| One of the most important parts of becoming an IT | | | | department. Another way to think about this is that |
| consultant is making sure you know which type of | | | | the prospect will likely have $1 million - $10 million in |
| small business clients you want to attract. | | | | annual sales, or your local currency equivalent. Know |
| How can you find the prospective clients that will most | | | | this type of information about your potential clients, so |
| benefit from your services long-term? | | | | you can develop much more powerful, affordable, and |
| Look for companies that are big enough to need your | | | | cost-effective marketing strategies. |
| services on a regular basis. So these potential clients | | | | 3. A Platform You Can Support? Before you get too |
| are candidates for signing on-going service contracts, | | | | far into the sales process, be sure to properly qualify |
| that bring you the steady revenue that will be the | | | | prospective clients based on their installed platform of |
| foundation of your business. Doing this successfully, | | | | OS's and NOS's. For example, if your specialty is |
| as you are becoming an IT consultant, means you | | | | Windows-family OS's/NOS's and a prospect is 100% |
| absolutely need to know the major qualifying questions | | | | standardized on Mac's, you should refer that prospect |
| inside out and backwards, like the back of your hand. | | | | elsewhere. |
| 1. Geographically Desirable? Because most small | | | | 4. Serious About IT? If you come across a small |
| business clients need a lot of hand-holding, potential | | | | business prospect for your IT consulting business that |
| clients need to be located nearby to you. Look for | | | | doesn’t have a dedicated server, because they're |
| prospects located within a 30 - 60-minute drive from | | | | messing around with peer-to-peer ad-hoc networking, |
| your location. If you live in a large urban area, for | | | | you probably want to run the other way. Before you |
| example, your service area may shrink considerably, | | | | spend too much time on a potential client, make sure |
| as there will be a high concentration of viable | | | | the prospective client is really ready for your solutions. |
| prospects very nearby. Also think about proximity as | | | | In this short article, we talked about 4 simple, but very |
| you attend networking events and develop your | | | | powerful qualifying criteria for prospective clients. By |
| marketing campaigns. | | | | consistently asking these questions, you can more |
| 2. Big Enough, But Not Too Big? Think Goldilocks: not | | | | proactively manage the selling process and utilize your |
| too big, not too small. As you are becoming an IT | | | | limited time more effectively. Learn more about |
| consultant, target clients that have 10-75 | | | | becoming an IT consultant and attracting steady, |
| workstations. At this size, the prospect is big enough | | | | high-paying clients now at |
| to need a real, dedicated server … but not so big that | | | | Copyright (C) BecomingAnITConsultant.com All Rights |
| the prospect needs a full-time, in-house IT | | | | Reserved. |