TLDR: Most MSPs aren't sellable because they're built on chaos, not strategy. The Pumpkin Plan framework, Seed, Weed, Feed, helps you identify your ideal clients, fire the ones dragging you down, and build a business that's actually worth buying. Here's how to do it.
Let me ask you something uncomfortable.
If you wanted to sell your MSP tomorrow, could you? Like, actually sell it? Not just list it and hope some poor soul takes the bait, but attract a buyer who writes a check that lets you retire to a beach somewhere, drinking whatever you drink at 10 a.m. without guilt?
If your honest answer is "probably not," you're in good company. Most MSPs are built to survive, not to sell. They're a tangled mess of one-off projects, nightmare clients, and revenue that disappears the moment the owner stops showing up.
But here's the thing: it doesn't have to be that way.
Enter the Pumpkin Plan.
What Even Is the Pumpkin Plan?
The Pumpkin Plan comes from Mike Michalowicz's book of the same name, and it's built on a surprisingly simple observation: prize-winning pumpkin farmers don't grow a hundred mediocre pumpkins. They focus ruthlessly on growing one giant pumpkin by cutting away everything else.
Same principle applies to your MSP.
The framework boils down to three steps: Seed, Weed, Feed. Find your sweet spot, eliminate the bad fits, and pour everything you've got into the clients who actually matter.
Simple? Yes. Easy? Not even close. But if you want to build a business that's sellable, one that's profitable, predictable, and doesn't require you to work 80-hour weeks, this is the path.
We've written more about what the Pumpkin Plan means for MSPs here, but let's break down how to actually apply it.
Step 1: Seed , Finding Your Sweet Spot
Before you can grow anything worth having, you need to plant the right seeds. In Pumpkin Plan terms, this means getting crystal clear on two things:
- What does your MSP do best?
- Who is your ideal client?
And I don't mean "anyone with a pulse and a credit card." That's how you end up on the MSP hamster wheel, running faster and faster, never getting anywhere.
Your A-list client is specific. They pay on time. They accept your core technical stack without demanding endless customization. They value what you do and don't treat you like a vending machine. They refer other businesses just like them.
Here's a quick exercise: Think about your top three clients right now. The ones who are profitable, pleasant, and actually let you do your job. What do they have in common?
- Industry?
- Company size?
- Decision-making style?
- How they found you?
That's your ideal client profile. That's the seed you're planting.
Now think about where those clients hang out. What associations do they belong to? What events do they attend? What problems keep them up at night? This is where your marketing and sales efforts should focus, not on casting a wide net and praying.
Step 2: Weed , Eliminating the Bad Fits
Here's where it gets uncomfortable.
You have clients right now who are costing you money. Not in an abstract, "opportunity cost" way, in a real, actual, dollars-out-the-door way. One MSP we worked with discovered they were losing money on 25% of their client base. Twenty-five percent! They'd been so busy chasing revenue that they never stopped to ask if that revenue was actually worth having.
Does any of this hit dangerously close to home?
The Weed step requires brutal honesty. You need to evaluate every single client and ask:
- Are they profitable?
- Do they align with our ideal client profile?
- Do they respect our processes, or do they demand special treatment?
- Do they pay on time?
- Would we take them on again if they walked in the door today?
If the answer to most of those is "no," it's time to have a conversation. Fire them, transition them, or raise your prices until they either become profitable or leave on their own.
Yes, I know. Firing clients feels terrifying when you're worried about making payroll. But here's the truth: bad clients don't just drain revenue. They drain you. They consume your time, destroy your team's morale, and keep you from serving the clients who actually matter.
The discipline to say "no" is what separates MSPs that grow from MSPs that grind.
This is the differentiation vs. commoditization battle in action. When you try to be everything to everyone, you become nothing to anyone. But when you have the guts to weed out the bad fits, you create space for the good ones to flourish.
Step 3: Feed , Nurturing Your Winners
Now comes the fun part.
Once you've identified your A-list clients and cut loose the dead weight, it's time to double down on what's working. Feed the pumpkins that are going to win the prize.
What does this look like in practice?
Meet with your best clients regularly. Not just when something breaks, schedule time to understand their business, their challenges, their goals. Ask them: "What's keeping you up at night? How can we help?" You'd be amazed how many opportunities live in those conversations.
Standardize your services around your strengths. If you're great at cybersecurity for healthcare clients, build your entire stack around that. Create processes. Document everything. Make it repeatable. This is how you become scalable, and scalable is sellable.
Focus your marketing on cloning your best clients. Stop trying to appeal to everyone. Speak directly to the clients you'd want to replicate ten times over. Your messaging should make your ideal clients feel like you're reading their minds, and make everyone else feel like this isn't for them.
This is where the magic happens. When you feed the right clients with the right services, everything gets easier. Profitability goes up. Stress goes down. Your team stops putting out fires and starts doing meaningful work.
And buyers? They notice.
Why This Makes You Sellable
Let's connect the dots.
When a potential buyer evaluates your MSP, they're looking for a few key things:
- Predictable revenue. Recurring contracts with sticky clients who aren't going anywhere.
- Profitability. Margins that make sense, not revenue that vanishes into overhead.
- Scalability. Systems and processes that don't depend on the owner showing up every day.
- Low risk. A client base that's diversified, reliable, and aligned with the business model.
The Pumpkin Plan delivers all of this. By focusing on your ideal clients, eliminating the bad fits, and building standardized services around your strengths, you create a business that runs without you.
That's the goal. Not just to build something that makes money, but to build something that has value independent of your personal involvement.
This is what we call an "exit-ready" mindset. Even if you're not planning to sell tomorrow, building like you might forces you to make smarter decisions today.
The Path Forward
Look, I get it. This stuff is easier said than done. Firing clients feels risky. Saying no to revenue feels crazy. And building standardized processes when you're already overwhelmed? Good luck.
But what's the alternative? Keep grinding on the hamster wheel until you burn out? Build a business that's worth nothing the moment you step away?
The pain of not growing is real. And it compounds over time.
The Pumpkin Plan isn't a magic bullet. It's a discipline. A way of thinking that forces you to make hard choices now so you can reap the rewards later.
Seed. Weed. Feed.
Find your sweet spot. Eliminate the distractions. Double down on what works.
If you're ready to start building an MSP that's actually sellable: one that gives you freedom, profit, and options: we'd love to help. Check out our MSP Peer Groups or join the Free MSP Value Builder Challenge to take your first step.
What better day to start than today?