The Fieldwork Method is a structured MSP sales framework developed by Chris Duncan at CDAERIS Agency. It is organized into three systems: Performance Readiness (System 0), which assesses whether a salesperson is ready to execute before any tactical coaching begins; Pipeline Ignition (System 1), which covers everything required to build and fill a qualified pipeline; and Momentum Blueprint (System 2), which covers the active deal cycle from discovery through close. The framework is diagnostic by design — it identifies where the sales system is breaking down before prescribing a solution.

The clearest signal is whether the underperformance is consistent across the team or isolated to one person. If multiple reps are struggling with the same stage of the sale — getting meetings, converting meetings to proposals, or closing — the problem is almost always systemic. Individual underperformance, especially in a rep who has succeeded elsewhere, often points to a readiness issue or a mismatch between the rep’s skills and the sales environment. A system audit is the only way to diagnose it accurately. Assuming it is a training problem without that diagnosis is what causes MSP owners to run the same training twice and get the same result.

Stalled growth in an MSP typically indicates one of three things: the targeting system is producing the wrong prospects, the messaging is not creating a compelling reason to switch from an incumbent vendor, or the pipeline is full of deals that were never qualified properly and will not close. In the Fieldwork Method, this is diagnosed through a combination of the Success Formula (which identifies whether activity inputs are sufficient) and Strategic Market Mapping (which identifies whether the right accounts are being pursued and whether timing signals are being used). Stalled growth that persists despite high activity volume is almost always a targeting or messaging problem, not an effort problem.

A Displacement Delta is the measured gap between what a prospect currently has with their existing MSP vendor and what they could have. It is used to identify which prospects represent a real switching opportunity, not just a profile match. An Ideal Customer Profile tells you who fits. A Displacement Delta tells you who is worth pursuing right now — specifically, accounts where the gap between current state and potential state is large enough to justify the friction of switching vendors. In MSP sales, where the buyer has no immediate pain and no active shopping intent, the Displacement Delta is what creates urgency and justifies the conversation.

Engagement length depends on what the system audit reveals. A targeted coaching engagement focused on a specific breakdown — messaging, outreach, or deal management — can run eight to twelve weeks. A more comprehensive engagement covering multiple systems, or one that includes team training alongside individual coaching, runs longer. The readiness assessment and system audit conducted at the start of the process are what determine scope. Engagements are not pre-packaged; the findings drive the structure.

Performance Readiness is System 0 of the Fieldwork Method. It assesses whether a salesperson has the mental capacity, physical capacity, and structural conditions in place to execute before any tactical coaching begins. A rep with high cognitive load, compromised focus, or significant obligation conflicts outside work will not retain or apply sales training effectively — regardless of the quality of that training. Skipping this assessment and going straight to tactics is the most common reason sales training does not hold. Performance Readiness is not a soft concept; it is a scored diagnostic that determines whether the investment in Systems 1 and 2 will produce a return.

The primary focus at CDAERIS Agency is MSPs and SMBs between $1.5M and $10M in revenue — organizations that have moved past the earliest stages of growth but have not yet built a formal, repeatable sales system. Below that range, the service offering often is not yet validated enough for a sales system to produce consistent results. Above that range, the complexity of the engagement typically requires a fractional or embedded model. Both situations are worth a conversation to determine whether there is a fit.

Most MSP sales coaching programs deliver a pre-built curriculum. The same content goes to every client regardless of where the actual breakdown is occurring. The Fieldwork Method starts with a diagnostic. The system audit identifies the specific failure point — whether that is targeting, messaging, rep readiness, deal management, or something else — and the engagement is built around what the audit finds. The other difference is operating background. Chris Duncan spent eight years as Head of Sales inside an MSP, building the organization from scratch and driving 7x MRR growth before that company was recognized as one of Oregon’s Best Companies to Work For. The framework was built from that operating experience, not from the outside looking in.

The Success Formula establishes the mathematical relationship between sales activity inputs and revenue outputs: Activity multiplied by Conversion Rate multiplied by Average Deal Size equals Target Revenue. In practice, it is used to work backward from a revenue goal to determine exactly how much daily and weekly outreach activity is required. For MSP teams, this matters because most owners either do not know their conversion rates at each stage or are trying to solve a conversion problem by increasing activity volume. The Success Formula makes the bottleneck visible. If activity is high and revenue is low, the problem is in the conversion rate or average deal size — not the number of calls being made.