Small Business Computer Consulting

When you do IT audits, you want to know which problems you can solve for clients.  Figuring out which questions they will ask you during IT audits can help.  

Questions and the Needs Analysis with IT Audits

Ask yourself what prospects are looking for.  The answer to this question has been the same for a while.  They will ask you which products and platforms are best for them and which give the best value.  You can include a needs analysis with your IT audit to answer many questions.  You go in and assess their situation and then spend a couple hours looking at what they have.

You need to tell your prospects and customers which products will work together and coordinate.      

IT Audits and Other Services

There are some things your customers will want additionally:

1.     Informal and formal training, including end-user training and administrative training;

2.    Routine and scheduled upgrades;

3.    Coordination with outside vendors for an industry-specific package installation;

4.    Network installation and maintenance.

Customers Want a Centralized Location for Services

Customers are looking for one person to call for all their needs.  And they want a trusted tech advisor just as they want a trusted accountant or attorney.  IT audits can help you figure out what your relationship with prospects will be.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Solution providers using the new version of Windows Vista have reported many incompatibility problems.  Microsoft Vista was launched with its update Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update on January 30th.

Solution providers are concerned about the early compatibility issues and predict more problems in the future.  Many state that the biggest problem with Vista is the lack of drivers for important hardware components and peripherals.

Customers upgrading Vista, according to solution providers are going to have an issue trying to support their current hardware.  Many vendors have not completed Vista drivers, which has made the program difficult to run on many systems.

The following are the 10 greatest problems with Microsoft Vista according to solution providers:

1.    A shortage of available drivers from ISVs that cause application incompatibilities;

2.     A shortage of drivers for current and new peripherals and hardware items;   

3.    Drivers with a lot of bugs;

4.    A new security feature that interrupts service by detecting existing, non-dangerous and often important applications as suspicious;

5.    Virtually no other applications besides Vista and Office 2007 make use of user account control;

6.    A confusing ribbon-like user interface;

7.    Vista automatically makes recommendations to solution providers about which Vista versions are best for the particular PC configuration, which means small businesses may download entirely different versions;

8.    When Vista and Office 2007 run simultaneously, the benefits are unclear, and solution providers and IT staff thus need additional training to fully use the programs;

9.    Deployment isn’t very easy, so solutions have to use Business Desktop Deployment or some other tool;

10.    Most types of hardware don’t run Vista efficiently.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Technology assessments are an important part of any computer services business, and consultants are turning to the advice of the Computer Consulting Kit to help them sell, market and complete these assessments.  The Computer Consulting Kit has helped countless professionals in the IT industry improve their marketing and sales techniques, sign more clients onto service agreements and increase revenue.  

Jason Livingston of Nashville, Tennessee and the Computer Consulting Kit

Jason Livingston is the owner of the computer consulting business Technology Services of Nashville.  With the guidance of the Computer Consulting Kit he has managed to find a niche for himself in the construction business and help clients improve their technological capabilities.

He says,

“I assisted a client with remote access to accounting software as my big project last year.  I specialize in construction companies’ IT needs.  Construction companies have lots of remote users, which poses a problem as the need for collaboration grows.

I installed a Terminal Server licensed in Application mode.  After installing the accounting software, I made it available to the users that were remote.  This has helped streamline the client’s accounting process. I used the needs assessment form in the Computer Consulting Kit to identify the business needs pertaining specifically to the accounting process.  This helped me to identify a need that I could solve using TS technology.”

The Bottom Line About the Computer Consulting Kit

The Computer Consulting Kit helps professionals like Jason Livingston in the IT industry create full technological solutions for important clients to improve relationships and grow their businesses.  Join the many other computer consultants that have unlocked the potential of the Computer Consulting Kit and used the many free resources to stay competitive and increase revenue.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Earlier this week, security vendor SecureWave announced it would be offering a free tool to solution providers that helps uncover properties of portable storage devices connected to networks.  

This new Device Scanner discovery tool for solution providers can help them determine the threat of data theft of breaks in security.  It shows customers how many portable USB storage devices have been connected to the network, including thumb drives, Apple iPods or other MP3 players.

SecureWave is going to offer Device Scanner to channel partners.  Spokespeople for the company state they hope these solution providers will use the tool to help sell some of its Sanctuary products.  According to the company, many customers do not realize the threat devices connected to important networks pose.  Studies show that enterprise PCs each have approximately three to four USB devices connected to them.

Device Scanner analyzes a network to figure out all devices that have been connected to Microsoft Windows endpoints.  The scanner provides a historical log because it gets data from the Windows registry.

Solution providers have expressed surprise over how many portable storage devices are being used by the average employee.  Customers and clients have been equally surprised at results uncovered by the new security device.  This device can be particularly important in health care, financial services and legal markets where customer privacy and data security are incredibly important.

While many companies have policies regarding thumb drives and iPods, enforcing them before this point or at least figuring out if they are being followed has been a near impossibility.  This security device allows businesses to monitor employee use and make network security tighter.

Stenstrom Scientific intends to offer services based on Device Scanner for free or as an extra pat of its network security assessments.  The company hopes Device Scanner will open up opportunities for solution providers to sell other security products.  

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Sales calls with prospects should focus on IT audits.  Spending more than 30 minutes with a prospect should be called a billable IT audit.

The goal of a sales call is to get IT audits.  Unless there is a specific emergency, you need to try to sell IT audits; they will lead to future IT services and hopefully help turn prospects into steady, high-paying clients.

If a prospect gives you very direct points of pain, such as broken equipment or server problems, you have something to do and you should start there.  However, sometimes selling half-day tech assessments and IT audits makes sense.  But how do you approach IT audits?  

Quick = Free With IT Audits

If you do a stripped-down free version, go in for half an hour and offer a basic list of items.  Anything more than half an hour that involves actually investigating hubs, switches and other items is well beyond the scope of a free assessment.

IT Audits:  Get Paid for Longer Assessments

Any calls longer than half an hour that involve detailed work can’t be free.  Come up with a set rate for IT audits that extend beyond 30 minutes and stick to it!

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Current events, such as outbreaks of viruses and worms can help your marketing efforts when mentioned in the news.  Small businesses that are your targets will probably be feeling the pain of major outbreaks and be hyper-aware of what you can do for them. particularly with IT audits.

When small businesses see important technology current events in the news, they might notice they need power protection and orderly shutdowns or backup generators to protect themselves.  Worms and virus clean-up will have serious security risks attached and will be a perfect opportunity for you to conduct IT audits.  

IT Audits and a Marketing Plan

You can compile a fixed price IT audits package and deliver it to prospects.  Go in with an inventory checklist and discuss physical system security, virus protection, licenses, firewalls and if they are regularly checking tape drive and storage systems.

Almost all small businesses will offer you a very big cleanup opportunity as new accounts.  Businesses believe they are more well-protected against malicious forces such as viruses than they actually are in reality.  IT audits will allow you to inform them of necessary updates to antivirus software and other systems.  

IT Audits and Data Backups

When you question prospects about data backup, they may look confused or tell you what they think is right rather than what is real.  Typically systems are not kept current without a good tech provider or in-house IT department.  

IT audits present great opportunities to uncover weaknesses in small businesses and try to hook long-term clients.  IT audits allow you to present prospects with an organized attack plan that includes items such as upgrades, training, replacement and other important business elements.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101

Since the vast majority of small business prospects and clients that you encounter will likely be running some version of Microsoft Windows, it is a good idea to educate small business managers on the differences between the "current" versions of Microsoft Windows.

Versions of Microsoft Windows

Are your clients using the "right" version of Microsoft Windows?  Below is some lists of different versions of Microsoft Windows your clients may be using in their small business network.

Consumer products (Home User)

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows 98, Second Edition
• Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
• Microsoft Windows XP Home

Business Products: Desktop:

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Business Products: Server:

• Microsoft Windows NT Server 4
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Microsoft Server 2003

Eight 32-bit Microsoft Windows products have been used by small businesses since the mid-’90s — and that’s just on the desktop side of the typical small business network.

Managing Expectations

It can be very helpful to understand some of the main differences between peer-to-peer and client/server small business networks.

If you want to close the sale and gain a profitable, long-term client, it’s very important to educate your prospects and clients on key terminology while you work to manage their expectations from the very first conversation.

The Bottom Line about Small Business Networks

In this article, you’ve learned about small business networks. To learn more about small business networks click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Technology assessments can be a win-win for both you and your clients. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• Don’t just use technology assessments for new clients. Existing customers and clients can benefit from them too.
• When clients implement your recommendations from the technology assessments, you will be able to work more effectively with that client, both initially and over the long-haul.

Read on to find out how one of our computer consultants was able to get more signed service agreements via his technology assessments.

"We finally formalized the new client inventory and assessment process. It systematically defines for us how to follow up with accounts that haven’t used us in the past for proactive maintenance.  There are lots of templates discussing a given client’s profile. We weren’t systematically capturing the info necessary to recommend a service agreement that would be of maximum benefit to our new clients."

Scott T. Rauth, Entire Computer Solutions
Overland Park, Kansas

The Bottom Line about Technology Assessments

To learn more about technology assessments, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Technology assessments are a great way to suggest new ways for your customers to become more efficient and save money. While they are often used for new customers, don’t forget to use them for existing customers.

You already have a relationship with these clients, and you can suggest updates and changes that will positively impact their bottom line.

Read on to see how one of our computer consultants used technology assessments with his existing customers:

"This year I used proactive support with our existing customers, connected to the top 50 customers’ servers and identified what service packs, patches and updates were required. Then sent a one-page flyer outlining what they needed, why they needed it, how long it would take, what size the patches were, how much downtime was required, and also identified what benefits the customer could expect. Combined these visits to talk to existing customers and have a chat to catch up and find out what they like/dislike about my company. Also generated £50,000.00 of revenue which is a great result after all the hard work…"

Richard Birt, CNC Ltd
Brighton, East Sussex, UK

The Bottom Line about Technology Assessments

To learn more about technology assessments, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Technology assessment projects are in demand.  However, it is vital for a consultant to know where to find these technology assessment opportunities.  Consider four market segments when promoting your technology assessment skills. 

Government

Government contracts might be local, state, or federal in nature.  Be sure to consider all segments.  Educational organizations, city or town offices, and county government fall under the heading of government contracts. 

These projects can be very profitable for a technology assessment consultant.  However, they are difficult to obtain.  Experience in government work is beneficial.

Large Businesses

The competition for large business contracts is fierce.  Consultants offering technology assessment services should determine why they stand out from the competition and promote these differences. 

Once a large contract is attained, it can be very lucrative.  Once you’ve worked with a large company, your experience will assist you in obtaining new large business contracts.

Small Businesses

Small businesses include those with one employee up to hundreds of employees.  These contracts should not be dismissed just because they are small. 

Small businesses make up a very large part of the technology assessment market.  Although the fee is not as lucrative as with large businesses, there is less competition for contracts.

Individuals

Individuals will help to sustain a technology assessment business in the early stages.  These will be small contracts but may provide a steady income until you are able to work with larger companies. 

A consultant never knows where the next best contact may come from.  Perhaps the individual you assist is the CEO of a national firm needing your technology assessment expertise in the future!

The Bottom Line about Technology Assessment Jobs and Finding Clients

Consider all market segments when promoting your technology assessment skills.  The government, large businesses, small businesses, and individuals might provide excellent word of mouth or referrals for a job well done.

In this article, you’ve learned about technology assessment.  To learn more about technology assessment click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.