MSP appointment setting in Allentown: who to call first

7 things to know before prospecting MSP in Allentown

1. 01173 IT services firms work the Allentown-Bethlehem metro (+8 in a year), 53% less concentrated than the U.S. as a whole.
2. 026.3 target businesses per IT firm ranks Allentown #10 of 100 markets and #2 of 4 in Pennsylvania.
3. 03The biggest buyer group is manufacturers: 311 sites with 20 to 499 employees.
4. 04Allentown-Bethlehem over-indexes on manufacturers at 1.39x the national mix, so build references inside that group.
5. 05Real estate brokerages and property management offices added 15 establishments in a year: new sites without a managed service provider relationship.
6. 06Tier 1 is 324 sites with 50 to 499 employees among manufacturers and medical, dental and outpatient practices; those deserve two or three contacts each.
7. 07Lehigh County and Northampton County hold 91% of the target businesses across 4 counties.

These are the 12 industries Abstrakt's SDRs call for MSP work, with how many of each are in the Allentown-Bethlehem metro and who to ask for. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Allentown-Bethlehem leans toward manufacturers (1.39x), nonprofits and member organizations (1.29x) and medical, dental and outpatient practices (1.17x). Build the list around those categories. Real estate brokerages and property management offices and wholesale distributors are thinner than the national mix, so treat them as selective targets.

1. 01
   Manufacturers311

   Ask for: Owner or president 169 with 50 to 499 employees 1.39x U.S. mix -1 in a year
2. 02
   Medical, dental and outpatient practices241

   Ask for: Practice administrator 77 with 50 to 499 employees 1.17x U.S. mix -7 in a year
3. 03
   Wholesale distributors168

   Ask for: Owner or president 78 with 50 to 499 employees 0.84x U.S. mix +10 in a year
4. 04
   Construction contractors143

   Ask for: Owner or president 42 with 50 to 499 employees 1.05x U.S. mix -40 in a year
5. 05
   Private schools and education providers67

   Ask for: Head of school or director 30 with 50 to 499 employees 0.91x U.S. mix +7 in a year
6. 06
   Nonprofits and member organizations63

   Ask for: Executive director 17 with 50 to 499 employees 1.29x U.S. mix -3 in a year
7. 07
   Architecture and engineering firms43

   Ask for: Principal or owner 8 with 50 to 499 employees 0.91x U.S. mix -4 in a year
8. 08
   Accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms15

   Ask for: Managing partner 6 with 50 to 499 employees 0.88x U.S. mix -2 in a year
9. 09
   Insurance agencies and brokerages15

   Ask for: Agency principal or owner 3 with 50 to 499 employees 0.87x U.S. mix -6 in a year
10. 10
    Law firms10

    Ask for: Managing partner 4 with 50 to 499 employees 0.86x U.S. mix +10 in a year
11. 11
    Real estate brokerages and property management offices10

    Ask for: Broker-owner 3 with 50 to 499 employees 0.83x U.S. mix +15 in a year
12. 12
    Wealth management and investment firms7

    Ask for: Firm principal 0.92x U.S. mix +4 in a year

Businesses are establishments with 20 to 499 employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023), the small and mid-sized range MSPs sell to; the SBA Office of Advocacy counts firms under 500 employees as small businesses. Change and concentration: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2025 Q2.

Manufacturers and wholesale distributors run larger in Allentown than across our 100 metros, which puts more of them in Tier 1. Architecture and engineering firms, insurance agencies and brokerages, real estate brokerages and property management offices and wealth management and investment firms run smaller, so those groups need a seat-count question before a meeting is booked.

• Manufacturers are the largest group in Allentown with 311 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (2,791): more concentrated than nationally (1.39x), down 1 establishments in a year, and larger than across our 100 metros (40% of those with 10 or more employees have 50 or more, against 32%), so plan on two or three contacts per account.

• Medical, dental and outpatient practices are the second-largest group in Allentown with 241 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (4,440): more concentrated than nationally (1.17x), down 7 establishments in a year, and typical in size (15% with 50 or more employees).

• Wholesale distributors are the third-largest group in Allentown with 168 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (3,689): less concentrated than nationally (0.84x), up 10 establishments in a year, and larger than across our 100 metros (27% of those with 10 or more employees have 50 or more, against 20%), so plan on two or three contacts per account.

• Construction contractors are the fourth-largest group in Allentown with 143 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (3,589): close to the national mix, down 40 establishments in a year, and typical in size (14% with 50 or more employees).

• Private schools and education providers are the fifth-largest group in Allentown with 67 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (2,178): close to the national mix, up 7 establishments in a year, and typical in size (30% with 50 or more employees).

• Nonprofits and member organizations are the sixth-largest group in Allentown with 63 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than New York has (1,746): more concentrated than nationally (1.29x), down 3 establishments in a year, and typical in size (13% with 50 or more employees).

After those six come architecture and engineering firms (43), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (15), insurance agencies and brokerages (15), law firms (10), real estate brokerages and property management offices (10) and wealth management and investment firms (7), smaller groups to work by fit rather than volume.

Where a rule or a client review puts a date on security work in Allentown: manufacturers (311, CMMC where they supply defense work), medical, dental and outpatient practices (241, HIPAA), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (15, the FTC Safeguards Rule), insurance agencies and brokerages (15, carrier and state insurance data security requirements), law firms (10, client security questionnaires) and wealth management and investment firms (7, SEC and FINRA exams); together, 599 businesses where the first message can lead with the requirement instead of the service.

What leads in each core county

• Lehigh County: medical, dental and outpatient practices (163), manufacturers (128) and wholesale distributors (95) lead its 594 target businesses.
• Northampton County: manufacturers (132), wholesale distributors (62) and medical, dental and outpatient practices (53) lead its 358 target businesses.
• Warren County: manufacturers (36), medical, dental and outpatient practices (19) and construction contractors (7) lead its 77 target businesses.
• Carbon County: manufacturers (14), construction contractors (4) and medical, dental and outpatient practices (3) lead its 21 target businesses.

Employee bands: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, establishments with 10 to 499 employees; suppressed size classes count as zero. Concentration and one-year change: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2025 Q2. The 100-metro average is the same share summed across every market we publish.

173 IT services firms are based in the Allentown-Bethlehem metro. 8 more opened over the past year, so buyers are fielding new names. The IT services industry is 53% less concentrated than the U.S. as a whole, so a consistent outbound program reaches business owners and office managers that are not tired of contractor calls. 6.3 target businesses per IT firm puts Allentown 10 of 100 markets, and 2 of 4 in Pennsylvania. That is more room per IT firm than most metros, so systematic prospecting tends to find accounts nobody is working. Allentown has more target businesses per IT firm than the nearest markets.

Tier 1 covers manufacturers, medical, dental and outpatient practices and wholesale distributors with 50 to 499 employees.

Lehigh County and Northampton County hold 91% of the target businesses across the 4-county metro. The other 2 counties split the remaining 9%, which is where Tier 1 accounts justify the drive and smaller sites do not.

A new office or location needs network, devices and security set up before people move in, and the provider who does that work is in the best position to support it after.

• Real estate brokerages and property management offices: 15 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are a wire fraud attempt, a new office, agent growth, a change in property management software.

• Wholesale distributors: 10 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are an ERP or warehouse system change, a new warehouse, a cyber insurance renewal, an acquisition.

• Law firms: 10 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are a phishing incident, a client security questionnaire, a new office or partner group, a document management change.

• Construction contractors: 40 fewer establishments than a year ago

  An acquisition puts a business under new owners, who usually review who runs IT and fold it into their own systems.

More questions for every prospect type, and how to follow up after the meeting, are in the MSP prospecting playbook.

If your engineers travel, New York, Philadelphia, Poughkeepsie and Bridgeport are the closest metros we track. Here are the same counts used above for Allentown.

• New York, NY

  43 miles away, with 23,343 target businesses and 7,678 IT services firms, or 3.0 businesses per IT firm (#42 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on real estate brokerages and property management offices at 1.42x the national mix.

• Philadelphia, PA

  70 miles away, with 8,606 target businesses and 3,095 IT services firms, or 2.8 businesses per IT firm (#50 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on law firms at 1.18x the national mix.

• Poughkeepsie, NY

  91 miles away, with 633 target businesses and 208 IT services firms, or 3.0 businesses per IT firm (#41 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on construction contractors at 1.44x the national mix.

• Bridgeport, CT

  97 miles away, with 1,237 target businesses and 1,049 IT services firms, or 1.2 businesses per IT firm (#95 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on wealth management and investment firms at 3.68x the national mix.