Follow-up is necessary to your marketing and contact management strategies, and it needs to be conscientious and persistent without being overly aggressive. Your follow-up techniques should exercise your creativity and be personalized to each lead or prospect. Follow-up is a way to appeal to people, not overwhelm them or drive them away from you.
Follow-Up Tips for Your Computer Services Business
1. Send a follow-up invitation letter about an event at which you’re speaking.
2. Tell prospects you’re going to be presenting at a trade show and give them a free pass to the show.
3. Ask for a referral through a follow-up call, e-mail, letter, etc.
4. Send a follow-up letter offering support after a natural disaster.
5. If you get word of a promotion the prospect had, an award he/she won, a new business obtained or positive media coverage, make a follow-up congratulatory call.
6. Discuss a joint venture opportunity like a trade show, seminar, or some other event, if appropriate.
7. Send a card to prospects on major holidays as a very personal follow-up device.
Follow-up gives a reason to stay in touch with prospects and can vary depending on the personality and business of the prospect. Keep your name in prospects’ minds without turning them off to the possibility of working with you.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101
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Monday, November 27, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Do You Need to Have a Salesperson During Start-Up?
In computer consulting, you’d be better off not having a salesperson early in the life of your business. Your focus should be on figuring out the identity of your business and communicating it. If you have a salesperson, you can draw focus away from your main business in favor of human resource issues and business development.
Instead of figuring out account ownership and controlling accounts, you will be monitoring someone else, motivating someone else and training someone else as a salesperson when you should be training your prospects, clients and yourself instead.
The computer services industry is about you being your business, and an outside salesperson will not be able to fully capture your talents and abilities. Your clients are buying you rather than your products and services, and you need to get your uniqueness across.
Account Ownership and the Salesperson
The other problem with having a salesperson is account ownership. Even if you have all sorts of non-disclosure agreements, non-competes and others a salesperson could technically claim legal entitlement to your accounts, and a long battle could kill your business. If an outside salesperson recruits 90% of your client base the first year, this is a lot of ownership to give someone that is not you.
Hiring a Salesperson
You will have a lot of time to hire a salesperson as your business evolves. During the first three to six months, a salesperson can actually be a liability. Besides the time and energy spent on the salesperson, legal issues could crop up and stall or halt your business. Keep your initial roster of sweet spot clients to yourself and enjoy a more stable business in the long-run.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Instead of figuring out account ownership and controlling accounts, you will be monitoring someone else, motivating someone else and training someone else as a salesperson when you should be training your prospects, clients and yourself instead.
The computer services industry is about you being your business, and an outside salesperson will not be able to fully capture your talents and abilities. Your clients are buying you rather than your products and services, and you need to get your uniqueness across.
Account Ownership and the Salesperson
The other problem with having a salesperson is account ownership. Even if you have all sorts of non-disclosure agreements, non-competes and others a salesperson could technically claim legal entitlement to your accounts, and a long battle could kill your business. If an outside salesperson recruits 90% of your client base the first year, this is a lot of ownership to give someone that is not you.
Hiring a Salesperson
You will have a lot of time to hire a salesperson as your business evolves. During the first three to six months, a salesperson can actually be a liability. Besides the time and energy spent on the salesperson, legal issues could crop up and stall or halt your business. Keep your initial roster of sweet spot clients to yourself and enjoy a more stable business in the long-run.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, November 20, 2006
What Type of Computer Business Software Should You Be Purchasing?
Deciding on the right computer business software can overwhelm even the most savvy network consultants. There are a lot of good products, and deciding which ones you want to spend time and money on can be a real challenge.
The main point with computer business software is that you want to expand capabilities without spending too much time or money on products, particularly before you know there is a market for them. Computer business software is a real investment, so you need to exercise care when selecting the right programs and packages for your clients.
Attract the Sweet Spot Clients
You want to think about whether the business computer software you purchase will be attractive to sweet spot clients. If you invest time learning this and a few hundred dollars on training, you want to know you will make this money back.
Recommended Computer Business Software Products
Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) and Novell’s Small Business Suite are two highly recommended computer business software products that can add value to a business.
Why?
1. Both computer business software products are inexpensive to purchase.
2. You will not need to spend a great deal of money to get a not-for-resale copy or a demo model of these computer business software products to help you learn.
3. Both these products give you most of what you need for just a few hundred dollars.
4. Both types of computer business software will only take about eight to ten hours of installing, breaking and reinstalling in order to learn.
How to Choose Computer Business Software
Just pick one of these two products rather than trying to support both in the beginning. Unless you are really strong with Windows and Netware, you won’t want to attempt to support both right away. Whatever you choose, you can use the computer business software to run your own business until you feel comfortable enough to do start installing for clients.
Computer business software is an investment, so you need to know, whatever type you choose, that you will be able to recover and make a return on the time and money spent learning and implementing.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
The main point with computer business software is that you want to expand capabilities without spending too much time or money on products, particularly before you know there is a market for them. Computer business software is a real investment, so you need to exercise care when selecting the right programs and packages for your clients.
Attract the Sweet Spot Clients
You want to think about whether the business computer software you purchase will be attractive to sweet spot clients. If you invest time learning this and a few hundred dollars on training, you want to know you will make this money back.
Recommended Computer Business Software Products
Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) and Novell’s Small Business Suite are two highly recommended computer business software products that can add value to a business.
Why?
1. Both computer business software products are inexpensive to purchase.
2. You will not need to spend a great deal of money to get a not-for-resale copy or a demo model of these computer business software products to help you learn.
3. Both these products give you most of what you need for just a few hundred dollars.
4. Both types of computer business software will only take about eight to ten hours of installing, breaking and reinstalling in order to learn.
How to Choose Computer Business Software
Just pick one of these two products rather than trying to support both in the beginning. Unless you are really strong with Windows and Netware, you won’t want to attempt to support both right away. Whatever you choose, you can use the computer business software to run your own business until you feel comfortable enough to do start installing for clients.
Computer business software is an investment, so you need to know, whatever type you choose, that you will be able to recover and make a return on the time and money spent learning and implementing.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Saturday, November 18, 2006
IT Services Outsourcing: It's What You Need Most When You Don't Know It All
IT services outsourcing is what you will have to be prepared to do when prospects ask for products and services you can't provide. New business owners often try to do and know everything; but one of the benefits of being part of the computer industry is having access to a large pool of people to use for IT outsourcing.
When you first start your own company, you need to focus on getting business and spend significant time on networking and relationship marketing, which means you can't offer everything to everyone.
Rely on IT Services Outsourcing
IT services outsourcing will give you time to do marketing and networking activities essential to the future growth of your business. You don't have enough time to learn everything you may be asked to offer, but you don't want to lose relationships either.
So what do you do?
Two Choices With IT Services Outsourcing:
1. Referral relationships with other niche technology providers in your area;
2. Partnerships and subcontractor relationships.
The fastest way to set up your IT services outsourcing is to set up one of these two choices as part of your business. As you start to get a lot of requests for the same types of IT services you should probably think about learning the skills so you can offer them in-house. When there is a large enough demand, the time and financial investment will be worth it. Until then, use IT outsourcing to manage your time and get business done efficiently.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
When you first start your own company, you need to focus on getting business and spend significant time on networking and relationship marketing, which means you can't offer everything to everyone.
Rely on IT Services Outsourcing
IT services outsourcing will give you time to do marketing and networking activities essential to the future growth of your business. You don't have enough time to learn everything you may be asked to offer, but you don't want to lose relationships either.
So what do you do?
Two Choices With IT Services Outsourcing:
1. Referral relationships with other niche technology providers in your area;
2. Partnerships and subcontractor relationships.
The fastest way to set up your IT services outsourcing is to set up one of these two choices as part of your business. As you start to get a lot of requests for the same types of IT services you should probably think about learning the skills so you can offer them in-house. When there is a large enough demand, the time and financial investment will be worth it. Until then, use IT outsourcing to manage your time and get business done efficiently.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, November 13, 2006
Seminar Topics: Focus on Business Instead of IT
You may sometimes be hard-pressed to think of good seminar topics. But hosting seminars can help you network and fully utilize relationship marketing. You just need to figure out how to use a seminar topic that will get to clients within the sweet spot.
Often IT professionals choose IT-based topics for their seminar topics. However, the people interested in tech seminars will be in the technology business, and you probably will just attract your competitors rather than potential clients. Offer seminar topics that focus on business problems, and most especially those you can solve and you will get the right response.
The best way to arrive at seminar topics is to be industry-specific. Figure out how you can help businesses within a certain industry and then let them come to you! Your seminar topics can be created for a general audience, but they need to be important specifically to business owners and not techies.
Suggested Seminar Topics:
1. Designing a more modern network;
2. Ways to shop for the best file server;
3. Improving IT security;
4. Increasing IT productivity;
5. Maximizing your return on investment in IT;
6. Computer virus protection;
7. Creating an effective firewall;
8. Protecting your wireless network.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Often IT professionals choose IT-based topics for their seminar topics. However, the people interested in tech seminars will be in the technology business, and you probably will just attract your competitors rather than potential clients. Offer seminar topics that focus on business problems, and most especially those you can solve and you will get the right response.
The best way to arrive at seminar topics is to be industry-specific. Figure out how you can help businesses within a certain industry and then let them come to you! Your seminar topics can be created for a general audience, but they need to be important specifically to business owners and not techies.
Suggested Seminar Topics:
1. Designing a more modern network;
2. Ways to shop for the best file server;
3. Improving IT security;
4. Increasing IT productivity;
5. Maximizing your return on investment in IT;
6. Computer virus protection;
7. Creating an effective firewall;
8. Protecting your wireless network.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Business Start-Up: Get Your Name Out There
You have to be creative during new business start-up and think of ways to tempt people to give you a chance.
A lot of times, the earliest clients are friends of the family and other family members; but in reality, you should avoid this type of business during the business start-up phase. Without distance from people, you will have a hard time doing business; when things go sour or expectations are wrong, dealing with those close to you is very challenging.
Ideas For Getting Clients During Business Start-Up
1. Put together a “who knows that you are starting a new business” list. This list can help track all business contacts you make before, during and after business start-up.
2. Include people that SHOULD know you are starting a new business on the initial “who knows that you are starting a new business” list. Fill this in by asking each contact with whom you speak if he/she can refer someone. Referrals are key, so make sure to ask contacts to let you know when they hear someone complaining about technology.
3. When you talk to a contact during business start-up, come up with a way to keep your name in-mind. A tech support sticker is a great way to accomplish this goal. Ask contacts to put stickers on their computers and give each person three extra stickers to pass onto friends and colleagues.
4. The must-have item when you are in the business start-up phase is a good business card. Hand out business cards whenever you deem it appropriate to get your name out there and keep it on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Getting new clients isn’t easy, but you can rely on your current contacts to bring in referrals. Train contacts to listen for people with tech problems and let them know you are engaged in business start-up.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
A lot of times, the earliest clients are friends of the family and other family members; but in reality, you should avoid this type of business during the business start-up phase. Without distance from people, you will have a hard time doing business; when things go sour or expectations are wrong, dealing with those close to you is very challenging.
Ideas For Getting Clients During Business Start-Up
1. Put together a “who knows that you are starting a new business” list. This list can help track all business contacts you make before, during and after business start-up.
2. Include people that SHOULD know you are starting a new business on the initial “who knows that you are starting a new business” list. Fill this in by asking each contact with whom you speak if he/she can refer someone. Referrals are key, so make sure to ask contacts to let you know when they hear someone complaining about technology.
3. When you talk to a contact during business start-up, come up with a way to keep your name in-mind. A tech support sticker is a great way to accomplish this goal. Ask contacts to put stickers on their computers and give each person three extra stickers to pass onto friends and colleagues.
4. The must-have item when you are in the business start-up phase is a good business card. Hand out business cards whenever you deem it appropriate to get your name out there and keep it on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Getting new clients isn’t easy, but you can rely on your current contacts to bring in referrals. Train contacts to listen for people with tech problems and let them know you are engaged in business start-up.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Monday, November 06, 2006
Business Contact Information and Tracking Strategies
You need business contact information in order to qualify clients. During this pre-qualification process you need to be looking for very specific business contact information and track it.
Get Business Contact Information
Each prospect file needs to have a list of business contact information. No matter you get it, you need to get it. Phone calls and web site information request forms are two great ways to get the business contact information you need; forms such as these can be printed out and e-mailed or faxed to you. This information is necessary before you go on a sales call.
What Business Contact Information Do You Need?
1) Contact information; 2) URL of the web site; 3) the industry of the business; 4) the number of employees; 5) the number of locations; 6) number of computer users; 7) number of desktops; 8) number of laptops; 9) quantity of servers; 10) brand of PCs; 11) most used and most important software application; 12) which versions of Windows and Office are used; 13) whether the prospects use NetWare, Linux or Unix; 14) whether the system used is host-based; 15) a definition of their top 5 computer problems, listed in descending order; 16) current PC and tech support resources of the prospect; 17) how the prospect first heard about your business.
All this business contact information can help you get a good handle on prospect needs. You can then analyze whether or not the business is right for your sweet spot and make sure the size of the company is right and that it uses compatible hardware and software systems.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Get Business Contact Information
Each prospect file needs to have a list of business contact information. No matter you get it, you need to get it. Phone calls and web site information request forms are two great ways to get the business contact information you need; forms such as these can be printed out and e-mailed or faxed to you. This information is necessary before you go on a sales call.
What Business Contact Information Do You Need?
1) Contact information; 2) URL of the web site; 3) the industry of the business; 4) the number of employees; 5) the number of locations; 6) number of computer users; 7) number of desktops; 8) number of laptops; 9) quantity of servers; 10) brand of PCs; 11) most used and most important software application; 12) which versions of Windows and Office are used; 13) whether the prospects use NetWare, Linux or Unix; 14) whether the system used is host-based; 15) a definition of their top 5 computer problems, listed in descending order; 16) current PC and tech support resources of the prospect; 17) how the prospect first heard about your business.
All this business contact information can help you get a good handle on prospect needs. You can then analyze whether or not the business is right for your sweet spot and make sure the size of the company is right and that it uses compatible hardware and software systems.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, November 04, 2006
IT Consulting Services and the Importance of Fulfilling Client Needs
Because there are many different IT consulting services, when you are first starting out you may have difficulty figuring out which to offer. You might wonder if you are supposed to sell what you know, what is trendy or what you think people might want.
The key to discovering which IT consulting services you should sell and which products you need in order to offer appropriate support is presenting prospects with the IT consulting services they absolutely need.
While this concept might seem obvious, usually start-ups make the mistake of offering what clients want rather than what they need. The IT consulting services a business owner would like to have are not always the ones they really need in order to function. You need to sell prospects the IT consulting services that are needed right now so they can keep running efficiently. Once you set up a basic framework, you can handle wants.
When you have non-technical business owners or managers, their needs might be simple. If they think they might need IT consulting services to fix basic performance problems, provide them. Once you prove you know your stuff, you can try to sell them the IT consulting services you know they need to get to the next level of performance. Take care of aches and pains first, then sell more sophisticated solutions.
When you think about the IT consulting services you want to offer, put yourself in prospects’ shoes. Separate needs from wants, and remember that surface needs, while seemingly simple to you, are important to prospects and must be addressed. Offer IT consulting services that are a mixture of basic and long-term and you can become an asset to a small business.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
The key to discovering which IT consulting services you should sell and which products you need in order to offer appropriate support is presenting prospects with the IT consulting services they absolutely need.
While this concept might seem obvious, usually start-ups make the mistake of offering what clients want rather than what they need. The IT consulting services a business owner would like to have are not always the ones they really need in order to function. You need to sell prospects the IT consulting services that are needed right now so they can keep running efficiently. Once you set up a basic framework, you can handle wants.
When you have non-technical business owners or managers, their needs might be simple. If they think they might need IT consulting services to fix basic performance problems, provide them. Once you prove you know your stuff, you can try to sell them the IT consulting services you know they need to get to the next level of performance. Take care of aches and pains first, then sell more sophisticated solutions.
When you think about the IT consulting services you want to offer, put yourself in prospects’ shoes. Separate needs from wants, and remember that surface needs, while seemingly simple to you, are important to prospects and must be addressed. Offer IT consulting services that are a mixture of basic and long-term and you can become an asset to a small business.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, October 30, 2006
What Should You Seek Out in Contact Management Systems?
Contact management systems can help you manage the effectiveness of the marketing strategies you use. Why put together a haphazard spreadsheet to track contacts when you can use contact management systems that can do more complex fork for you?
Your first job when starting a business is development of the business, not software development. Don’t spend time custom-designing contact management systems when you could be getting more contacts.
WHAT TYPE OF CONTACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS DO YOU NEED?
You can spend over $25,000 on a complex contact management system if you want to, but what you spend it not as critical as the amount of time you spend using the system. Most products work well off the shelf, but there are two that stand out – ACT and Goldmine. What’s the difference?
1. ACT is just over $230 and offers PDA links as well as a version that is usable online.
2. Goldmine is second to ACT in popularity and is a type of contact management system with similar features but at a less expensive $200.
Maximizer and Sales Force are also useful contact management systems. Sales Force sports a free online service or a more expensive Team Edition online service for $1000 annually.
FEATURES TO LOOK FOR IN CONTACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
You should look for import and export capability from the following Microsoft formats: Word; Excel; Outlook. Also look for links to PDAs, accounting software and packages that offer the best client server online solutions.
Contact management systems are incredibly useful, but only if you use them. Research products before purchasing and make a commitment to use them properly so you can best track the effectiveness of your marketing strategeis.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Your first job when starting a business is development of the business, not software development. Don’t spend time custom-designing contact management systems when you could be getting more contacts.
WHAT TYPE OF CONTACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS DO YOU NEED?
You can spend over $25,000 on a complex contact management system if you want to, but what you spend it not as critical as the amount of time you spend using the system. Most products work well off the shelf, but there are two that stand out – ACT and Goldmine. What’s the difference?
1. ACT is just over $230 and offers PDA links as well as a version that is usable online.
2. Goldmine is second to ACT in popularity and is a type of contact management system with similar features but at a less expensive $200.
Maximizer and Sales Force are also useful contact management systems. Sales Force sports a free online service or a more expensive Team Edition online service for $1000 annually.
FEATURES TO LOOK FOR IN CONTACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
You should look for import and export capability from the following Microsoft formats: Word; Excel; Outlook. Also look for links to PDAs, accounting software and packages that offer the best client server online solutions.
Contact management systems are incredibly useful, but only if you use them. Research products before purchasing and make a commitment to use them properly so you can best track the effectiveness of your marketing strategeis.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Sales Calls Are More Than Just Selling
Sales calls can be exciting, but extremely stressful. While as a new business owner you may be tempted to focus on the sales angle of the sales calls, you need to focus just as much on the information you’re getting.
Prior to a sales call, you should have done your homework about the prospect’s business. Find out how many computer users the company has, the number of computer systems, software applications, types of operating systems and their general problems.
How can you make the most of a sales call?
LISTEN, DON’T TALK
The sales call is about the prospect, and not you. Let them speak, vent and reveal information that will help you make the sale.
TAKE DILIGENT NOTES
You can’t rely on your memory in a sales call. If you have a pen or pencil and paper, you will appear professional, interested and you will help yourself keep track of valuable information.
ANALYZE A PROSPECT’S ABILITY AS A CLIENT
Do you want this prospect as a client? Not every sales call will lead to a client, so look for unrealistic expectations, nasty personalities and lack of focus and direction when you are on a sales call.
WHAT IS THE URGENCY?
The sales call can help you figure out how long the prospect’s problem has been an issue, how it has affected the business and how bad the problem is.
WHERE IS THE PROSPECT RECEIVING SUPPORT?
Find out what support the prospect currently receives to manage systems. This is a critical question to have answered during a sales call. Also find out past supporters of the system to help you gauge the prospect’s ability for long-term relationships.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit
Prior to a sales call, you should have done your homework about the prospect’s business. Find out how many computer users the company has, the number of computer systems, software applications, types of operating systems and their general problems.
How can you make the most of a sales call?
LISTEN, DON’T TALK
The sales call is about the prospect, and not you. Let them speak, vent and reveal information that will help you make the sale.
TAKE DILIGENT NOTES
You can’t rely on your memory in a sales call. If you have a pen or pencil and paper, you will appear professional, interested and you will help yourself keep track of valuable information.
ANALYZE A PROSPECT’S ABILITY AS A CLIENT
Do you want this prospect as a client? Not every sales call will lead to a client, so look for unrealistic expectations, nasty personalities and lack of focus and direction when you are on a sales call.
WHAT IS THE URGENCY?
The sales call can help you figure out how long the prospect’s problem has been an issue, how it has affected the business and how bad the problem is.
WHERE IS THE PROSPECT RECEIVING SUPPORT?
Find out what support the prospect currently receives to manage systems. This is a critical question to have answered during a sales call. Also find out past supporters of the system to help you gauge the prospect’s ability for long-term relationships.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit
Monday, October 23, 2006
Getting New Clients During IT Business Start-Up
Starting a fresh IT business can be very challenging. Customers rarely come calling without effort, and you will most likely not get first clients that will become long-term, sweet spot clients.
When you start a new business, you won’t have a complete business foundation, and your clientele will be made up of stepping-stone clients. These people will bring in early revenue and help you get your first positive business testimonials.
Six months after IT business start-up, you need to be selective about the clients you get. Earlier, accounts will be smaller than you might like, but you still need to be confident that these early stepping-stone clients will eventually give way to ideal sweet spot clients.
Expect to work with the following items during IT business start-up: LAN audits; MCSC tutoring; training seminars; small peer-to-peer jobs; upgrades; PC tune-ups; some web design; optimization and trouble-shooting with customers.
During IT business start-up, your personal and business network are absolutely critical. Contacts will refer you to small jobs, and as you complete these small jobs well your services will become more widely-known. More referral business will start coming in soon after you start your new business.
Don’t ignore any potential customers during IT business start-up, and don’t get discouraged. IT business start-up is an exercise in patience and perseverance, and any of your small jobs could lead to something larger and more valuable.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
When you start a new business, you won’t have a complete business foundation, and your clientele will be made up of stepping-stone clients. These people will bring in early revenue and help you get your first positive business testimonials.
Six months after IT business start-up, you need to be selective about the clients you get. Earlier, accounts will be smaller than you might like, but you still need to be confident that these early stepping-stone clients will eventually give way to ideal sweet spot clients.
Expect to work with the following items during IT business start-up: LAN audits; MCSC tutoring; training seminars; small peer-to-peer jobs; upgrades; PC tune-ups; some web design; optimization and trouble-shooting with customers.
During IT business start-up, your personal and business network are absolutely critical. Contacts will refer you to small jobs, and as you complete these small jobs well your services will become more widely-known. More referral business will start coming in soon after you start your new business.
Don’t ignore any potential customers during IT business start-up, and don’t get discouraged. IT business start-up is an exercise in patience and perseverance, and any of your small jobs could lead to something larger and more valuable.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Referral Programs: How to Build Incentives in Order to Improve Quality and Quantity of Referrals
Referral programs can help grow your network consulting company. Referral programs offer service credits to special clients that bring new business to you. A good referral program will encourage your clients to pass your name along to their acquaintances and business partners by providing them with unparalleled benefits. Referral programs, such as the following can typically improve your business response rate:
1. Give satisfied customers fliers describing referral programs you have, such as the following programs:
a. Explain to them you are eager to help friends of theirs with computer problems. Tell the clients that they can earn service credits by referring friends, family members and business associates to your firm.
b. Tell clients that part of your referral program involves sending prospects they refer a certificate for 10% off a first service visit. When the friend uses the certificate, say you will give the clients a $100 service credit to their account. Of course, thank them for their loyal business.
2. Mail out a clear description of your referral program to inactive clients as well as other business contacts.
3. Send a referral program mailing every 90 days to remind clients without overwhelming.
4. Add a line to your e-mail signature with a promotional blurb about your referral program.
5. Clients might feel strange about accepting a reward from you as part of a referral program, so don’t be apologetic about it. They will see referrals as a fair way to reward you for your hard work. You might, instead of other types of referrals make a donation to a local charity or bring them chocolates, send them flowers or provide with other types of appreciative gifts.
Good referral programs will motivate clients and contacts to send you business. Since the most successful marketing comes from other people, the more you can get your clients talking about the work you do in a positive light, the better off your business will be.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
1. Give satisfied customers fliers describing referral programs you have, such as the following programs:
a. Explain to them you are eager to help friends of theirs with computer problems. Tell the clients that they can earn service credits by referring friends, family members and business associates to your firm.
b. Tell clients that part of your referral program involves sending prospects they refer a certificate for 10% off a first service visit. When the friend uses the certificate, say you will give the clients a $100 service credit to their account. Of course, thank them for their loyal business.
2. Mail out a clear description of your referral program to inactive clients as well as other business contacts.
3. Send a referral program mailing every 90 days to remind clients without overwhelming.
4. Add a line to your e-mail signature with a promotional blurb about your referral program.
5. Clients might feel strange about accepting a reward from you as part of a referral program, so don’t be apologetic about it. They will see referrals as a fair way to reward you for your hard work. You might, instead of other types of referrals make a donation to a local charity or bring them chocolates, send them flowers or provide with other types of appreciative gifts.
Good referral programs will motivate clients and contacts to send you business. Since the most successful marketing comes from other people, the more you can get your clients talking about the work you do in a positive light, the better off your business will be.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
Monday, October 16, 2006
The Best Way to Use Your Time During Sales Calls
Making sales calls is a challenging process and requires specific techniques and procedures. Many IT consultants are not well-versed in the sales process, and uninitiated sales calls can be scary. As an IT consultant, you need to see sales calls in the right light and fully understand the range of outcomes you might receive. When you properly analyze these factors, you can start to develop the tools you need to be an expert on sales calls.
SALES CALLS ARE NOT ABOUT SELLING
During the process of a sales call, you need to guide the prospect’s decisions. Your questions should entice them into hiring you rather than push them into using your services. If you are successful during a sales call, the client will be pushing you to take them.
THE FOUR OUTCOMES OF SALES CALLS
Every sales call will have one of four outcomes, two good and two bad.
GOOD SALES CALL OUTCOMES
1. The client needs emergency service. A lot of sales calls will end in this manner; something will be broken and need to be fixed. You might fix it right away and prove you know what you’re doing, are good with people and are trustworthy. You could end up with a couple hundred dollars in revenue and confirmation that the client is willing to pay for your services.
2. The client will be interested in your IT audit or IT needs assessment offer, and the sales call will involve a contract for future work.
BAD SALES CALL OUTCOMES
1. The client will turn out to be just using you to gain information – free advice. These people are typically not the type that have ever paid for IT service, and have no plans to pay for it in the near future. You need to get rid of them immediately.
2. The client is just shopping for the best price. This type of sales call is just a bid solicitation, and the client will not actually want your services. They just want to know how much services like yours might cost.
Sales calls are an important part of business, and some will end on a positive note and further your company, while others might just waste your time. Don’t engage in hard selling techniques. Let the client come to you and be able to identify what type of sales call you are on so you can best use your time.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
SALES CALLS ARE NOT ABOUT SELLING
During the process of a sales call, you need to guide the prospect’s decisions. Your questions should entice them into hiring you rather than push them into using your services. If you are successful during a sales call, the client will be pushing you to take them.
THE FOUR OUTCOMES OF SALES CALLS
Every sales call will have one of four outcomes, two good and two bad.
GOOD SALES CALL OUTCOMES
1. The client needs emergency service. A lot of sales calls will end in this manner; something will be broken and need to be fixed. You might fix it right away and prove you know what you’re doing, are good with people and are trustworthy. You could end up with a couple hundred dollars in revenue and confirmation that the client is willing to pay for your services.
2. The client will be interested in your IT audit or IT needs assessment offer, and the sales call will involve a contract for future work.
BAD SALES CALL OUTCOMES
1. The client will turn out to be just using you to gain information – free advice. These people are typically not the type that have ever paid for IT service, and have no plans to pay for it in the near future. You need to get rid of them immediately.
2. The client is just shopping for the best price. This type of sales call is just a bid solicitation, and the client will not actually want your services. They just want to know how much services like yours might cost.
Sales calls are an important part of business, and some will end on a positive note and further your company, while others might just waste your time. Don’t engage in hard selling techniques. Let the client come to you and be able to identify what type of sales call you are on so you can best use your time.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Business Income: What You Can Expect to Make
Your business inputs establish your business income. A lot of times those starting out in the computer consulting business want to be able to gauge what they will make in the first year. They base their business decisions on income.
The truth is, you can’t know exactly how much you’re going to make because your business income depends on many different and unpredictable variables. However, you can control these variables. The following questions can help you plan to maximize your business income:
1. What is your schooling and work experience?
2. Are you selective when you choose clients? If you just take anyone on as a client, you might end up working with people that have huge problems and can make your job very difficult. The business income in this case becomes too much trouble.
3. What is your personality and temperament? You need to remain calm and professional, which means you need to think about whether or not you are easily irritated and stressed with clients or in general.
4. How much time do you spend on sales calls? You will need to be able to spend enough time on sales if you expect to earn a good business income.
5. Are you good with following up? The sales call and initial consultation is just the beginning of a longer relationship, and you can lose business without follow-up.
6. Is your marketing strategy aggressive? The more strategies you use, the more reach you will have.
7. Are your business partnerships with other advisers strong? These relationships are very important if you want to maximize your business income from both a marketing perspective and a knowledge- and wisdom-gained perspective.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
The truth is, you can’t know exactly how much you’re going to make because your business income depends on many different and unpredictable variables. However, you can control these variables. The following questions can help you plan to maximize your business income:
1. What is your schooling and work experience?
2. Are you selective when you choose clients? If you just take anyone on as a client, you might end up working with people that have huge problems and can make your job very difficult. The business income in this case becomes too much trouble.
3. What is your personality and temperament? You need to remain calm and professional, which means you need to think about whether or not you are easily irritated and stressed with clients or in general.
4. How much time do you spend on sales calls? You will need to be able to spend enough time on sales if you expect to earn a good business income.
5. Are you good with following up? The sales call and initial consultation is just the beginning of a longer relationship, and you can lose business without follow-up.
6. Is your marketing strategy aggressive? The more strategies you use, the more reach you will have.
7. Are your business partnerships with other advisers strong? These relationships are very important if you want to maximize your business income from both a marketing perspective and a knowledge- and wisdom-gained perspective.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101
Monday, October 09, 2006
Using Credit Terms to Manage Receivables
Using credit terms and credit extension policies with customers is a delicate operation. You need to be careful about managing money and make sure your cash flow isn’t interrupted by the process, but you also want to make sure your clients will want to buy your services. The following rules can help you maintain good credit terms and keep clients happy:
First Rule For Good Credit Terms: Get paid as you work, and you will not get stuck with major bills. Don’t give credit terms until after the first bill has been paid.
Second Rule For Good Credit Terms: Get credit card authorizations if you can. You can ask for a credit card or do a check before you leave the site.
Third Rule For Good Credit Terms: Demand a credit check and an application and make no exceptions.
Fourth Rule For Good Credit Terms: Ask clients to give you a deposit up-front to protect you from losing money in the future. If you have a check in hand for half the amount, you know you are more likely to get the second half. Enforce this under all circumstances.
Credit Terms Rule #5: Don’t give credit on product sales, because they don’t produce a lot of money. Make sure the client prepays you for this item or that you get an authorization on a credit card.
Credit card terms can be very important to business operation, but you have to keep in mind that you are a computer consultant and not a bank or loan department.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
First Rule For Good Credit Terms: Get paid as you work, and you will not get stuck with major bills. Don’t give credit terms until after the first bill has been paid.
Second Rule For Good Credit Terms: Get credit card authorizations if you can. You can ask for a credit card or do a check before you leave the site.
Third Rule For Good Credit Terms: Demand a credit check and an application and make no exceptions.
Fourth Rule For Good Credit Terms: Ask clients to give you a deposit up-front to protect you from losing money in the future. If you have a check in hand for half the amount, you know you are more likely to get the second half. Enforce this under all circumstances.
Credit Terms Rule #5: Don’t give credit on product sales, because they don’t produce a lot of money. Make sure the client prepays you for this item or that you get an authorization on a credit card.
Credit card terms can be very important to business operation, but you have to keep in mind that you are a computer consultant and not a bank or loan department.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, October 07, 2006
What Promotion Tools Are Most Effective?
There are many different types of promotion tools and each has its own price and effectiveness rate. No matter how different the promotion tools are, they all are designed to promote your business and make your name known.
There are varying degrees of effectiveness for promotion tools; some work really well, some work most of the time and some just don’t work at all. Before you choose a promotion tool for your business, you need to analyze each one carefully.
ANALYSIS OF PROMOTION TOOLS
The following questions will help you figure out which promotion tools are viable:
1. Where will you be promoting and adverising?
2. How will the promotion tool you use get to the market? Will you use e-mails, postcards, organizational membership or something else?
3. Can the promotion tool showcase how unique you and your services are? How can you be unique and stand out above your competitors without spending a lot of money?
When weighing the pros and cons of specific promotion tools, use your creativity. If you choose an obvious promotion tool, you will get predictable and probably boring results. Take a risk by choosing a promotion tool that sets you apart from the rest, over one that just shows how well you follow rules.
WHAT ARE GOOD PROMOTION TOOLS?
1. Involving yourself in organizations;
2. Becoming the expert technology person on a panel of business leaders;
3. Becoming the preferred provider for a high-profile, well-respected company.
Just remember that not all promotion tools will have the same results. As a business owner, you need to choose those that showcase your specific skills and uniqueness and set you apart from the huge crowd.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
There are varying degrees of effectiveness for promotion tools; some work really well, some work most of the time and some just don’t work at all. Before you choose a promotion tool for your business, you need to analyze each one carefully.
ANALYSIS OF PROMOTION TOOLS
The following questions will help you figure out which promotion tools are viable:
1. Where will you be promoting and adverising?
2. How will the promotion tool you use get to the market? Will you use e-mails, postcards, organizational membership or something else?
3. Can the promotion tool showcase how unique you and your services are? How can you be unique and stand out above your competitors without spending a lot of money?
When weighing the pros and cons of specific promotion tools, use your creativity. If you choose an obvious promotion tool, you will get predictable and probably boring results. Take a risk by choosing a promotion tool that sets you apart from the rest, over one that just shows how well you follow rules.
WHAT ARE GOOD PROMOTION TOOLS?
1. Involving yourself in organizations;
2. Becoming the expert technology person on a panel of business leaders;
3. Becoming the preferred provider for a high-profile, well-respected company.
Just remember that not all promotion tools will have the same results. As a business owner, you need to choose those that showcase your specific skills and uniqueness and set you apart from the huge crowd.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, October 02, 2006
Business Expenses and What to Incorporate into Your Budget
Business expenses are a part of any professional endeavor, and you need to create a budget listing your main business expenses and what each will run you per year before you even start any business. The best way to track business expenses is with a cash flow planner. This item will help you plan for business expenses and the leftover cash one quarter, 13 weeks at a time.
The following is a list of common business expenses:
SALARY: Six to nine months after you’ve started your business you should be earning enough income to take some out for yourself. At the beginning salary is a great business expense even if you’re only getting $400 - $500 weekly.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: Benefits are yet more significant business expenses. You should investigate to see what the competitive benefits rates are currently and if you are still employed, figure out from your current employer what the total monthly premiums are. You may not be able to get a group discount rate at the beginning, so be prepared.
IRA: Many business owners forget about this business expense, but you need to be able to retire eventually; make an IRA a priority at the beginning rather than using it as an after-thought.
PAYROLL TAXES: You need to talk to your accountant about this business expense so he/she can give you the right advice specific to your business.
CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING: This business expense will be about $1,000 annually.
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DUES: This business expense will be about $300 a quarter.
PURCHASED PRODUCTS FOR INTERNAL USE: This business expense involves spare PCs and parts. You need to budget this in as a business expense that will run you about $3,000 to $4, 000 per year. You need to only buy items that will bring you immediate ROI and tie to billable hours.
TELEPHONE AND ISP: You should consider this business expense to total about $110 a month that includes a business phone plus a low-cost DSL account.
MARKETING/PROMOTION: You need to invest a lot into these items – about $5,000 - $6,000 each year.
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE: This business expense should be approximately $2,200 per annum.
TRANSPORTATION: You can expect this to be $30 each week.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: This yearly business expense will be about $2,000.
CORPORATE INCOME TAXES: These business expenses will vary; you should discuss specifics with your trusted accountant.
LOANS AND PAYMENTS: These items will depend upon your borrowing and situation, but you definitely need to plan for them in your budget.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
The following is a list of common business expenses:
SALARY: Six to nine months after you’ve started your business you should be earning enough income to take some out for yourself. At the beginning salary is a great business expense even if you’re only getting $400 - $500 weekly.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: Benefits are yet more significant business expenses. You should investigate to see what the competitive benefits rates are currently and if you are still employed, figure out from your current employer what the total monthly premiums are. You may not be able to get a group discount rate at the beginning, so be prepared.
IRA: Many business owners forget about this business expense, but you need to be able to retire eventually; make an IRA a priority at the beginning rather than using it as an after-thought.
PAYROLL TAXES: You need to talk to your accountant about this business expense so he/she can give you the right advice specific to your business.
CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING: This business expense will be about $1,000 annually.
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DUES: This business expense will be about $300 a quarter.
PURCHASED PRODUCTS FOR INTERNAL USE: This business expense involves spare PCs and parts. You need to budget this in as a business expense that will run you about $3,000 to $4, 000 per year. You need to only buy items that will bring you immediate ROI and tie to billable hours.
TELEPHONE AND ISP: You should consider this business expense to total about $110 a month that includes a business phone plus a low-cost DSL account.
MARKETING/PROMOTION: You need to invest a lot into these items – about $5,000 - $6,000 each year.
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE: This business expense should be approximately $2,200 per annum.
TRANSPORTATION: You can expect this to be $30 each week.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: This yearly business expense will be about $2,000.
CORPORATE INCOME TAXES: These business expenses will vary; you should discuss specifics with your trusted accountant.
LOANS AND PAYMENTS: These items will depend upon your borrowing and situation, but you definitely need to plan for them in your budget.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Friday, September 29, 2006
IT Consulting and Finding Your Way to the Sweet Spot from Micro Businesses
If you are starting out in the IT consulting industry, you will start to wonder how to move your focus from micros small businesses to the sweet spot. The following questions and tips will help you determine what your prospects will be looking for as IT consulting sweet spot clients and how you can improve your skills:
1. How much time should I spend improving my skills? Your time should be balanced. If you have the skills to work with micro, you might not have those required to work with sweet spot clients. Spend approximately 75% of your time over a couple months on IT consulting business development and about 25% of the time on improving technical skills.
2. Which skills should be your focus? Get a not-for-resale copy of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and learn about it by installing it on an extra system. This process will help you get into sweet spot IT consulting, as will working in the same way with Novell Small Business Suite.
3. Start simple. You will be able to qualify sweet spot clients before going out on IT consulting sales calls or writing proposals. Going through the process of qualifying and researching prospects will help you figure out if you have the right skills. The smaller sweet spot clients with 10, 15 or 20 seats will have less complicated needs than those with 2 or 3 servers and many locations.
THE SWEET SPOT TRANSITION
Start working with micro small businesses as part of your IT consulting growth and gain confidence by getting references and building your business and knowledge. Some larger micro businesses will probably need the skills you will need to get to the sweet spot as they outgrow peer-to-peer and other simple solutions, so you can practice your sophisticated work on them before making the transition.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
1. How much time should I spend improving my skills? Your time should be balanced. If you have the skills to work with micro, you might not have those required to work with sweet spot clients. Spend approximately 75% of your time over a couple months on IT consulting business development and about 25% of the time on improving technical skills.
2. Which skills should be your focus? Get a not-for-resale copy of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and learn about it by installing it on an extra system. This process will help you get into sweet spot IT consulting, as will working in the same way with Novell Small Business Suite.
3. Start simple. You will be able to qualify sweet spot clients before going out on IT consulting sales calls or writing proposals. Going through the process of qualifying and researching prospects will help you figure out if you have the right skills. The smaller sweet spot clients with 10, 15 or 20 seats will have less complicated needs than those with 2 or 3 servers and many locations.
THE SWEET SPOT TRANSITION
Start working with micro small businesses as part of your IT consulting growth and gain confidence by getting references and building your business and knowledge. Some larger micro businesses will probably need the skills you will need to get to the sweet spot as they outgrow peer-to-peer and other simple solutions, so you can practice your sophisticated work on them before making the transition.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, September 25, 2006
Marketing Tests: Don't Make a Commitment Without an Initial Sample
Marketing tests are crucial to your marketing strategy. At the beginning phase of your business, your budget will be incredibly tight, and saving money will become important. Marketing tests can tell you whether you should pursue a specific sales avenue or explore other options.
No matter how great a specific marketing strategy seems on the surface, it isn’t always the best for you. Marketing tests performed on small samples of prospects can help you avoid over-spending and bring you closer to discovering the most effective marketing campaigns.
The following ideas will help you with marketing tests:
1. When you are thinking of using direct mail, rent a marketing list in small installments. One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make when not using marketing tests is renting thousands of names before even determining if the list will help them.
2. Print out very few marketing materials rather than thousands of fliers or postcards and then conduct marketing tests. You can better track whether your targets are throwing your materials away.
3. When conducting marketing tests, track leads by the source of marketing materials. Tell them you are in the midst of marketing tests and ask them detailed questions about how they heard about you. Then determine what percentage of interest is coming from each marketing activity. Your marketing tests will show you what campaigns are working.
Marketing tests can help you make the right choices about marketing strategies before you waste huge amounts of money on large campaigns. If you don’t perform marketing tests in the beginning and throughout the life of your business, you could spend a great deal of time and money on strategies that don’t work and also not arrive at the perfect marketing strategy for you.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
No matter how great a specific marketing strategy seems on the surface, it isn’t always the best for you. Marketing tests performed on small samples of prospects can help you avoid over-spending and bring you closer to discovering the most effective marketing campaigns.
The following ideas will help you with marketing tests:
1. When you are thinking of using direct mail, rent a marketing list in small installments. One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make when not using marketing tests is renting thousands of names before even determining if the list will help them.
2. Print out very few marketing materials rather than thousands of fliers or postcards and then conduct marketing tests. You can better track whether your targets are throwing your materials away.
3. When conducting marketing tests, track leads by the source of marketing materials. Tell them you are in the midst of marketing tests and ask them detailed questions about how they heard about you. Then determine what percentage of interest is coming from each marketing activity. Your marketing tests will show you what campaigns are working.
Marketing tests can help you make the right choices about marketing strategies before you waste huge amounts of money on large campaigns. If you don’t perform marketing tests in the beginning and throughout the life of your business, you could spend a great deal of time and money on strategies that don’t work and also not arrive at the perfect marketing strategy for you.
Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, September 23, 2006
IT Consulting Business Start-Up: The Strength of Client Relationships
At the beginning of the life of your IT consulting business, you may miss some details and make some of the common mistakes others have made before you. If you start out moonlighting, having your own IT consulting business can sound so appealing that you may not plan appropriately as you transition into full-time IT consulting.
ARE YOUR CLIENTS STEADY?
Not everyone is capable of running a full-time IT consulting business. There are two common mistakes professionals make with new IT consulting businesses: taking on clients that can never become steady; bothering to continue relationships with non-steady clients.
You should only be seeking steady clients when starting your IT consulting business, and finding these individuals is actually not as difficult as you might expect.
STEADINESS IS KEY
Steady work will make or break your IT consulting business. When you are moonlighting, you look for clients that need you about one or two nights per month and one or two Saturdays and Sundays on the phone in between these meetings. A client situation such as this one could bring you $800 to $1200 monthly. When qualifying steady clients, look for someone that can afford at least $500 per month on a regular basis.
If you find yourself moonlighting with clients that don’t have at least a $500 a month need or the ability to pay that much, you will find the transition to full-time IT consulting nearly impossible.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
ARE YOUR CLIENTS STEADY?
Not everyone is capable of running a full-time IT consulting business. There are two common mistakes professionals make with new IT consulting businesses: taking on clients that can never become steady; bothering to continue relationships with non-steady clients.
You should only be seeking steady clients when starting your IT consulting business, and finding these individuals is actually not as difficult as you might expect.
STEADINESS IS KEY
Steady work will make or break your IT consulting business. When you are moonlighting, you look for clients that need you about one or two nights per month and one or two Saturdays and Sundays on the phone in between these meetings. A client situation such as this one could bring you $800 to $1200 monthly. When qualifying steady clients, look for someone that can afford at least $500 per month on a regular basis.
If you find yourself moonlighting with clients that don’t have at least a $500 a month need or the ability to pay that much, you will find the transition to full-time IT consulting nearly impossible.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
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