Small Biz Tech Talk ™

The truth is, most small business prospects, customers and clients in computer consulting will not understand the meaning of IT certifications or the difference between different levels of certification.

The Meaning of IT Certifications to Clients

If you introduce a prospect or client to someone that has an entry-level certification and then send someone in the next week that has an advanced certification like an MCSE, your client will most likely not appreciate the difference.  Your clients also won’t want to pay really high rates for senior levels of IT certification.

In the eyes of most sweet spot small businesses, senior-level IT certifications won’t matter; most of their projects will not be incredibly technical, and those that are can typically be subcontracted to other specialists.    

What Is the Technology Curve?

Sweet spot small businesses don’t usually keep up with the latest in technology, so you don’t have to keep up with cutting-edge IT certifications and skills.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

How do you find your sweet spot computer repair business prospects among your leads?  The first sign is their annual sales.  You need to look at businesses with at least a seven-figure annual sales volume with 10-25 employees. What are some other criteria to help you find clients for your computer repair business?

Computer Repair Business:  Good and Bad Signs

Some industries are more focused on IT than others.  There are good signs and bad signs when it comes to a business hiring you, and as you go along you will figure out whether a business is going to be up for spending $1,000-$2,000 for computer consulting services.

What is a good sign?  If you go to meet with a prospect and find out the prospect is already working with another computer repair business in your community but is dissatisfied.  If the prospect is dissatisfied and looking for someone else, that says that the company is willing to pay you or anyone else for sophisticated services.  

What is a bad sign?  If you go meet with a prospect and discover he/she is working with a moonlighter, friend or family member who helps out occasionally and gets paid in pizza or pats on the back.  Any price you quote this type of lead is going to seem high when the alternative is free.  

Sweet Spot Clients for Your Computer Repair Business Hang out Together

Sweet spot clients willing to spend $1,000-$2,000 per month on IT services will have relationships with trusted business advisors in the local community like accountants, attorneys and management consultants.  They may even be working with other niched tech providers, which works to your advantage when it comes time for referrals.  

When you can recognize favorable characteristics of prospects and clients for your computer repair business, you can find more prospects that can turn into great relationships.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

You should be wary of prospects that ask you what you do when it comes to your computer consulting business.  You should just be giving an explanation of what your computer consulting business is about so the prospect can figure out if any of his/her products or services fit with your business.  Know what to expect before you go in and be ready to help prospective clients with their needs.

Do Your Research

You may have to spend 30 or 45 minutes to do homework before a meeting, but any research you do can help you better close a sale for your computer consulting business, whether you close the sale on the spot or within a week or two.  If you want someone to agree to your computer consulting services, you have to make yourself credible and share ideas with a prospect to show how much you care about his/her business.   

There’s no reason not to do your homework, because it’s so easy.  Simply go to Google and type in a person’s name or phone number or address and you will find out everything you need to know and more.  

What Should You Know about Your Prospects

When you are researching, find out the following information about your prospects:

1.     What their businesses are about;

2.     Which industry they are in;

3.    Which types of services they offer;

4.    The number of locations they have;

5.    The length of time they’ve been in business.

What is the Recent News about Your Computer Consulting Prospect?

You will most likely find articles in the local newspaper about your prospects that will show up in a Google search or by going to the local newspaper Web site and doing a directed site search.  Look for anything that will give you extra background and help you determine whether prospects will be a good fit for your computer consulting business.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

If you are involved in the technology industry, you will come across some challenges when dealing with IT sales.  You might need help overcoming sales objections among prospects and customers if you sell computer networks or other IT-related products and services within your chosen small business niche. 

Can You Overcome IT Sales Objections?

There are some pretty concrete tips you can follow when handling IT sales objections to help you overcome them and sell more networks and services to your small business prospects, customers and clients.  No matter what stage your business is in, you can get to IT sales successfully that will lead to on-going, long-term relationships and more high-paying clients. 

The Source of the Problem

The problem typically starts during the part of the IT sales process when you are talking about a network upgrade.  This is the point at which most customers and clients will start getting very concerned about cost. 

IT Sales Objections and Cost

Small business prospects that complain about cost during IT sales calls typically are not taking into account the soft costs of not investing in networking solutions at the beginning.  They don’t think about lost productivity that results from cutting corners, downtime when fault tolerance is not part of the plan and service costs from computer consultants when they continue to use products and systems that are hard to support.

The Bottom Line about IT Sales Objections

For more helpful tips about how you can overcome IT sales objections with your prospects, customers and clients, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Before you make your initial IT sales call with a client, you have to get ready.

Prepare Before-Hand

Prior to your initial IT sales call, you have to do some homework.  If the prospect is worth driving to and spending half an hour, an hour or even more with, then you should take the time to learn more about his/her business.   Properly qualifying your prospects before you even get to the point of the initial IT sales call is CRUCIAL so you know you are spending your time well.  Ask the right questions about size, platform and industry.

Services vs. Products

You need to research your prospect before an IT sales call so you can manage expectations right away.  Prospects need to know that you are selling your expertise and comprehensive business solutions and not hardware or software. 

If you want to sell hardware or software you can, but don’t lead off in an IT sales meeting with this.  You are in the services business, and you need to communicate this to prospects. 

Choose Your Clients

Tell your prospective clients that you are a service provider the second you start speaking to them.  Your initial IT sales call is as much their interview as it is yours.  Be selective so you are getting the best long-term clients. 

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Your sweet spot small business clients are probably just starting to get an idea of the meaning of IT certifications.  Most will not know enough about IT to pay for the different levels.  

The Meaning of IT Certifications to Clients

If you send someone to a client that has an MCP or CNA or entry-level certification one week and then send a more advanced MCSE or senior level person, your clients probably won’t know the difference. Most clients won’t know what IT certifications are, and they won’t want to pay high hourly billing rates for senior levels.  The main point is, most sweet spot small businesses don’t care about IT certifications.  Most of the projects you will work on will not be technical enough to warrant a high-level technician and those that are can be subcontracted out.

What About the Technology Curve?

Sweet spot small businesses are typically behind the curve with technology.  You really don’t need incredibly current IT certifications to deal with your clients.

The Main Idea About IT Certifications

Small businesses are pretty far behind when it comes to technology.  Basic, advanced-beginner and intermediate-level technical skills are the only IT certifications you will need to serve most of your sweet spot clients.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Kit

If you stick around in the small business computer consulting industry for long enough, you’ll find freeloaders.  Regardless of what you choose to call them, these freeloaders can bring you financial and emotional turmoil that can destroy any small business computer consulting firm.  How can you protect yourself?

The Source of the Problem

Figuring out how to handle unrealistic expectations of professional consulting services starts with figuring out the source of the freeloader issue.  

Your job as a small business computer consulting professional is convincing prospects that hiring your firm is an investment rather than an expense.  You need to stress the tangible, measurable and unquestionable benefits of the solutions your small business computer consulting firm will bring and how they outweigh the costs of your services.

The Easy Prediction Tool for Small Business Computer Consulting

Because you are selling specialized services, your sales pitch is going to be different from sales pitches your competitors deliver.  A good way to avoid computer consulting freeloaders is to look for small business decision makers used to paying for other professional services, such as accounting services, legal services, PR services and others.  This kind of small business will already be willing to invest in $100 + per hour services, and your propositions will not be new.  

Work Smart

Your sales staff will use time more efficiently if it goes after qualified leads and prospects.  An unqualified lead will need to be talked into buying your services and will most likely not even understand why he/she needs them in the first place.  In your area, there will probably be hundreds, if not thousands of prospects and leads that will have real small business computer consulting needs and are used to paying for professional services.

The Bottom Line About Freeloaders

You shouldn’t waste time on those that don’t understand the concept of paying top dollar for professional services.  Focus on small businesses that are used to paying for professional services and increase your chance at small business computer consulting success.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

If you stick around in the small business computer consulting industry for long enough, you’ll find freeloaders.  Regardless of what you choose to call them, these freeloaders can bring you financial and emotional turmoil that can destroy any small business computer consulting firm.  How can you protect yourself?

The Source of the Problem

Figuring out how to handle unrealistic expectations of professional consulting services starts with figuring out the source of the freeloader issue.  

Your job as a small business computer consulting professional is convincing prospects that hiring your firm is an investment rather than an expense.  You need to stress the tangible, measurable and unquestionable benefits of the solutions your small business computer consulting firm will bring and how they outweigh the costs of your services.

The Easy Prediction Tool for Small Business Computer Consulting

Because you are selling specialized services, your sales pitch is going to be different from sales pitches your competitors deliver.  A good way to avoid computer consulting freeloaders is to look for small business decision makers used to paying for other professional services, such as accounting services, legal services, PR services and others.  This kind of small business will already be willing to invest in $100 + per hour services, and your propositions will not be new.  

Work Smart

Your sales staff will use time more efficiently if it goes after qualified leads and prospects.  An unqualified lead will need to be talked into buying your services and will most likely not even understand why he/she needs them in the first place.  In your area, there will probably be hundreds, if not thousands of prospects and leads that will have real small business computer consulting needs and are used to paying for professional services.

The Bottom Line About Freeloaders

You shouldn’t waste time on those that don’t understand the concept of paying top dollar for professional services.  Focus on small businesses that are used to paying for professional services and increase your chance at small business computer consulting success.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Your computer business can be very profitable if you provide service to businesses rather than to consumers.  Retail customers only need service one or two times per year and typically don’t need you for long-term service.  If your goal is to produce $200,000 annually in services revenue, the following are your strategic options.

Computer Business:  Retail Clients

The first choice for your computer business is to offer business to consumer service, otherwise known as B2C.  This type of customer might spend $250 annually in services or products from your shop.  They will spend money on a hard drive upgrade, repairs, installing Wi-Fi, etc.  This type of strategy for your computer business can get tricky and time-consuming, as you would have to reach 800 customers in order to reach your revenue goal.  

If you are only selling the products and don’t find yourself with a lot of after-sale support, this amount of customers might seem fine with a small staff.  However, these types of customers will need a lot of advice and guidance from you.  This type of sales for your computer business will also cost you a great deal in terms of advertising, promotional and marketing dollars.  

The B2C model will also be expensive in terms of labor costs.  You will need quite a few technicians to be able to give enough free and paid support to customers.   

Computer Business:  Business Clients

Business customers (B2B) will be committed to spending about $1,000 per month every month.  This means every year you can expect to get $12,000 per customer at least.  You only need 16 or 17 of these types of computer business customers in order to get to your revenue goal, which is very manageable, especially with a small staff.  

Plus, when a business is spending $12,000 per year, the business is no longer based on transactions.  This is a real client that has made a real commitment for extended maintenance and a long-term relationship with your computer business.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Your IT sales call should not be a long and free session.  You are not available to prospects for free information sessions and need to direct the purpose of IT sales calls to actual sales.  

The purpose of an IT sales call is to see if you and your prospect could work well together and to try to suggest the next step in the process.

IT Sales:  Could You Work Well Together?

The point of an IT sales call is to verify that you and your prospect could have a good working relationship and that the prospect resembles other clients with which you’ve had successful relationships.  If the chemistry is right, you want to spend about an hour or so learning about the prospect’s needs and offering some advice within reason.  

In order to get to IT sales you have to be ready to stop the free advice and shift the conversation towards the process of hiring your firm for an IT audit or tech assessment.

IT Sales:  If You Work for Free, You Will End up Poor

You can’t offer things for free if you want to be good at IT sales.  You need to make a profit, so you need to draw the line at a certain point.  Many small businesses will continue to make you come back time and time again for free if you don’t quickly move the process along to IT sales.

IT Sales:  What Service Are You Selling?

You need to assess your client’s needs and hot spots before you go on the IT sales call.  Think of how you can solve problems before even meeting with prospects and be prepared to offer very quickly a tangible, fixed cost half-day audit for a discounted couple hundred dollars.

If there is a larger opportunity for services of $50,000 or even $100,000, you can afford giving away time more than an hour.  But before each IT sales call, you should count on an hour until you find out more information.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

PC Tools, a software vendor specializing in security solutions recently created a global web portal for value added resellers to ease the process of purchasing products on the Internet.

Troy Vertigan, the vice president for the new value added resellers global business stated that the new portal will be automated so that the resellers can experience real-time purchases and get registration codes instantly emailed to them.

Value added resellers can place orders in their offices or at a customer’s site and download the software from the website as well as register the full version with the ordered license.  

PC Tools features security tools that fight against spyware and malware and presents two types of software licenses – single and multi-user.  Value added resellers can buy individual activation codes and also get access to the latest software, PC Tools CheckUp that can help detect computer issues.

The software creates a report that easily displays the problems.  PC Tools was excited to create a closer connection with value added resellers, computer retailers and repair shops.  The goal of the company’s latest initiative is to get 5,000 value added resellers involved world-wide in the coming year.

Value added resellers that sign up in February for the new portal will get five free Spyware Doctor activation codes.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

You have to show prospects and clients how special you are if you want to secure IT sales.  What benefits can you offer clients that will make you stand out?  Distinguish yourself in order to achieve success in IT sales.

Location is Important

Say you moved into a new location in a 27-story building housing mostly sophisticated firms.  Similarly, this building is in a neighborhood full of the same types of buildings and businesses.  Should you use this benefit to help you with IT sales?  The answer is emphatically, “Yes!”  

You can take over the neighborhood in that situation.  Your benefit and point of IT sales is that you are right there and can get things done better, faster and cheaper than others that are not in the immediate area.

IT Sales:  How Do You Make Yourself Stand Out?

You can improve your chances of IT sales by selling service agreements and offering a response time guarantee.  If you’re in the neighborhood already, you can make these types of promises.  Tell prospects you can be there in 60 minutes or less during a server-down emergency that falls into regular hours.  You can offer $100 off a bill that month as further incentive if you are a minute late.   Having enough clients in the area and local staff will make work feel like you’re doing it on a corporate campus.  There’s no travel time, and you can increase staff utilization rates simply without worrying about parking, traffic or driving time.

How Do You Find Businesses for IT Sales?

If you are right in the thick of things, how can you find local businesses?  You can do a survey, a mailing to every owner or CEO in the building and in neighboring buildings.  You can offer special benefits, such as gift certificates or bagels at the coffee shop across the street if the business owners return the surveys and respond.

The IT Sales Survey:  What Should Go in It?

1.    How many PCs are there?

2.    How many employees?

3.    Who currently provides your IT support?

4.    What do you like and dislike about the support you get or have received in the past?

5.    What is the top business challenge you currently face?

6.    What’s the top IT challenge you currently face?

The survey acts as a way to get prospects to respond and get closer to IT sales.  You find out what people want and their level of interest.  The survey should produce a good response rate in a neighborhood full of qualified leads and can help make you known within your community.

IT Sales:  Know People That Know People

You should use a good location as a chance to meet the locals.  Talk to the local shoe repairperson, food delivery person, pizza shop owner or deli owner, mail carrier and FedEx and UPS drivers.  You can network yourself into all the offices in the area and get closer to IT sales if you start talking to the other people that see them all the time.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

Part of IT sales is asking your customers questions to determine needs.  If you can offer a customer a technology assessment, IT audit or site survey, you have an in-road to further IT sales.

During your first IT sales meeting with a new prospect, you need to figure out the top three business problems faced.  There is a chance the prospect’s problems will not be up your alley, which means the prospect is not a good fit for a client.  Regardless, if you want to secure IT sales, you have to talk to prospects.

IT Sales:  Preferences

You need prospects to tell you what they like and even what they don’t like about the IT support they’ve previously received.  What they say can reveal important information about what prospects will need from you.  

The first IT sales meeting is also the time to figure out if a prospect has an emergency that need immediate attention, or if he/she is simply looking for an IT audit, site survey or other type of technology assessment.  Be prepared for the unexpected, but expect the prospect will want either a tech assessment or an emergency project.  

IT Sales:  What’s Next?

If you want to get clients to buy into IT sales, you have to know when to stop the brain-picking during the first meeting and how to get them to write a check or sign a credit card authorization.  

Be prepared with IT sales and have something ready to offer to prospects.  You need to create proposals that take care of needs simply.  Think about binging the blank forms with you to the first call so you are ready for prospects to buy into IT sales.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101

Personal relationships are integral to be successful at IT sales with potential clients.  Don’t pass this task off to anyone else until you’ve started making steady money through IT sales.

Establishing a bond and a relationship with clients is crucial to the success of your business.  Customer list length is not necessarily the most important element with IT sales nor is revenue.  The quality of your long-term relationships will make or break your business.  How can relationships be your assets with IT sales?

Lifetime value of your ideal clients could easily be six figures, so getting to know owners and partners of companies with which you want to work have to be a priority and an investment.

IT Sales:  What About Customer Expectations?

If you are the one in charge of sales, you don’t have to worry about having inconsistent salespeople.  Experts in receivables often state that salespeople can misrepresent the abilities of a business just to get a client.  However, this little untruth can come back to haunt you later because you will have a hard time with client expectations.  You have to build relationships with customers at the start of the IT sales process.

Train Your IT Sales Staff Members Yourself

Most IT consultants get really into generating leads and closing sales in the early stages of business.  When this process becomes more of a habit and you have five to ten solid clients that together are adding up to $5,000 or $15,000 in monthly services you might consider enlisting support with IT sales efforts.  Don’t delegate any responsibilities before this time.  While IT sales and building relationships can be strenuous and time consuming at the beginning, they will be integral to the future of your business and the strength of your IT sales efforts.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101

Any computer consulting business is dependent upon sweet spot clients.  Those that don’t want to entrust their computer support needs to volunteers or friends will rely on computer consulting professionals.  But where can you find sweet spot clients – those willing to spend $1,000 to $2,000 per month on outsourced computer consulting services?

Evaluating Computer Consulting Sweet Spot Clients

You need to evaluate each client and ask some questions.  Is the computer consulting client big enough to need a real server, real firewall and real backup solution?  Does the client need to focus on security, power protection, virus protection and other types of support?  Does the client need a real professional computer consulting expert for IT needs such as network support and LAN-WAN support?

Sweet Spot Computer Consulting Clients Can’t Afford Volunteers
 
The customers you’re looking for will not be able to work with only friends, family members and volunteers when working on fulfilling IT needs.  As their company grows, they will also need more than a moonlighter because they will have more PCs and more revenue at risk if something breaks.  These are the type of clients you want for your computer consulting business.

Computer Consulting:  Who Can Pay?

Small businesses to target in the sweet spot are those that can afford to spend $1,000 or even $2,000 per month on computer consulting support.  For this amount, they will get the following items from you:  an on-site visit a couple half-days per month; phone calls for emergency support; remote IT support.  You will become an outsourced IT solution and get calls about a variety of IT-related items.

The Profile of a Sweet Spot Computer Consulting Client

A sweet spot computer consulting client will have more than a peer-to-peer network and be large enough for downtime to be incredibly expensive and painful.  These type of clients will be ready to employ your services as a computer consulting professional.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

Many times IT sales consultations amount in requests for quick fixes from prospects.  When faced with this proposition, just say “no,” or you will never move clients from free to fee as part of IT sales.  

During the initial IT sales consultation, you will probably be asked to look at something specific as long as you’re there.

Stay Out of Harm’s Way

If the quick fix requires just a few minutes of your time, you might think there’s no harm in it.  However, you might start and then be unable to fix it in five minutes.  The prospect isn’t even a paying client, and you are considering risking the possibility you may not be able to fix the problem at all or worse, do further damage.  These prospective occurrences will not help you with IT sales.

Stay Away From Computers

Be careful when thinking about sitting down in front of PCs or messing around with configurations for servers or laptops or PDAs.  Anything could get you into trouble before you have a signed agreement for an IT audit.  Your goal with IT sales is to get a paying client, not do free work.  Do exploratory work that is low risk so you don’t break something and have to take responsibility.

Before you respond to “take a look,” close the deal as part of moving from free to fee with IT sales.  

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

You need to prepare for the initial IT sales call so you can be aware of your prospect’s needs and design a pitch that will make him/her aware of your services.  Before you make that first IT sales call, get ready for meeting a potential client for the first time with the following tips.

IT Sales is Dependent Upon Doing Homework

Before you get to the first IT sales call with a prospect, do your homework.  It might only take you 10-15 minutes to determine whether a prospect is worth the two - four hours it will take you to drive out and have a meeting, which is well worth the time.

Before you even get to the point of research, make sure you qualify your prospect to determine that all the time you might spend will be wise.  Once in the IT sales meeting make sure you ask questions about size, platform and industry.

IT Sales:  Services vs. Products

You need to research your prospect ahead of time and manage their expectations right away.  They should know you are selling your expertise and your sophisticated solutions and not just a machine or computer.  You can’t build a successful IT business without focusing on services instead of products.

If you want to sell products as part of your IT business such as white boxes, notebooks or web licenses, feel free, but this should not be the focus of IT sales.  Your prospects should know you are people-oriented and interested in real service.

Choosing Clients

Prospects should know you are a service provider at the start of your relationship.  You need to interview potential clients as diligently as they should interview you during the first IT sales call.  If you are selective, you will find clients you like to work with that will be in business with you on a long-term basis.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101

Your job as part of IT sales is to get your client moved onto the next step.  If you don’t snag them right away and get them to sign on, you need to figure out the urgency of their needs.

The first IT sales consultation is about getting clients to move onto the next level, such as to a site survey.  Some clients will be quick to jump into that, but some might put you off and say they need to get back to you.

The truth is, you shouldn’t get this type of reaction; if you know how important a project is to your client, you will be able to bring them through the IT sales process.

For example, a prospect might decide he/she wants to move from DOS-based fax software to 32-bit fax software, fax to PDAs and set up VPNs between offices.  Is this a distant dream or a real project?  You need to figure out by asking the right questions of your prospects:

1.    If everything looks good, when do you want to get started?

2.    How important is this project?

3.    What is preventing you from starting the project now?

4.    Why haven’t you already done this project?

IT Sales and Changing Needs

Perhaps your prospects have tried to do this project in the past, but thought it was too expensive, or impossible.  It may have initially been a bigger solution challenge or needs analysis challenge, and it may still be bigger than they anticipated.

Direct Questions

To avoid the big blow-off with IT sales, ask very pointed questions, without being pushy.  For example, ask when a good time to follow up would be, and when the prospects would be better equipped to revisit the project.    

Not all present “no”’s are future “no”’s.  

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101

Responsible people within the computer consulting industry need to find a niche to get the best clients.  The size of your specialty can’t be too large or you risk making it nearly impossible to focus and find prospects.

The following tips can help you narrow down computer consulting leads and turn them into viable prospects.

Number One is to find your industry focus.  You need to get to the heart of your target market and stand out amidst the slue of computer consulting professionals going after the same services and advertising.

Computer Consulting:  What Size is Your Audience?

Micro small businesses with just a few PCs are not usually looking for high-end IT computer consulting services.  You probably do not want to go after these leads simply because they are least likely to become long-term clients. 

The sweet spot is the next step up in computer consulting and where you will do the best.  This type of business typically has 10 to 50 PCs.  Many studies show that the two-to-one ration holds across all industries, so if you find that you’re maxing out around a 50-seat LAN, this will equal a 90- to 100- employee company.  This size is perfect for high-end computer consulting because down-time will become expensive.  To calculate how expensive downtime will be, simply divide the company’s annual revenue by 250.  If you can tap into these numbers and use them as part of your sales pitch, you can show these sweet spot companies how much they need your computer consulting services.

When you get more than 100 PCs, you are at the borderline of medium-sized businesses.  At this level, companies often have a full-time IT manager and will not really need you as a computer consulting generalist.     

Research your computer consulting leads to see which might fall into the sweet spot and increase your chances of finding takers for your important solutions. 

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

IT audits typically produce conversations about your clients’ problems and what you can do to solve them.  But what questions might you expect to hear from clients during IT audits, and which ones should you answer?

When you are performing IT audits, you need identify problems you can solve for clients.  You also want the clients to see their problems and how your solutions will work for them.

Questions Will Bring You to the Needs Analysis

You need to ask prospects what they are looking for in IT support as part of IT audits.  During IT audits, they will ask you for advice on what they should buy, including products and platforms.  They will want to know what is the best value for their companies, and what will work best for them technically.  A simple needs analysis will answer these questions easily as part of an IT audit.  Assess their situation and spend a couple hours seeing what products prospects have.

You also need to think about compatibility of products and what will work together.  While prospects and anyone else can just go to the store and buy a cartful of items, they can’t make it work.  Integration and customization are areas where you come in, along with project management.  Your coordination abilities will mean a lot to prospects’ businesses.

What Other Services Will Clients Want?

Formal and informal training is an area where clients might need your help.  This training includes end-user training and administrator training.  The following areas will also be needs:

1.    Management of routine and scheduled upgrades;

2.    Coordination with outside vendors for industry-specific package installations;

3.    Network maintenance and installation.

IT Audits and One-Stop Shopping

Customers are looking for you to be a single point of contact.  They want to trust you as a technology advisor as much as they trust their accountants and attorneys, or managing consulting firms or marketing consultants.  IT audits can help both consultants and clients figure out roles within a company.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit