Projected to grow from $38.31 billion in 2025 to $69.16 billion by 2030, the managed security services market presents a rapid expansion — and a stark paradox: rising demand on one hand, persistent revenue gaps on the other.
Market growth and the execution gap
The market math is clear: cybersecurity is the fastest-growing sector in managed security services. Yet Cynomi frames a central failure point as an “execution gap” between technical capability and business-focused go-to-market (GTM) execution. MSPs often default to discussing frameworks and vulnerabilities while prospects decide on investments based on outcomes such as risk reduction, successful compliance audits, and business continuity. When sales messaging does not translate technical findings into those business outcomes, prospects treat cybersecurity as a deferrable cost rather than a strategic investment.
Overcoming a lack of client urgency
Cynomi reports that 77% of MSPs identify a lack of client urgency as a major sales challenge. Technical teams can identify security weaknesses, but they frequently fail to render that risk in terms that prompt action. The recommended remedy is not deeper technical explanation but reframing: present security program management in the language of operational continuity, regulatory consequences, and reputational liability to create immediate urgency and move procurement conversations forward.
Navigating expanded buying committees
Buying committees for cybersecurity are growing. Cynomi cites data that committees have expanded to an average of more than eight stakeholders, with projections exceeding nine stakeholders by 2026. Those circles include executives, finance, IT, and operations — each with distinct incentives and decision criteria. Cynomi prescribes early mapping of the stakeholder landscape and tailored discovery frameworks so that conversations with CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, and operational leaders speak to each audience’s specific priorities and keep complex deals from stalling.
Compliance-driven opportunities and expanding existing accounts
Compliance is a demonstrable catalyst: Cynomi’s material says more than 56% of new managed security agreements are initiated to meet compliance requirements. Deadlines tied to cyber insurance renewals, industry mandates, and state-level privacy laws create hard timelines that routine sales outreach rarely produces. At the same time, Cynomi highlights an internal finding that established clients represent the fastest path to revenue growth; focusing solely on new client acquisition leaves substantial revenue untapped in existing accounts.
The recommended tactics are complementary: use compliance readiness as an on-ramp into a broader security program and convert single-purpose projects into ongoing advisory relationships. Visual, CISO Intelligence dashboards and benchmarking against peers are offered as practical tools to surface gaps, create urgency, and justify upsells during strategic business reviews.
GTM Academy Sales Kit: operator-led resources to close the gap
Cynomi positions its GTM Academy and the Complete Sales Kit as an answer to the five core challenges it identifies. The kit bundles practitioner-developed materials intended to align sales with business outcomes and scale repeatable motions. Components listed include:
- Actionable videos from MSP operators and GTM practitioners
- Ideal client profile (ICP) strategic frameworks
- Positioning scripts and email templates
- Discovery frameworks tailored for technical and business stakeholders
- Cheat sheets and scoring worksheets for pipeline predictability
- Upselling and cross-selling playbooks to expand existing accounts
Cynomi also recommends operational disciplines: standardize outreach with sales kits and playbooks, automate discovery and proposal development through CRM tools, and measure leading indicators such as conversion rates, deal cycle length, and upsell frequency to root out bottlenecks.
What this means for MSP sales leaders, IT and finance buyers, and SMBs
MSP sales leaders should treat existing clients as the lowest-friction revenue source and invest in tools that translate technical posture into business impact — visual dashboards, industry benchmarking, and scoring frameworks that support upsell campaigns. IT and finance buyers will respond to outcomes framed as reductions in incident response time, decreased compliance risk, or improved operational uptime rather than technical remediations. SMBs, where 66% report cost sensitivity, require objective scoring and objection-handling that addresses perceived cost as a sunk expense instead of a measurable business enabler.
To turn rising market demand into predictable revenue, Cynomi’s prescription is methodical: align sales and technical messaging, map stakeholders early, quantify ROI in business terms, automate for scale, and measure relentlessly. The underlying bet is that security buying will shift when MSPs stop talking only about vulnerabilities and start demonstrating concrete, audited business outcomes.
The original story is at https://thehackernews.com/2026/05/top-five-sales-challenges-costing-msps.html.
