Computer Consulting Kit ™ FC’s Blog

Do you own a cabling installation business? And if so, you do get involved in other related IT issues with your small business clients?

As a small business IT consultant, your small business prospects, customers, and clients will need you to explain their different cabling installation options.  Not only will you have to be familiar with the options from a technological standpoint, but you will also have to know how to integrate these options into real comprehensive business solutions.
 
You may decide that your IT company is not going to handle network cabling at all. But, you still will need to be involved in design specifications and supervision.  The following 5 tips can help you explore and present the options your small business clients have when it comes to cabling installation.

1. Know About Traditional Wired Ethernet (Category 5/6).  Until recently, Category 5/6 data cabling was the standard for all types of small business and enterprise networks.  Today there are a lot of options with Category 5/6 cabling as well as wireless Ethernet solutions.  If you won’t be handling Category 5/6 cabling installation for your small business clients, make sure to get an estimate from a qualified local data cabling vendor that will be able to manage installation.
   
   
2. Make Sure the Cabling Installation Job is Completed to Spec.  Reputable cabling installers will be able to give you hard-copy reports of certification tests.  These tests provide assurances that the job was completed to spec and can help protect you and your clients.
3. Be Aware of Which Hardware Your Clients Need to Facilitate Easy Cabling Installation.  If you want to string together a traditional wired Ethernet network based on standard Category 5/6 cabling, make sure your clients have reliable Ethernet switches and integrated network interface cards for each PC.  Even if you are not planning to handle the actual installation, you need to tell your clients how it will get done and what they will need.
   
   
4. Get up to Speed on Wireless Ethernet.  Although wireless networking hardware is slightly more expensive than wired Ethernet equipment, cabling installation will be anywhere from less expensive to totally not needed.  When you are presenting clients with their options, again regardless of whether or not you are going to do the installation yourself, explain that wireless networking can save money, and save office walls and baseboards from drilling holes.

5. Understand Wireless Ethernet Compatibility and Security Issues.  You need to be careful when recommending and installing wireless Ethernet, because some products from different vendors will not be compatible.  If you can, stick with the same hardware vendor across the board to keep your small business clients from running into potentially expensive issues.  You need to be very mindful of security with wireless Ethernet too, as security standards are always evolving.  Make sure you help your clients with data protection and security to protect them from being hacked and inform them of security limitations before they choose a wireless alternative.

In this article, we discussed 5 tips to help you manage cabling installation for your small business clients.  Learn more about how you can attract great, steady, high-paying clients and coordinate the cabling installation process now at the attached link.  

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1. Study Exactly What Your Niche Clients Do. For example, if your client list or resume is loaded with health care-specific IT experience, create a marketing campaign that addresses the hot buttons of those with small medical offices. Begin by figuring out which business issues impact main decision makers. Get subscriptions to industry publications, e-mail newsletters and other industry publications that you know your prospects read. This way, you can understand the big problems your niche faces, what drives their decisions, and which security and IT problems are front-burner now. This strategy allows you to become a real specialist and helps you get each big IT contract job that comes your way.

2. Learn Which Solutions You Can Offer Clients. Find out how those within your niche, again for example small medical offices, are using IT to change their way of doing business. Find out how they get reimbursed faster by insurance companies, how they make patient and doctor scheduling more efficient, and how they keep track of their charts more effectively. No matter which industry you choose, make sure you understand big-picture trends that are happening right now, so you can be an expert at solving problems and be more efficient at securing each valuable IT contract job within your niche.

3. Always Think of Yourself as a Virtual CIO. When you market yourself, position yourself as a Virtual CIO. This means when you approach prospects, you will not just be the consultant that sells PC’s, installs LANs or fixes software problems. You are a true Virtual CIO that can analyze sophisticated business needs, make recommendations, and implement long-term IT plans.

4. Never Present Yourself as a Commodity. When you market yourself the right way, you are not just a techie. You are someone that truly understands each prospect’s business. And when you have built solid relationships with prospects that become customers and clients, they will know they are not going to spend six months training you. Your expertise will be obvious because you’ve done your homework on their real IT business problems and worked with a lot of other offices their size in their industry.

Many small business IT consultants wonder as they are starting their businesses whether or not they should do computer maintenance contract subcontracting for national service organizations.
 
The simple answer is, “NO!” Essentially, you will spend a lot of money and time getting certified and learning the latest platforms and technologies and best practices. And you will end up doing a lot of low-level, low-skilled hardware repair and work that puts you in the same category as a commodity. Why? Because every year, hardware components become more disposable and replaceable and less repairable.
 
The following 4 tips can help you understand why you should stay away from doing computer maintenance contract subcontracting with a national service organization:

1. Many Computers are Dirt-Cheap and Basically Disposable. As an example, think about a standard $400 consumer-grade PC. Can you imagine one of your clients spending money on an out-of-warranty repair for this type of computer? And who would spend money out of warranty as part of an on-going computer maintenance contract to have a $400 laser printer repaired? You can’t focus your consulting business on these minor computer repairs. Rather, you should target small businesses that need your help on more complex IT business problems and can afford your sophisticated expertise.

2. Labor Allowances for Computer Maintenance Contract Work are Low with National Service Organizations. National service organizations are going to be dealing with warranty repairs on pretty inexpensive hardware. That being said, how big will the labor allowance be for a $1,200 notebook? Many big hardware vendors are so hard-up for cash that they are always on the verge of going out of business. There are only a handful of major hardware players that are still in good financial shape. So you have to think about what your chances of getting paid well in this situation will be.
   
   
3. Think About Your Profit Margins on Computer Maintenance Contract Repairs for National Service Organizations. Consider what you will make on a repair. You will probably only make somewhere between $50 and $200 (at the absolute most). You will do a lot better when you find small businesses in your area that need high-level professional IT services on a regular basis and not just your help un-jamming a printer or rebooting a computer.

4. Computer Maintenance Contract Subcontracting for National Service Organizations is Barely Profitable. When you act as a subcontractor for a national service provider, you will be working against yourself and your business constantly. You will most likely be in eight different offices every day as opposed to one or two. And you will be given a $65 labor allowance to replace a system board, no matter how long it takes you, instead of billing out $100-$150 per hour for high-end network support services and network integration services. 

Repairing and troubleshooting hardware is low-end commodity work and should be left to those that can afford to bill out at $20-$30 per hour. You need to focus on high-end consulting and establishing a strong computer maintenance contract program with steady, high-paying clients if you want to really succeed in the small business IT world.
 
In this article, we talked about 4 reasons to steer clear of doing computer maintenance contract subcontracting for national service organizations. Learn more about how you can build your computer maintenance contract business around great, steady, high-paying clients now at the attached link.
 
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1. Use Your Hourly Rate as a Guide to Setting PC Repair Prices. For initial work you do with new customers, you will probably spend about two or three hours on site and another hour or so back at your PC repair shop writing up a report summarizing work done and suggested next steps. Determine your PC repair prices for initial projects based on your average hourly billing rate. As an example, if for basic on-site service you are charging $95 per hour and you anticipate that for an initial project you will spend about five hours on-site, your first paid project should be worth a little under $500.

2. Don’t Bill the Full Amount for Initial Projects. While you may have discovered that based on your hourly rate, that initial project will be worth just under $500, you want to round down and offer discounts to new customers on PC repair prices to get your foot in the door. You don’t need to bill your very first paid work with new customers at your full rate. You want to give new prospective customers with whom you hope to have a long-term agreement some comfort. You want new prospective customers to know they can afford your services, and you’re not just trying to run up a huge bill. You want new prospective customers to know that you care about solving their IT problems. Your initial project may take a few hours, and you will likely spend another hour or so coming up with a coherent recommendations report on what your new customers need. Don’t give away expertise for free, but also don’t try to recover your typical PC repair prices on your first project.
3. New Customer Discounting Can Really Pay Off Long Term. Your goal with setting PC repair prices at the beginning is to get prospects to prove they will spend money on your services. The important goal of your initial project is to make the sale and start a real relationship. If you establish that an initial project is worth a little under $500, for example, think about discounting that to $250-$350. The key thing is to do initial work at fixed PC repair prices, and start to build trust and a relationship with new customers.