Positioning can affect almost all aspects of your business, but most particularly the rates you are able to charge. Your positioning decision is what establishes your competitors and influences the clients you will get when you are first starting your business.
Positioning is about client perceptions. If clients see you as a top service provider, you can charge the highest rates for your services. If your positioning has put you up with the moonlighters, part-timers and other less established professionals, your rates will reflect it.
Positioning influences the kind of client you can get as well as the following elements: the size of the client; the clients’ budgets; the type of work contracted; the kind and length of service contracts.
Positioning and Business Type
If your positioning is attracting micro businesses, you will be getting clients with a smaller revenue base, IT budget, fewer number of PCs and other items that will translate to less money for you in the long-run. You have to get away from moonlighters and low-cost providers by charging higher rates and making your reputation match.
Positioning Yourself as a Professional
You need to use positioning to make yourself appear as a discriminating professional and an excellent provider so you can attract the sweet spot clients you need to get to further your business. The better the clients, the better their ability to pay you. Sweet spot clients will have larger IT budgets and much more detailed needs.
Positioning helps connect the clients you want to attract to your business. You have to make an effort to put yourself in the elite group so you can charge the best rates and build your reputation to justify this charge.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101
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Saturday, December 30, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
IT Audits: What’s the Difference Between Features and Benefits?
IT audits are hard to sell because there can be a lot of resistance from small business clients. In order to sell IT audits, you have to present an array of features and benefits to answer questions about why IT audits are a necessity.
When you present benefits of IT audits, use them in marketing and advertising activities. A features and benefits list can help enhance fliers, postcards, emails and other items for your business.
Features of IT Audits
1. A review of an existing network;
2. An assessment of PC configurations;
3. An examination of telco circuits;
4. An analysis of policies regarding IT for the business;
5. Data security analysis and data protection techniques;
6. A list of common data loss risks.
While identifying features helps a small business, these features don’t tell a client why he/she should have IT audits. Benefits are what answer the question of “why?”
Benefits of IT Audits
1. An understanding of what the client already owns;
2. Knowledge of the limitations of what the client owns;
3. An awareness of the weaknesses that are part of the client’s systems;
4. The real potential that could be used more efficiently;
5. The ability to get better benefits from existing IT functions;
6. The ability to take steps to stop disruptions and emergency downtime;
7. Better control and safety in regards to intellectual property of a company;
8. Awareness of potential exposure to hacking, viruses or anything else that would compromise a network.
Benefits are the value added items that are part of IT audits and what you should stress when selling them to clients.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
When you present benefits of IT audits, use them in marketing and advertising activities. A features and benefits list can help enhance fliers, postcards, emails and other items for your business.
Features of IT Audits
1. A review of an existing network;
2. An assessment of PC configurations;
3. An examination of telco circuits;
4. An analysis of policies regarding IT for the business;
5. Data security analysis and data protection techniques;
6. A list of common data loss risks.
While identifying features helps a small business, these features don’t tell a client why he/she should have IT audits. Benefits are what answer the question of “why?”
Benefits of IT Audits
1. An understanding of what the client already owns;
2. Knowledge of the limitations of what the client owns;
3. An awareness of the weaknesses that are part of the client’s systems;
4. The real potential that could be used more efficiently;
5. The ability to get better benefits from existing IT functions;
6. The ability to take steps to stop disruptions and emergency downtime;
7. Better control and safety in regards to intellectual property of a company;
8. Awareness of potential exposure to hacking, viruses or anything else that would compromise a network.
Benefits are the value added items that are part of IT audits and what you should stress when selling them to clients.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Should Phone Support Cost Less?
Phone support is no less valuable as the time you spend on-site; still, many computer consultants charge differently for phone support, viewing it as less expensive to clients than on-site attention.
Charging Less for Phone Support is a Mistake
Computer consultants often charge less for phone support because they think about the fact that there is no travel time, gas, mileage, tolls or parking costs involved. They also think phone support is more convenient for them, so it should not be as expensive for clients.
This rationale is a mistake and leads to losing money. The types of issues most people will call about through phone support are typically things that should be dealt with on-site. Walking people through fixes over the phone is not always a good idea.
The service you offer through phone support is best completed by you remotely or at the customer’s place of business. If you start offering services through phone support and charging less for them, you create an incentive for clients to use phone support more often than other types of support. Maintain control by doing the work yourself.
Phone Support: A Complicated Billing Process
Using different charging policies for phone support creates a very confusing billing situation. You don’t want to offer a second rate of billing for a client because this will make proposals, accounting and invoicing more difficult for you and your clients.
Value phone support as you would any other type of service you offer. Just because phone support offers reduced overhead does not mean it is worth less; phone support gives you a bonus that you don’t need to pass onto clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Charging Less for Phone Support is a Mistake
Computer consultants often charge less for phone support because they think about the fact that there is no travel time, gas, mileage, tolls or parking costs involved. They also think phone support is more convenient for them, so it should not be as expensive for clients.
This rationale is a mistake and leads to losing money. The types of issues most people will call about through phone support are typically things that should be dealt with on-site. Walking people through fixes over the phone is not always a good idea.
The service you offer through phone support is best completed by you remotely or at the customer’s place of business. If you start offering services through phone support and charging less for them, you create an incentive for clients to use phone support more often than other types of support. Maintain control by doing the work yourself.
Phone Support: A Complicated Billing Process
Using different charging policies for phone support creates a very confusing billing situation. You don’t want to offer a second rate of billing for a client because this will make proposals, accounting and invoicing more difficult for you and your clients.
Value phone support as you would any other type of service you offer. Just because phone support offers reduced overhead does not mean it is worth less; phone support gives you a bonus that you don’t need to pass onto clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Monday, December 18, 2006
Pricing Strategy: Which One Should You Use and Why?
Because you will probably base your pricing strategy at least partially on what other people in your industry are doing, you might need some help navigating through your many options. Usually a pricing strategy is based on charging an hourly rate, a fixed price rate, a per PC or server rate or some of those combined.
Before analyzing the pricing strategy of a competitor, make sure you have clearly defined the competitors you have so you don’t copy the pricing strategy of someone that is not actually competing. There are a lot of semi-competitors that will not have appropriate pricing strategies.
Pricing Strategies: The Test for a True Competitor
Does the company see you as a direct competitor? The answer to this question will clarify. You may think, for example that Dell is a direct competitor, but you may come to realize that Dell would not even consider you to exist. Therefore, copying Dell’s pricing strategy would be absurd as a small business owner.
Pricing Strategies: IT Business Knowledge
As the following questions to determine which competitors’ pricing strategies you can follow:
1. Does the competitor know what he/she is doing with IT?
2. Does the competitor have a good track record for running a business?
3. Does the competitor have a viable and lasting business?
4. Does the company have a scalable business?
Pricing Strategy: The Basic Idea
Before you set a pricing strategy, check on what competitors are doing. Make sure you’re analyzing the pricing strategies of people that are truly in competition and are worth it if you want to put yourself with these companies at the top.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Before analyzing the pricing strategy of a competitor, make sure you have clearly defined the competitors you have so you don’t copy the pricing strategy of someone that is not actually competing. There are a lot of semi-competitors that will not have appropriate pricing strategies.
Pricing Strategies: The Test for a True Competitor
Does the company see you as a direct competitor? The answer to this question will clarify. You may think, for example that Dell is a direct competitor, but you may come to realize that Dell would not even consider you to exist. Therefore, copying Dell’s pricing strategy would be absurd as a small business owner.
Pricing Strategies: IT Business Knowledge
As the following questions to determine which competitors’ pricing strategies you can follow:
1. Does the competitor know what he/she is doing with IT?
2. Does the competitor have a good track record for running a business?
3. Does the competitor have a viable and lasting business?
4. Does the company have a scalable business?
Pricing Strategy: The Basic Idea
Before you set a pricing strategy, check on what competitors are doing. Make sure you’re analyzing the pricing strategies of people that are truly in competition and are worth it if you want to put yourself with these companies at the top.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Three IT Consulting Factors to Help You Decide What to Offer
IT consulting services come in many shapes and sizes even within the virtual IT industry. When you start your own business, you need to figure out what IT consulting services you should offer.
Three Factors for Choosing IT Consulting Services
Your IT consulting services should be determined by answering the following three questions:
1. What do your prospects want?
2. What is currently in the rest of the marketplace?
3. What are your competitors doing?
IT Consulting Services: What Do Prospects Want?
The people that use your IT consulting services will know what they want. Start talking to people you see as potential target sweet spot clients and ask them questions about their computer needs. For what purpose do they use their computers? What is working well with their computers? What is not working with their computers? What help do they need with computers?
IT Consulting Services: What’s in the Marketplace?
You can find out what types of products and IT consulting services you should offer by reading the following two trade publications for small business consultants: Computer Reseller News (CRN); VAR Business. These will help you stay up-to-speed with what you need to know about the latest products and services. These two publications can be filters because they focus on IT business and not just the latest hot trends in technology. They can help you find value-added IT consulting services that can give your business great potential.
IT Consulting Services: What are Competitors Offering?
This is the final way to determine what products and IT consulting services to offer is to look at your competitors. To spy on the local competition, visit websites, look at Chamber of Commerce websites, visit links to similar services, or do a Google search for IT consulting services in your city, county, province, state, zip code, postal code, etc. When you know what others are offering in your industry, you can get a better idea of which IT consulting services you want to offer, don’t want to offer and how you can improve upon what you’re currently offering.
Use these three factors of IT consulting to help make the process of deciding what to offer as part of your business as easy as possible. Of course, the most important is to ask prospects directly what they want so you know there will be a demand for your services.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Three Factors for Choosing IT Consulting Services
Your IT consulting services should be determined by answering the following three questions:
1. What do your prospects want?
2. What is currently in the rest of the marketplace?
3. What are your competitors doing?
IT Consulting Services: What Do Prospects Want?
The people that use your IT consulting services will know what they want. Start talking to people you see as potential target sweet spot clients and ask them questions about their computer needs. For what purpose do they use their computers? What is working well with their computers? What is not working with their computers? What help do they need with computers?
IT Consulting Services: What’s in the Marketplace?
You can find out what types of products and IT consulting services you should offer by reading the following two trade publications for small business consultants: Computer Reseller News (CRN); VAR Business. These will help you stay up-to-speed with what you need to know about the latest products and services. These two publications can be filters because they focus on IT business and not just the latest hot trends in technology. They can help you find value-added IT consulting services that can give your business great potential.
IT Consulting Services: What are Competitors Offering?
This is the final way to determine what products and IT consulting services to offer is to look at your competitors. To spy on the local competition, visit websites, look at Chamber of Commerce websites, visit links to similar services, or do a Google search for IT consulting services in your city, county, province, state, zip code, postal code, etc. When you know what others are offering in your industry, you can get a better idea of which IT consulting services you want to offer, don’t want to offer and how you can improve upon what you’re currently offering.
Use these three factors of IT consulting to help make the process of deciding what to offer as part of your business as easy as possible. Of course, the most important is to ask prospects directly what they want so you know there will be a demand for your services.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Monday, December 11, 2006
Product Ideas: How Do You Know What to Provide?
It’s not easy to decide what product ideas or other items your business will provide. When starting a computer business, many don’t totally think about product ideas, but planning this element of a business is extremely important.
How do you decide on a product idea or service? Some think you first need to assess your technology skills. When you know your strengths, you will more easily arrive at a product idea and service that fits you, right?
Wrong. Many new business owners forget to think about the most important thing when figuring out product ideas: customers’ needs.
Two Ways to Look at Product Ideas and Services
First Approach
1. Find a platform with which you like to work that is also a product idea or service everyone wants and needs.
2. Go and read all the books you can on the topic you choose for your product idea.
3. Go to every workshop and conference about the product idea or service.
4. Get ready for and then write a certification exam that will help with your credentials once you decide to offer this service or product idea.
Second Approach
1. Talk to business owners and managers that might need your IT services on a regular basis.
2. Ask them what types of services or product ideas they might be interested in within the next year.
Approach one will mean you have to sell clients on product ideas and services, whereas with approach number 2 the product ideas and services will sell themselves because they are based very directly on the needs of clients.
The bottom line is, your product ideas and services have to come from your clients’ needs. If they don’t, you will have a hard time selling what you are offering.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
How do you decide on a product idea or service? Some think you first need to assess your technology skills. When you know your strengths, you will more easily arrive at a product idea and service that fits you, right?
Wrong. Many new business owners forget to think about the most important thing when figuring out product ideas: customers’ needs.
Two Ways to Look at Product Ideas and Services
First Approach
1. Find a platform with which you like to work that is also a product idea or service everyone wants and needs.
2. Go and read all the books you can on the topic you choose for your product idea.
3. Go to every workshop and conference about the product idea or service.
4. Get ready for and then write a certification exam that will help with your credentials once you decide to offer this service or product idea.
Second Approach
1. Talk to business owners and managers that might need your IT services on a regular basis.
2. Ask them what types of services or product ideas they might be interested in within the next year.
Approach one will mean you have to sell clients on product ideas and services, whereas with approach number 2 the product ideas and services will sell themselves because they are based very directly on the needs of clients.
The bottom line is, your product ideas and services have to come from your clients’ needs. If they don’t, you will have a hard time selling what you are offering.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Learn How To Track Marketing and Promotion Expenses
Marketing and promotion expenses will be a pricey part of your business. You need to plan them and put aside money to go towards these marketing and promotion expenses on a regular basis from the start of your business. They should be an investment rather than an expense.
When planning marketing and promotion expenses, think about tracking each dollar you invest. Your marketing and promotion campaigns will have varying degrees of success, but you still need to track it in order to manage your marketing and promotion expense.
Tracking Marketing and Promotion Expenses
The tracking of marketing and promotion expenses is probably the most important aspect of the process, because there is not one strategy that works all the time. The only way to guarantee anything is to get a regular job, but barring that, marketing and promotion will involve trying many different things. And to keep track of these many different things, you will need a good system.
Marketing and Promotion Expenses and Multi-Tasking
Your marketing and promotion plan needs to involve having a lot of different campaigns running at once. You should be using multiple marketing strategies simultaneously so that you have a better chance of success. Out of the four or five things you do, one might be a great success, one might be a failure and the others might just be somewhere in the middle.
If you multi-task, you have a much better chance of making a good investment with marketing and promotion expenses. Not all your marketing strategies will work, but also extremely unlikely is that all of them will completely fail. Diversify for the best results.
Your marketing and promotion expenses will be large. You need to think about how you are going to use your money. The main idea is to track what you spend, where you spend it and how this will work out in the long run.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
When planning marketing and promotion expenses, think about tracking each dollar you invest. Your marketing and promotion campaigns will have varying degrees of success, but you still need to track it in order to manage your marketing and promotion expense.
Tracking Marketing and Promotion Expenses
The tracking of marketing and promotion expenses is probably the most important aspect of the process, because there is not one strategy that works all the time. The only way to guarantee anything is to get a regular job, but barring that, marketing and promotion will involve trying many different things. And to keep track of these many different things, you will need a good system.
Marketing and Promotion Expenses and Multi-Tasking
Your marketing and promotion plan needs to involve having a lot of different campaigns running at once. You should be using multiple marketing strategies simultaneously so that you have a better chance of success. Out of the four or five things you do, one might be a great success, one might be a failure and the others might just be somewhere in the middle.
If you multi-task, you have a much better chance of making a good investment with marketing and promotion expenses. Not all your marketing strategies will work, but also extremely unlikely is that all of them will completely fail. Diversify for the best results.
Your marketing and promotion expenses will be large. You need to think about how you are going to use your money. The main idea is to track what you spend, where you spend it and how this will work out in the long run.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
Monday, December 04, 2006
Business Growth: You Need to Control Your Rate to Succeed!
Every business owner wants to see excellent business growth. But during startup, your business growth rate has to be relative to your ability to keep up with launch-related tasks. You can’t afford to get swamped in a way that causes you to cut corners or you will suffer in the future.
Taking control of your rate of business growth is challenging, and even more challenging when you are moonlighting. With moonlighting you will have a lot going on because you will have work issues and business issues.
ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING IS THE KEY TO BUSINESS GROWTH
You need to micro-manage during startup to plan major projects. For example, if you sell a 10-node network, you will probably quote it based on the number of hours for server installation, cabling infrastructure, taking care of the ISP and phone company and then the desktop. Controlling business growth means taking this calculation one step further and making an hourly spreadsheet to account for weekly hours.
STEPS FOR ORGANIZATION TO CONTROL BUSINESS GROWTH
1. Put your total hours and tasks into a spreadsheet.
2. Break down each of the tasks week by week.
3. Make an estimate of how many hours you need per item during the week.
4. Add extra time for unanticipated challenges.
5. Add administrative task time, work and family responsibilities and leisure time requirements into the spreadsheet.
Structured planning exercises help you control business growth because you will clearly see when you are going too far with your time. When you are overextended you are stressed and therefore will be less effective as a business manager or service provider.
Controlling business growth means taking control of all your work. If you look at projects in smaller pieces and fit projects in with other responsibilities, you will do better with your business.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101
Taking control of your rate of business growth is challenging, and even more challenging when you are moonlighting. With moonlighting you will have a lot going on because you will have work issues and business issues.
ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING IS THE KEY TO BUSINESS GROWTH
You need to micro-manage during startup to plan major projects. For example, if you sell a 10-node network, you will probably quote it based on the number of hours for server installation, cabling infrastructure, taking care of the ISP and phone company and then the desktop. Controlling business growth means taking this calculation one step further and making an hourly spreadsheet to account for weekly hours.
STEPS FOR ORGANIZATION TO CONTROL BUSINESS GROWTH
1. Put your total hours and tasks into a spreadsheet.
2. Break down each of the tasks week by week.
3. Make an estimate of how many hours you need per item during the week.
4. Add extra time for unanticipated challenges.
5. Add administrative task time, work and family responsibilities and leisure time requirements into the spreadsheet.
Structured planning exercises help you control business growth because you will clearly see when you are going too far with your time. When you are overextended you are stressed and therefore will be less effective as a business manager or service provider.
Controlling business growth means taking control of all your work. If you look at projects in smaller pieces and fit projects in with other responsibilities, you will do better with your business.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Sales Pipeline: Where Are Your Contacts?
The sales pipeline is a very important part of business marketing. As part of your business, you will always have different people at different stages of the buying process, which is your sales pipeline. How will you market to these people? It varies depending on the person, but you can better plan your techniques when you know how many people are in your sales pipeline and who they are.
Two Sales Pipeline Categories
1. The guaranteed sales pipeline: Your guaranteed sales pipeline tracks the signed, guaranteed work you have for the month. The sale is already complete, meaning you have a deposit check, a signed contract and only have the work left to do.
2. The anticipated sales pipeline: Your anticipated sales pipeline is comprised of the people you think are about 75% of the way there on closing within the month. You don’t have a guarantee in the form of a signed agreement or a deposit check, but you are close.
Track The People in Your Sales Pipelines
You need to start tracking who is where in the sales process and use that information to figure out a business strategy.
Your sales pipelines will show you how well your business is doing and what you need. Do you have enough capacity? Do you need contractors, temporary or full-time staff or anything else?
When you look at the numbers in your sales pipelines you will be able to tell whether you need to take more aggressive action to get more people in your funnel. Do you need to do additional follow-up, networking, referral marketing, seminars or direct mail?
The Truth About Sales Pipelines
Your sales pipelines help you take a proactive stance on business decisions. If you know how much guaranteed and anticipated work you have in your sales pipelines you will be better equipped to make decisions that will help you grow. Organize your sales pipelines and stay ahead of the game.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Two Sales Pipeline Categories
1. The guaranteed sales pipeline: Your guaranteed sales pipeline tracks the signed, guaranteed work you have for the month. The sale is already complete, meaning you have a deposit check, a signed contract and only have the work left to do.
2. The anticipated sales pipeline: Your anticipated sales pipeline is comprised of the people you think are about 75% of the way there on closing within the month. You don’t have a guarantee in the form of a signed agreement or a deposit check, but you are close.
Track The People in Your Sales Pipelines
You need to start tracking who is where in the sales process and use that information to figure out a business strategy.
Your sales pipelines will show you how well your business is doing and what you need. Do you have enough capacity? Do you need contractors, temporary or full-time staff or anything else?
When you look at the numbers in your sales pipelines you will be able to tell whether you need to take more aggressive action to get more people in your funnel. Do you need to do additional follow-up, networking, referral marketing, seminars or direct mail?
The Truth About Sales Pipelines
Your sales pipelines help you take a proactive stance on business decisions. If you know how much guaranteed and anticipated work you have in your sales pipelines you will be better equipped to make decisions that will help you grow. Organize your sales pipelines and stay ahead of the game.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
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