One of the most powerful moments I had on stage was the chance to talk with Robert Herjavec—yes, the Shark himself—about what it really takes to build a successful company. Now, Robert didn’t start with a silver spoon. He didn’t get lucky. He built a billion-dollar cybersecurity business from grit, smart strategy, and, most importantly, learning how to sell.
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Here’s what I want you to take away from that conversation, especially if you’re an MSP business owner trying to grow, scale, or even just survive.
Showing Up Is Non-Negotiable
The very first thing Robert said when he stepped on stage? “The key to success is you’ve got to show up.”
And he’s dead-on. Most people want the shortcut. The magic bullet. The shiny object. But they won’t get off their ass and go where the knowledge, opportunity, and connections are. Showing up—at events, in conversations, in your business—matters. That’s why I always say the winners are the ones who do the work. Period.
Technical Skill Without Sales Is A Dead End
Robert admitted something that many of you might relate to—he started out as a “geeky, technical guy” who thought his talent would be enough. He believed that being great at what he did would naturally attract customers.
Spoiler: It didn’t.
A mentor finally told him, “You know nothing about sales. And unless you learn it, you’ll never be successful.”
Let me say it louder for the MSPs in the back: If you don’t learn how to sell, you will never grow a truly successful business. You’ll hit a wall. And no matter how technically skilled you are, you’ll get passed up by someone less talented but more willing to sell.
Sales Isn’t Sleazy—Unless You’re Doing It Wrong
Robert shared a powerful story from his childhood. A door-to-door salesman took advantage of his mom—who didn’t speak English well—by selling her a vacuum cleaner on a five-year layaway plan that cost more than their rent.
That could have soured him on sales forever. But instead, he came to a different realization: Nothing happens until something gets sold.
You can have the best RMM tool, the cleanest SOPs, the most brilliant technicians—but if you can’t close a deal, none of it matters.
That’s why I hammer this point home with every client and every audience: Selling is not something you do TO people. It’s something you do FOR them. When you believe in your services, when you know they solve real problems, then it’s your duty to sell them.
Word-Of-Mouth Is Not A Strategy
This is where Robert and I are totally aligned. He’s acquired 13 companies in 15 years, and one of the first questions he asks the founders is, “How do you get customers?”
If the answer is “word of mouth,” he immediately knows they’re not serious about growth.
Why? Because word of mouth isn’t a strategy—it’s luck. It’s unpredictable. It’s not in your control. And you cannot scale a business on hope and handshakes. You need a real sales and marketing system. One that brings leads in the door predictably, reliably, and at scale.
Sales Is An Extension Of What You Do
Let’s bury this idea that sales is something dirty or separate. As Robert said, “Sales is not a foreign object that controls you. Sales is an extension of what you do.” Selling is just communicating value—confidently, clearly, and consistently.
If you believe in your services (and you should), if you’re solving real problems for real people (and you are), then selling is simply connecting the dots between their pain and your solution.
So, to all the MSPs out there: Learn to sell. Learn to market. Show up. And for the love of everything holy, stop relying on referrals alone to grow your business. That’s how you win. That’s how Robert did it. That’s how you’ll do it too.
