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1. | IT Consulting Services: 3 Factors For Choosing What to Offer
IT consulting services are offered at different levels and types in almost all the virtual IT businesses you encounter. Deciding which IT consulting services you should offer is a key consideration when starting your business.
The IT consulting services you choose to offer should be driven ...
[Added: 12 Oct 2006 Hits: 70 Words: 478]
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2. | IT Services Outsourcing When You Don't Know Everything
IT services outsourcing is what you need to do when, not if, your prospects ask for products and services that you are not able to deliver. Many new business owners think they need to know ...
[Added: 12 Oct 2006 Hits: 73 Words: 371]
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3. | Computer Business Software - What Should You Buy?
Computer business software is an area where many new network consultants get overwhelmed. There are so many great products out there that it is hard to decide which computer business software to invest your time and money in.
You want to ...
[Added: 12 Oct 2006 Hits: 64 Words: 448]
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4. | Business Agreements For Quality Referrals
Business agreements with other IT companies can be an excellent way to secure high quality referrals. When you are dealing within a B2B context, the referrals you get from non competing IT businesses tend to be ones that will turn into long term service contracts. This is ...
[Added: 12 Oct 2006 Hits: 66 Words: 400]
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5. | IT Consulting Services: Offer What Your Prospects Need
IT consulting services come in all shapes and sizes. When you first start a business it is often difficult to decide which IT consulting services to offer. Should you sell what you know, sell what is trendy, or sell what you think people want?
The ...
[Added: 07 Oct 2006 Hits: 118 Words: 459]
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6. | Product Ideas: How To Determine What to Offer
Product ideas or services that your computer business will offer are not as easy to decide upon as you may think. When you start a new business this part of business planning is often taken for granted.
Deciding upon a product idea or ...
[Added: 07 Oct 2006 Hits: 75 Words: 441]
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7. | Successful Entrepreneurs: Do You Have The Characteristics Needed?
Successful entrepreneurs in virtual IT have a certain set of personality traits and characteristics. Without these attributes, the chances of becoming a successful entrepreneur in this business are limited.
Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
A ...
[Added: 06 Oct 2006 Hits: 91 Words: 439]
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8. | Direct Mail Advertising - Tips and Tricks
Direct mail advertising is a marketing technique you will likely use in your virtual IT business. Because this type of advertising can be expensive, it is best to know the ins and outs before you begin.
...
[Added: 06 Oct 2006 Hits: 62 Words: 421]
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9. | Computer Service Contracts - Moving From Customer to Client
Computer service contracts are the butter of a computer services business. The difference between having a computer service contract and not having one, is what defines the difference between a customer and a client. As a ...
[Added: 05 Oct 2006 Hits: 66 Words: 329]
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10. | Salesperson - Do You Need One At Start-up?
A salesperson is not a good idea early on. This is a question that many computer services businesses have. The best advice I have is that it is generally a very, very bad idea to hire a salesperson when you are just getting established.
Early on, your focus ...
[Added: 05 Oct 2006 Hits: 64 Words: 369]
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11. | Follow Up Tips for Computer Services Part 2
Follow up, as we said last time, is a critical component of your marketing system. You need to stay in touch with your contacts. The tricky part is making sure your follow up doesn't cross over into pestering. This is where creative follow up comes in.
Last ...
[Added: 04 Oct 2006 Hits: 64 Words: 374]
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12. | Contact Management Databases: A Top Asset for Systems Integrators
Contact management databases are a very, very important asset to your systems integration business. In fact, a contact management database is like a treasure map. In it you will find your future business.
The names in your ...
[Added: 04 Oct 2006 Hits: 66 Words: 420]
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13. | Seminar Topics - Talk Business, Not IT
Seminar topics are difficult to think of. We know that hosting seminars is an excellent way to network and use relationship marketing. The problem lies in figuring out a seminar topic that will appeal to the clients in your sweet spot.
When choosing a ...
[Added: 03 Oct 2006 Hits: 60 Words: 378]
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14. | Sales Pipeline - Know Where Your Contacts Are At
Sales pipelines are an important concept in business marketing. At any one point you will have different people in different phases of the buying process: your sales pipeline. How you market to these people varies. When you know who, and how ...
[Added: 03 Oct 2006 Hits: 90 Words: 349]
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15. | Contact Management Systems - What To Look For
Contact management systems are an excellent way to track the success of your various marketing techniques. You can put together a quick spreadsheet to track your contact data but why? It is time consuming and with the excellent contact management systems ...
[Added: 03 Oct 2006 Hits: 70 Words: 405]
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16. | Follow Up Tips for Computer Services Part 1
Follow up is an incredibly important aspect of your marketing and contact management systems. You need to be diligent but not aggressive with your follow-up, though. Your follow up should be creative and customized for each lead or prospect but never so overwhelming ...
[Added: 03 Oct 2006 Hits: 65 Words: 330]
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17. | Marketing Surveys For Your PC Repair Business
Marketing surveys are an excellent way to get information from contacts, prospects, and leads for your PC Repair Business. They allow you to keep in touch and keep current with what is going on after you have made a sales ...
[Added: 30 Sep 2006 Hits: 83 Words: 392]
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18. | Starting A New Business - Who Do You Tell and How?
Starting a new business is one thing, actually getting paying clients is another. Clients won't know you're starting a new business unless you tell them. So you have to start telling people right away.
...
[Added: 29 Sep 2006 Hits: 76 Words: 433]
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19. | Contact Management Systems Track Your Marketing Efforts
Contact management systems allow you to track which marketing techniques are working and which aren't. With an effective contact management system in place you can see at a glance how much time you are spending with leads and from ...
[Added: 28 Sep 2006 Hits: 50 Words: 323]
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20. | Starting A New Business - Get The Word Out To Everyone
Starting a new business requires creativity. You need to think of innovative ways to entice people to give you a shot when you are starting a new business.
Often times early paying clients come from friends of the family ...
[Added: 28 Sep 2006 Hits: 70 Words: 433]
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21. | Moonlighting - Do You Need To Let Your Clients Know?
Moonlighting is one of the most common ways computer consultants start their own businesses. It offers the distinct benefit of having access to a steady income while you are building a business.
The problem with moonlighting ...
[Added: 27 Sep 2006 Hits: 63 Words: 361]
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22. | Starting A New Business In IT and Getting Clients
Starting a new business is difficult. Customers don't typically come calling on you right away. Everyone starts somewhere and not all of your first clients will be long term, sweet spot clients.
Starting a new business means you don't have your business foundation completed ...
[Added: 27 Sep 2006 Hits: 81 Words: 333]
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23. | Sales Calls - Use Your Time Wisely
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.
...
[Added: 27 Sep 2006 Hits: 81 Words: 407]
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24. | Selling Techniques For New IT Consultants
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 ...
[Added: 26 Sep 2006 Hits: 102 Words: 427]
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25. | Sales Calls - Not Just For Selling!
Sales calls can be exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. As a new computer business owner it is easy to get caught up in the sales aspect of the sales call. What you need to remember is that during the sales ...
[Added: 26 Sep 2006 Hits: 79 Words: 477]
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26. | Business Contact Information - What To Track
Business contact information is a necessary requirement for pre qualifying potential clients. There are certain attributes that you want to look for in business contacts so you need to capture and track that information.
Every prospect's file should ...
[Added: 26 Sep 2006 Hits: 63 Words: 325]
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27. | IT Consulting: More Than Technical
Although technical skills are essential for IT consultants, there are many other things you need to know when running your own business. Here is a list of a few of the most important things you need to learn when running your own business.
Learn ...
[Added: 25 Sep 2006 Hits: 61 Words: 333]
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28. | Business Startup Funding Readiness
Business startup funding is a concern for most professionals starting their own businesses. Many wonder if they have enough money to begin and when they can quit their other jobs to focus entirely on the new business. The key ...
[Added: 25 Sep 2006 Hits: 66 Words: 374]
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29. | Networking Steps in IT Consulting
An IT consulting business start-up venture is dependent upon patience and perseverance. The most difficult part is getting new clients, and the following are some steps you can take to get started in the IT ...
[Added: 25 Sep 2006 Hits: 63 Words: 421]
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30. | Moonlighting Jobs for a Small Business Computer Consultant
Finding good moonlighting jobs can be difficult for computer consultants working with small businesses because you are usually on duty when these companies are not. You need to be able to conduct moonlighting jobs in the ...
[Added: 25 Sep 2006 Hits: 82 Words: 390]
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31. | Computer Consulting Services is About Selling Peace of Mind
For many small business clients, your computer consulting services will be an important part of an insurance policy. Your service agreement will tell them what is covered as part of this policy and what is not and will give them ...
[Added: 18 Sep 2006 Hits: 71 Words: 368]
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32. | IT Consulting Roads to Success
You need to be ready for challenges before you start your IT consulting business. The following steps can help get you started.
Make A Database Of Contacts That Includes Everyone You Meet
When making an IT consulting prospect/contact database, use a preexisting package like ACT ...
[Added: 18 Sep 2006 Hits: 73 Words: 386]
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33. | Small Business Networking: An Overview
Small business networking is very important to success. You, the computer consultant, are entrenched in the professional services business, which revolves around relationships and thus networking with a large number of people.
You need to ...
[Added: 18 Sep 2006 Hits: 61 Words: 374]
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34. | Handling Customer Fears in the Computer Consulting Business
Internet security is an important element in the computer consulting business. As a computer consulting professional, your clients will need you to explain Internet security by describing how your networking solution will work with firewall, antivirus and encryption techniques.
Acknowledge Client Concerns
Connecting to a system ...
[Added: 18 Sep 2006 Hits: 88 Words: 332]
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35. | Spotting IT Consulting Sweet Spot Clients
Having a sustainable IT consulting business is intricately linked to the sweet spot of small businesses. But where do you look for these small business clients, and how do you know they will actually be a source of lucrative recurring revenue?
Identifying A ...
[Added: 17 Sep 2006 Hits: 62 Words: 363]
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36. | A Good Website is Critical in the IT Consulting Business
When you are just starting out in the IT consulting business, you need a website. Potential clients will know whether you are full time and in the IT consulting business for the long haul or just trying it on for size by the quality of your website.
...
[Added: 17 Sep 2006 Hits: 69 Words: 331]
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37. | Helping Small Business Consulting Clients in Denial
As a consultant involved in small business consulting, your clients may sometimes ask you why they need the more powerful or larger network you are recommending. Many may say their networks work great … most of the time.
Selling Small Business Consulting ...
[Added: 16 Sep 2006 Hits: 59 Words: 332]
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38. | IT Consulting: What Defines a Sweet Spot Client?
While there is no set definition in IT consulting of a sweet spot client, there are some signs that will tell you whether a prospect is a candidate. Ask the following questions to determine which of your clients will be long-term relationship material:
1. Is the ...
[Added: 16 Sep 2006 Hits: 68 Words: 415]
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39. | Extended Warranties and Notebook PCs
Unlike with regular desktop PCs, you should think about recommending that your clients buy the maximum extended warranty coverage on any notebook PCs they purchase. The cost of replacing any item on notebook PCs can ...
[Added: 16 Sep 2006 Hits: 50 Words: 359]
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40. | IT Consultants Should Lead Customers to Small Business PC Hardware
Most IT consultants know that in the early and mid-1990s, many leading vendors started to divide their product lines into two or three different levels in order to handle different types of consumers.
Both the domestic and global market demand for desktop PCs notebooks ...
[Added: 16 Sep 2006 Hits: 63 Words: 336]
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41. | The IT Consultant Keeps Spare Parts Handy
An IT consultant needs to be aware that PC vendors are typically very willing to cover inexpensive products like a mouse under standard warranties. But because as an IT consultant your client can probably buy a replacement part of that type for as little as ...
[Added: 12 Sep 2006 Hits: 77 Words: 388]
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42. | IT Consulting is About Services, Not Products
In the world of IT consulting, a successful business is focused on selling consulting services, not products.
Services
While you might end up being a dealer for someone or an authorized solution for another to help yourself in the IT consulting business, you should not build your ...
[Added: 12 Sep 2006 Hits: 73 Words: 349]
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43. | IT Consultants: Recommending Video Monitors and PCs
Most PC vendors will give good prices to consumers that buy monitors at the same time as desktop PCs. IT consultants that normally recommend brand name PC products should keep certain things in mind when talking to their clients.
Actual Cost For Your Clients
As IT consultants, ...
[Added: 11 Sep 2006 Hits: 84 Words: 352]
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44. | Computer Service Business: Resources for Recruiting Personnel
You will need to recruit computer service business personnel not only at the start of a business but continuously after that. There are many resources available to those in the computer service business looking to hire employees, and a computer ...
[Added: 11 Sep 2006 Hits: 70 Words: 366]
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45. | Establishing Criteria for Clients in the Computer Consulting Business
In the computer consulting business there are several ways you can best qualify clients to ensure you get the best accounts to help grow your business.
Proximity
The first thing to make sure of when looking for clients ...
[Added: 08 Sep 2006 Hits: 93 Words: 335]
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46. | IT Spending: Protecting Your Clients from PC Vendors
If you have been in the computer consulting business for a long time know that one of the most important services you can provide for your clients is advising them on choosing products. Your clients rely on your computer ...
[Added: 08 Sep 2006 Hits: 82 Words: 412]
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47. | IT Consultant: Hardware Selection for Customers
As an IT consultant that has been around for a while, you have most likely dealt with thousands of different PC hardware systems, and you have probably formed many strong recommendations for clients regarding the very best PC hardware specs. But in order to truly sell clients on the ...
[Added: 08 Sep 2006 Hits: 82 Words: 329]
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48. | Computer Consulting Business Tools for Getting Good Customers
If you want to be financially stable and have a successful and legitimate computer consulting business you have to work on honing your intuition skills and focusing on a specialty. You also need to be good at uncovering the best small business clients.
Small ...
[Added: 08 Sep 2006 Hits: 83 Words: 345]
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49. | Using Recruiting Resources in the Computer Service Business
In the computer service business you will have to recruit employees both at the business start-up and throughout the life of the business. There are many available recruiting resources available to computer service business managers, and the manager able to ...
[Added: 06 Sep 2006 Hits: 69 Words: 339]
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50. | IT Consultation: Do You Have the Required Business Skills?
In the IT consultation world, there are many business skills you need beyond computer skills to succeed. Before you start your own IT consultation firm, you need to become aware of the following required business skills: marketing skills; ...
[Added: 06 Sep 2006 Hits: 76 Words: 395]
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