Hey there, it’s Joshua Feinberg from becominganitconsultant.com. And I’m here to talk with you today about how to become an IT consultant and attract great client.
These are four targeted marketing tips for those that really want to become an IT consultant, so if you're trying to figure out how to become an IT consultant but you're not sure where to start, before you run out and shut up everyone of your friends and family members and former colleagues or print out fliers or take out adds in the local phonebook, I want you to think carefully about who you want as your clients.
You also need to get ready for a lot of hard work pounding with payment and honing your people skills. You know, it’s a lot about creating awareness that you’re out there, you can expect people to come searching for you, you need to get yourself in front of the right kinds of decision makers that have the need for IT services on a regular basis.
And becoming an IT consultant can be very rewarding but it’s not necessarily easy, you aren’t going to get clients handed to you on a silver platter no matter how much you charge, no matter how little you charge, it doesn’t really matter. No matter what your business model or no matter where you’re located, you’re going to have to go out and proactively build a client list.
Of course if you have several hundred thousand dollars or more working capital, you could buy an existing IT consulting business but there’d be no guarantees you’d be successful as successful as the previous owner and that option just simply isn't practical for 99.99% of the people listening to this video.
Now, you also aren’t going to immediately attract great clients just because you have a strong technology skills or deep—of close friends and then I can trust you. So, let’s look at four pieces of advice that can help you understand why you need to engage in targeted marketing activities if you really want to become an IT consultant, attract great clients and build a substantial long term solid business.
First and foremost, do not get complacent about building relationships and keeping yourself fun and all filled up. Then you may think you’re in the IT business but that’s really like a secondary, you’re really into relationship building business because the quality of your consulting practice is going to become a function of how good you are at building relationships with your prospects, customers, and clients with deeply niched non-competing technology providers with other kinds of trusted business advisers. Relationship building is really, really key and many new IT consultants make the mistake of assuming that just because they have enough business today, enough work today, that they’ll enough tomorrow, next month and next year. This way of thinking can be the death of even the most seemingly thriving IT business.
So, you need to be diligently and regularly meeting new prospects and people through networking activities and targeted marketing activities so you’re prepared if one or more of clients suddenly jump shift, goes out of business, or simply can’t work with you anymore. So, make sure that you make time for marketing activities and follow-ups now. First and foremost, don’t get complacent about building relationships and keeping yourself fun and filled up. After you’ve taken care of your existing paying clients, it’s your second most important job.
Number two, do not rely on just co-workers or college buddies or relatives or close acquaintances. If you want to become an IT consultant you need to be prepared to meet new people, you can’t just market to friends, you have to know how to market to strangers. You can't rely exclusively on contacts that may have taken you years, decades, or even a lifetime to cultivate. While this people can be helpful in the beginning, they will not build a stable foundation for your business it’s not necessarily repeatable, it’s not necessarily scalable. So, make sure that you branch out and focus on continually building your network of potential prospects, customers, clients, and partners. So second, do not rely exclusively on just former co-workers or buddies or relatives or other close acquaintances.
Third, when you do not market, you are simply threatening your company’s survival, it’s that simple. Unless you're having never ending supply of former bosses and former co-workers and buddies and cousins and other relatives, sooner or later you're going to have to confront a harsh reality. You have to be able to confidently and effectively market to strangers, you need to be able to develop skills that will help you relate to people that don’t yet know you, so you can continue to build a network that extends beyond those that just already know you. Remember, creating awareness in front of the right kinds of highly targeted decision makers is extremely important to this success of being a IT consultant.
So, what’s forth? What else should you be thinking about? You need to know the great results of targeted marketing, if you don’t know what great result look like, how are you going to know when you achieve them? Be very aware of which stype of clients will help you succeed at starting your business. Be also aware of the one shot deal customers that can just be a distraction without giving you much stability and repeat business. You know, think about would you rather have a costumer that spends $300.00 with a one—local currency equivalent or someone that can spend $300.00 with you every single week of the year, it’s kind of a no-brainer as to which it’s a lot easier to build the business with.
So, you want to make sure that you come up with an effective message that speaks to those that will need IT solutions that you’re providing. And when you can do this well, you will find targeted leads that have the best possible potential of becoming your next study high paying IT consulting clients. With this short video, we’ve talked about four tips that are really, really important as you look to become a IT consultant.
To learn more about how you can get the best study high paying clients in your area, go sign-up for proven tips on how to become an IT consultant right now at becomeanitconsultant.com. Again, the URL is becomeanitconsultant.com. This has been Joshua Feinberg for becomeanitconsultant.com. Thanks for tuning in today and we look forward to connecting up with you again real soon. Take care now.
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