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17th November 2006
When you are just starting out in the IT consulting business, you need a website. Potential clients will know whether you are full time and in the IT consulting business for the long haul or just trying it on for size by the quality of your website.
S... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course15th November 2006
The IT sales call should be mainly about making sure your prospect is well-suited for and in need of your services. If you don't use this call for that purpose, you can waste time with a prospect that does not actually want to hire you, rather simply wan... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th October 2006
Phone support is an area where many new IT consultants lose their shirts. They want to offer high quality service so they make phone support part of their service contract. The problem is they end up giving away the phone support for free.
When you a... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course03rd October 2006
Follow up is an incredibly important aspect of your marketing and contact management systems. You need to be diligent but not aggressive with your follow-up, though. Your follow up should be creative and customized for each lead or prospect but never so... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course28th September 2006
Although technical skills are essential for IT consultants, there are many other things you need to know when running your own business. Here is a list of a few of the most important things you need to learn when running your own business.
Learn How to... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course28th September 2006
Every company has some unique facet that makes them different from the rest of their competition. In order to effectively reach your clientele, you need to figure out what your unique offering is. For example, if you're within walking distance of many bus... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course28th September 2006
Contact management systems allow you to track which marketing techniques are working and which aren't. With an effective contact management system in place you can see at a glance how much time you are spending with leads and from which sources you are g... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course31st July 2006
Mingling is an important business skill in your new computer consulting business. In fact two of the most important marketing activities you will do are networking and relationship marketing. Mingling is key to your success with both of these.
Even... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course28th July 2006
Follow up is a critical activity for maximizing your lead potential. Whenever you meet anyone you should immediately send a follow up letter, postcard, phone call – anything to keep your name in their mind.
You go to meetings and business networking e... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th July 2006
Service contracts are key for the busy computer consultant. They will help you to manage your time when you have many clients all needing service at once. By setting up computer service contracts you will be able to maximize your utilization rate while s... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course24th July 2006
Business web page design is an important consideration when you are starting your business. There are many options and styles and it can be confusing. What you need to remember though is, regardless of the style you choose, your business web page design... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course22nd July 2006
Payroll management is an issue that is never too early to start considering. Obviously, in the early stages of your business, your payroll management will consist of paying yourself. As your business grows you will have to concern yourself with compensa... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course17th July 2006
Legal issues at start-up are often confusing. Mary times this will be your first foray into the business world. There are two main places where legal issues should be explored with an attorney.
Legal Issues With Business Type
Before starting you ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course17th July 2006
Unique selling proposition is a marketing concept that refers to the one element that sets a firm apart form its competition. Your unique selling proposition is what differentiates you in the market place . Every business needs to have a unique selling ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course17th July 2006
Consulting rates of your competitors provide an excellent starting point for your own billing rate analysis. If you know you competitor's consulting rates you can analyze various rate scenarios within a tighter range. You don't want to under or over pri... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th July 2006
Hourly rates that you charge your clients are very closely related to the ultimate success or failure of your business. Your hourly rates must be high enough to sustain your income needs and not so high that you drive away your sweet spot, small business,... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th July 2006
Contingency plans are absolutely critical for first year business success. A contingency plan is what will help you deal with the curve balls that get thrown at you. Despite your best research and planning, you will encounter surprises: good and bad.
... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course27th June 2006
In dealing with apathy toward small business networking, discontinued technical support is another powerful counterforce, especially when you're talking about vertical, industry-specific software, such as niche applications designed for accountants, attor... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th June 2006
In the computer consulting business, risk-averse small business owners are very similar to small businesses that are apathetic about moving forward with your proposed small business network.
Apathetic small business owners know they have a need, but th... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course25th June 2006
Since the vast majority of small business prospects and clients that you encounter will likely be running some version of Microsoft Windows, it is a good idea to educate small business managers on the differences between the "current" versions of Microsof... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course25th June 2006
If you're new to small business consulting, you may think there is no such thing as a prospect or client being too enthusiastic about jumping headfirst into a major IT project. Enthusiasm is a good thing when it comes to signing your firm's small business... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course25th June 2006
Many small businesses mistakenly think that they're too small to cost-justify a "real" client/server small business network. However, because small businesses want, and in most cases, need, the same technology tools as their larger competitors, deploying... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course25th June 2006
When starting an IT consulting business, should you already have partnerships established with other companies to provide services that you don't? The whole problem with running an IT consulting business is that you need to be able to satisfy a lot of nee... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course23rd June 2006
In IT consulting you have many different options in who you choose as your clients. Larger than the sweet spot businesses are the large small businesses, which provides a different IT consulting opportunity.
Large/Small Businesses Defined
Large/Smal... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course22nd June 2006
When you are running your own IT consulting firm, you will need some basic IT sales skills to effectively get your small business prospects and clients signed on for your recommended network solution.
Because small businesses are often resistant to cha... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course22nd June 2006
As you grow, should you go after government, city, state, municipality contracts like school district contracts? Maybe. They are an entirely different business model. When you are talking about selling to medium sized businesses, again go back and assess ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th June 2006
In IT consulting, you should be aware of your seasonal selling trends. The general rule of advice is don't expect anyone to make a major buying decision for a small business IT project in the late summer or during the holidays; unless it's an emergency.
... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th June 2006
During 2002, many vendors were rushing to market 802.11a (up to 54Mpbs) wireless Ethernet products that were supposed to be the next wave in wireless networking. However, at the same time, an "in-progress" standard called 802.11g may supplant both the ori... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th June 2006
To help you and your clients get started on the right track with handheld devices, here are some simple tips to help you find your clients' the right PDA to avoid frustrating tech support headaches.
Purchase Handheld Devices Wisely
Be very cautious... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th June 2006
While it's tough to make much of a profit margin on sales of desktop or notebook PCs, it's next to impossible to profitably sell personal digital assistants (PDAs) to your small business clients.
After all, these handheld devices are generally position... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th June 2006
There are some clues that will tell you if a prospect will make a good sweet spot client for your IT consulting business. In this article, learn some of the tip-offs that a prospect is a good fit.
Does the Company Have a Website?
A prospect's webs... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th June 2006
Very small businesses, those with less than a handful of PCs, often use informal peer-to-peer networks to share files and printers. This is in sharp contrast to a more robust client/server network with a dedicated server computer, and often selected to k... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th June 2006
If you set your IT support rates too cheap, you're going to have to work like crazy. The last thing you want to discover at the end of the quarter, after you've entered everything in QuickBooks or Excel, is that you've provided IT support for free.
Be... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th June 2006
As a new IT consulting business, it is important to learn about the most common mistakes made with time tracking and invoicing so you can avoid them.
Doing so will put your company in a better overall financial position. You will also be able to sleep... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course10th June 2006
You want to ensure you always get a deposit check on any major IT consulting project. Don't start a 40, 60 or 80 hour project on a handshake. This isn't "Leave it to Beaver," IT consulting here.
Don't Get Taken Advantage Of
There are a lot of ruth... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course09th June 2006
In running an IT consulting business, do not be too quick to give new clients credit. Even when you give them credit, keep their lines of credit relatively low until they've built up some history with you.
Provide Low Lines of Credit
If you have n... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course08th June 2006
As a new small business computer consulting firm, you might ask what level of technical staff you can put on payroll. Don't get too excited yet; you have to be realistic about this.
Of course, it varies by job market, but all things being equal, what ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course08th June 2006
Big small businesses get their IT support, from an internal IT person, or a small IT department. Remember, a big/small business typically has 50 to 100 PCs doing anywhere from 5 million to 20 million dollars in U.S. annual revenue.
IT Support Sources f... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course08th June 2006
Over the past five years, the price points on notebook PCs have been driven down dramatically. However, lower purchase prices not withstanding, notebook PCs still have a rather unique warranty service dilemma.
If a keyboard, mouse-equivalent (tracking-... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course08th June 2006
In IT consulting it is important to know the relationship between hourly billing rates and salary affordability so you can properly plan for both your own salary draw, as well as salaries of future technical and sales-related staff.
This is directly re... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course07th June 2006
In small business computer consulting, it can be easy to get yourself into money trouble really fast. Conserve your precious capital by avoiding some of the common mistakes when marketing your small business computer consulting firm.
Perform Tests
W... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course07th June 2006
Since micro small business often rely on internal gurus or free help, many IT consultants find the sweet spot small business ideal for computer consulting. In this article, you'll learn what IT consulting rates are appropriate for this group. All rates ar... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course07th June 2006
As an IT consultant looking to go solo, how you can cut through the information overload so you can tune out the distractions and focus on only the most relevant, critical tasks for starting up a business? You need to first realize you may need to stop s... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course04th June 2006
Partnering does not happen overnight. You should approach it slowly and methodically like courtship or dating. In the same way you wouldn't sleep with someone or suggest going to bed with someone on the first date, you don't want to try to close a deal wi... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course04th June 2006
Think about how you're going to package your IT service agreements. For example, are you going to make them fixed- price, retainer-based or based on pre-paid blocks of time?
IT service agreements that are fixed priced are tricky because you have to fo... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course04th June 2006
Getting various hardware components factory-installed with PC purchases, like CD-RW drives and network cards, can save your clients on initial purchase and installation costs.
At first, it may seem counterintuitive to recommend this strategy of PC purc... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course03rd June 2006
Sweet spot small businesses, have from 10-50 PCs and do anywhere from a million to 10 million in annual revenue (U.S. Dollars). They get their IT support in several different places, which you'll learn about in this article.
Sweet spot businesses have... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course03rd June 2006
In IT consulting, people charge various rates. Some charge at the zero level, others at the $25, $35, $45 an hour level.
Starting an IT Consulting Business: What to Charge?
Probably a lot of you want to start charging, and should be, in the $75, $... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course03rd June 2006
IT consultant skills vary widely. The successful ones will have the traits that help them deal with their customers.
IT Consultant Traits: Can You Manage Employees?
Even in your first year of business there is a pretty good chance that you will hav... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course01st June 2006
Your hourly IT consulting rate potentials will vary according to where you live. The rates in this article will be based in U.S. dollars, so if you're reading this in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or another country, you'll need to do some conve... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course01st June 2006
Network cards are mandatory additions to PC purchases now that even the smallest offices now have broadband Internet access and peer-to-peer networking.
Even if the cost of later purchasing Ethernet adapters a la carte were the same as the bundled pri... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
In the sweet spot of small business IT consulting, you will be taking over anything and everything related to IT. You are expected to know a little about a lot of different things, but most of all, you are expected to be very resourceful and to know where... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
If you are working a full-time day job and moonlighting as an IT consultant, you need to know a few things before transitioning to becoming a full-time IT consultant.
Take the following into consideration and avoid the common mistakes many IT consultan... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
Often, clients will ask you for advice on their IT spending plans. In this article, you'll learn some ideas to help your clients plan their IT spending.
Suggest Your Clients Upgrade Their Machines
Your clients also could earmark the budget surpluse... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
If your clients' recent financial results have been so spectacular that they feel now is the time to make significant technology investments in their companies, consider the following alternatives to solely devoting their IT spending to PC hardware purcha... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
Sure, you need technical skills. But to be a successful IT consultant, you also need to be able to work well with people. In this article, you'll learn about some of the personality traits that make for a successful IT consultant.
IT Consultant Traits... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course26th May 2006
In IT consulting, you can provide your services to many different sized businesses. In this article, you'll learn about how you can fit in with the IT consulting needs of large/small businesses.
Pick 2 or 3 of the networking skill sets that you need fo... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course22nd May 2006
When targeting small businesses that are in the sweet spot size, what IT certifications do you typically need? One thing to keep in mind is that you are not selling to a real IT manager in most cases.
Remember Who You Are Selling Your Services To
O... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course21st May 2006
When it comes to computer consulting with micro businesses, look at the margins issue. You will always have a certain amount of hours that you're forced to eat because you can't bill for it. When you have a larger base of computer consulting clients to s... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course21st May 2006
If you sell to government, non-profit or educational accounts, your firm may be accustomed to managing this next challenge. But, if sales to small businesses are your bread and butter, you may not as tuned into the "use it or lose it" purchasing philosoph... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course21st May 2006
In IT consulting you have many different options in who you choose as your clients. Larger than the sweet spot businesses are the large small businesses, which provides a different IT consulting opportunity.
Large/Small Businesses Defined
Large/Smal... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course21st May 2006
For sweet spot customers, consider the services you can provide to these IT consulting clients. In this article, you'll learn some of the more popular ones.
IT Consulting: What Website Design Programs Should You Know?
You should be familiar with at... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course20th May 2006
For sweet spot customers, you need hardware and software skills, and you also need networking skills to provide effective IT consulting. In this article, you'll learn some networking facets you should be familiar with.
In terms of other networking sof... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course20th May 2006
Small business IT consulting professionals can choose to market themselves to "sweet spot small businesses". These small businesses are where you start to see small business IT consultants breaking through that $100 an hour barrier. This is where you st... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th May 2006
The 90's was a time of certification for computer consulting businesses. Everyone touted what formal partnerships they had with what major corporations. "Hire us because we're a Novell certified shop" or "Hire us because we're an IBM business partner."
... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th May 2006
A big question, especially among newly established computer consulting professionals is this: "I have some smaller clients with two to five PCs. Since they're very close and they're willing to pay our hourly rate and understand that I can schedule them wh... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th May 2006
Is there a pattern to watch out for with computer consulting prospects that might act as a red flag or early warning detection system? Yes there is - and you'll get better at spotting them as you go along.
It's more of an art than a science, but if i... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th May 2006
From a customer service perspective, what can you do to sell more monitoring and managed services? What would it be worth to a computer consulting client if you could predict and prevent a major problem before it occurred?
For example, if someone in... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th May 2006
Make sure your current computer consulting clients, friends, and family know what types of companies you work with, the types of things you do, and how much you would appreciate referrals from them.
A lot of times, by asking the right kind of open-ende... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course11th May 2006
While you should talk to a lawyer about the specific differences between subcontractors and employees, this article will present you with a list of things to watch out for when utilizing subcontracting.
Subcontracting: Make Sure The Relationship Meet t... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course11th May 2006
First, you need to figure out what your in-house techs can handle on their own and then you're going to need to figure out how to supplement it. As a small consulting firm, you can't hire someone who's got five different certifications and pay them their ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course09th May 2006
Will you be expected to know anything and everything about anything that could ever go wrong with small-business IT? No.
Do You Need to Be Better at Technical or People Skills?
To be a great computer consultant, you just need to be really well organ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course05th May 2006
If you are new to the service model, you may be concerned about your ability to live up to your IT service agreements. Let's assume that you have eight clients who will book $165,000 in yearly revenue. The greatest fear for many new consultants is getting... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course03rd May 2006
With most of your clients, once the relationship is established and IT audits are complete, you should move into a project plan mode where you set up a spreadsheet and organize it on a monthly basis.
During IT audits, you're going to find that some thi... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course02nd May 2006
IT audits are really where you're going with the sales call to a new prospect. Unless they have an emergency that needs urgent attention and they're really specific about it, you need to "push" IT audits. That will get the ball rolling with IT services.
... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course02nd May 2006
Look among your existing customers to determine who are good candidates for IT audits. You can do this based on the number of PCs they have. Generally, businesses that have more than five systems are really good possibilities for IT audits.
You will be... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course30th April 2006
When you are in the process of your initial IT sales consultation, it is likely that you will be asked to take a look at something while you are there, For example, they may say, "We've been having a problem with this router. Could you just take a look at... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course30th April 2006
When you conduct IT audits, you will want to see what you can solve for your clients. You will want to see what problems they have and what you can do about them. In this article, you'll learn the kinds of questions that they will want answered during IT ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course27th April 2006
When you first meet with IT sales prospects, you'll want to get them talking about their top 3 problems. You may learn that the problems your prospects have aren't ones you or your network of partners or subcontractors can help with. In this case, you are... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course25th April 2006
IT sales calls require connecting with the right person in order to be successful. However, getting past the gatekeepers is no easy feat. In this article, you'll learn some techniques to help get you in touch with the person you need to for your IT sales ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course20th April 2006
Once you have some clients under your belt, IT marketing becomes easier. In this article, you'll learn the best ways to find the crucial few first clients to help your IT marketing. Here are the steps to this point:
o You want to pick a startup date. ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course14th April 2006
Lead Generation is the most crucial step in your IT marketing. In this article, you will learn that lead generation is the future of your company and the most important strategic activity you should be working on.
Be very careful delegating this task ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course14th April 2006
When you do a direct mail campaign, it is very important that you know exactly who you're trying to reach and that you come up with some kind of targeted message.
If you are just getting started, you may feel overwhelmed when you realize that there a... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course13th April 2006
An elevator pitch is basically a quick introduction that doesn't sound too canned. You want to work on fine-tuning something that is anywhere from ten to twenty seconds. You use this speech whenever you meet a prospect that you meet at any kind of event. ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course13th April 2006
Approach your IT marketing and advertising with a multi-pronged approach. Think about your retirement account or your investment portfolio. Would you really want to put all of your money into one stock? You probably wouldn't have wanted it to be Anderso... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course12th April 2006
IT marketing requires you to give "elevator speeches," or short little descriptions of your business. In this article, you'll learn how to get the maximum effectiveness from your elevator speech.
If you go to a chamber of commerce luncheon, you might ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course17th March 2006
A tremendous number of people are able to earn sizable supplemental income by having a moonlighting computer consulting business. But even more importantly, by moonlighting, you can figure out if you enjoy computer consulting before you take the plunge in... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course16th March 2006
Some people decide they want to open up an independent doughnut shop instead of buying into one of the really large doughnut shop companies. If you want to make submarine sandwiches, you can do it on your own or you can buy into one of the big, extremely ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course14th March 2006
Even if you are just starting out your computer consulting practice with rather basic desktop support level technical skills, make sure that your computer consulting firm gets some paying clients who are at your current technical skills comfort level. In ... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course14th March 2006
Where can you find time to do it all? How can you devote time to finding long-term B2B computer consulting clients when you're already working 60, 70, 80 hours a week? There's no easy answer. In this article, you'll learn some possible options for findin... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course11th March 2006
If you're not really careful with how you hire the expert technical staff on your payroll, you could end up training and nurturing a future competitor. In this article, you'll learn how to minimize your risk.
Consider this example:
Your firm (ABC Co... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course08th March 2006
Most of your sweet spot small business clients are just starting to gain awareness of the value of certifications. But most sweet spot clients don't know enough about IT to appreciate and pay for the differences in different levels of certification. In t... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course05th March 2006
When providing B2B service, computer consulting businesses' ideal clients, or "sweet spot," are companies with 10-50 PCs and 1-10 million in revenue. These "sweet spot" small businesses typically look for four things in their computer consulting businesse... Read >
Author: Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course
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