Good! You’re on the right track, kind of, sort of.

Why only a half-hearted pat on the back?

Because becoming a reseller shouldn’t be thought of in a vacuum. The days of being able to grow a successful business, purely on the basis of reselling PC hardware and software, has seen its better days.

Why? Because the profit margins on most PC hardware and software reselling run somewhere between anemic and non-existent.

Today, to become a reseller of computer hardware and software, you need to be thinking of additional related revenue streams such as installation, customization, training, and ongoing service.

That’s not to say that if you’re figuring out how to become a reseller that you absolutely must follow a prescribed business-salvation plan. But you need to be honest enough with yourself to recognize that reselling is a brutal business, it has been a brutal business since at least the mid-1990’s, and that the only way for most resellers of computer hardware and software to survive and thrive is by getting involved in selling value-added services to their customers.

What kinds of value-added services? It largely depends on whether you try to sell to “everyone”, or whether you’re smart enough to focus primarily on B2B (business to business), where there’s a lot more at stake with IT and the potential for loads of recurring revenue.

So if you want to become a reseller that focuses on the B2B segment, primarily local small businesses, consider offering the following 4 services.

1. Technology Assessment Services. Before you can make sound hardware and software product recommendations, you really need to spend some time getting to know your customers’ true IT needs, what they already own, where their businesses are headed in the next 2-4 years, and what IT problems they currently face. As this is more of a consulting service rather than a traditional reseller role, you should most certainly charge a nominal fee for your Technology Assessment Services.
2. Systems Installation Services. While there’s little value-added in just un-boxing equipment and plugging it in, there’s tremendous value-add in the software patching, data migration, integration work, and customization. Again, as this is more of a consulting service, you should be charging extra for Systems Installation Services and strongly recommending them for any of your customers who don’t have in-house IT support.
3. Training. While Fortune 1000 companies usually have formal plans for employee software training, small businesses rarely have this luxury. As a result, the only training employees often receive is from their reseller. Even if your customers can only afford to pay your company for an hour or two of ad-hoc one-on-one training with each employee, this training can make an enormous difference to your customers getting better utilization from their newly purchased systems. Again, add this to the list of easy incremental sales for most customers.
4. Help Desk. When your customers have how-to or troubleshooting questions, customers rarely have the expertise or patience to deal with multiple vendors each pointing the finger at each other. Solve this problem for your customers, with a single point of contact help desk. Once again, this is a relatively easy, high-margin incremental revenue source that’s very conducive to selling on a subscription basis.

Most entrepreneurs, when thinking about how to become a reseller of computer hardware and software, just focus on what reseller programs to join. While you certainly do need to have your favored product lines, the harsh financial realities of becoming a reseller in this day and age demand that you diversify into higher margin value-added consulting services.

In this short article, we’ve introduced you to some simple strategies to take the brutally competitive, low-margin prospect of becoming a reseller and turn that into a much more lucrative value-added IT consulting business. To learn more about how to become a reseller of computer hardware and software the profitable way, be sure to sign-up for the free additional tips and business strategies now at http://www.HowToBecomeAResellerTips.com

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The truth is, if you base your business around just cabling jobs or quick fixes, you will attract customers that aren’t really looking for long-term relationships. And you’re going to need a ton of these little one-shot-deal projects to bring in the kind of money that will keep your business afloat. While Fortune 1000 giants might be able to handle these high-volume logistically-complicated operations, a small business using just one, two or three technicians to provide services will never be able to serve the number of clients per year necessary to keep the company afloat on just one-shot-deal customers.

The solution is usually to combine traditional cabling jobs with more complete Virtual IT solutions, so you can attract steady, high-paying clients that will help bring you sustainable service revenue.  Plus you and your staff will get the satisfaction that comes from working on complex business problems with the same businesses on a regular basis.

Granted, some cabling firms eventually add-on router configuration, DSL installations, wireless networking, and Voice-over-IP phone systems.  However those cabling firms with the greatest long-term vision grasp that small business owners want and need… even crave… end-to-end, soup-to-nuts outsourced Virtual IT solutions from a single point of contact.

Consider these 4 reasons why you and your small business clients need to work closely together on more than just plain-old cabling jobs.

1. Small Businesses Want to Enjoy the Same Benefits as Fortune 1000 Companies. In a Fortune 1000 organization, the CIO or IT director is usually responsible for being the IT visionary. This person will spot trends and keep projects on track. This means that if you are providing merely cabling jobs to your small business clients, you need to rethink your strategy. In the small business world, clients rely on their trusted technology provider to act as an IT visionary in the same way as an IT director, but on a much smaller budget. This means you have to be a Virtual CIO providing all the oversight and maintenance services of a larger IT department but on an outsource basis. What’s at stake if you don’t choose this path? Your small business clients will find that single point of contact solution that inevitably already has a cabling firm partner.
2. Small Businesses Crave a Single Point of Contact for Technology Support. Most small business owners won’t want to call multiple people to take care of their technology needs. They don’t have the time or the budget. Instead of someone to just do cabling jobs for them, another to purchase and provide hardware and software, and yet another to provide on-going maintenance for their networks and systems, they need a single point of contact for all their IT support. This is why there is so much opportunity for you in the small business space if you choose to provide complete business solutions and not just quick installations. Your clients want you to be the hardware provider, software reseller, network integrator, application developer, Web site designer and IT manager. Your firm becomes the Virtual IT department for companies too small to hire their own full-time IT staff.  So what are you waiting for?  Start finding local specialists in your community with which to partner.
3. Small Business Clients Are Non-Technical and Thus Naturally Inclined to Think of Price First. Most small business owners will think of technology as buying a bunch of PC’s and software at the lowest possible price. Even the best clients might start out thinking this way, which is why you can’t be just a commodity broker providing cabling jobs to succeed in this space. One of your basic responsibilities as a Virtual IT organization is educating clients on the real benefits of different solutions … in business terms. Help them overcome price objections by showing them the value of planning, consistency, standardization, testing, training, on-going maintenance and regular re-evaluation of their needs.
4. Make Your Clients See the Big Picture. Many small business owners will be inclined to make small impulse purchases for computer hardware, software and peripherals. This piecemeal approach is usually very short-sighted. Planning should be a normal part of their technology acquisition and implementation process. Without proper planning, small business owners almost always make haphazard purchases that rarely work well together.

In this brief article, we looked at why simply providing cabling to small businesses isn’t enough to satisfy clients’ cravings for complete IT solutions.  Learn more about how you combine basic cabling jobs with high-margin outsourced small business Virtual IT services, so you can get great steady, high-paying clients now at http://www.CablingJobsAdvice.com

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Every small business has to think about what they can do in the case of natural disasters, and a way to prepare for them – even those disasters that involve a disgruntled employee or a competitor deciding to sabotage a company – is IT audits.

When Do Data Disasters Strike?

Data disasters happen typically very unexpectedly, and IT audits are a way to take stock of assets to make sure there is some preparation.  Small businesses that have no in-house technical support typically are the most vulnerable to big risks.   

40 Questions for IT Audits

Joshua Feinberg presents a list of 40 questions that can help small businesses gauge their potential issues surrounding data security, workstations, networks, data backup, organizational ideas, utility power and computer viruses.  These questions can be asked as part of IT audits with trained computer consultants.

Submitted By:  Joshua Feinberg

Don’t Procrastinate with IT Audits

Small business owners and managers often procrastinate when it comes to performing tasks that take longer than immediate, day-to-day challenges.  Thinking about what might happen if there was a major catastrophe such as a flood, fire, hurricane or tornado is not very fun, and often might seem like a waste of valuable time.  

But the truth is, any company can easily fall victim to disasters that could compromise its important assets, and more likely disasters such as a lightning storm, downed power lines or sabotage by a disgruntled employee are actually quite likely.  IT audits help anticipate problems and plan for the future, and are an important part of understanding assets and making sure they are protected.  

Disasters are Never Planned

Data disasters happen most often without warning.  Small businesses without an in-house computer support system are particularly prone to this type of problem.  IT audits help begin a relationship with a computer consulting firm that can be a long-term part of an IT insurance policy that includes regular check-ups, maintenance of systems and business and IT planning.  

Ask Questions with IT Audits

Computer consulting professionals can find out why small businesses are so prone to data disasters and other failures by asking a series of 40 questions that can identify a company’s risk.  Questions related to data security, workstations, networks, data backup, organizational issues, utility power and computer viruses can help get to the bottom of a company’s unique IT environment.

The Bottom Line About IT Audits

IT audits are a critical part of managing IT resources for small businesses and will lead to long-term relationships with experts that can provide a comprehensive plan for protecting data and creating a more efficient technology environment.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg