Are your clients loyal?

This is a good question to ask yourself about each client.  Do you consider them loyal?  Do you have any kind of bond with them?  Any common ground?  Or, do you just fix their computers?  Being a computer consultant means understanding the needs of your clients, how their business operates, oh yea, and also how to fix their computers.

If all you look at is an opportunity to fix someone’s computer, you’re missing the big picture.  Of course you need to be able to take care of their computer systems.  This is a given.  But you really need to be trying to understand how you can help each and every client.  Many of the business strategies each client has will in some way make use of technology.  Are you paying enough attention to see their needs down the road?

Asking questions is probably the single best way to better understand the needs of your clients.  Ask them where they are headed, where they see the company in 2 - 5 years.  What technologies might help them on their way?  They will begin to view your relationship with them as more of a partnership than as a necessary expense.   This is exactly what you want in this business.  There is nothing more powerful.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Has your domain or one of your clients’ domains ever expired without you realizing it? I have personally made this mistake, as have most, and I promised both my clients and myself that it would never happen again. This causes a major and embarrassing problem regardless of how quickly you correct the issue. It never should have happened in the first place.

I have created a tool called Domain Expiration Guard to ensure that you are never faced with this situation again. This tool accepts a TXT file list of domains, one per line, and will query a WHOIS database for every domain to find the expiration date. It will also make it very clear which domains will be expiring within the next 90 days.

Want to see a screenshot?

I’ll be offering this one cheap at only $20

-Zachary M. Morvik

You need more prospects, so does everyone. Marketing is usually very foreign to most computer consultants. If you want to build your business or even have enough income to put food on the table, marketing needs to become a focus for you. Marketing strategies and tactics tend to vary in effectiveness in different markets, so which ones work in computer consulting.

Here are a few ideas:

Write white papers

There are so many different technologies in so many different sectors in the computer world. Pick some that you are extremely familiar with and write white papers. These can then be submitted to various white paper repository sites. This will help you to establish credibility.

Join Professional Networking Organizations

Here is a small list to get you started:

1. BNI - www.bni.com
2. Local Chamber of Commerce (just google your closest city along with ‘chamber of commerce’

There are usually many more, just google ‘<your city> professional network groups’ or try without the word professional.

Cross Promote

This is one of the more powerful marketing methods for computer consultants. Does your computer consulting computer do cable and wiring services? Some do and some don’t. What if you contacted some local cable and wiring companies and offered to have them do all your cable and wiring jobs if they would promote the computer services that you offer? I have used this method many times myself and I have helped others use this method as well. It is extremely effective. Do not pass it up.

Radio/TV Spots

While these have their associated costs, it may be worth testing for effectiveness. At our local football stadium, we have one local computer technology company who has a large sponsorship. Because of a close connection I have with the team, I have seen the continuation of their contract year after year. Trust me, they are likely not losing money and continuing this contract. Make sense? It has been so effective that our local Bell company has joined in with their technology services advertising.

Newspaper Articles About Your Business

This one takes some work, but can also be very effective. You need to learn the art of press releases. Just keep sending these and refining them so that you make it as easy as possible for editors to put your press releases in their publications. Editors love statistics, so you may get more of their attention if you use these in your press releases.

There many more methods that we will cover in time, but hopefully this will get your brain thinking.

-Zachary M. Morvik

I have decided to release to the public a simple tool that is very long overdue in this market. The tool is NTFS Security Guard. Let me give you some background of the problem for the reason why this tool was created. As a computer service consultant, you will definitely find that certain folders require restricted NTFS security permissions. The problem is if you didn’t set these permissions, or even if you did, you have no idea if the permissions ever change. Is that folder still secure? Do you even know which folders are secured?

This tool is to be installed on the server where you then tell it the required information, such as SMTP server info as well as which folders to monitor. Then if the NTFS permissions are changed on any folder or file, you are immediately sent an email so that you can go check on this folder or file to see what happened. Most importantly, you can correct the changes if they are no longer correct.

Here is a screenshot of a version I am tweaking to be available to the public.

I have been asked by many whether they should get certified in various aspects of IT or not.  For years I worked at the largest IT training company in the world and constantly interacted with instructors and students.  I then worked for a computer consulting company where I was able to see certified and non-certified staff work in the real world.

I have seen extremely certified people fail miserably in the real world (even instructors) and I have seen non-certified people soar with their logical thought process and communication.  I have also seen certified people do the same.  Whether you get certified or not does not seem to have any correlation as to whether or not you can actually do the job.

What it does provide is credibility and trust when it is needed.  If a customer is looking for someone to service their computer systems and network, they need to be able to trust that company/person.  If they open a phone book they will see hundreds of options, but who do they trust?  This is part of the reason why word of mouth is the strongest methods in marketing a computer service business.  Business owners talk to one another and you can be certain that if you do a great job for them that your name will come up when they are asked who services their computers.

But what about those who don’t ask their peers?  How do they figure out who to trust?  Certifications can go a long way.  If you are listed next to someone else in the phone book and you have a Microsoft certification while the competitor does not, how do you think that looks to the client?  Which one would they pick or at least call first?  If the client uses Microsoft products, and chances are that he/she does, they would of course feel more comfortable knowing that the person servicing their network is Microsoft certified.  It shows a certain level of expertise.  And to someone reading your ad, that might be the one thing they need to feel comfortable that you can do the job.  Think about it.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Documentation is a crucial element of what you do as a computer consultant.  Even if you use a paper based work order system (not something I recommend), you should still keep a carbon copy of the work order in a file for that client.  Obviously, a computer program or database is preferred, but many consultants still use the paper based system so just make sure you at least keep the carbon.

If you ever have the day when you are in litigation with a client/former client for any reason, you will be very happy that you kept this documentation.  At a minimum keep the date/time, who made the appointment, what you did for that client, and end date/time.  I recommend much more than this, but this should get your started.  When I say “what you did for that client” I mean with specifics.  Detail *everything* you did or discussed.

The flip side to this is that during deposition, opposing counsel will try to rip apart what you did by using your documentation against you.  There are ways to deal with this and as long as you keep good records, you’ll be much better off.

Better reasons, other than covering your backside, is client experience.  You can go back and review historical data per client and forecast, plan, and act long before you would if you didn’t have the data.  How many times have you had the same problem on the same server?  Can you answer this question?  You should be able to so start documenting today!

-Zachary M. Morvik

As knowledge of your company spreads, you will likely received Request for Proposals (RFP).  I receive these frequently because of involvement with state/local government organizations.  But medium to large corporations will use them as well.  RFPs can be extremely time consuming so make sure it is worth it before you even get started.

A RFP is a detailed document outlining a service the potential client would like you to perform.  This will include specifics of work to be performed, timelines, deadlines, and more.  It will be many pages in length.  Your company will then respond to each item of requirement in a detailed fashion.

The biggest question is always, should I reply.  I am faced with this same question each and every time.  I “know” that responding to a RFP is likely going to take anywhere from 3 - 10 hours spread over a few days so it comes down to the math.   What is the potential profit of this deal?  Does it exceed my investment of 3 - 10 hours by a multiple of at least five?  If so, then I will respond to the RFP.

There is sometimes a clause that says even if you do not want to respond to this particular RFP, but you might be interested in future RFPs, respond and let them know.  That’s just common sense, but make sure you reply and let them know you would be interested in future RFPs.  You never know when the right one will come along.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Do you use service agreements and contracts in your business? If you do, then you are doing things right!

For those of you not using contracts, you should reconsider. Without these contracts, your customers probably don’t feel 100% peace of mind. Really, in computer consulting, what are they paying you for? They are investing in you to keep their business running smoothly. They are, in essence, paying you for peace of mind.

Real companies…professional companies use contracts. Go try to get a “business” cell phone contract at any carrier and see if they don’t use contracts. If you want to get a deal one multiple lines and possibly bundle in an internet connection or other service, odds are, you are signing a contract.

Contracts help your business because you have a revenue stream you can count on. You have monthly bills and with contracts, you have monthly revenue that you can expect. You then have the luxury of forecasting, future planning, etc. It’s difficult to determine when you can hire your first, or next, employee when you can’t say, with certainty, how much revenue you will have next month or over the next six months.

To a small degree, contracts also help to protect your business. In many contracts is verbiage that indemnifies your business from liability due to losses not directly caused by your personnel. There is insurance for the latter, but if you are working on a clients system and catastrophic failure occurs, you may or may not be liable, depending on the situation, but you are much more protected if you have a contract for that client or project.

Many small startup computer consultants tend to ignore the necessity of contracts. How do you think a company of any size will perceive your organization if you run your business like this? They expect contracts. If you don’t use them, you will look very “small-time” to them. Is that what you want?

-Zachary M. Morvik

I have a few basic templates laying around and even a few tools that I have written that may be of interest to some.

Are these items that you would be interested in? Let me know!

-Zachary M. Morvik

How many hours do you bill per week?  That is, if you measure productivity in hours.  There are many different ways to sell services.  You can bundle services into blocks of time or you can sell services on a per job basis.  And of course, you can simply bill per hour.  Regardless of the method (I have tried them all) you need to measure the productivity of yourself and your employees.

My target, in terms of billable hours, is 30-35 hours per week.  The more the merrier, but the goal is at least 30.  There are no bonuses paid unless the average billable hours are at least 30 per week.  It is easy enough to convert this same figure to the other methods of selling service so I won’t do it here.

Many computer service professionals do not charge enough for their time.  While this is a big mistake, it happens all day, everyday.  Others charge adequately.  We are going to just take a happy median average of $100/hr.  If you bill 30 hours per week at $100/hr, that’s $3,000 per week or $150,000 per year assuming the standard American two-week vacation.

Sure, you can make more depending on your pricing structure, how you sell your services, and simply if you work more hours.  If working more hours is your chosen path, you will eventually resent your business and likely end up in a downward spiral.  As you can see, in the services business, you must have employees and you must maximize their billable time.  Start planning as early as possible the how’s and when’s of bringing on your first employee.

-Zachary M. Morvik

How will you obtain new clients? When you talk to a prospect, what will make him or her remember you? If you use direct marketing and cold calling techniques (which are not very effective in this business) what will you send them after initial contact?

Word of mouth seems to be, by far, the best method for obtaining new business in the computer service business. If you find something better, let me know. But, there are many other methods as well. Regardless of which method you choose, you need marketing materials. Presentation is 90% of the prospecting game. You cannot afford to look like a one-man shop at this point. You need some professional grade marketing materials.

You are going to need a logo for your corporation. Very few people are both good at computer services and also good at graphic design. Outsource this task to a qualified graphic artist/designer. You will need business cards. Again, don’t do this at home. Hire a professional. It is not very expensive. Once you have your logo, create company letterhead, fax coversheet, envelopes (outsource this to your printer), labels, and presentation folders. Naturally, you will also be expected to maintain a website. How could you possibly be a computer services company and not have a website and domain name?

Your marketing materials should all compliment each other in both style, color, and wording. Use customer testimonials, references, biographies, articles, client lists, and more in your press kit. The more you can add, the more established you will look.

-Zachary M. Morvik