Small Biz Tech Talk ™

Sony Electronics recently started embracing the solution providers channel after spending a great deal of time and money on direct sales to consumers.  Now VARs are enjoying Vaio as part of their businesses.

Spokespeople for Sony stated that they decided a couple years ago to start direct sales to businesses in order to bring solution providers and business end users to the ranks along with consumers.  The company had a call center designed to deal with sales calls to end-user businesses, but had not fully realized how to market it or interactively attract them.

As soon as Sony decided to offer Vaio indirect, it spend several months retraining call-center staff, based in Austin, Texas so as to be more equipped to handle the specific needs of solution providers. 

Sony’s fiscal year begins in April, and by that time in 2006, Sony had figured out how to build a real channel model.  Unit shipments grew 23 percent from the previous year, and sales rose 26 percent.  The laptop market grew, but the solution providers channel is what really boosted the company.

Sony has also created revenue incentives for partners and solution providers, including loyalty and cross-selling within a variety of Sony product lines, including projectors and notebooks.  Sony is also trying to merge programs for different business units in order to allow for easier sales by partners of products in different product lines.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

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

Recently Avnet Technology Solutions, a subsidiary of Avnet, Inc. and Microsoft announced they would be offering a new program for certified VARs.  This new program, run by computer giant Microsoft and Avnet, a company focused on enterprise computer products and systems will help VARs with marketing, sales, service and support enterprise resource planning (ERP) for midmarket and medium-sized enterprises.

The VARs program is based on JD Edwards’, of Oracle, EnterpriseOne and Microsoft platforms.  Avnet will offer the following services for VARs:

1.    ERP Solutions based on EnterpriseOne and Microsoft Windows and SQL Server platforms;

2.    A choice of server hardware from top suppliers;

3.    ERP solutions with Microsoft platform technologies;

4.    Partner support that includes education, sales, marketing, managed services, financing services and implementation help.

Microsoft is excited to be expanding upon its existing partnership with Avnet and to help make ERP solutions for VARs more efficient for those that are customers of both companies.  Spokespeople for Avnet are thrilled to be increasing the cost-effective solutions they can provide to partners thanks to Microsoft’s recent support.

Avnet and Microsoft have been working together for over five years to provide new technologies and solutions for VARs.  This new collaboration will hopefully improve customer service and offer more flexible options across the channel. 

Added 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

Although computer science majors make one of the U.S.’s highest starting salaries for those just graduating from college — $50,000 per year – the computer science major is becoming less popular among college students.  Computer science and computer engineering and IT consulting jobs are becoming some of the most high-opportunity jobs in the country according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Despite growing opportunities in IT consulting, enrollments in computer science programs at universities have dropped drastically in conjunction with employers stating they are having a labor shortage of qualified job candidates in the IT consulting industry.

IT consulting companies and other computer businesses have definitely shifted from the attitudes of the 1990s and early 2000s when during the dot-com era, tech companies had huge plans and crazy ideas that were risky and enticing for students.  During this time, university students were clamoring to get into computer classes because of exciting opportunities and potentially huge profits.

Some industry experts think that the dot-com bust is still scaring off potential IT industry specialists and their parents, along with fear that the offshore outsourcing trend will eliminate jobs within the U.S.  Still others believe that perhaps colleges and universities are not offering comprehensive enough courses in computer science and that as a result technical schools are becoming more popular than colleges among those students that are interested in the IT consulting field.  For more information on this IT consulting story, see the link provided.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

The first time you meet with IT sales prospects, you need them to discuss their top three problems.  Sometimes your prospects’ problems will not be what you expect or the problems you or your partners can help solve.  If you discover this reality, you need to move onto the next client.

The number one goal is to get prospects talking.

IT SALES:  WHAT ARE YOUR PROSPECTS’ PREFERENCES?

What have your prospects liked about past IT support they’ve received?  The answers to this question can give you an idea of the type of support they need now.

The first IT sales meeting will also be a time to figure out if the prospect has an emergency that needs immediate attention or if he/she is looking for an IT audit, site survey or technology assessment.

Sometimes prospects will want something different from what you are expecting; the need will not be an emergency, and they will not need a tech assessment, However, most of the time they will need those things.

THE NEXT STEP IN IT SALES

Moving prospects from free to fee – from brain-picking to writing a check for IT sales – involves discovering their major issues.  You need to have something ready to offer in an IT sales meeting, such as a proposal that takes care of their important needs.  You can even bring blank forms with you so you can be ready for prospects to sign on immediately.  

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

IT consulting firm i3Solutions announced last Friday it would be spinning off a software company, Octant in order to specifically handle its Proposal Management software package.  The software from the Sterling, VA-based IT consulting firm is called Enterprise Proposal Management Suite and helps those looking to develop proposals and manage business opportunities.  Octant will of course be using the support of i3Solutions and its channel partners to fully get off the ground.

IT consulting firm i3Solutions specializes in strategic consulting, development of applicaitons, integration of systems and also graphic design and has been in business since 1997.  The company released its original software, Proposal Generator and Proposal Management System in 2003 and decided to create Octant in response to a growing demand for its products within the business community.  

The new software company will help change ideas about what IT consulting can do for customers and how products manufacturers and IT consulting companies can work together to bring total solutions to businesses.  

i3Solutions will work on marketing, development and many other elements of the newly-formed Octant.  The goal, according to the CEO of the new company Scot Johnson, is to build a reputation for being the best provider of enterprise proposal management software.

Because proposal management is necessary for almost all businesses, Johnson states that Octant will be able to get a good foot into the market and further the success of IT consulting services.  The software developed by i3Solutions and Octant is based on the need for quicker communications between customers and businesses.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Almost every business today could use the expertise of a computer consulting firm.  The following tips can help even the most technologically-challenged business owners make the right choice when hiring someone to handle IT needs.  

Many small businesses don’t know how to handle impossible computer consulting firms, which they end up hiring because they don’t know what to look for in the first place.  Uncovering potential issues can help you avoid issues in the future and lead to a healthy relationship with a good provider.  Ask basic questions to get started interviewing potential computer consulting support.

1.    Are you part-time or full time?  Find out of the computer consulting firm has a day job or if the person is a moonlighter.  

2.    Are you a solo practitioner or do you run a true computer consulting business?  If the consultant keeps referring to “we,” ask about the other people at the company.  Are they employees or contractors?  What are their names and in what do they specialize?  How long have they been working with the computer consulting firm, and will they be involved in this specific account?

3.    What is the size of your typical consulting client?  Ask the prospective computer consulting firm how big its typical client is in terms of PCs, employees and annual revenue.  

4.    Are you a generalist or a specialist?  Ask about industries and vertical markets along with specific software applications and other aspects.  Also ask if there are certain products and services that the company avoids, or if the company is tied to specific hardware, software or services vendors.

These questions can get you started in the process of looking for a computer consulting firm to suit your business.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Computer Business Lenovo and computer business IBM decided to recall 500,000 ThinkPad notebook batteries from the Sony Corporation last Thursday.  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the decision had been made after fire reports from popular “ThinkPad” computers.  Batteries that are part of the computer business recall are 168,500 U.S. packs sold in the U.S. and an additional 357,500 batteries internationally.   

This announcement comes as a reaction to a fire on September 16 that broke out at LAX in Los Angeles when a “ThinkPad” T43 notebook got too hot and began to smoke and spark.  Experts state that lithium-ion batters can overheat dangerously and potentially cause fires.  Computer business Lenovo spokesperson Ray Gorman stated that while there have not been injuries, there is the potential for damage to the computer and accessories and in the future even to users.  

Sony’s batteries have caused concern and recalls already with computer business Dell, that recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries in August and Apple Computer, that recalled 1.8 million Sony batteries.  Toshiba also followed suit and recalled 340,000 notebook batteries made by Sony in September, not due to overheating but due to power storage and transmission issues.  Other companies, such as Matsushita, the umbrella company for Panasonic recalled 6,000 notebook batteries for overheating, but these batteries were not manufactured by Sony.  

Computer business Lenovo acquired the ThinkPad line of notebooks when IBM sold the originally Chinese-based company its PC business in December 2004.  The recalled lithium-ion batteries were sold separately or with the following computers:  the T Series; the R Series; the X Series.  

Notebooks affected were sold between February 2005 and September 2006.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Joshua Feinberg, author of the Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit was recently interviewed by Deborah Rothberg in eWEEK

The Contracting Life: Caveats to Cashing In (link to Yahoo! News syndication feed)

In the article, under the heading "You Must Know How to Manage the Fiscal End of Your Work", Feinberg talks about the right and wrong ways to calculate hourly billing rates.

And Feinberg describes two very simple formulas that computer consultants can use to calculate an hourly billing rate that takes into account their

1. Sales and Marketing expenses
2. Taxes, Insurance, and Administrative overhead
3. Technical Salary requirements

The West Palm Beach, Florida-based consultant and Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit author also discusses one of the most business-threatening mistakes that new computer consultants make when first getting started in the business.

see link above for full article