct access to me
You'll never be alone
You'll be the only MSP in your area with access to this
Your questions answered
Ready to go after the big contracts that can genuinely change your MSP?
Book a 15 minute demo with my colleague Ben Smith. He'll show you exactly how the membership works, walk you through the content and tools, and check whether your area is still available.
No obligation. No pressure. Just a friendly conversation about whether this is the right move for your MSP.