Small Biz Tech Talk ™

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

If you are involved in computer consulting, you need to conduct research on a prospect before you even meet him.  You have to accept that you will spend money on the initial consultation as part of your computer consulting business.  

The sales process is more about pre-sales that stresses the consultation aspect.  You need to communicate professionalism and how your services are special and potentially more valuable than others in your field.  If you take a real interest in prospects’ businesses, their problems and then get a handle on their problems to come up with a viable solution you will have a better chance of closing a sale quickly.  

Is there Dirt?

You might find dirt on prospects before the initial consultation that makes you unwilling to accept their business.  Because the computer consulting sales call is an interview for both your computer consulting company and the prospect, you should pay attention to strange things you find during the process of doing research and heed warning signs.  

Your Time is Incredibly Valuable

You will need a half an hour to an hour to compile introductory packets for prospects, spend the same amount of time driving to the call and will probably not start or finish the consultation on time.  You can expect to spend two to three hours on a typical computer consulting sales call.  If you are billing, for example, $75 per hour for your services, this means the process will cost you $225 even before gas, parking, tolls and other expenses.  This cost is why doing homework before the call to determine whether a computer consulting prospect is a good fit for your business is essential.  Qualify them as well as you can so you can avoid wasting time and resources.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Computer service contracts should be set up for a yearly term.  There are some customers who try to push for a shorter period for the computer service contract but this is not a wise idea.  These people are probably more in the customer category than client, and what you want to develop are long term clients.

If you are at the point of selling a computer service contract then you have probably done an IT audit or helped them with an emergency.  These situations are your proving ground. You’ve built up trust, so if they want to work with you then there is no reason not to enter into a year long computer service contract.

If doing work with you on one or two little projects doesn’t convince them, they’re probably never going to be convinced.  If they insist on something real short-term, then don’t compromise your traditional computer service contract.  Instead offer them an agreement where they buy blocks of time at a slightly discounted rate.

A year long computer service contract is the industry standard.  If they are balking at the monthly price commitment, offer to lower the dollar value.  Their payout is lower but you still have a year long commitment – more than enough time to prove to them that a computer service contract with you is worth it at any price.

Don’t make these sorts of deals for anything but a really small account.  If it is a customer who fits the sweet spot profile, then going for a computer service contract of less than $1000 per month for a one year commitment is not going to work out.  You are better off finding other leads who are prepared to work within your computer service contract model.

Bottom Line on Computer Service Contracts
Computer service contracts are meant for the long term.  When a client enters into a computer service contract you want to know they are committed to you and to professional IT support.  If they want you to compromise when you know they have the need, then entering into a shorter term computer service contract will only end up hurting you in the long run.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Computer Service Contracts. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Computer Service Contracts, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Computer service contracts are just as attractive to your client as they are to you.  They might not be aware of this though.  Your job is to enlighten them as to how they will benefit from a computer service contract.

It is very important to be able to articulate the benefits of a computer service contract to your client.  If you don’t, your customers won’t sign up.  Read the following list of benefits and incorporate as many as you can when you are pitching a computer service contract.

Benefits Of Signing a Computer Service Contract   

• With a computer service contract, clients have a certain degree of dependability – they know you are going to be there consistently for them.  A computer service contract is like an insurance policy where for a certain premium you cover their needs and take care of them.

• Clients who are on a computer service contract own a little slice of you.  True, you are a shared resource – they are effectively sharing you with a bunch of other businesses in the local area, but they can also count on you as much as they could count on a staff technology person.

• Computer service contracts provide peace of mind – you commit to being there to take care of things for them for an extended period of time or for the long haul.

• Discounted hourly billing rates are another benefit of being on a computer service contract.     You’re able to waive certain premiums, surcharges and fees and you can provide them lower billing minimums. 

• Clients on a computer service contract enjoy prioritized response time and scheduling priority.

• Computer service contracts provide access to the entire range of virtual IT services you can provide along with all the perks you can offer due to your relationships with the different IT related businesses in the local community. These are the special perks you provide to your long-term loyal clients.

Bottom Line on Computer Service Contracts
Computer service contracts are good value for your clients.  You don’t have to come up with any hard sell campaigns either.  If you present the information authoritatively, the benefits of a computer service contract should sell themselves.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Computer Service Contracts. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Computer Service Contracts, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

IT audit pricing is best done on a fixed price basis.  Deciding what that fixed price should be though, can be challenging.  The whole point of getting paid to do the IT audit is so you aren’t working for free. However, the whole point of doing an IT audit is to get a long-term client out of the deal.  You have to balance these two motivations when you decide on what to charge for an IT audit.  

How do you price out an IT audit?

In most cases it makes sense to use a fixed price.  Even though it cuts into your margins, it overcomes a lot of sales resistance at an extremely critical part of the sales cycle. When you are selling an IT audit is when you are trying to pry a client’s wallet open that’s crazy-glued shut.  

If you show them you’re willing to shoulder some of the risk by offering an IT audit at a fixed price ,then they see you as more credible – someone they could see themselves doing business with long-term.

The typical IT audit for a sweet spot client (Ten to twenty-five PCs, single server) will take about three to four hours of work on-site.  If you’re charging $125 an hour for non-contracted clients, three to four hours would be $375 to $500.  A contracted client will get down to $100.00 an hour or $300 to $400 per IT audit.

The trick to getting an IT audit is to price it even less than that.  Yes, your margin will suffer but this is your proving ground.  You’re showing them that you’re willing to take on some risks and you’re developing a relationship. Once you prove you can do a great job, clients are usually more than willing to spend money with you on IT services.

The Bottom Line on IT Audits
The way you price your IT audit accommodates two goals:  to get paid and to win a client. You should always offer a fixed price for an IT audit to prove you are willing to take a risk just like your client is.  The second thing you need to do is charge less for an IT audit than the actual time you estimate it will take.  This again shows you are willing to take risks and it gets you in the door so you can prove your worth to a new client.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT audits. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of IT audits, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Overcoming objections to an IT audit is often best handled by asking questions of the client that make them decide all on their own that they need an IT audit.  By turning the tables on the client, you effectively make them the source of overcoming objections.

The key to overcoming objections is to make the client see the importance of what you are trying to sell.  You do this by asking them questions that help them conclude on their own that, gee, an IT audit does make the most sense.

Questions To Ask For Overcoming Objections

First you set up in their mind that there could be some potential problems here by asking:

• When was most of your system installed?  
• How long ago was that and who did that work?  
• Is that person or company still maintaining the systems?  

By now, they’re starting to think, well, it’s been awhile since it was installed.  I don’t even remember who did it.  No, they haven’t been maintaining and we’ve kind of been slacking on that for the past six months to a year.  

Next, you move to asking about the maintenance:

• What kind of maintenance is done and how often is it done?  
• Do you have a log showing the maintenance activities and routine support requests?
• Do you have any support history, or do you have copies of some support invoices and things like that?

At this point the client is thinking they are totally disorganized and lacking in maintenance and your job of overcoming objections is almost over.  

Finally, to really seal the deal, you ask about the number of people who’ve been involved with the system over the years.  If they’re typical of a sweet spot small business client, they have had three or five different companies involved over the past several years.  This means they have a hodgepodge mess and overcoming objections is easy after that.

The Bottom Line on Overcoming Objection
If you can turn the selling back onto the client, your success at overcoming objections is much greater.  When you allow the client to see why they need the IT audit without any hard selling, overcoming objections after that is quick and easy.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to overcoming objection. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about overcoming objection, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

IT audits have three separate components.  You need to explain each component in terms of benefits in order to sell a client on paying for an IT audit.

The first component of an IT audit is the actual features of your audit.  These are items such as:

• Review  existing network
• Look at PC configurations
• Examine  telco circuits
• Critique IT policies
• Analyze existing data security and data protection measures
• Explain common data loss risks

To sell the IT audit you need to convert these features to benefits like:

• Ability to understand what it is that you already own
• Awareness of inherent limitations of what you own
• Understanding of system weaknesses
• Learning about untapped potential

The next component of your IT audit is the written, detailed report you will provide. The report a client gets with an IT audit includes an up-to-date asset inventory.  The benefits associated with this are:

• Client has complete documentation for insurance purposes
• Ability to make much more informed decisions on future purchases

Finally, as part of the IT audit, you will deliver an independent, vendor neutral set of recommendations prioritized by potential risk and severity.  What is the IT audit benefit here?  

Protection from becoming victim to sales bias from non-technical, commission-hungry sales reps
Understanding of what makes the most sense for existing IT investments and future business and IT needs.  

By presenting the three components of your IT audit in a features and benefits framework you tell the client what the IT audit includes, but even more important, you to tell them why they need it.  When you talk to potential clients, listen for the things that are most important to them. Then tailor your IT audit benefits to address their primary concerns.

The Bottom Line on IT Audits
It audits are an excellent way for you to get closely involved with a business’ systems.  They enable you to prove your value to a client.  The key to selling your IT audits in the first place, is to customize your benefits to the clients’ needs and highlight how your IT audit will help solve a client’s current and future problems.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT audits. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of IT audits, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Selling techniques are as varied as the people who practice them.  There are, however, some proven selling techniques for IT Consultants just starting out.  Here is a list:

• Personal visit.  This selling technique is going to get you the best results:  Highest touch, most personal contact, most effective.  

• Personal phone call.  When you use this selling technique you are still providing high touch and so it is quite effective.  The trick to getting the most mileage out of your phone call is to send a follow-up note immediately after.  This part of phone contact is often ignored and will set you apart from your competition.

• Send a note or letter.  This is not as personal or high touch but it is a popular selling technique nonetheless.  Things you can do to improve the effectiveness of this selling technique are to send a handwritten note and customize the message to make it more personal.

• Send an email.  This is a low touch and minimally personal selling technique but many people feel comfortable with this type of communication.  Make sure you spell check your message carefully and send only one email at a time.  This selling technique will fall flat if the "To:" line is full of 100+ names.

• Set Yourself a Quota.  This selling technique provides discipline.  Most new business owners will avoid personal selling if allowed.  Make a commitment to contact at least 2 new people on your contact list per day until the list is exhausted.  Then get networking and add more people to your contact list.

• Ask for referrals only.  When you are contacting people don’t go for the sale.  One of the smartest selling techniques is to ask for referrals rather than sales.  There is no pressure when you ask for a referral and this gives you an opportunity to follow up by sending some stickers or business cards for the person to hand out.  

Bottom Line on Selling Techniques
Selling techniques may not come naturally to you.  This is not an excuse to forgo trying them.  The selling techniques that are most effective are the ones that are high touch and highly personal.  The message you send out is that each person is important.  Try to use as many highly personal selling techniques as possible.  Barring that, make the selling techniques you are using as personal as you can.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to selling techniques. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about selling techniques, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Sales calls are an art form.  Many new IT Consultants have never had to sell anything before.  For the uninitiated, sales calls are intimidating.  By gaining the right perspective about a sales call and understanding the possible outcomes, you are on your way to becoming a sales call expert.

When you are on a sales call the trick is to guide the client’s decision.  You ask them questions that almost seduce them into hiring you. This is an entirely different dynamic than when you are pushing them during the sales call. An effective sales call has the client pushing you to take them on.  

With every sales call you will have one of four outcomes (2 good, 2 bad) as follows:    

• Client needs emergency service:  many sales calls end this way.  There is something that is broken that needs to be fixed.  You fix it right away and that proves to the client you know what you are doing, you’re likable, and you’re trustworthy.  You end up with a couple of hundred dollars in revenue which proves to you this client is willing to pay for the services.  

• Client is receptive to your audit or IT needs assessment:  Here the sales call ends with a contract for further work.  

• Client is just picking your brains – this sales call is free advice in disguise. These people have typically never had professional IT service and they aren’t about to pay for it.  Be on the look out for these sales calls and cut them loose.

• Client is shopping prices:  this sales call is a solicitation for bids.  They aren’t really interested in your services, they just want to know what it might cost them to do what they need to do.  

Bottom Line on Sales Calls
Sales calls are part of business. Some will end well, others will be a waste of time.  The  important things to remember are (1) do not involve yourself in hard selling; let the client come to you, and (2) be on the lookout for the type of sales call you are on. Use this information to determine your next steps and how long you stick around.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to sales calls. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about sales calls, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

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 they’ll just keep putting the project with your computer consulting business on the back burner; indefinitely, if you let them!

Understand Client Fears

Risk-averse small business owners also keep shuffling your proposal to the back burner, but for totally different reasons. They’re truly terrified of what might happen if everything falls apart during the network installation your computer consulting business is conducting.

Fear of your small business network being "painful" (to the owner, managers and staff) prevents the sign-off from taking place – the kiss of death for your computer consulting business.

Some small business owners become risk averse because they think they might eventually outgrow your proposed networking solution.

Help Your Clients Plan for the Future

To help address this concern, computer consulting businesses need to talk about the built-in growth path options offered by the solution that you propose.

If it’s just a matter of adding more software licenses or stacking up another networking hub or switch, be sure to highlight how simple and inexpensive these options will be down the road.

The Bottom Line about the Computer Consulting Business

In this article, you’ve learned about the computer consulting business. To learn more about the computer consulting business click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

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, attorneys, physicians, realtors, auto body shops and restaurants.

Providing Support

After a certain point, the independent software vendor (ISV) selling vertical, industry-specific software draws a line in the sand and stops providing technical support, annual updates, and patches for older versions of their product.  So, if your client is an accounting firm that needs updated tax tables, your client is forced to upgrade the tax software, which often, in turn, forces an upgrade of the server.

This results in a call to your firm to upgrade their server (and several related highly lucrative product sales and service opportunities for your small business networking firm), all as a result of the "domino effect" from an ISV calling the shots.

Let Them Know What Their Competition Is Doing

In addition to fears of unreliable systems and vendor-mandated upgrades, you can also overcome apathy toward small business networking by discussing your prospect’s or client’s competition (without naming names, of course).

If you work with many small businesses in the same industry, and you’re seeing a software or more general technology trend that drastically alters the competitive landscape in your prospect’s or client’s industry, by all means call this to your prospect’s or client’s attention.

The Bottom Line about Small Business Networking

In this article, you’ve learned about small business networking. To learn more about small business networking click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

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 consulting contract, right? Well, not always.

Manage Clients’ Optimism

Although hype isn’t exactly a sales obstacle, you need to manage client expectations regarding “unjustified” optimism at your earliest opportunity.  During small business consulting projects, there is often a need to combat hype with vertical industry software solutions.

Keeping Client’s Expectations Realistic

The small business owner or manager may return from a trade show with a gorgeous glossy brochure (and mouse pad) for an industry-specific application. Since your small business consulting client thinks the application is the best software since Lotus 1-2-3, he is ready to open up his firm’s checkbook — but wants to run the application by the internal guru and your small business consulting firm, first.

Although the ISV’s marketing literature and Web site seem quite professional, upon further investigation you learn this $5,000 per seat package is built on an MS-DOS-based Clipper database engine (circa 1991).

The Bottom Line about Small Business Consulting

While your client might have been impressed initially with the demo at the trade show, you need to overcome the hype surrounding the application and save your client from making a sizable investment in an application that should’ve been retired or supplanted years ago.

Otherwise, your prospect or client may end up squandering scarce IT budgetary resources that could be better invested in the network solution that you’re recommending.

In this article, you’ve learned about small business consulting. To learn more about small business consulting click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

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 consulting contract, right? Well, not always.

Manage Clients’ Optimism

Although hype isn’t exactly a sales obstacle, you need to manage client expectations regarding "unjustified" optimism at your earliest opportunity.  During small business consulting projects, there is often a need to combat hype with vertical industry software solutions.

Keeping Client’s Expectations Realistic

The small business owner or manager may return from a trade show with a gorgeous glossy brochure (and mouse pad) for an industry-specific application. Since your small business consulting client thinks the application is the best software since Lotus 1-2-3, he is ready to open up his firm’s checkbook — but wants to run the application by the internal guru and your small business consulting firm, first.

Although the ISV’s marketing literature and Web site seem quite professional, upon further investigation you learn this $5,000 per seat package is built on an MS-DOS-based Clipper database engine (circa 1991).

The Bottom Line about Small Business Consulting

While your client might have been impressed initially with the demo at the trade show, you need to overcome the hype surrounding the application and save your client from making a sizable investment in an application that should’ve been retired or supplanted years ago.

Otherwise, your prospect or client may end up squandering scarce IT budgetary resources that could be better invested in the network solution that you’re recommending.

In this article, you’ve learned about small business consulting. To learn more about small business consulting click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Before starting your IT consulting business, make sure all your ducks are in a row. In this article, learn some more of the steps you should take before beginning your IT consulting practice.

Step Thirteen: Volunteer if You Can’t Get Paying IT Consulting Customers

If 30 days have passed since you let everyone you know you’re open for business and you still don’t have referrals or paying customers, then take the bull by the horns and volunteer for a non-profit. Give them a few volunteer hours to help them with a PC upgrade or a tune-up.  Help them update their website or give them some computer training.  Just be sure you limit it to a 2 or 4 hour type deal or you may not be getting an end to it.

Contact the executive director or the office manager and be honest. Tell them you have just opened up a new IT consulting business and you would like to donate a couple of hours of your time.  Tell them specifically 2 hours, 3 hours whatever it is, in return for a testimonial from them and introductions to 3 active members that they think may have computer problems and could benefit from your IT consulting services.

Formalize it by putting a couple of sentences down on a piece of paper that gives them a statement of work and what they are agreeing to give you in return.

Step Fourteen:  Keep Repeating Step Thirteen

Volunteer your services until you have 3 or 4 testimonials from business owners or managers. The best testimonials are from well-known people in your community that other businesspeople will recognize.

Step Number Fifteen:  Start attending Local Business to Business Events

Look in the business section of your local paper. Pay attention to the networking and lead groups as well and Chambers of Commerce. See if you can attend as a guest. Plan on going to one networking event per week every single week for the next 4 weeks.

Then go around and be friendly. Tell people you are just starting up a business.  Ask them how they use IT in their business and exchange business cards and see if there is any way your IT consulting business can help them.

Think about helping THEM, don’t make it a me, me, me thing.  It’s very important that you ask them what is going on in their business ask what they are using computers for, what the biggest problems they are facing right now and see if there is any way to help them.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting
 
In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

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 original 802.11b and newer 802.11a standards.

So frankly, the "safest" bet for now may be to seek out wireless Ethernet hardware that supports all three standards: 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g. 

Wireless Ethernet as a Business Opportunity

As an IT consultant you should be aware that wireless is a great business opportunity for savvy computer consultants.  However, since there is a fairly large installed base of 802.11b (11Mbps) products already, and most 802.11a products are not backward compatible with 802.11b products (although many vendors are rushing to market with hybrid 802.11b/802.11a products), this 802.11a standard faces an uphill battle in the marketplace.

The Bottom Line about Wireless Ethernet

While wireless Ethernet will likely overtake wired Ethernet (Category 5) as the dominant small business networking standard at some point in the future, the “when” and “how” is still very unclear. In the meantime though, many small business computer consultants are still finding wireless Ethernet to be a tremendous marketplace opportunity.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to wireless Ethernet. To learn more about wireless Ethernet click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

If you sense resistance during the IT network sales cycle, listen very carefully to the prospect’s objections.  Many times, they like what they hear. But small business owners need to hear three or four different opinions in order to bolster their confidence. Take time to understand exactly what’s driving the investment in this planned IT network.

In small business IT consulting, many of your prospects and clients will have similar IT network needs.

Consider Faxing Needs

Most small business employees have similar experiences when it comes to sending faxes. When a document that needs to be faxed is complete, the employee prints the document and cover sheet, gets up from the desk, walks over to the fax machine, and stands there waiting on line until the fax machine is available. This creates an enormous productivity bottleneck.

Ask Questions about IT Network Needs

To understand the cost of not addressing the single Internet access account or fax machine dilemma, talk with the small business owner. Here’s a sample line of questions you can ask to understand the real costs and limitations of sending faxes through a fax machine:

• How many people in the office send faxes regularly?
• What’s the average number of pages in each person’s fax?
• Does each person typically create a cover page to go along with each fax?
• How many faxes a day are sent out?
• How often are people sending the same fax to multiple recipients?
• How far away is the fax machine from most people’s desks?
• How many hours are wasted on a daily basis with people waiting around to send outgoing faxes? How many hours does this translate into annually? What’s the average hourly wage of the people impacted by this productivity issue?

The Bottom Line about IT Networks

It is a good idea to have a blank contract with you when you ask these questions. Why? Because it’s very hard for any rational small business owner or manager to refute your conclusion that their company desperately needs an IT network-based faxing option.

In this article, you’ve learned about IT networks. To learn more about IT networks click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business

It is very important to educate your small business prospects and clients on key small business networking terms and buzzwords.  After all, in order to "win them over," you need to be speaking the same language.

In fact, you may even want to prepare a "cheat sheet", based on the below definitions, to help you in your prospect and client pre-sales activities.

If you’d like to order a license to reproduce these networking terms for client sales literature, please contact questions@ComputerConsulting101.com and put "Licensing Your LAN Buzzwords" in the subject line.

• 802.11a – wireless Ethernet standard that allows for data networking transmission at up to 54Mbps; operates in the 5-6Ghz range.
• 802.11b – most mature of the widely available wireless Ethernet standards that allows for data networking transmission at up to 11Mbps; ; also commonly referred to as a “WiFi”; operates in the 2.4Ghz range
• 802.11g – newest in-progress wireless Ethernet standard that promises to allow for data networking transmission at up to 54Mbps, operates in the same 2.4Ghz range as 802.11b-based Wireless Ethernet networks.
• CAT5 (Category 5 Cable) – copper, unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling that can support voice and data communications at speeds up to 100Mbps and 1000Mbps for Ethernet networking.
• Client/Server Network – a network in which a dedicated server is used to share resources.
• Ethernet Network Adapter – due to the market dominance of Ethernet networks, an Ethernet network adapter has become largely synonymous with the more general term network adapter or network interface card.
• IDE (integrated drive electronics) is a more mainstream, lower-cost interface (than SCSI) for connecting internal peripherals — generally hard drives, CD-ROM drives and tape backup drives.
• LAN (Local Area Network) – set of computer systems and peripheral devices connected for sharing resources and providing near instantaneous communications; today’s small business LANs are typically physically connected using Ethernet network adapters and Category 5 cabling; when extended to one or more additional geographic locations, can become a metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide area network (WAN).
• Network Integrator – a computer services business that designs, installs and maintains heterogeneous computer systems and software; many computer consultants are also network integrators (and vice versa).

The Bottom Line about Networking Terms

In this article, you’ve been introduced to networking terms. To learn more about networking terms click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

As you grow in your IT consulting practice, 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 your tech skills.

Can You Go Deep into a Skill?

Assess what kind of skills you are bringing to the table and see how close you are to being able to being that deep into a few skills. That’s what these medium sized businesses are looking for with IT consulting. They are not looking for an outsourced version of a central IT manager.

Government and Schools Involve More Red Tape

Going after government, city, state, municipality, public school districts, etc. involves bids, bid packets, bid surety bonds, long sales cycles, and a lot of politics.  It’s a very different business model; very different than selling IT consulting to the sweet spot of small businesses or even small businesses in general.

Have You Exhausted The Sweet Spot Businesses?

Only go after these kinds of things after you have completely exhausted and completely saturated your sweet spot marketing roll out.  In other words, don’t persue them until most of the sweet spot small businesses within a 50 mile radius know who you are, are in your prospect funnel, or have grown them to the point that you have absolutely maximized them out and you still don’t have enough business.  This is pretty unlikely unless you are located in the middle of nowhere.

Consider High-End Micros or Medium Sized Businesses Instead

You should consider supplementing your IT consulting business base with some high-end micros and some medium sized businesses before going after government work.

This is because of the level of aggravation with the bids, then the politics and the waiting to get paid. It’s not a very good place for people to be – especially in their start up stage. 

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting
 
In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT consulting.  To learn more about IT consulting, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.