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IT Consultation: Qualifying a Customer
By Joshua Feinberg
IT consultation projects start with a phone call and are followed by a meeting with prospects. The initial meeting is a great time for the client and the IT consultation business. It is an opportunity for you as a consultant to properly qualify the client to figure out if a contract will be possible.
How to Qualify
Many clients will waste your time by giving your IT consultation firm false hope. They might ask for additional proposals or presentations even though they don't intend to sign a contract. You can avoid spending excess time on non-serious clients by properly qualifying them using the following techniques.
Submit Pared-Down Proposals
An IT consultation needs to present simply a broad idea of the actions that will be involved in the project. If you give too much information, you are giving away your expertise free of charge, and the client might not feel the need to hire you. You should withdraw from the project if the prospect asks you for too many details up-front and spend your time looking for more possibilities.
Make a Decision Timeline
IT consultation firms need to create a timeline with prospects to figure out when they will decide. You should allow enough time for the prospective customer to think about your offer, but also make the deadline clear and final. Without a timeline, you might wait for months and waste time that could be spent on getting other projects.
Get Decision-Makers Involved
If you can't get decision-makers involved in discussions, you should be very wary. The project will probably never get approved if you can't get the attention of important people, and the absence of decision-makers in the process might be a sign that your IT consultation firm should move on. Getting decision-makers excited and involved from the beginning will lead to a great opportunity for a long-term relationship.
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
About the Author
Joshua Feinberg, co-founder of Computer Consulting 101, helps computer consulting business owners get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too with free proven computer consulting secrets at http://www.ComputerConsulting101.com
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