Computer Consultants Secrets ™

Abaca Technology Corporation recently stated it would be starting a new partner program for solution providers – the Abaca Secure Partner Network.  Abaca, a leading innovator in email protection and security management create this program with multiple levels for solution providers, VARs and managed service providers and will finally expand its guarantee of 99 percent accuracy in email filtering and security to new groups.

Abaca’s new partner program will help grow businesses by increasing their margins on the company’s security appliance products and services.  The program will also make it possible for solution providers to offer Abaca’s famous “99 percent accuracy” guarantee for email filtering to their own customers.  

Features of the Solution Providers Program

1.    Resources that will help partners better sell and support products from Abaca.  

2.    Free training in sales and technology.

3.    Incentive programs for participants.

4.    Access to PartnerNet for solution providers.  This is a special online portal that allows partners to manage online sales, marketing efforts and technical resources.

Three Levels of Partnership

1.    Abaca Premier Partners is for solution providers with small-to-medium and large businesses.  At this level, partners work on market penetration and building revenue.  

2.    Abaca Preferred Partners is a level for solution providers that want to work with Abaca and its products to improve the changing security needs of their customers.

3.    Abaca Select Partners give customers email security solutions from the company and can have access to the many resources available on the Web by way of the Abaca PartnerNet system.

For more about this new solution providers program, visit the attached link.  

Submitted By:  Joshua Feinberg

What characteristics qualify the sweet spot for your computer consultant repair business?  First of all, you want to look for small businesses with 10-50 PCs and a specific revenue figure.  Typically companies that make one million to ten million U.S. dollars annually are in the sweet spot for your computer consultant repair business.  

As a note, if you are in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand or any other nation besides the U.S., please be sure to convert these revenue figures to your local currency.  

The High End of the Sweet Spot

When you start dealing with the top of the computer consultant repair business sweet spot – more than 50 PCs or more than $10 million in annual sales – you will run into more companies that are hiring salaried IT people instead of outsourcing computer consulting needs.  At this point, you start to face stiff competition and people that will add up your invoices and figure out if they can do it more cheaply in house.  

Real Servers

When qualifying computer consultant repair business sweet spot clients, you need to seek out those companies large enough to need a real, dedicated server and not just a peer-to-peer network.  When a business needs a real server, it needs a lot of professional services to accompany it.  This is your chance to become an outsourced IT department and computer consultant repair specialist!

Does the Company Have More than One Location?

Often a sweet spot computer consultant repair client will have just one location, but sometimes there will be a main office and branch offices.  Branch offices become opportunities for your computer consultant repair business because they will need data sharing techniques in real time between many different locations.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Business

When you are just starting your IT support company, you will most likely be wearing all the hats.  You will be responsible for sales, technical support and administrative duties, until the company is established enough to justify delegation of certain tasks to a salesperson or a few different technical staff members.

Wearing Multiple Hats is Important During Startup

A lot of people might think of themselves as having one skill when it comes to their businesses.  For example, someone might just feel like he/she is good at being an entrepreneur, but has sub-par technical and sales skills.  But if you are not willing to wear multiple hats, particularly during startup, you are already behind the curve.  Most of your local competitors in IT support will be wearing multiple hats, particularly during startup.

Your firm will often compete for sweet spot clients against one-person consultants working out of their houses with very low overhead.  And many of these people will have fairly good technical skills and personalities that work well in sales positions.

When Should You Delegate in IT Support?

You may be able to find a great technical person and a salesperson and keep them very busy.  But in most cases, your IT support business needs to evolve.  You, as the owner will start out by being both the salesperson and the tech person.  As the company grows and gets more clients, you will consider subcontracting out some overflow work or specialty work in order to free you up for sales and marketing.

When you reach the point where you are working with a couple different subcontractors consistently, you should start to think about the money your firm is spending on subcontractors and realize you should delegate to someone you put on payroll.

The Main Idea about IT Support

Remember that in IT support, some of your competitors will not be skilled at sales and tech issues right away.  They may also challenge you!  It’s very important to wear multiple hats during startup to help your business grow into the future.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

If you just have a few references and are just getting started with IT marketing and computer consulting, how do you establish credibility?  

First of all, you need to make sure you have STRONG references.  Talk about benefits:  how you saved clients money; how your technology solutions bring more revenue; how you helped close out the month faster; how you improved productivity; how you helped clients communicate with tele-workers, suppliers and vendors.

In IT marketing, you need to make your references very strong, even if you just have a few.

IT Marketing and Your First References

You can get references by volunteering.  Choose a couple non-profits that you can stand behind and set up a closed-ended deal.  You don’t want to volunteer your services for a long time.  Part of the deal should include a testimonial for your company.

Asking for Referrals with IT Marketing

A lot of people have a hard time asking for referrals.  You don’t want to push or look needy, but you do need referrals for IT marketing.

You can ask for referrals when someone gives you a compliment.  If someone tells you how happy he/she is with a project, you can use that opportunity to ask for an updated testimonial (or a first-time testimonial if you don’t already have one) and also ask if the person knows anyone in the area that might benefit from your services.

The Main Idea

One of the best ways to conduct relationship IT marketing is by asking current clients for testimonials and referrals.  Your clients will not mind supporting your good work.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Computer consulting firm Enlightened, Inc. stated today that it decided to offer business process outsourcing (BPO) services for a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Customer Call Center.  Enlightened provides computer consulting services and business solutions and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.  Its main clients are local and federal government agencies as well as commercial businesses.  

Enlightened is planning to grow into Baton Rouge and will offer career opportunities for computer consulting professionals in that area.  As part of the new agreement with the Customer Call Center, the company will run all recruiting, management and human resources services for the new Call Center.

Antwayne Ford, President of the computer consulting company says the business has plans to connect with the community in Baton Rouge to offer total solutions that combine IT with important business solutions.  

For more information on this computer consulting story, visit the attached link.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

There are two IT marketing tools that can help you get across your unique expertise to computer consulting prospects:  case studies; Web sites.

What about Case Studies?

A case study in IT marketing is essentially a sophisticated testimonial.  It typically will have a picture of your client with a logo, full name, address and any contact information.  A case study is a few short paragraphs discussing the benefits your client has received as part of a relationship with your firm.  Make sure the bottom of the case study is signed by the client and also has your firm’s contact info.  Anywhere between two and four case studies create a compelling part of your IT marketing portfolio.  

What about Web Sites?

A Web site acts as an important business tool; if you put the right content into it, it will have great impact on your clients.  You can’t waste space on advertising the cheapest power supply or other piece of technology.  Communicate your unique expertise at providing sophisticated, industry-specific solutions to small business problems.  

Address a Niche with Each Web Page

If you are targeting three niches with IT marketing, you should have a separate page for each.  You need each page to talk about industry-specific trends and how your solutions address them.  

What are the hot topics in your niche?  Which typical software packages will you need to know to work with people and show your competency?  You need to know which benefits you are offering to your niche and advertise the benefits on your Web site.

Always Emphasize Service with Your Web Site

Your Web site traffic is going to come from two places:  demand you’ve generated somewhere else; competitors.  

You need prospects to understand that you focus on unique services and the problems these services solve – not just from a technical perspective, but from a small business perspective.  

The Main Idea about IT Marketing

Use case studies and your Web site to get the most out of a strong IT marketing campaign and be sure to address niches and their problems.  

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg