IT Consulting for Micro Businesses: What You Need to Know

Summary:
IT Consulting in Micro Businesses requires you to be familiar with basic hardware, software, and networking. You only need to know how to perform about half of the skills to be successful at IT consulting.

IT Consulting: You Need More Than Just Technical Skills

Summary:
IT consulting is best started with "sweet spot" clients. While it's okay to balance out your portfolio with larger businesses, small businesses are the most profitable and easily secured segment in IT consulting.

IT Consulting: What Non-IT Skills Do You Need?

Summary:
IT consulting success requires more from you than strong technical skills. In this article, you'll learn about some of the business skills you'll need for IT consulting.

IT Consulting: What about Large/Small Businesses?

Summary:
IT consulting can serve the needs of larger small businesses. These companies will already have an on-staff IT employee, so they will have different needs with your IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Targeting Different Sized Businesses

Summary:
IT Consulting is possible for many different sized businesses. Be sure you know the requirements and make up of each before you offer IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Steps to a Successful Launch

Summary:
IT consulting businesses require you take specific steps when first starting your business. In this article, learn how starting a contact database, setting your rates, and getting your first paying clients are crucial steps in your business of IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Steps to a Gradual Business Launch

Summary:
IT consulting start-ups should follow a step by step plan before launching their business full time. Follow some of the 21 steps for success in your business of IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Services for Sweet Spot Customers

Summary:
IT Consulting requires you to be able to provide many different services. In this article, you'll learn about possible services you can provide to your clients in IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Sell Services, Not Products

Summary:
IT consulting should be focused around selling services; not products. You should consider aligning yourself with vendors if you are going to providing specialized IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Seasonal Selling Trends

Summary:
IT consulting has a hot season and a cold one. Be aware that the holiday season and mid-summer are the slowest times for IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Search for Sweet Spot Clients

Summary:
IT consulting involves finding your sweet spot clients. Find your clients online, at networking events, and in journal and newspaper articles to learn if they're a good prospect for IT consulting.

IT Consulting: More Steps to Success

Summary:
IT consulting requires you to get your first paying clients quickly. Give away some of your services for free to get testimonials and go to networking events to get word out of your business of IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Generate Income in the Beginning

Summary:
IT Consulting requires you to generate leads, go out on sales calls, and follow up with prospects. Take the necessary steps to ensure your clients pay you for computer consulting.

IT Consulting: Ensuring You Get Paid

Summary:
IT consulting requires to run your business just as any other. Make sure you get a down payment and invoice weekly to build a profitable business in IT consulting.

IT Consulting: Charge Appropriately for Your Services

Summary:
IT Consulting is a business and needs to be run like one. Consider your expenses and your staff's salary requirements to make sure you are charging correctly for IT consulting.

IT Consulting: 3 Steps You Need to Take

Summary:
IT consulting start-ups should follow a step by step plan before launching their business full time. Follow these three steps for success in your business of IT consulting.

IT Consulting: 3 Steps to Success

Summary:
IT consulting businesses require preparation before opening their doors. Learn three important steps you need to take for beginning a business in IT consulting.

Computer Consulting: Do You Keep Your Micro Clients?

Summary:

Computer consulting professionals can keep their micro clients. Just be sure you still have enough time to market your business of computer consulting.

Article Body:

A big question, especially among newly established computer consulting professionals is this: “I have some smaller clients with two to five PCs. Since they’re very close and they’re willing to pay our hourly rate and understand that I can schedule them when I can, is there a problem in keeping them as clients? Until I establish myself with more larger clients, I’d hate to lose this income.”

  

Are Micro Clients Taking Up Too Much of Your Time?

This is more of a focus and a time management challenge than anything else. If you have a way that you can fit this all in, so much the better. Keep in mind that you need to leave time to get your direct mail campaigns out, to get your follow-up phone calls out, to go to the expos, to hold seminars, to get out and network, etc.

Don't take the only excess time that you have in a given week and devote it to servicing just those smaller computer consulting clients who are probably not going to grow substantially bigger over the next year or two.

Be Sure To Schedule Time for Marketing

Many computer consulting professionals have told us that they are spending so much time taking care of running and operating a store that it’s very difficult to find the time to read marketing books and learn other new skills, then get out and practice them. 

If you have enough time to devote to the marketing of your computer consulting business and servicing your sweet spot clients, So to the extent that you have time to do all this and you can fit it all in, that’s fine.  

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Computer Consulting: 3 Questions To Ask Your Clients

Summary:
Computer consulting clients can be asked some simple questions for to help you get more customers and keep your current ones satisfied. Listen to the answers and use them to help grow your business of computer consulting.






Article Body:
From a customer service perspective, you can ask your computer consulting clients three questions that will explode the growth of your company.

Question Number One:

“How Can We Improve the Level of Service That We Provide Your Company?”

Ask your computer consulting clients this question on a regular basis; at least a couple times a year. You will be amazed at the type of suggestions they give you.

They will tell you some things you’ll be able to implement without charging them another nickel or penny more because they’re simple no-brainer kind of things. For example, “Could you send us an email reminder the day before you’re coming in?” Obviously you don’t have to charge for something like that.

Some of the others may say, “It would be great if you could guarantee this kind of response time” or  “It would be great if you could also take over finding someone who can help us with our PBXs.”

You’re going to get some ideas, some of which are going to make sense for you, some won't. Some of them may require a little more legwork and some of them may be great opportunities for additional revenue.

Question Number Two:

“Is There Anything Else IT-related That Your Company Needs Help With?”

Question Number Three:

“Do You Know Anyone Else Such as Business Associates, Friends, Family Members in the Greater Area That Could Use Some Help With Their Computer-related Problems?”

Help Your Computer Consulting Clients Help You

Spend a minute or two to tell your computer consulting clients what they should look out for. If they happen to be on the phone with a vendor or supplier or family member and they’re complaining and moaning that everything’s running slowly or that the LAN’s down again or email’s not working or the server crashed.

Get your computer consulting clients trained to listen for those clues and let you know that there’s an opportunity out there. If they’re a long-term client of yours and they’re happy with you, they should be more than happy to recommend you.  All you need to do is ask and train them to be looking for these clues.

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