With over two decades of experience spanning technical, service delivery, and leadership roles on a multinational scale, Michelle’s journey has led her to a pivotal point to channel her skills and knowledge back into the MSP community, refining their leadership capabilities and operational excellence across people, process, and technology.
On the 17 April at 11am, Michelle will be presenting the seminar ‘Growth – It’s more than Sales – retaining clients/ amazing service‘, where she will delve into the strategies that MSPs can employ to fine-tune their service delivery, ensuring their clients are not just satisfied but delighted.
How did you get into the profession?
I must have been around 10 when my dad brought home a book about how telephone signals travel down fibre optic cables, it was written for non-technical people and I found it fascinating. A few years later, I used to go to site with my dad on weekends to help him with cabling – I’m sure it was just because I was small enough to get in the tight spaces…I knew at that point I wanted to work in IT.
My first real IT job was a Helpdesk Operator, which was pretty much “log and flog” as there weren’t any remote support tools back then. After a while, that got a bit boring, so I used to hang out in the workshop and take kit up to my desk to work on between calls. So, the first 10 years were very much hands-on. After that, I moved into management roles and worked for both MSPs and their customers, picking up skills from both sides of the MSP/customer relationship.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I love seeing others succeed! I’m a quick-thinking problem solver, so I really enjoy working with MSPs to identify and overcome their challenges to get the results they want.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Find a peer group. There are so many MSP communities out there, and they are all so helpful to each other, whether there’s a particular tech issue that’s cropped up, the need to review your pricing model, to get ideas for lead gen, people challenges… the list is endless, so it’s good to have a group where you can get the support you need.
Know when you need to take a break. When it comes to work/life balance, remember work is just one aspect of life – WLB doesn’t mean that work equals all other aspects of life.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar session?
I’ll be covering how service and customer retention can help MSPs to grow. I’ll also be sharing some of the challenges and how you can resolve them around communication and customer feedback, plus I’ll also be sharing the process I take my clients through for continual improvement
What are you looking forward to the most at the MSP Show?
I’m particularly looking forward to the knowledge sharing talks – it links with what I enjoy most in seeing others succeed, so the fact that people are sharing their expertise with the wider industry is amazing.
The MSP Show is taking place on the 14-15 May 2025 at ExCeL London. Registration is free, you can book your free ticket here.