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Member Use Cases

Ideas into action
One COOP resource helping 20 members is better than 20 members paying for it themselves. 

No matter what sort of business you run, everyone can use a little help to get new initiatives off the ground.

What's the next step and when are you doing it?
We have 3 use cases to explore.
growth blueprint use case 3

The 'strategic operator' (operations led)

This is the "Gold Standard". A strategic + operations led owner thinks of IT as a rigorous business process rather than a craft or just a sales product.
  • What they look like: Process and automation driven, the goal is to have a strict non-negotiable tech stacks for all clients.
  • Strategy Status: They use data to guide decisions. Definitely focused on entering and often already operating in a specific industry or niche.
  • Strengths: Scalability and predictability. In the end, they will have high profit margins because their internal costs are minimised through automation.
  • Major Gaps:
    • Their strategy keeps stalling. Legacy clients or key staff turnover constantly disrupt progress.
    • Innovation vs tech stack rigidity: A laser focus on a client type causes a disconnect between best tech and client rigidity or vice versa. Speed of adoption can be slow.
    • Revenue growth is stuck or really slow. It's like one step forward, one step back.
    • Cost: As specialists they are often the most expensive providers in the market, which can make them vulnerable to lower-cost disruptors in economic downturns.
    • People issues: Staff are indicating a lack of challenge or diversity in a rigid tech stack. And those that do stay pose a risk in depth of knowledge outside of the niche when things change.

Resources targeted at what you need today and tomorrow.

+
Data Intelligence
real time,  accurate reporting
+
Legacy Clients
low margin accounts block growth
+
Sales Process + Support
getting more people to close deals
+
Targeted Marketing
no more scattered marketing
+
Staff Retention Strategies
best practice compensation packages
+
Strategic Bandwidth
all hands capacity + BAU still running 

Your numbers tell a story—but only if someone's watching them.

Track KPIs that matter: customer health scores, delivery bottlenecks, margin erosion. Dashboards guiding planning & decisions.

Planning + forecasting data.


Gradually sunset legacy clients, decide which ones to re-price vs exit, and how to fill revenue with better-fit clients without creating a cash flow crisis.

Stop letting low margin clients stall your growth.


Your best technical people aren't always your best salespeople, and you can't be in every deal conversation.

Run a repeatable sales process that runs without you in the room. Build out your sales conversion process.

Reduce your sales cycle.


Breaking into a niche means saying no to generic MSP marketing.

Targeted campaigns built around vertical-specific pain points — industry case studies, compliance-focused content, sector LinkedIn engagement — positioning you as the specialist, not just another provider.

Linking you with your brand.


Losing any person important to your business will stall your best laid plans.

The best planning involves making it so they never want to leave and being ready if it does ever happen. 


#1. Objective - knowing technology continually changes and develops, so will the COOP resources you need to make a timely pivot in a new direction.


Info
Situation
Issue
Issue
Key
Solution
ROI
Result
Use Case 3

The Situation

The following situation is common.

The business had been going for around 5+ years and had got some early traction. In the early days the owner was hungry, hustling and had enough clients to go it alone. Eventually they added tech's and kept winning more clients until it kind of dried up. 

Around the 5 year mark, they were hitting a wall. Revenue wasn't growing much, the tech stack was getting more and more expensive each year, clients were questioning costs and new prospects were putting them through more and more hoops to win work. Everyone was working hard and it was a pressure cooker environment at times. The owner was barely paying themselves a working wage. 

Even with this going on, the owner felt that things were strong in the business - if only they could get more customers.

Current state:

  • Revenue sitting around $450k ARR (maybe a bit more if a few projects)
  • 1 lead every two months
  • 2-3 new clients per year (sometimes roughly replacing the 1-2 who leave for whatever reason)
  • 4 staff members
  • Marketing is scattered and stop start, needs a refresh
  • Paying a web agency to update the site occasionally
  • The energy and focus from the early days? Just spread too thin, hands on everything.

The painful reality: They're not dying, but they're not growing either. Just... stuck.

Important: whether you're a start-up or reaching $3m, the journey is similar for everyone. The specific time and situation will be slightly different but getting from A to B is nothing new.

Expect to make more than $500k take home profit per year - action the Solutions (you don't need more advice).

 

Case study

The Issue

The compounding effect of an issue (eg sales process): 

Poor sales process → low conversion → "need more marketing" → spend on scattered tactics → mediocre results → frustration → work overload → repeat. 

 

Surface diagnosis: "We need more clients / leads"

Actual issues:

  1. Perception gap - Think you're at 7/10, actually at 4/10
  2. Priority confusion - Everything feels important, don't know what to fix first
  3. Hidden capacity - Team is flat out - don't know how much is being billed
  4. Broken fundamentals - Sales process is random vs can't scale on this foundation
  5. Wasted marketing - Spending money on scattered leads gen vs organised and patient, the right targetting
  6. No capacity to fix it - Buried in operations, can't execute strategic work, poor cashflow.

The real problem underneath it all:

You're too close to see it clearly + too busy to fix it yourself + can't afford to hire the help you need.

Knowing the 80/20 rule vs (prepared to apply the rule)

The 80/20 works. A few small changes move the needle — fast — in the right direction.

Start with clarity, then you can make informed decisions with quantifiable results.

How do you get clarity? You start to measure everything. 

Benchmark your business today - see where you end up tomorrow.

 

Did you know:  The COOP can resource a reporting specialist to help you
Case study

The Solution

You've had the keys all along - now you need to unlock the potential

Get real about where you are right now

Most owners know something's off. But they don't have clarity on what or how much.

The problem: not everything is quantifiable at first. 

  • How do you rate your sales process today vs 18 months time? 
  • How happy are your staff - does anyone really know?
  • How happy are your clients?
  • So on and so on, the list is almost endless.

In this case

For this owner, they scored it like this:

Sales process: 8/10 (really good at sales) vs reality

  • Maybe 1 sale a month
  • Sales cycle could be 9 months 
  • Proposals - every single one was customised
  • Tracking leads - No

Operations: 7/10 vs reality

  • Staff utilization mystery (no tracking)
  • Workflows undocumented
  • Inconsistent ticket handling
  • Owner deep in the weeds on jobs

The founder's gut feel: "We're around 7/10 overall"

Reality: More like 3-4/10 once you measure it.

That gap? That's why they were stuck. It's important to remember, this is good news - because every incremental improvement from here is positive.

Phase 2: Build a repeatable system

 

Phase 3: Compound growth

 

Financial Impact:

• Average client value: $2,500/month

• 3 new clients = $7,500 MRR = $90k ARR

• CO-OP membership: $24k/year

Payback period: 3.2 months

The full year's investment is already recovered, and we haven't even touched marketing yet.

Case study

The Result

Results after 90 days:

• Proposal turnaround: 2-3 days (deals stay warm)

• Win rate tracked and improving (67% on qualified opps)

• Pipeline visibility (owner knows what's coming, can plan)

• Staff utilization up to 58% (better workflow)

3 new clients closed (vs. typical 0-1 in a quarter)

For This MSP:

From stuck at $200k to growing 40% in 12 months, with the same team size.

But more importantly, they got back what was lost:

  • The focus and energy from the early days
  • Clear sense of what works and why
  • Confidence in the growth trajectory
  • Team working productively, not frantically
  • Owner has time to actually run the business instead of being buried in it

Financial ROI:

  • Year 1 additional revenue: $80k ARR
  • Year 1 CO-OP investment: $24k
  • Net gain: $56k (and that's conservative, not counting cost savings)
  • Year 2 trajectory: On pace for $350k+ ARR

For Other CO-OP Members:

The ripple effects:

  1. Process templates developed from this engagement:
    • Sales qualification framework
    • Proposal templates and pricing structures
    • Time tracking implementation guide
    • Utilization improvement playbook
    • Client referral program template
    • All added to CO-OP shared resources
  2. WordPress specialist development:
    • Built portfolio with real MSP work
    • Refined website template for IT businesses
    • Now faster and better at similar projects for other members
  3. Shared learning:
    • Case study on sales process impact (99% of issues)
    • Data on utilization improvements (42% → 72%)
    • Marketing ROI when foundation is solid vs. when it's not
  4. Resource pool strengthening:
    • Revenue success means funds back into CO-OP
    • Can invest in better tools for all members
    • Shared resources get richer over time

This is the CO-OP model working: One member's transformation creates assets, knowledge, and capabilities that benefit everyone.

Answer: What's the #1. most important thing in business? (see below*)

Why This Matters

"strategy vs action"

Most small business owners, know what to do and those that don't can learn quickly. Ask yourself, if I know what to do, then what's stopping me? 

The short answer; a lack of time and money.

The next step you take can change your life. Small steps before you start running.

"why sequence matters"

"put the rocks in first"

The Big Rocks that build the foundations are the #1. priority.  What matters to your business might be different from the person beside you but those big priorities are the same.

Sequence matters because diverting valuable cashflow to unimportant or right thing at the wrong time will hurt.

 

"compounding effects are real"

Small improvements stack up.

80:20 cleanup creates disproportionate positive returns.

"#1. most important thing in business?"

Some quick research will illustrate a common thread when it comes to the #1 most important thing. I like the one below.

“revenue you can keep.”
That’s the overlap of:

  • Sales (create demand + close + repeat)

  • Delivery (build + retain + expand + repeat)

Or Happy Profitable Clients + Happy Efficient People Doing Great Work.

The COOP membership enables your business to put it's best foot forward.

Growth Blueprint:

focus on - customers

focus on - delivery 

  • optimal outcome = balanced resources.

Ready to Break Through Your Growth Targets

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