As an IT consultant, you want to seek out certain people for partnering as part of your IT marketing plan.  People in professions like accounting can make great partners; you might even be able to create a formal revenue sharing arrangement here your accountant would get financial rewards in connecting you with his/her clients.

Formal Revenue Sharing Ideas for IT Marketing

1.    A finder’s fee;

2.    A referral fee;

3.    Subcontracting you out;

4.    Bartering services.

Less formal ideas for IT marketing when partnering with your accountant or other professional contacts include a gift basket, sporting events tickets or a free lunch or dinner.  These ideas should be a part of any conscientious IT marketing budget.

Are Their Clients in Need of Your Services?

You need to see if your accountant gets questions from clients about IT services and how he/she handles them.  If your accountant responds, “We don’t really know where to send them,” then you have the perfect opportunity to propose an IT marketing idea that includes you.

You should discuss IT investments with your account and tell him/her what they can do for a business.  You can then have an educational seminar in your accountant’s office at a time of year that works for him/her (not at the height of tax season!), such as in the fall and late spring.

IT Marketing:  What is an Educational Seminar?

You and your accountant will co-sponsor the educational seminar and invite customers of yours and theirs to talk about how small businesses can better utilize accounting systems and protect them by putting better controls in place.  Your accountant can discuss accounting issues, and you would talk about the IT side of things.  The key is to get customers thinking about computers and how they can help a business.

Personal referrals are a necessary part of IT marketing plans.  In order to get more referrals, partner with people that have clients that ask them about other professional services like the ones you provide.  Get behind the people that help you get referrals and reward them when they help with your IT marketing.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit