Are Your Small Business Customers Clueless About Backups?

Are many of your small business prospects, customers, and clients in grave danger with their computer backup procedures?

Do you often have trouble getting non-technical small business owners and managers to recognize the importance of sound data backup procedures?

If so, then I have “gift” for you. Here’s an article for small businesses on data backups that you can reprint in your own newsletter

It’s called, “Computer Data Backups: Test Now or Cry Later”.

The only requirements for reprinting:

1) Your reprint must include the full bio-box at the end and a direct hyperlink back to http://www.PCSupportTips.com

2) It must carry the copyright notice at the end, "Copyright MMI-MMV, PCSupportTips.com, All Worldwide Rights Reserved."

3) The article cannot be altered in any way, shape or form.
4) You cannot sell the article. It can only be reprinted in free newsletters.

So if you need to be selling more computer data backup solutions to your small business prospects, customers, and clients, and you’ve been meeting some sales resistance, be sure to start by EDUCATING your small business contacts with the information in Computer Data Backups: Test Now or Cry Later.

To pickup the article, just visit
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Computer-Data-Backups:-Test-Now-or-Cry-Later&id=20978

Here’s to selling more data protection services!

Best wishes,

Joshua Feinberg
http://www.PCSupportTips.com

Microsoft Small Business Server History

When that news came out about Novell trying to more agressively challenge Microsoft in the Small Business Server space (see Novell Takes Aim at Microsoft Small Business Server), it got me thinking about the whole history of Microsoft Small Business Server.

If you sell and support Microsoft Small Business Server, here's a quick crash course on Microsoft Small Business Server History.

Best regards,

Joshua Feinberg

Novell Takes Aim at Microsoft Small Business Server

Yahoo! News - Novell Takes Aim at Microsoft Small Business Server

I've been hearing about this one for years.
Of course Novell wants to take aim at Microsoft's SBS.
But will they pull it off?
It's always good to keep the SBS program managers and product managers on their toes with some healthy competition. But Novell has had SO many false starts in this area, will the critical small business VARs really take them seriously?!?

Perhaps the long-time NetWare supporters will...

But can Novell really win, or win back, the VARs that pledge allegiance to Microsoft SBS after brushing their teeth each morning. (Yes, they are THAT loyal.)

Respectfully submitted,

Joshua Feinberg
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com/

When You Start a Computer Consulting Business

Are you looking to start a computer consulting business?

If so, then you should go check out this article on
Get Advice When You Start a Computer Consulting Business

Best regards,

Joshua Feinberg

Avoiding the Computer Consulting Moochers

Have you ever wasted a whole bunch of time (and money) because of computer consulting moochers? You know those small business owners who are professional leaches, cheapskates, time vampires and moochers?

Over the past few weeks, many computer consulting business owners have written in to ask for advice on how to handle prospects that have unrealistic expectations of what professional computer consulting services should cost.

What it boils down to is...

You need to be able to convince prospects that hiring your firm is an INVESTMENT (not an expense) in their business.

In other words...

The tangible benefits of what your firm delivers must FAR outweigh the costs.

Think about it.

Would you make an investment in YOUR company if you didn't see how the benefits were greater than the costs?!?

Now because you're selling a highly specialized professional computer consulting service (i.e. "You, Incorporated"), your value proposition will be different than your computer consulting business competitor down the street.

However, you can DRAMATICALLY tip the scales in YOUR favor by paying attention to one REALLY universal way to avoid the computer consulting moochers.

Simply, look for small businesses that are used to paying for other professional B2B services... such as accounting services, legal services, PR services, marketing consulting, etc.

That means this kind of small business is already used to INVESTING in highly skilled $100+/hour professional services. The notion of having a professional services firm on a retainer arrangement, say $1,000/month or more, is NOT a foreign concept.

Remember, it's MUCH, MUCH easier to go after QUALIFIED leads and prospects than it is to try to talk an UN-QUALIFIED lead or prospect into needing something that the lead or prospect doesn't perceive to need.

And don't forget, that right in your local area, there are already TONS of leads and prospects for you that have REAL IT needs, are used to paying for professional services, and have at least semi-realistic expectations about the price-tag on professional computer consulting services.

So don't waste your time on those suffering from sticker shock. Don't waste your time on professional computer consulting moochers and tightwads.

Focus on those small businesses that are accustomed to paying for other professional B2B services.

To learn how you can develop an effective plan for reaching these small businesses, how to take them through the sales cycle, and how to move these small businesses from one-time-customer to long-term steady, high-paying client, be sure to take advantage of the free one hour computer consulting business training at
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

...so you can concentrate your resources on those small businesses that DO have realistic expectations and desperately need your computer consulting services.

Best wishes,

Joshua Feinberg, author
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

Free Computer Consulting Training Seminar

Re: 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business

It’s really busy here today, so not much time to write.

But I wanted to call your attention to a great free resource that we have available to anyone in the computer consulting business... or anyone that wants to get into the computer consulting business.

It’s called 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business... a free one-hour pre-recorded audio training seminar.

And you can get immediate online access to it when you sign up at http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

You’re going to learn how to

Find steady, high-paying clients
** Generate great leads
** Get paid for virtually all of your consulting time
** Easily command higher hourly billing rates
** Build lifetime client loyalty
** And much more!

So go sign-up now, while it’s still available free of charge at
5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

Best wishes,

Joshua Feinberg

Why John Gafford the Computer Consultant Got Fired Tonight by Trump

Tonight, John M. Gafford, a computer consultant business owner and principal of Pattern Recognition in Tampa, Florida, got fired on Donald Trump’s The Apprentice.

So why exactly did Gafford got fired? For not aiming high enough… he left too much money on the table.

On this week’s The Apprentice show, each team was raising money for a pediatric AIDS foundation. To raise funds, each team had access to five well-known recording artists… including such HUGE names as Lil Kim, Moby, Simple Plan, Bare Naked Ladies, and Gene Simmons (KISS).

Gafford’s team essentially lost, because Gafford, supposedly a master negotiator, simply didn’t ask for big enough “experience” donations. (The opposing team got two of the artists to donate a “week on the road” experience for the charity auction.) In other words, the artists’ donations, that Gafford proposed and packaged, were simply not as big as the opposing team’s artist donations.

So Gafford’s "crime": he left too much money on the table.

Now knowing the computer consultant business model where Gafford comes from, there is a very striking parallel.

Imagine Gafford going in to sell a group medical practice on upgrading their office management system.

Gafford would walk out with a big smile on his face, because he got a new client signed up for say a $13,000 sale of semi-customized software and integration services.

HOWEVER, and this is a HUGE however…

The previous integrator this medical office had used had a $2,500 a month support contract in place with this medical office… valued in excess of $50,000 a year in total service revenue, including spin-off projects. But Gafford wouldn’t have known this, simply because wouldn’t have asked. (I don’t mean to pick on Gafford here. Maybe he has more vision with his business and maximizing the size of an account opportunity than he did for this exercise on Trump’s hit TV show.)

So while Gafford would be victorious in that he closed a $13,000 sale for a substantial project, he would’ve missed the point on the six-figure lifetime value of the client.

Of course, this situation is purely a hypothetical. But I see it happen often enough with computer consultant business owners like Gafford, that it’s worth pointing out.

You need to do your homework and let the other party do the talking AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. When meeting with a new client, whether it be Gene Simmons, Richard Simmons, or Simmons Mattresses, your job during the pre-sales phase is to ASK OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS that get your prospect to open up… and most importantly give you the vital clues and ammunition you need to close as big of an IT services sale as possible.

After all, anyone can sell a server or software application… and sure it’s “valuable” to a computer consultant business.

BUT, it takes virtual IT sales mastery for a computer consultant business owner to sell the long-term outsourced IT relationship.

So hopefully Gafford doesn’t do this in his own computer consultant business at Pattern Recognition in Tampa, Florida… otherwise he’s leaving a LOT of money on the table.

And hopefully, you don’t do this either in your computer consultant business.

Because when it comes to maximizing the profitability of a computer consultant business, leaving big money on the table is just plain silly.

Make sure YOU see the forest through the trees… unless you too want to get fired by the Trumps of the World.

So to John Gafford and all the John Gaffords out there in the computer consultant business World: Don’t leave money on the table!

Best of luck to Gafford in his future endeavors

Respectfully submitted,

Joshua Feinberg for
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

Computer Consultant Prospecting Tips

Are Computer Consultant Prospects Lying to You? Here’s how to tell…

Have you ever had small business prospects tell you that they don’t need service contracts... because THEIR computers only break down once in a while?!?

Since this always sounds a little fishy to me, let’s break this down and figure out what’s REALLY going on.

Possibility (A): These small businesses have AWESOME in-house IT departments or fabulous, gold-medal-quality computer consultants.

Possibility (B): These small businesses are either too small to afford professional IT help, or just frankly don’t care very much about IT or having a relationship with a computer consultant business.

Possibility (C): These small businesses are “bluffing” or “lying” to you. (Remember, don’t burn your bridges though. Because these days even the Pinocchio’s of the World consume a LOT of IT services.)

Now that you understand what’s really going on here, with possibilities, (A), (B), and (C), you’ll be better prepared to handle this “I don't need a computer consultant service contract” objection.

But it gets better….

There’s a way for you to not even hear this service contract objection most of the time.
(No, we haven’t started including ear plugs with the Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit .)

But, better targeting (with your marketing) and better qualifying of leads early on in the sale cycle, will almost always flush this crap out of your sales funnel, BEFORE the wannabe’s and liars start clogging things up.

Oh... and one more thing to be aware of...

Have you asked how this small business gets their IT support today? Or how it’s gotten IT support in the past?

Was support provided by ... ?

(a) a “freebie” source (son, daughter, spouse, cousin, etc.)... essentially a “volunteer”

(b) an internal guru (whose hourly cost for IT problems can also be remarkably low)

(c) a moonlighter with ridiculously cheap billing rates(because the moonlighter doesn’t understand his/her true expenses)

(d) professional services firm (VAR, integrator, computer consultant business, etc.)

Now if this particular small company is used to turning to IT support sources like (d)... probably a direct competitor... that’s actually GOOD, sometimes even GREAT news, as far as service contracts are concerned.

Why you ask?

Because someone else already did the “heavy lifting” with training this small business to expect to pay REAL money for professional services.

Now the other extreme...

If your prospect is used to bartering pizza or donuts for computer consultant support [option (a)], you’re going to have a MUCH more difficult time selling that all-so important computer consultant service contract.

Either way, if you need to build a more stable client base, you need to get your hands on the Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit now at http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

So you can start working on improving your targeted marketing, lead qualifying, and service contract sales process today.

Best wishes,

Joshua Feinberg
Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

Could a Computer Consultant be Trump's Next Apprentice?

Re: will John Gafford the Computer Consultant Be Trump's Next Apprentice?

For better or worse, computer consultants that tune into NBC’s hit reality TV show “The Apprentice” now have “one of their own” competing for Donald Trump’s highly coveted “job”.

John M. Gafford, a principal of Pattern Recognition, Inc. in Tampa, Florida has as of last evening already made The Apprentice “Top 10”, while 8 of his original 18 Apprentice competitors have received the now trademarked distinction of “YOU’RE FIRED!”

So the real question… does Gafford have what it takes to be Trump’s next apprentice? Or will his take-no-prisoners style rub too many, the wrong way… including “The Donald”?

Or will Gafford’s “life” at Pattern Recognition in Tampa just get back to “normal”... selling software, applications and networking services… like Web conferencing and medical office management systems?

Now bear in mind Gafford’s consulting firm Pattern Recognition (“PRI”), founded in 2003, is still a very new company. But regardless of whether Gafford ends up running one of Trump’s companies, or goes back to pitching IT consulting services in Tampa, any of his competitors in the Tampa/St. Pete area should take note: throughout the competition Gafford has come through as a tough fighter.

And regardless of how you feel about his style, either as a member of the “street smarts” Apprentice team “Net Worth” or as a principal in Pattern Recognition in Tampa, Florida, don’t underestimate John Gafford the computer consultant business owner. He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, as a side note, we of course are wondering what advice John Gafford would offer to computer consultants in extremely competitive bid situations… because it’s hard to imagine a competitive-bid IT project that would ever rival the extremely competitive situation faced under the microscope on “The Apprentice”. Of course, if we do hear from Gafford, we will be happy to share his thoughts here in the Computer Consulting Blog.


Joshua Feinberg
Computer Consulting Kit
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com

More background on Gafford can be found at

• The Apprentice Blog
• The Aprentice Site on Yahoo
• His company's Web site for Pattern Recognition, Inc
  
  

Computer Consultant Service Agreements

Re: how computer consultants get more of their clients onto service agreements

Would you like to get more of your small business prospects and customers onto your consulting firm’s service agreements?

Are you tired of only hearing from many of your customers only when there’s an emergency?

If so, then you DEFINITELY need to be working harder, MUCH harder, at getting most of your prospects and customers to sign on for long-term service agreements.

Now normally, I'm the first one to tell you to stop working so hard and start working SMARTER. BUT this is different... WAY different.

Because without having clients on long-term service agreements, you'll have NO stability in your business. It's almost like you're starting completely from scratch EVERY single month.

While that kind of lame "I don't care" cop-out may be OK if consulting is your hobby, taking such a laid-back approach to this is certainly NO WAY to run a growing computer consultant business.

...Certainly not if you have employees that you’re financially responsible for.

...Certainly not if you have family members that you’re financially responsible for.

...And certainly not if you want to be in business next month, next quarter, next year... you get the idea....

So let's stop pretending that computer consultant service agreements are optional.

Because nothing could be further from the truth.

Ever want to be able to retire? Or sell your company?

Without service agreements, your “asset” won’t have much value.

What are you going to sell someone?

A list of 40-50 businesses that MIGHT call your computer consultant firm once in a blue moon?!?

C'mon. Let's get real.

If you're having trouble getting small businesses to sign on for your firm's service agreements, here's a few words of advice.

First, most of the small businesses that are strongly opposed to signing a service agreement are usually too small to need one in the first place.

What do I mean? You didn't qualify your prospect or customer properly.

If this sounds way too familiar, you probably skipped one of the most important steps of the whole sales process.

To make sure you know how to properly qualify small businesses, so you can DRAMATICALLY improve your service agreement sales batting average, you MUST get familiar with the kind of sales call preparation tools that are discussed
in the Sales Call/Initial Consultation module of the Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit. See http://www.computerconsultingkit.com/

Remember, you’re generally wasting your time trying to sell service agreements to small businesses that are too small.

What’s too small? Usually, less than 5 PC’s and less than $1M annual revenue (or your local currency equivalent).

Once you brush those “crumbs” to the side of the road, for your more clueless “starving” computer consultant competitors, you’ll free up EXTREMELY valuable time that you'll need to concentrate on the RIGHT kinds of small businesses.

...the filet mignon and caviar of small business IT consulting

Small companies that have a LOT of PC’s...

...And that “get” the importance of system uptime

...And that “fear” system downtime

These are the small businesses that know how important IT is to their business. (You're not wasting time trying to convince them to use computers.)

These are the companies that need long-term partners... basically an outsourced IT department for a few hours a week (i.e. computer consultant virtual IT)

But remember these two extremely important issues:

1) It all begins with highly-targeted, highly-qualified leads.

2) You MUST be prepared to pounce on these opportunities when they’re in front of you.

You don’t want to be fumbling around for a week or two trying to come up with your service agreement program. Figuring out your value-added services, payment terms, bundled services, and paperwork.

And that's where the Ultimate Service Agreement module, its 10 related sample document templates, and 70-minute audio FAQs program can be your lifesaver... and literally save you weeks of trying to reinvent the wheel.
See http://www.computerconsultingkit.com/

So you know EXACTLY what to do get to get more of your small business prospects and customers onto your firm’s computer consultant service agreement.

My challenge for you to start on TODAY:

Retire your “fire extinguisher”, cherry-picking customers.

And starting running your computer consultant company more like a professional that’s in it for the long-haul.

Don’t forget... You don’t have to be in this alone. These tools are available, for immediate download, to lead you by the hand at http://www.computerconsultingkit.com/

Best wishes,

Joshua Feinberg
http://www.computerconsultingkit.com/