If you really want to make a decent living and want to have a good, successful, viable computer consulting business, sooner or later you have to narrow down your focus and develop a keen intuition. Additionally, you have to become good at spotting the best small businesses accounts.
The Small Business Myriad
There are millions of small businesses in the U.S. and there are millions of small businesses abroad. There’s a pretty good chance that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of companies that would qualify as small businesses in your local area.
The sad fact is, if you latch onto the wrong ones, you’re not going to have a very good computer consulting business.
Finding the Best Accounts
You need to know where to find these best accounts. In the computer consulting business you also need to know how to say "no," and when to say "no."
It’s extremely important that you know where to look, and how to verify that a small business is going to be a gratifying client for your computer consulting business.
You obviously want to feel a certain sense of career satisfaction. That’s probably one of the reasons you’re looking at starting your own computer consulting business as opposed to sticking with a traditional corporate IT career.
Keep the Financial Aspects in Mind
Your computer consulting business also has to be lucrative financially because you need to have a profitable business. You want it to be a stable source of recurring revenue.
Remember, all small businesses are not created equal. Your job is not to be the Mother Teresa of PC support. You are not starting a computer consulting business as a charitable organization.
The Bottom Line about the Computer Consulting Business
Of course, you want to have empathy for the people you support and you want to do a great job for them. At the same time, you have to look out for your own interests to make sure you’re going to be there for them six months to a year down the road.
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Computer Consulting Business: Find the Right Clients
Computer Consulting Businesses: What Your "Sweet Spot" Clients Are Looking For, Part One
When providing B2B service, computer consulting businesses' ideal clients, or “sweet spot,” are companies with 10-50 PCs and 1-10 million in revenue. These “sweet spot” small businesses typically look for four things in their computer consulting businesses.
1. Response Time
2. Knowledge (Business and Technical)
3. Customer Service
4. Price/Value
In this article we will focus on the top two items, response time and business and technical knowledge.
Speed is Paramount in Computer Consulting Businesses
The more that a small business needs IT, the more likely that response time will be the leading factor. Why? Downtime is money lost. How quickly computer consulting businesses can address their clients' urgent or emergency IT needs becomes very important.
Computer Consulting Businesses are more Than Just a Bunch of Technicians
Your technicians' quick response to IT needs is of prime importance to most sweet spot small businesses. Second in importance would generally be your business or industry knowledge. For example, how well do your employees understand the client's particular industry and niche? Sweet spot clients definitely want technology providers that can really solve business problems, as opposed to just running around doing “screwdriver” kind of work, such as upgrading RAM or loading software.
Computer consulting businesses basically becomes the outsourced IT department for your sweet spot clients. Your company will end up working on hardware support, software support, LAN and WAN support… so you deliver soup-to-nuts, end-to-end solutions.
The Bottom Line on Computer Consulting Businesses
In this article you've been introduced to your sweet spot clients' first two requirements in computer consulting businesses.
How To Impress Clients And Win More Business
Entertaining your clients should involve more than just shouting a few rounds at the local pub. Smart businesses realize that impressive corporate entertainment raises their profile, consolidates existing business arrangements and provides a focus for future deals. So the careful choice of corporate events should be part of your overall hospitality strategy and not a spur of the moment decision, and the budget for this should be part of your overall marketing plan. And remember, you don’t have to go overboard expense-wise to impress, since some of the most memorable events cost the least to stage.
Try to understand your client’s tastes and relaxation modes. Just because you are a big Manchester United fan, it doesn’t mean your clients get a thrill by giving up their leisure time to see a football match. A wine tasting event in France or some other cultural event, for instance, might allow you to entertain a broader set of clients. Remember, the aim is to spend time with the people you are entertaining, not just occupy their time with the entertainment. For example, if people split up to cover different players of a golf tournament, you will have little opportunity to spend time with the right people. Be sure to select a participative event since there’s more opportunity for getting to know people in a communal environment.
Select your corporate event management company carefully. Naturally, you want to make sure your high profile event doesn’t become a high profile flop, so you need to let professionals handle the whole event from start to finish. Look for a corporate event management company with many years experience in the corporate entertainment business that will create a fun event using only the best activity providers in the business. The top corporate events specialists work only with people who have expert knowledge of their region and who offer unique itineraries.
As well as tailoring an event to your budget, you should aim to meet objectives based on the form of entertainment you are presenting. Make sure there is a quiet place for informal discussions so that you don’t get caught up in the post event euphoria before you have had a chance to present a proposal or talk business. While you are keen to impress your clients and win more business, you have to ensure that you don’t turn a corporate entertainment event into a hard-sell exercise.
Your successful corporate event will create an advantage for you over your competitors by giving your clients an unforgettable experience. The best corporate entertainment providers strive to have clients identify their high standards with your corporate philosophy, to strengthen your current and future business relationships. And by getting quality time with your clients you’ll find out how you can further help them meet their goals and how you can offer them a better service. Since people tend to remember those who look after them, it is important to ensure that your event goes off without a hitch and that everyone returns home having had a good time.