Using a flyer can be a very effective sales-support tool – if it’s used properly for your specific business.
Businesses that are looking for dozens, or even hundreds of new customers (like a cleaning service or a copier repair center) can invest heavily in printing and mailing tens of thousands of flyers in the hopes of getting a return of just a small percentage of interested customers.
But for you as an Independent Computer Consultant, the cost to embark on a large campaign where you’ll print and blindly mail hundreds of flyers (especially if you're just starting a computer consulting business) would not generate the sales quickly enough to justify the large expense.
Your flyer WILL be effective however if used to support your other sales efforts.
Primarily as either:
- A leave-behind (along with your business card and a note) when making a door-to-door cold call.
- An attachment to an email following an initial phone conversation with a prospective new client.
- As A follow-up mailer to a prospective client who's requesting “more information”.
- or even as an offer for something like a free on-site evaluation of their computer support needs.
(A great way to sell them exactly what they might need - which isn't always the same as what they THINK they need)
Because you will be handing or mailing your flyer to a limited number of recipients, your production costs can be kept very low. You can print your flyers inexpensively on your own inkjet printer (assuming you have a decent printer and use quality, heavyweight paper),or you can have small production runs produced by a web-based printing service.
The purpose of your flyer is to get your prospective customer to take a specific, desired action.
Just as with your other sales and marketing efforts, your intention is to help your target recognize that they have a problem in need of a solution and Show them how your service will solve their problem.
The components of an effective flyer are:
1. A Compelling Headline - This is where you’ll either capture their attention, or have your flyer deposited in the trash bin.
Your headline should contain a benefit or it should generate interest. How about...
"5 Reasons why John Smith Should be Your computer consultant!"
“Here’s How You Can Have a Full-Time IT Department for Less Than a Part-Timers Salary!"
"If You're Tired of Worrying About Unexpected Computer Problems Hurting Your Business… Then One Simple Phone Call Can Prevent Them From Ever Occurring in the First Place!"
"The Secret To Having A Trouble-Free Computer Network In Your Office…"
2. YOUR MESSAGE
This is your list of services, which can be presented in comparison to other types of service solutions.
Your job is to show what your Unique Selling Proposition is. What makes you the best option available?
3. A PROMOTIONAL OFFER
This is where your flyer becomes an effective marketing tool.
Direct your reader to take action by giving a specific instruction and providing a compelling offer, such as one of the following examples:
“Call before Oct. 31st and receive 30 days of server monitoring absolutely free!”
“Call now for a FREE 27-Point Network Evaluation”
“Until Oct. 31, get 5 free hours of on-site support when signing up with our Daily Monitoring Plan”
While the content is key when creating your flyer, design is equally as important. A photocopied flyer with black courier text and some clipart isn’t going to cut it. A very professional flyer can be designed inexpensively and easily in any of today's standard desktop publishing or word processing applications. But if graphic design isn't your strong point, there are many options available for outsourcing the work to a freelancer (check elance.com) or a web-based printing and design service.
And fortunately, these outsourcing options are generally priced within the budget of the Independent Computer Consultant who's just starting a computer consulting business of his or her own.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Independent Computer Consultant - 3 Benefits of Proactive Monitoring
For many Independent Computer Consultants who continue to operate on an hourly-rate billing model, being proactive in maintaining their client's networks can be a challenge.
Rationally, the small business owner is aware that to get the most out of the network, it should be monitored and maintained. But when there's an hourly fee involved to do extra work when everything seems to be working just fine, emotions overtake rationality and proactive maintenance is often put off.
Proper proactive maintenance of a network will improve your client's productivity, increase the reliability of the systems, and quite possibly save them money in IT support costs.
For me, my Proactive Maintenance Plan includes:
- monitoring all server event logs
- monitoring for proper AV updates and activity
- monitoring backup status, whether on-site or remote
- monitoring firewall activity, hack/spam relay attempts
- monitoring system bottlenecks (system processes, processor/ram utilization, etc.)
- monitoring application services (Exchange, ISA, IIS, etc.)
- Real-time Inventory collection and web-based reporting
- remote support for most issues
Monitoring is performed 24x7x365 by configuring the hosted software that you select to perform these tasks to send you an email or sms alert whenever an event occurs that needs your attention. The software I use, GFI Max, performs all of these tasks as well as provides many more features not listed above for a low monthly fee.
The benefits your client gets from having this level of monitoring is:
1. Improved productivity - Most problems display warning signs of some sort before becoming critical issues. Check the event logs of any unmonitored server and I would bet good money that they'll be more than a couple of red X's that warrant some level of attention. Same goes for the odds of an unmonitored backup system having more than an acceptable amount of failed backups. Or an AntiVirus system that hasn't updated in weeks. Or even the possibility of having a hard drive in a drive array completely failed without anyone being aware.
Any one of these examples, or countless others, if gone unchecked could easily develop into a crisis situation where there could be very serious and possibly unrecoverable losses to productivity and to the finances of the company. Proactive monitoring gives you the ability to prevent these unexpected emergencies.
Besides being able to save the day from disaster, you'll also be able to improve performance on a day-to-day basis.
Too often, performance of equipment is allowed to degrade to the point where the device is no longer functional or usable. You'll be improving your client's productivity by more closely examining inventory reports for outdated or inadequate equipment or applications and performing upgrades before productivity can suffer.
2. Improved reliability - If you can identify and correct small problems early, before they have a chance to develop into larger problems, and most small problems are addressed by you remotely and therefore immediately, your client will have very few complaints about their systems. Providing that you keep your client constantly informed about the status of their network and the services your providing through excellent reporting (a MUST!), they will have little reason to ever consider replacing you (and a lot of reasons for recommending you to someone else).
3. Save them Money - Hourly based, reactive support for a small business customer is typically unstable. There will be very busy months, often off-set by quiet periods where everyone (including the computer consultant) is just happy that things seem to be working nicely for a change. And once in a while, one of those crisis situations I mentioned earlier will occur and the consultant delivers an invoice that could be relationship changing. This is a tough pill for the client to swallow after suffering through whatever downtime was just experienced.
Average out the cost of hourly support long-term, taking into account both the good and the really bad times, and the average monthly costs should actually be somewhat reasonable from both the computer consultant and the customer's viewpoint.
If proactive monitoring can be delivered at a similar cost to hourly, reactive support, there is little reason for a small business owner to opt for the old model of hourly support.
Factor in any financial benefits as a result of increased productivity, or the prevention of a single disaster, and a flat-fee, proactive monitoring plan should be easily justified as a valuable and cost-effective solution.
If you can convey this to your potential customers when starting a computer consulting business of your own, you should be well on your way to expanding your client base.
Rationally, the small business owner is aware that to get the most out of the network, it should be monitored and maintained. But when there's an hourly fee involved to do extra work when everything seems to be working just fine, emotions overtake rationality and proactive maintenance is often put off.
Proper proactive maintenance of a network will improve your client's productivity, increase the reliability of the systems, and quite possibly save them money in IT support costs.
For me, my Proactive Maintenance Plan includes:
- monitoring all server event logs
- monitoring for proper AV updates and activity
- monitoring backup status, whether on-site or remote
- monitoring firewall activity, hack/spam relay attempts
- monitoring system bottlenecks (system processes, processor/ram utilization, etc.)
- monitoring application services (Exchange, ISA, IIS, etc.)
- Real-time Inventory collection and web-based reporting
- remote support for most issues
Monitoring is performed 24x7x365 by configuring the hosted software that you select to perform these tasks to send you an email or sms alert whenever an event occurs that needs your attention. The software I use, GFI Max, performs all of these tasks as well as provides many more features not listed above for a low monthly fee.
The benefits your client gets from having this level of monitoring is:
1. Improved productivity - Most problems display warning signs of some sort before becoming critical issues. Check the event logs of any unmonitored server and I would bet good money that they'll be more than a couple of red X's that warrant some level of attention. Same goes for the odds of an unmonitored backup system having more than an acceptable amount of failed backups. Or an AntiVirus system that hasn't updated in weeks. Or even the possibility of having a hard drive in a drive array completely failed without anyone being aware.
Any one of these examples, or countless others, if gone unchecked could easily develop into a crisis situation where there could be very serious and possibly unrecoverable losses to productivity and to the finances of the company. Proactive monitoring gives you the ability to prevent these unexpected emergencies.
Besides being able to save the day from disaster, you'll also be able to improve performance on a day-to-day basis.
Too often, performance of equipment is allowed to degrade to the point where the device is no longer functional or usable. You'll be improving your client's productivity by more closely examining inventory reports for outdated or inadequate equipment or applications and performing upgrades before productivity can suffer.
2. Improved reliability - If you can identify and correct small problems early, before they have a chance to develop into larger problems, and most small problems are addressed by you remotely and therefore immediately, your client will have very few complaints about their systems. Providing that you keep your client constantly informed about the status of their network and the services your providing through excellent reporting (a MUST!), they will have little reason to ever consider replacing you (and a lot of reasons for recommending you to someone else).
3. Save them Money - Hourly based, reactive support for a small business customer is typically unstable. There will be very busy months, often off-set by quiet periods where everyone (including the computer consultant) is just happy that things seem to be working nicely for a change. And once in a while, one of those crisis situations I mentioned earlier will occur and the consultant delivers an invoice that could be relationship changing. This is a tough pill for the client to swallow after suffering through whatever downtime was just experienced.
Average out the cost of hourly support long-term, taking into account both the good and the really bad times, and the average monthly costs should actually be somewhat reasonable from both the computer consultant and the customer's viewpoint.
If proactive monitoring can be delivered at a similar cost to hourly, reactive support, there is little reason for a small business owner to opt for the old model of hourly support.
Factor in any financial benefits as a result of increased productivity, or the prevention of a single disaster, and a flat-fee, proactive monitoring plan should be easily justified as a valuable and cost-effective solution.
If you can convey this to your potential customers when starting a computer consulting business of your own, you should be well on your way to expanding your client base.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Independent Computer Consultant - How to Sell Clients on Managed Services
If you're an Independent computer consultant, you know by now that you need to be charging flat, monthly rates for proactive maintenance through a Managed Service Plan and should no longer be relying on how many hours you can bill in a month to generate an income.
But in a time where small business customers still want to know what your hourly rate is, how can we convince them that a flat-fee is the best solution for them?
You need to show VALUE!
What will they get for this predictable and affordable monthly fee?
- Greater reliability from their systems.
- More productivity.
- Less losses due to downtime.
- For about the same or less than they'd pay for hourly, reactive service.
You'll be able to accomplish this by monitoring their systems and providing remote computer support.
Monitoring your client's systems 24x7x365 is easily done with low cost software like GFI Max, which is able to collect real-time inventory reports as well.
Through monitoring, you can immediately identify problems such as failed backups, system event errors, virus activity, hacker attempts, etc. By preventing errors, you will reduce unexpected problems and increase their productivity.
You can provide remote support to all of your client's workstations and servers for free by using software like LogMeIn Free. By providing remote computer support, you can increase your response time to most issues, large or small by about 100%.
The biggest complaint small businesses have when it comes to their computer consultant is having to wait for him or her to arrive, and not being notified when the consultant is going to be late.
With remote computer support, as long as the computer (or user) with the problem has Internet connectivity, you should be able to log on and work as if you were deskside. You can actually respond faster than an internal IT admin could make it across the office.
When you start a computer consulting business, by providing basic proactive maintenance and support, you can generate an income based on predictable and reliable monthly fees, while dedicating a greatly reduced number of work hours on site at your clients. They honestly don't want to see you very often anyway. And they'll be happy to pay a fair rate to ensure that the less they see you, the better.
For complete information on how to succeed at starting a computer consulting business as an Independent Computer Consultant, visit http://SuccessfulComputerConsulting.com.
But in a time where small business customers still want to know what your hourly rate is, how can we convince them that a flat-fee is the best solution for them?
You need to show VALUE!
What will they get for this predictable and affordable monthly fee?
- Greater reliability from their systems.
- More productivity.
- Less losses due to downtime.
- For about the same or less than they'd pay for hourly, reactive service.
You'll be able to accomplish this by monitoring their systems and providing remote computer support.
Monitoring your client's systems 24x7x365 is easily done with low cost software like GFI Max, which is able to collect real-time inventory reports as well.
Through monitoring, you can immediately identify problems such as failed backups, system event errors, virus activity, hacker attempts, etc. By preventing errors, you will reduce unexpected problems and increase their productivity.
You can provide remote support to all of your client's workstations and servers for free by using software like LogMeIn Free. By providing remote computer support, you can increase your response time to most issues, large or small by about 100%.
The biggest complaint small businesses have when it comes to their computer consultant is having to wait for him or her to arrive, and not being notified when the consultant is going to be late.
With remote computer support, as long as the computer (or user) with the problem has Internet connectivity, you should be able to log on and work as if you were deskside. You can actually respond faster than an internal IT admin could make it across the office.
When you start a computer consulting business, by providing basic proactive maintenance and support, you can generate an income based on predictable and reliable monthly fees, while dedicating a greatly reduced number of work hours on site at your clients. They honestly don't want to see you very often anyway. And they'll be happy to pay a fair rate to ensure that the less they see you, the better.
For complete information on how to succeed at starting a computer consulting business as an Independent Computer Consultant, visit http://SuccessfulComputerConsulting.com.
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