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When working in small business computer consulting, how do you know when your prospects and customers need a real server?

Don’t Wait too Long for an Upgrade

Many small businesses with no in-house IT manager (which is most of those you will work with in small business computer consulting), small business owners often wait too long to upgrade to a real client-server network.  Why do they do this?  While juggling a lot of crises, wearing many, many different hats and putting out fires all day, no one is typically thinking about the importance of strengthening computer systems until a crisis crops up and ruins the day.

The Problems with Peer-to-Peer Networks

When small businesses don’t listen to your small business computer consulting advice and keep using impromptu peer-to-peer networks, they choose that they don’t care about security and data protection.  Would you encourage a small business owner to remove the locks from the office, uninstall the burglar alarm and leave personnel files out on a table or in the reception area?  Of course not!  That is also why casual peer-to-peer networks don’t work and clients need real, dedicated servers.

We Are in the Era of Mobile Technology

Small businesses that have a mobile work force can’t safely make resources available through a VPN or intranet/extranet if every person in the company is on his/her own system.  The most cost-effective way to manage data protection for your small business computer consulting practice is to consolidate all resources into one or two well-managed and secure servers.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

One of the biggest challenges for computer consulting professionals – and one they routinely ask me about before reading and absorbing the details of my Computer Consulting Kit – is overcoming objections with prospects and customers to using backup and archiving programs and other types of data protection devices.  Many small business owners don’t get as frightened as they should about losing data and are not as motivated as they could be to take action on data backup and recovering solutions.

As the owner of the Computer Consulting Kit and a trainer to many IT consulting businesses, VARs, integrators and solution providers, I often find myself talking about overcoming common sales objections, particularly when it comes to data backup.  

All the advice provided by the Computer Consulting Kit is 100% devoid of any channel allegiance.  Although many solution providers with whom we talk deal with the Windows platform, our strategies have been proven effective in selling any type of solutions, whether based on Microsoft or Linux, Mac and NetWare.  

The Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course:  What about Sales Objections?

As part of the Computer Consulting Kit, I talk about …

1.     What a sales objection is.

2.    How sales objections fit into the bigger picture of the sales process.

3.    Why so many channel partners lose the sale before they even get to the sales call.  

4.    How to get prospects to open up to you about their real objections even if they aren’t forthcoming initially.

Overcoming sales objections is a common topic discussed in the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course.  There is a simple and critical formula for quickly putting many sales objections to rest and some credibility-building devices that can help you set up solutions for your clients.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Are you wondering whether or not you should provide IT consulting services around the clock for your customers and clients?  The following factors can help you decide.

Business Size

Different sizes of small businesses will present different options.  A small business with just a few PCs will have different IT consulting needs and a different budget than one with 10-50 PCs or one large enough to have an in-house IT department of some sort.  

What is Critical?

Many small businesses need to figure out what is really important to be included as part of 7/24 support and what can wait until normal IT consulting business hours.  The cost for on-site 7/24 support can be really unreasonable for many small companies, so they have to figure out how to manage their needs.   

Businesses Need IT Consulting Services

For non-technical small business owners and managers, a local IT consulting firm is really important to supporting their infrastructure.  They need to have a local trusted technology advisor capable of helping them prevent common IT emergencies and deal with the unexpected.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

In computer consulting, many VARs make the same sorts of mistakes when they are deciding on the process of becoming a managed services provider (MSP).  

Computer Consulting:  Business Plans

Many VARs forget about the importance of writing down a business plan.  Going on a wing and a prayer rarely works for any sort of successful computer consulting professional.  The only way to decrease risk and increase organizational skills and professionalism is to create a business plan.

Computer Consulting and Marketing Plans

Many small VARs are not good with marketing strategies.  Word-of-mouth will not sustain a business, and will definitely not help anyone looking to make the switch from a VAR to a managed services provider.  

Realistic Expectations

A lot of people getting into computer consulting do not have realistic expectations about how their margins will be affected when they transition into a new role as a managed services provider.  You can’t overlook the effort needed to grow a business.

Is Virtual IT Compatible with Managed Services?

Many VARs think that virtual IT and MSP can complement each other.  These two things are different approaches in computer consulting.  While both deliver small business IT services, they need completely different computer consulting marketing strategies, business plans, sales processes, technical competency, infrastructure and financial savvy.  

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit