Small Biz Tech Talk ™

When determining pricing for IT audits, use your hourly rate to guide you … but give a discount so you can get on the good side of your customers.

IT Audits:  Your Hourly Rate Should Lead You

When figuring out pricing of IT audits, take your hourly billing rate and realize you’re probably going to spend two or three hours on the call.  You will then spend another hour back in the shop writing reports for IT audits and writing down an estimate.  With all these factors in mind and your average hourly billing rate, what should you be charging?

As an example, if you’re charging $95 per hour and you figure out the above information about on-site client time and time spent back at the shop along with a follow-up question and answer session afterwards, you can guess you will spend about five hours.  This means this IT audit will be worth a bit under $500.  To figure out the real price, round down and discount.

Never Bill the Full Amount for IT Audits

The idea behind IT audits is getting a foot in the door with clients.  Therefore, you would be wise not to bill IT audits at their full amount.  You want to give prospects the peace of mind in knowing they can afford your services.  You want to start off with trust that you’re not trying to run up a bill.  Your goal is to find out what their biggest problems are, help them organize and help them address major issues.  They could very well be your future clients.

You can expect to spend a couple hours coming up with recommendations, what it will cost the prospects and when they can schedule time.  Don’t give your time away for free, but don’t charge regular price for IT audits.

IT Audits:  Discount!

Your goal with IT audits is getting prospects to open up their wallet and spend money on future services.  Even if you only make 50 to 75 percent of regular price on IT audits, just call it cost of sales and an investment in your future.  

While it’s up to you what you charge, the typical range for IT audits is $250 – $350.  If you want to be really aggressive charge $199 or $200.  Make IT audits available at a fixed price and get prospects to prove they will spend money on IT audits.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

The delay of the release of Windows Vista has allowed competitors to enter the market and has solution providers questioning whether they can deliver a comparable product.  Computer business Novell is working hard to seize the desktop operating system market with its release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, an operating system trying to edge out Microsoft’s product by beating it in cost, manageability and features offered.

Solution providers and other experts are still asking whether the channel is ready for a Linux desktop to replace Windows, or better yet whether the Linux system itself is ready to enter the channel.  SUSE is set to be available by mid-July, 2007 whereas Vista will be released in January.

System builders and solution providers are already cautioning users about the new SUSE Linux, despite raving about its inexpensive $50 price tag, which comes in at $450 less than Windows XP with Office.  Many do not believe that there will be a grand migration from Microsoft to Linux, at least not immediately.

According to solution providers, SUSE has the feature set, compatibility and flexibility to fulfill the needs of a majority of corporate desktop users.  Solution providers feel they can count on Linux to fill the gaps previously filled only by Microsoft products.  However, there will be challenges.  Channel partners will need to train employees and customers on Linux, and there is a chance that applications may not exist in Linux that can truly meet line-of-business needs.  Simply put, there will be a significant learning curve to deal with before Linux reigns, and many will have a hard time giving up their friend Microsoft.  However, as son as Microsoft stops supporting XP, this could all change.      

Those looking to find out a feature-by-feature analysis of the new SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 as reviewed by solution providers can reference the linked article, which analyzes the operating system by categories such as ease of installation, basic feature set, user experience, administrator experience, network, security, add-ons and third-party applications and others.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

IT marketing is helped once you get client referrals.  But how do you get these?  Volunteer your time with a  well-respected, worthy charity and ask for referrals to expand your IT marketing reach.

Once you have established some clients, IT marketing will get easier.  The following steps will help get you to a point where IT marketing becomes a much simpler task:

1.    Pick a startup date;

2.    Print business cards;

3.    Tell everyone you know about your business;

4.    Get some reference accounts;

5.    Get referrals.

IT Marketing:  Volunteering with a Catch

If you do a volunteer job with an organization you like and a definitive end-date, you should be able to get referrals that will help with your IT marketing.  Your offer should resemble the following concept:

“I’m going to do a great job helping you upgrade your PC and website, but I would like something from you in return.  At the end of the half day, I’d love a reference letter from you and your assurance that you will take phone calls every once in a while from prospective clients and act as a reference.  I’d also like to be introduced to people that are involved in your organization and could provide leads for me.”  This means you should be asking for people that own their own businesses or manage their own businesses and use computers regularly.

Directors of organizations like that will be in a great position to know which board members are complaining about computer problems or don’t know how to use files they are emailed or are complaining about viruses.

Volunteering can get testimonials and references to help advance your IT marketing campaign and your business.

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

New Jersey-based solution provider Consultedge, Inc. was recently named to the Computer Reseller News (CRN) Magazine Fast Growth 100 for the second year in a row.  The solution provider offers communications solutions that use voice and data systems.  This top 100 recognizes the top solution providers in the U.S. baed on revenue growth over a two-year period.

Neal Stanton, President and CEO of the solution provider Consultedge attributes growth to the company’s diligence with providing personalized support for clients.  He notes that being named among the top solution providers for two years in a row is a testament to the success of a strong business plan.

Solution provider Consultedge placed 72nd on the 2006 CRN Fast 100.  Companies have to be solution providers under the definitions of CRN with 2003 net sales of at least $750,000 to be considered for this list.  They have to be independently operated and based in the U.S. since January 1, 2003.

Consultedge is a leading solution provider producing voice/data communications solutions that help businesses be more efficient and perform as well as possible.  Specialties of the solution provider include IP telephony, contact center/CRM and messaging.

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

Recently computer business Hewlett-Packard finished its $4.5 billion acquisition of Mercury and got rid of the Mercury brand.  It announced that it will leave behind its OpenView systems and network management brand.

Tom Hogan, senior vice president of computer business HP Software told Computer Business Review that the Mercury and OpenView brands will be phased out slowly, with OpenView going even more slowly than Mercury.

The OpenView group of products was first released in 1988 by the computer business, and the first available products were network management tools meant to compete with IBM’s NetView network manager. OpenView now has grown to include asset management, business service management, configuration management, IT service management and operations management.

The departure of Mercury was not surprising to those in the computer industry, but that of OpenView is a bit more of a shock.  Computer business HP intends to call the new two-business combination HP Software, although it will use Mercury’s name for its marketing department, which was Business Technology Optimization (BTO).

HP will keep some of Mercury’s names for products, including its LoadRunner testing brand, though some will combine names from the two companies.  Hogan stated that the company doesn’t intend to announce any detailed product information until January in order to preserve Mercury’s business at the end of the year.

Although computer business HP is getting rid of the OpenView brand name, core systems and network management technologies associated with the brand will not be left behind.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

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

Based in Japan, computer business Sony Corp. announced last Wednesday it would soon be releasing the world’s lightest PC notebook computers.  The release will be geared towards business users and is set for December.

The computer business’ PC weighs 898 grams and is called the “type G” Vaio.  It comes with a 12.1-inch LCD screen.

Senior Vice President of Sony Yoshihisa Ishida stated that the recent battery recalls will have little bearing on the computer business’ PC division.  Other PC makers, such as Dell and Apple are recalling as many as 9.6 million Sony batteries due to overheating, so many are concerned these new laptops will have similar issues.

Sony states that the basic model of the new computer, which has a 12.5-hour battery life and no optical drive will be valued at the equivalent of about $1,881.  Currently, the computer business does not plan to sell the “type G” models outside Japan.

No sales target for new models was released by computer business Sony, but it has said it wants to raise the PC revenue of corporate clients to 30 percent of overall business in Japan by March 2010.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101

IT audits are a smart idea, particularly for business with just a few PCs that probably don’t have the right licenses and protection.  You need to jump on this type of customer and make an offer that will get them to say, “Yes” to IT audits.

Look at your current customers and decide which ones are good candidates for IT audits.  The number of PCs the customers have, generally more than five, put them in a good position for IT audits.

Check for UPSs, data line protection, real surge protectors and antivirus software licenses.  These customers should also have active and valid subscription for the licenses to keep antivirus and firewall protection current.  You want to figure out if everything is updated, what is being done with routers, firewalls, network adjust translations and other protective items.

Be Prepared to Motivate Customers

In order to increase the desire for IT audits talk to your customers while they are in the store.  You can also do an outbound telemarketing campaign, include a flyer with invoices or do a mailing of a letter, postcard or brochure.

Don’t forget to use current events when trying to sell IT audits.  If viruses, power outages or anything else is in the news, use these disasters to entice customers.  You need to show urgency when offering IT audits.

Give customers the impression that IT audits are discounted and give this discount a deadline.  If you discount from $350 to $199 and say you’re doing it because of high demand, limit it to the first 25 customers.

How you market your IT audits will determine whether you can get customers to agree to them.  Let customers know they are urgently needed and scarce.  

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit