The Commission Problem Is Real
In 2024, Brian Strong’s MSP had grown 745% organically in five years. The company was a runaway success by every metric that matters. And Strong made a decision that most MSP owners would consider insane: he eliminated the vCIO title entirely.
“We don’t call our senior technical advisors vCIOs,” Strong wrote in a LinkedIn post that generated serious debate across the MSP community. “We call them Strategic Technology Advisors.”
His reasoning was blunt. Most vCIOs, he argued, are glorified account managers who run QBRs, review tickets, and sell aggressively. Many earn commission on every project and expansion they recommend. The title has become a credibility killer, especially with mid-market clients who already have a CIO and can spot a sales play from across the room.
“The vCIO title is killing your credibility with the clients you actually want.”
, Brian Strong, CEO of an MSP that grew 745% organically in 5 years,
And the data backs him up.
What the Research Shows
Here is what the industry does not like to talk about: a significant number of MSPs compensate their vCIOs with commission on the very projects and services they recommend to clients. The advisor who is supposed to be an objective strategist has a direct financial incentive to sell more.
A LinkedIn survey conducted by vCISO Services, LLC asked a pointed question: Should MSPs offering vCISO services sell solutions for gaps the vCISO identifies? The results were damning.
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Recognized significant financially incentivized bias | ~80% |
| Conflict of interest too great to provide effective service | 29% |
| Bias can be identified and managed | ~50% |
| Prefer one-stop shop convenience regardless of bias | ~20% |
The vCISO role is the security counterpart to the vCIO, but the conflict is identical. When the person recommending the solution also profits from the sale, the advice is compromised. Period.
MSP360, one of the industry’s most widely read publications, puts it plainly: “You can’t be an impartial vCIO if you’re selling the services you’re budgeting for.” It is a straightforward statement that most MSPs know is true but few want to confront directly.
Three Predictable Outcomes of Commission-Based Compensation
The problem is not just ethical. It is practical. Commission-based vCIO compensation creates three predictable outcomes that hurt both the MSP and the client.
1. Recommendations Skew Toward Revenue, Not Risk
When a vCIO earns a percentage of every project sold, the incentive structure pushes them toward identifying gaps that generate billable work. A client might genuinely need better documentation and process discipline. But documentation does not have a margin. A new security platform does. The commissioned vCIO recommends the platform.
The Phoenix Group LLC, an independent advisory firm, puts it plainly:
“The vCIO provided from an MSP will rarely, if ever, recommend a competing technology provider to assist the organization in implementing a technology solution that benefits the client.”
Their advice: “Follow the money.” Ensure your vCIO receives no financial gain from the advice they provide. Never feel reluctant to ask.
2. Trust Evaporates the Moment Clients Figure It Out
Mid-market clients are not naive. They have worked with financial advisors, consultants, and legal counsel. They understand conflicts of interest. And when they discover that their “trusted advisor” earns more when they buy more, the relationship changes permanently.
As Strong noted: “That credibility disappears the moment they figure out your advisor gets paid when they buy more.”
Nolan O’Neal, CPA, commented on Strong’s post with an observation that should make every MSP owner uncomfortable: “Once advisors are seen as part of the sales process, trust erodes fast, especially in larger environments.”
3. The Best Advisors Leave
The people you want in a vCIO role are strategic thinkers. They understand business risk, budget cycles, and organizational priorities. They can sit across from a CFO and hold their own in a conversation about technology investment versus business outcomes. These people do not want to be salespeople.
When you tie their income to commission, you either attract salespeople who pretend to be strategists, or you drive out the actual strategists who refuse to compromise their integrity.
What the Best MSPs Do Differently
The top-performing MSPs have figured this out. According to ScalePad’s 2025 MSP Business Trends Report, top-earning MSPs share common traits: client retention of 76% or higher, recurring revenue rates above 51%, and formal vCIO/vCISO programs. These MSPs are not winning by accident. They are winning because their clients trust them.
Simon Marcil, president of S3 Technologies, grew his MSP to $23 million organically with a single salesperson. He credits vCIO services as a primary driver. But his model has a critical structural difference from the commissioned approach.
As Marcil writes on the Propel Your MSP blog:
“If you want your vCIO to be a trusted advisor, remove sales incentives. Our vCIOs are not compensated on sales. They’re measured primarily on client retention.”
That single design decision changes everything. When the vCIO is measured on whether clients stay, the incentive aligns with the client’s best interest. The vCIO recommends what the client actually needs, not what generates the highest commission. The client senses the difference. Retention goes up.
Gary Pica, a 30-year MSP industry veteran and founder of TruMethods, has consulted with hundreds of MSPs on vCIO compensation. His guidance is specific.
| Compensation Component | What It Should Be Based On |
|---|---|
| Base Salary | Experience, scope, MRR managed |
| Variable Pay | Client retention, MRR stability |
| What It Should NOT Be Based On | Project sales, commissions, upsells |
“Ideally, you want a vCIO who focuses on business goals, prioritizing high-value tasks, and objective standards,” Pica writes. “To find one, you need to compensate appropriately.”
The salary range for vCIOs, according to TruMethods, typically falls between $60,000 and $150,000 depending on scope and experience. The variable component should reward the right outcomes.
The Math That Proves the Point
ScalePad’s 2025 data reveals a number that should alarm every MSP owner: 36% of MSPs have client retention below 50%. That means more than one in three MSPs need to replace the majority of their client base every two years just to stay flat.
Meanwhile, the top performers are retaining 76% or more of their clients annually. The gap between these two groups is not service quality or technical capability. It is trust. And trust is built or destroyed by structural decisions like how you compensate your advisors.
Consider the math on a single client. If your average client is worth $50,000 per year in recurring revenue and your gross margin is 60%, losing that client costs you $30,000 in annual margin. If a commissioned vCIO sells them a $20,000 project that the client later resents because it was not the right solution, you might earn a short-term commission of $2,000 while putting a $30,000 annual relationship at risk.
The commissioned model is a bad trade. It optimizes for the transaction at the expense of the relationship.
How to Fix Your vCIO Compensation Model
If you recognize your own MSP in the commissioned vCIO model, here is how to restructure.
- Decouple advisory from sales compensation. This is non-negotiable. If your vCIO earns any percentage of the projects or services they recommend, you have a conflict of interest. Remove it. Replace commission with a salary-plus-bonus structure tied to client outcomes.
- Measure what matters. The right metrics for a vCIO are client retention rate, client satisfaction scores, roadmap completion rate, and MRR stability across their book of business. These metrics align the vCIO’s success with the client’s success.
- Ask your clients directly. The simplest test of whether your vCIO model works is to ask your clients: “Do you trust our strategic technology recommendations?” If the answer is anything less than an unqualified yes, your compensation structure may be the reason.
- Be transparent about how your vCIO is paid. This is the hardest step, and the most powerful. If your vCIO is not commission-based, tell your clients. “Our strategic advisor does not earn anything from the recommendations they make. Their job is to give you the advice you need, even if that advice is to spend less.” That single statement is worth more than any sales pitch you will ever make.
The Fiduciary Standard
The financial advisory industry went through this exact reckoning. For decades, financial advisors earned commission on the products they sold. Clients had no way to know whether a recommendation was in their best interest or the advisor’s. The industry responded by creating the fiduciary standard: a legal obligation to act in the client’s best interest.
The MSP industry has not formalized this standard yet, but the principle is the same. When a client invites your vCIO into their boardroom to help make strategic technology decisions, that vCIO has a fiduciary responsibility to that client. Not to your MSP’s revenue targets. To the client.
Commission-based vCIO compensation is a structural violation of that responsibility. It does not matter how honest or well-intentioned the individual vCIO is. The structure itself creates the conflict. And clients know it.
The Bottom Line
The vCIO role is one of the most powerful trust-building tools an MSP can deploy. When done right, it transforms the MSP from a vendor into a strategic partner. It gives clients a seat at the table with someone who understands both technology and business. It drives retention, deepens relationships, and creates a competitive moat that no amount of price-cutting can breach.
But only if the vCIO is trusted. And trust requires structural integrity. Remove the commissions. Pay for outcomes. Measure what matters. And never, ever let your client wonder whether your advisor’s recommendation is about their business or your revenue.
As Brian Strong put it:
“That’s a different hire. That’s a different standard. And it requires you to build the role with intention rather than promoting your best technical person, handing them a new title, and tying their income to how much they can upsell.”
The MSPs that get this right will own the next decade. The ones that do not will keep wondering why their best clients keep leaving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should vCIOs be paid on commission?
A: No. Commission-based compensation creates a direct conflict of interest between the vCIO’s financial incentive and the client’s best interest. Every major industry source, from TruMethods to Propel Your MSP to ScalePad’s research, points to retention-based compensation as the correct model.
Q: What should vCIO variable pay be based on?
A: Client retention rate, MRR stability across their book of business, client satisfaction scores, and roadmap completion. These metrics align the vCIO’s success with the client’s success.
Q: What is the typical salary range for a vCIO?
A: According to TruMethods, vCIO salaries typically range from $60,000 to $150,000 depending on experience, scope, and the amount of MRR managed. A common benchmark is that a vCIO should manage at least $150,000 in MRR.
Q: How do I know if my clients trust our vCIO?
A: Ask them. Directly. “Do you trust our strategic technology recommendations?” Also track retention rates. ScalePad’s data shows top MSPs retain 76%+ of clients annually. If your retention is significantly lower, trust is likely the issue.
Q: Is the vCIO title itself a problem?
A: Some industry leaders, including Brian Strong, argue the title has been diluted to the point of meaninglessness. What matters is not the title but the structure: how the role is defined, how the person is compensated, and whether clients perceive the advisor as objective. Whether you call the role vCIO, Strategic Technology Advisor, or something else, the compensation model is what determines credibility.
This article draws from the principles in vCIO Rewired: Virtually Conquering IT Obstacles and Rewired MSP: Mastery, Scalability & Performance.
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