IT Service Contracts Require Practice
Sometimes after you secure IT service contracts, you might be afraid that your customers might give you more than you can handle, or that you won't be able to deliver service on time. But not to worry - if you fully prepare yourself and follow specific guidelines you will be able to follow through with your promises.
Experience Breeds Confidence
When offering IT service contracts, just start selling. You can go slowly at first to get used to the process, but you need to just get started. You can't train yourself to be confident, and there is no specific recipe to follow that will guarantee confidence. It will only happen when you start to sell IT service contracts and delivering the services you are offering.
Start with small accounts and then go to larger accounts. Don't eliminate the possibility of taking on a larger one if it happens, but know that the only way to create larger opportunities is by starting small to build your service reputation.
Preparation
You will not get to the IT service contract part of the conversation with prospects if you don't manage the sales call process. You need to take them to the point of wanting an IT audit and have something very specific to offer them. If you don't present a prepared plan, you will just become an emergency service provider and will not spur them to develop a long-term relationship with your company.
Creating a Profitable Business
You can't offer successful IT service contracts by just waiting for the phone to ring or doing sporadic work. Finding long-term clients requires the work of an entire IT department.
Long-term clients know you will take care of long-term projects and upgrades and work with phone companies, ISP's and web hosts along with other important figures in their technology services. They want to know you will be there in an emergency, but also that you are there during other times as well as part of IT service contracts.
IT service contracts are critical because they will give you more dependable customers. The service agreement coupled with a dependable IT department will guarantee better business relationships.
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
About The Author:
Joshua Feinberg can help you grow your computer consulting business, the RIGHT way! Sign-up now for your free audio training program that features field-tested, proven Computer Consultants Business Tools.
Computer Reseller Business Marketing: Gauging Your Store's Physical Appearance
Maintaining a good physical appearance is very important for computer reseller business owners. Customers will base many of their important decisions on how your store looks, and you have to step into their shoes when gauging your store's appearance. The following three factors impact how a customer will view your computer reseller business: cleanliness; smell; and clutter.
Is Your Store Clean?
Customers will view the cleanliness of your store as a method for determining how competent the management is. Stores in the computer reseller business are often dirty, and customers will probably expect yours to be too when they walk in the door. They imagine that because repairs are being made in the shop, there will be dust on the computers and that employees will be dressed informally. If you focus on a spotless environment with employees dressed sharply and even in uniform, they will be pleasantly surprised, and you will stand out. Also be vigilant about cleaning your bathrooms.
Smell
The smell of your computer reseller business is often something owners don't think about, but it can affect the image of the store profoundly. It should not smell like a repair shop, cleaning products or oils. You should think about providing baked goods and coffee for clients to enjoy while they look through your inventory; the smell of these products will be pleasant and will help persuade people to stay and see what you have to offer.
Clutter
When you are tying to get rid of clutter in your computer reseller business, begin with the storefront window. Showcase only the products that will be most likely to attract customers. The next stop in removing clutter is the retail space. Products should be organized and displayed in a helpful way. Storage areas should also be neatly kept so employees can more easily find products and efficiently help customers.
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
About The Author:
Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultant business owners get steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free audio training program that shows you how to use field-tested, proven Small Biz Tech Talk tools.
Shopping for a Computer
When shopping for a computer there are several things to take into consideration and know what your options are.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. What will be the primary purpose of this computer?
2. What is your budget?
In my examples I'll shop for the most common computer, the home or office workstation with variants in budget.
The most important piece to consider when purchasing a computer is the Central Processing Unit (CPU). There are several brands of processors, two major brands: AMD and Intel. In my opinion Intel is the McDonald's brand and AMD is Burger King. Pick your flavor.
Gamers that build computers for the primary use of playing computer games usually prefer AMD because they sometimes can be over-clocked to run faster than they were intended. I've used both stopped using AMD several years ago when CPU speeds were 200-300Mhz. In a workstation setup for me, the AMD would occasionally act peculiar such as locking up or going to a blue screen (error screen). I personally not tried the latest AMD with Windows XP. So for the most reliable performance especially for a workstation, where you don't want to spend a lot of time rebooting, go with an Intel.
Now Intel has made several different types of processors each with different characteristics and speeds. The newest is going to be the fastest but usually is never the best value. Much like a car depreciates as newer models come out the price on new CPU's follows a similar curve. As you move up in speed from say a 2.5 GHz to 3.2 GHz the price varies in steps by only $20.00 to $40.00. But when you move up the latest or next to latest model the price jumps, somewhere between $400.00 and $800.00. These processors will drop in price dramatically too whenever the next new CPU is marketed. The gain in speed usually isn't worth the value of the added cost unless your computer is going to be under extreme constant load demands.
Other features to consider too are Hyper Threading and the Front Side Bus speed. These are definite performance enhancers.
Hyper Threading refers to the threads. The threads are processes going on at any given time. Until now all processors only had one thread so they could only actually do one thing at a time. This is why when Windows has several applications going on at once you have a lot of grinding from your hard drive as the system switches back and forth between applications. The only way to have multiple threads and true Multi Tasking is to have multiple processors. A lot of servers do use motherboards that will use 2 or 4 processors. Of course the software must also be capable of multi-threading to take full advantage of this feature.
Front Side Bus speed however, is always a factor of performance. Front Side Bus (FSB) refers to the speed at which data / information travels in and out of the processor back and forth to RAM and the Hard Drive Bus. So the faster the FSB and CUP speed the better. 533 MHz is the accepted standard in 2006. Intel's Core Duo processors do support a 667 MHz FSB and in August 2006 Intel released just 2 weeks ago Intel release the Core 2 Duo, which will run a FSB of 1066 MHz.
In my next article I will tell you about the most important thing you can do to a system that will virtually eliminate the grind and wait time when you open or switch applications.
Experience Breeds Confidence
When offering IT service contracts, just start selling. You can go slowly at first to get used to the process, but you need to just get started. You can't train yourself to be confident, and there is no specific recipe to follow that will guarantee confidence. It will only happen when you start to sell IT service contracts and delivering the services you are offering.
Start with small accounts and then go to larger accounts. Don't eliminate the possibility of taking on a larger one if it happens, but know that the only way to create larger opportunities is by starting small to build your service reputation.
Preparation
You will not get to the IT service contract part of the conversation with prospects if you don't manage the sales call process. You need to take them to the point of wanting an IT audit and have something very specific to offer them. If you don't present a prepared plan, you will just become an emergency service provider and will not spur them to develop a long-term relationship with your company.
Creating a Profitable Business
You can't offer successful IT service contracts by just waiting for the phone to ring or doing sporadic work. Finding long-term clients requires the work of an entire IT department.
Long-term clients know you will take care of long-term projects and upgrades and work with phone companies, ISP's and web hosts along with other important figures in their technology services. They want to know you will be there in an emergency, but also that you are there during other times as well as part of IT service contracts.
IT service contracts are critical because they will give you more dependable customers. The service agreement coupled with a dependable IT department will guarantee better business relationships.
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
About The Author:
Joshua Feinberg can help you grow your computer consulting business, the RIGHT way! Sign-up now for your free audio training program that features field-tested, proven Computer Consultants Business Tools.
Computer Reseller Business Marketing: Gauging Your Store's Physical Appearance
Maintaining a good physical appearance is very important for computer reseller business owners. Customers will base many of their important decisions on how your store looks, and you have to step into their shoes when gauging your store's appearance. The following three factors impact how a customer will view your computer reseller business: cleanliness; smell; and clutter.
Is Your Store Clean?
Customers will view the cleanliness of your store as a method for determining how competent the management is. Stores in the computer reseller business are often dirty, and customers will probably expect yours to be too when they walk in the door. They imagine that because repairs are being made in the shop, there will be dust on the computers and that employees will be dressed informally. If you focus on a spotless environment with employees dressed sharply and even in uniform, they will be pleasantly surprised, and you will stand out. Also be vigilant about cleaning your bathrooms.
Smell
The smell of your computer reseller business is often something owners don't think about, but it can affect the image of the store profoundly. It should not smell like a repair shop, cleaning products or oils. You should think about providing baked goods and coffee for clients to enjoy while they look through your inventory; the smell of these products will be pleasant and will help persuade people to stay and see what you have to offer.
Clutter
When you are tying to get rid of clutter in your computer reseller business, begin with the storefront window. Showcase only the products that will be most likely to attract customers. The next stop in removing clutter is the retail space. Products should be organized and displayed in a helpful way. Storage areas should also be neatly kept so employees can more easily find products and efficiently help customers.
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
About The Author:
Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultant business owners get steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free audio training program that shows you how to use field-tested, proven Small Biz Tech Talk tools.
Shopping for a Computer
When shopping for a computer there are several things to take into consideration and know what your options are.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. What will be the primary purpose of this computer?
2. What is your budget?
In my examples I'll shop for the most common computer, the home or office workstation with variants in budget.
The most important piece to consider when purchasing a computer is the Central Processing Unit (CPU). There are several brands of processors, two major brands: AMD and Intel. In my opinion Intel is the McDonald's brand and AMD is Burger King. Pick your flavor.
Gamers that build computers for the primary use of playing computer games usually prefer AMD because they sometimes can be over-clocked to run faster than they were intended. I've used both stopped using AMD several years ago when CPU speeds were 200-300Mhz. In a workstation setup for me, the AMD would occasionally act peculiar such as locking up or going to a blue screen (error screen). I personally not tried the latest AMD with Windows XP. So for the most reliable performance especially for a workstation, where you don't want to spend a lot of time rebooting, go with an Intel.
Now Intel has made several different types of processors each with different characteristics and speeds. The newest is going to be the fastest but usually is never the best value. Much like a car depreciates as newer models come out the price on new CPU's follows a similar curve. As you move up in speed from say a 2.5 GHz to 3.2 GHz the price varies in steps by only $20.00 to $40.00. But when you move up the latest or next to latest model the price jumps, somewhere between $400.00 and $800.00. These processors will drop in price dramatically too whenever the next new CPU is marketed. The gain in speed usually isn't worth the value of the added cost unless your computer is going to be under extreme constant load demands.
Other features to consider too are Hyper Threading and the Front Side Bus speed. These are definite performance enhancers.
Hyper Threading refers to the threads. The threads are processes going on at any given time. Until now all processors only had one thread so they could only actually do one thing at a time. This is why when Windows has several applications going on at once you have a lot of grinding from your hard drive as the system switches back and forth between applications. The only way to have multiple threads and true Multi Tasking is to have multiple processors. A lot of servers do use motherboards that will use 2 or 4 processors. Of course the software must also be capable of multi-threading to take full advantage of this feature.
Front Side Bus speed however, is always a factor of performance. Front Side Bus (FSB) refers to the speed at which data / information travels in and out of the processor back and forth to RAM and the Hard Drive Bus. So the faster the FSB and CUP speed the better. 533 MHz is the accepted standard in 2006. Intel's Core Duo processors do support a 667 MHz FSB and in August 2006 Intel released just 2 weeks ago Intel release the Core 2 Duo, which will run a FSB of 1066 MHz.
In my next article I will tell you about the most important thing you can do to a system that will virtually eliminate the grind and wait time when you open or switch applications.