Share with the world 🙏Marketing and sales aren’t optional if you want to grow. The tricky part is figuring out how to resource it. Do you hire in-house, outsource to an agency, or try to duct-tape it all together and hope for the best? The answer isn’t straightforward – it depends on your goals, your budget, and your appetite for risk.
The upside of in-house marketing
Hiring in-house has obvious perks. You get someone living and breathing your brand every day. They understand your culture, your customers, and how your team operates. Decisions happen faster, communication is immediate, and there’s a sense of ownership that can be hard to replicate externally. When campaigns need adjusting, they can act without waiting on approvals from outside.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. One person can’t cover everything. Strategy, content, campaigns, telemarketing, social media – the list grows fast. To run a fully functioning marketing operation, multiple hires are usually required, and that’s expensive. Turnover is another risk. When a key marketer leaves, momentum goes with them. Isolation can also be a problem. Without exposure to other MSPs or broader trends, it’s easy to spend months reinventing the wheel.
And if you put a solo person – say, a single telemarketer – into an environment where the leadership isn’t equipped to guide them, the whole effort can collapse quickly. Without the right structure or support, a lone hire often ends up stranded rather than successful.
Outsourcing: Speed, scale, and expertise
Outsourcing brings a very different set of advantages. The right agency gives you access to a full team of specialists – writers, designers, strategists, telemarketers – without committing to long-term payroll. They’ve seen what works across multiple MSPs and can spot opportunities or pitfalls you might never notice. Scaling support up or down is far easier than hiring multiple staff.
There’s a catch, though – only if you pick the wrong provider. A generalist or inexperienced agency might spend months learning your business, your services, and your customers, which can slow progress and create frustration. The right provider, however, speaks your language from day one and can cover everything you need, acting as an extension of your team rather than just an external service.
Finding a middle ground
A balanced approach often depends on the size and stage of your MSP. For some, it makes sense to own the sales process internally – keeping relationship-building and closing in-house – while outsourcing the time-intensive parts like prospecting calls, campaign execution, or content creation. Others may choose to keep strategy internal but lean on external support to generate intent and keep the pipeline warm.
The balance usually comes down to capacity and priorities. If your team is stretched thin, outsourcing can free you up to focus on high-value conversations. If you’ve got strong salespeople but limited marketing bandwidth, external help can fill the gaps. The key is choosing a setup that supports growth without burning out your internal team.
What really matters
Whether in-house, outsourced, or a mix, consistency is key. Random acts of marketing won’t move the needle. You need clarity on goals, realistic expectations about the resources required, and a plan to maintain momentum when day-to-day pressures hit. Expertise isn’t cheap. Cutting corners almost always costs more in the long run.
At the end of the day, there’s no single “right” answer. It’s not about in-house being better than outsourcing, or vice versa. It’s about understanding the pros and cons, knowing what your business needs, and choosing the path that keeps your MSP moving forward. The right choice balances skill, cost, speed, and scalability – setting you up for consistent growth rather than leaving you stuck on autopilot.
