Most discussions about persuasion focus on what to say, how to present an argument or which benefits to emphasise.

Temporal landmarks introduce another important dimension: timing.

Certain moments naturally make people more open to change. A new year, a birthday, the beginning of a quarter, a new leadership appointment, a merger, an office move or even returning from holiday can create the sense that one chapter has ended and another is beginning.

Psychologists refer to this as the Fresh Start Effect.

For MSPs, this is particularly valuable because major technology decisions are rarely made in isolation. They tend to happen around business changes, planning cycles, contract renewals, new budgets, compliance deadlines and moments when organisations are already reassessing their priorities.

Recognising these moments can make the difference between a recommendation that feels disruptive and one that feels perfectly timed.

What Temporal Landmarks Actually Are

The word “temporal” simply means relating to time.

A temporal landmark is therefore a point in time that feels significant enough to divide life into different periods.

Some temporal landmarks are widely shared. New Year’s Day is the clearest example. The beginning of a new month, quarter or financial year can have a similar effect.

Others are personal. A birthday, work anniversary, promotion or change of role can create the feeling of a new chapter.

Businesses experience temporal landmarks too.

A merger creates a clear “before” and “after”.

A new managing director may want to leave behind old processes and introduce new standards.

Moving premises can create an opportunity to rethink infrastructure rather than simply reproduce the old environment in a new location.

A major system replacement can become the trigger for reviewing wider technology strategy.

The event itself does not automatically change behaviour, but it creates a moment when change feels more natural.

The Research Behind The Fresh Start Effect

The term Fresh Start Effect was introduced by behavioural scientists Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman and Jason Riis in research published in Management Science in 2014.

Their work examined whether temporal landmarks increased people’s motivation to pursue goals.

They found that interest in goal-related activities rose after psychologically meaningful moments, including the beginning of a week, month, year, semester and the period following a birthday.

People were more likely to search for information about dieting at the start of a new week or year. Gym attendance increased following certain temporal landmarks. Commitments to personal goals also became more common around dates that felt like beginnings.

The research helped explain why people often feel unusually motivated on a Monday morning, at the start of January or after returning from a holiday.

The date itself has not changed their ability.

What has changed is how they interpret their position in time.

Separating The Old Self From The New Self

One of the strongest explanations for the Fresh Start Effect is psychological separation.

Temporal landmarks allow people to distance themselves from past failures.

Instead of viewing a previous mistake as proof of who they are, they can assign it to an earlier chapter.

Someone who has repeatedly failed to organise their workload may think:

“That was how I worked last year.”

The beginning of a new year creates permission to think:

“This year, I am going to manage things differently.”

The same process can take place inside organisations.

A business may have tolerated poor IT support, inconsistent security controls or ageing systems for years. A new leadership team can reframe those weaknesses as part of the company’s previous era rather than an unavoidable feature of the business.

This separation matters because people often struggle to change when they believe their past behaviour defines them.

A fresh start creates psychological distance from that history.

Why Timing Can Matter As Much As The Message

An MSP can make a strong recommendation at the wrong moment and receive little response.

A proposal to replace ageing infrastructure may be technically sound, commercially sensible and clearly written. If it arrives in the middle of a busy trading period, when the client is focused on immediate operational pressures, it may still be delayed.

Present the same proposal during annual budgeting, at the beginning of a new financial year or following a change in leadership, and it may feel much more relevant.

The recommendation has not changed.

The client’s readiness has.

This is why timing should be considered part of the message rather than an administrative detail.

The strongest MSPs do not simply ask whether a client needs to change.

They ask when that client is most likely to feel ready.

Business Cycles Create Natural Fresh Starts

Most organisations operate in cycles.

They have financial years, budgeting rounds, quarterly targets, annual reviews, contract anniversaries, regulatory deadlines and planning periods.

Each of these creates a natural opportunity to reassess priorities.

The start of a financial year can be framed as a chance to replace expensive short-term fixes with a structured technology roadmap.

A new quarter can become the right moment to address recurring support issues that have been allowed to continue.

A contract renewal can provide the opportunity to reconsider whether the current service model still reflects the organisation’s needs.

A business anniversary may encourage leaders to think about how the company should evolve over the next phase of its development.

MSPs can use these moments to begin conversations that might otherwise feel difficult or premature.

Leadership Changes Create Powerful Openings

A new managing director, finance director, operations leader or IT decision-maker often creates one of the strongest temporal landmarks available.

New leaders usually want to understand what they have inherited.

They review suppliers, costs, systems, risks and internal processes.

They may be more willing to question arrangements that previous managers accepted without challenge.

This does not mean immediately targeting every newly appointed director with an aggressive sales message.

A better approach is to recognise the broader psychological context.

The new leader is likely to be asking:

What needs to change?

Where are the hidden risks?

Which supplier relationships are genuinely working?

What can be improved quickly?

What should the organisation look like under my leadership?

An MSP that can help answer those questions may become part of the leader’s fresh-start narrative.

Mergers, Acquisitions And Office Moves

Mergers and acquisitions create obvious divisions between old and new.

Two businesses may suddenly need to combine Microsoft 365 environments, security policies, data, telephony, support processes and working practices.

These changes can be complicated, but they also create a rare opportunity to question inherited systems.

Instead of asking how to connect two outdated environments, the organisation can ask what the combined business should need in future.

An office move creates a similar opportunity.

A company could simply transfer old infrastructure into a new building.

Alternatively, it could use the move to improve connectivity, collaboration, cyber security, resilience and hybrid working.

The physical move becomes a psychological and operational fresh start.

MSPs that recognise this can position technology change as part of the wider transformation rather than another separate project.

Technology Deadlines Can Become Renewal Opportunities

End-of-support dates are often communicated as threats.

A platform will no longer receive updates.

A product must be replaced.

A licence arrangement is changing.

A compliance deadline is approaching.

These messages may be accurate, but they can make technology projects feel like unavoidable expenses.

The Fresh Start Effect offers a more constructive framing.

Instead of presenting an operating system migration simply as a forced upgrade, an MSP can position it as an opportunity to review the entire user experience.

Could the new environment improve security?

Could devices be standardised?

Could management become simpler?

Could old applications be removed?

Could employees receive better equipment and clearer working practices?

Could future support costs be reduced?

The deadline still matters, but it becomes the starting point for improvement rather than the sole reason for action.

Turning Quarterly Reviews Into Forward-Looking Conversations

Many MSPs use Quarterly Business Reviews primarily to explain what has already happened.

They report on ticket volumes, response times, incidents, projects and service performance.

That information is useful, but it keeps the discussion rooted in the past.

The start of a new quarter provides an opportunity to reset the conversation.

Instead of asking only what happened, the MSP can ask:

What should technology help the business achieve over the next three months?

Which recurring frustration should be removed this quarter?

What would make the next review feel like a success?

Which risk should no longer exist by the end of this period?

These questions turn the QBR into a planning landmark.

The meeting becomes less about reviewing service history and more about beginning the next chapter.

Using Temporal Landmarks In Marketing

Temporal landmarks can also improve email campaigns, articles, webinars and direct marketing.

Many businesses send generic New Year messages with little commercial value.

A stronger message might ask which technology frustrations the organisation wants to leave behind.

At the beginning of a financial year, an MSP could encourage businesses to review whether their technology budget is preventing problems or merely paying for repeated fixes.

At the beginning of a quarter, content could focus on one practical change that can be completed before the next planning cycle.

Following the summer holiday period, a campaign might encourage businesses to address problems that have repeatedly been postponed.

The key is to connect the moment with a relevant opportunity.

The date should not be used as a decorative theme. It should strengthen the reason for action.

Creating Smaller Fresh Starts

Not every fresh start needs to be attached to a major event.

MSPs can create smaller psychological beginnings within projects and client relationships.

The launch of a new cyber security programme can be treated as a reset in how the organisation approaches risk.

A new employee awareness campaign can mark the beginning of a stronger security culture.

A service review can become the point where the client stops accepting recurring problems and begins addressing their causes.

The first stage of a technology roadmap can be framed as the beginning of a more structured approach to investment.

These moments are particularly useful when a client has become discouraged by previous attempts at change.

Rather than reopening an old failure, the MSP can create a new chapter with a clearer structure and more achievable first steps.

Why The Motivational Effect Fades

The Fresh Start Effect is powerful, but temporary.

New Year’s resolutions demonstrate the limitation clearly.

The calendar creates an initial burst of motivation, but that motivation often fades when the effort becomes difficult or daily routines return.

Temporal landmarks can encourage people to begin.

They do not guarantee that they will continue.

For MSPs, this means a fresh-start message should always be connected to practical action.

A client may be motivated to improve cyber security at the start of a new financial year. That motivation needs to lead quickly into an assessment, roadmap, agreed responsibility and realistic timetable.

Without a clear next step, the fresh-start feeling disappears.

Combining Temporal Landmarks With Other Drivers

The Fresh Start Effect works best when combined with stronger and more sustained persuasion drivers.

Future Pacing helps people imagine what the new chapter could look like.

Pain Vs Pleasure Framing clarifies what the organisation risks by allowing old problems to continue and what it can gain by taking action.

Commitment And Consistency helps turn initial motivation into a series of small actions.

Storytelling shows how another business used a similar moment to make a successful change.

Identity can help leaders see the decision as part of becoming a more modern, resilient or forward-thinking organisation.

Scarcity may provide a genuine reason not to let the opportunity pass, such as an onboarding window, project deadline or available budget period.

Together, these principles turn a momentary feeling of renewal into a more durable decision-making process.

Using The Effect Ethically

The Fresh Start Effect should not be used to manufacture urgency where none exists.

The beginning of a month does not automatically make every offer more relevant.

A generic message saying “Start fresh this Monday” will quickly lose credibility if there is no meaningful reason to act.

Ethical use begins with recognising genuine moments when an organisation is already reassessing its future.

An MSP can then help the client use that moment productively.

The goal is not to pressure someone into a decision because the calendar has changed.

It is to make a valuable decision feel easier to begin because the timing is psychologically appropriate.

Recognising The Right Moment

Temporal landmarks remind MSPs that persuasion is not only about language, evidence or presentation.

Readiness matters.

A client may resist an idea repeatedly, then become open to it after a change in leadership, a merger, a failed audit or the beginning of a new planning cycle.

The recommendation may have been correct all along.

The missing element was the right moment.

MSPs that understand this become better at recognising when conversations are likely to be productive. They can connect technology recommendations to the wider changes already taking place inside the client’s business.

When the message and the moment align, technology stops feeling like another expense or disruption.

It starts feeling like part of a new and better chapter.

References

Dai, H., Milkman, K. L. and Riis, J. (2014). The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582.

Milkman, K. L. (2021). How To Change: The Science Of Getting From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be. Portfolio.

Thaler, R. H. (1985). Mental Accounting And Consumer Choice. Marketing Science, 4(3), 199–214.

Dai, H. (2018). A Double-Edged Sword: How And Why Resetting Performance Metrics Affects Motivation And Performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 148, 12–29.