We absolutely recommend Harvey Mackay, “SWIM WITH THE SHARKS WITH OUT BEING EATEN ALIVE”.  It’s  been a number of years since I had read this book; but Gary Beechum [MSPU] mentioned some  points about how long a computer consultants should continue marketing on their prospects, that reminded me of Harvey Mackay’s book. (more…)

Data Backup

The founder of a small IPO said, data preservation was crucial for his business. Their system had accumulated a large database of prospects and clients, records (customer, work related information), transactions, inventory control and warehouse over the years. Any sort of system crash and they would have had it. (more…)

The process of handing off a technology telemarketing appointment to a computer consultant needs to be smooth and harmonious.  Many times if the message that the telemarketer leads with on the phone is not pick up by the salesman on the first marketing call; then IT lead generation might not get the ROI your were counting on.

In most cases the managed services salesman wants to begin his presentation by addressing the client’s problems and pains points.  However, this is usually not what the telemarketer discussed with the prospect.  When the telemarketer talks about one thing and the salesman talks about another, this can cause confusion in the prospect’s mind and lead them to the impression that your computer consultants marketing effort is disjointed. (more…)

We have discussed why it is so important to have a vertical market to target when you marketing your computer consultant business.

Of Course, if you’re fortune enough to already have a vertical market, then you can stop reading now.  However, most managed services providers don’t have at least three clients in the same industry. 

Your first step, in building a vertical marketing, would be to look at your existing client base and see which industries you would like to have more clients in.  (more…)

If you ask most computer consultant marketing people what the sales cycle is on a typical managed services opportunity; they would probably say that it can range between three to six months.  This would be the correct answer, according to most IT industry standards.

However, what if we told you that a managed services firm closed a sale, with a signed contract and check in hand ,with in two weeks?  The clock on this time frame started from the first technology telemarketing appointment to the final meeting, when the salesman received the contract.  Furthermore, the prospect had been completely happy with their technology consultant right up until the first meeting with our client took place.

What does a vertical market have to do with this scenario? (more…)

Computer Consultant Marketing Tips

Here we go with some more helpful tips on improving your managed services marketing presentation.  The goal is to penetrate the shield prospects often put up during the sales meeting, that this is just informational and they’re really not going to change anything.

You want to get them actively thinking about how much better your service really will be.  One area you can exploit, which is a common area of weakness, is the LACK of documentation on most computer networks.
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