Facebook Ads can work well when you are marketing IT services. If you want to run some computer repair ads for your business, then there are three things that you must do to optimize them:

The SPTechCon 2012 SharePoint Technology Conference is coming soon to the Westin Copley Place Hotel, Boston. 

Every IT consulting firm needs smooth cash flow. Key to this is making sure your clients pay on time.

Starting a computer business is a tricky undertaking. Like other startups, the first few years can be rocky. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that three out of every ten startups won’t make it past the first two years. 

The Microsoft Partner Network can raise the business profile of IT solution providers. It also has benefits designed to save its partners time and money, and thereby improve business development.

I was recently asked, by the owner of a new computer support company, whether it’s a good idea for a start-up like hers to volunteer for non-profits.

It makes sense for technology distributors to use for themselves the solutions they distribute via the IT channel. 

If you are in the business of selling computer maintenance contracts, it may seem strange for someone to suggest that it may serve you well to refuse to take on certain clients.

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter
June 27, 2012

The HP Partner Program may well be worth a look for those VARs and MSPs working in the SMB market.  

You've probably heard of different personality "types." Though they can be overused to pigeonhole people, personality types can provide insight into yourself or others. If you're thinking of purchasing a computer franchise, an examination of your personality type can suggest how successful you might be and how enjoyable you might find it.

Meeting the requirements to join the Microsoft Small Business Specialist community can be a valuable strategy for your IT business.

If you’re like most IT professional that are starting a consulting business, you likely already have a lot on your plate and need a whole bunch of paying clients by, ummm...yesterday! 

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is working on its ninth annual Storage Developer Conference (SDC) to be held September 17-20, 2012 in Santa Clara. 

VMworld 2012 is the conference organized by VMware, the company best known for its leadership with virtualization and the cloud. 

Can’t create or send out your own marketing newsletter? 

If you are planning on starting an IT business, strong technical skills are not necessarily all you need to make a success of it.

Symantec PartnerNet is Symantec's online resource for its VAR and MSP partners. 

A PC gaming enthusiast, wondering how to start a PC repair business, recently commented on one of our older YouTube Videos about "How to Start a Computer Repair Business." His follow-up question focused on business licenses, the kind typically required for operation by various government entities. “I have the money set aside for everything, but I do not know what licenses I need and exactly how to get started.” 

IT service level agreements are a necessary evil for all professional IT support providers.

Starting a consulting firm can be so time-consuming that many people put off thinking about setting up a retirement plan. This is understandable, at first—the problem comes when IT consultants never get around to planning at all. 

CompTIA’s A+ certification is a valuable IT qualification and a well recognized industry standard.

HostingCon 2012 takes place from July 16th to 18th. The venue is the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts. 

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter

June 20, 2012

Even for large companies, turning a profit on computer hardware sales can be tough. Dell and HP PC divisions regularly operate with single-digit profit margins. And in May 2012, both industry giants announced massive job layoffs directly attributable to slumping sales.

Joining the Microsoft SBSC (Small Business Specialist Community) can be beneficial if you are an IT consultant running your own IT business.

Imagine how much more effective your IT consulting marketing would be if your prospects had already heard of your company name by the time they met you. 

IT distributors may have even more work to do if the results of a recent reseller survey are representative of the wider dealer community. The survey organized by The Channel Partnership, a UK channel consultancy, asked 250 VARs what they thought about their vendors.

When you first start up your new IT business, it can be difficult to judge how best to set your computer service rates.

If you’re looking for computer business ideas, there’s plenty more you can do beyond fixing PCs and providing support. This article introduces three slightly more unusual computer business ideas:

Microsoft Partner Support offers help and advice to those VARs, MSPs, and other technology providers who have become members of the Microsoft Partner Network. 

IT resellers who want to boost their professional sales knowledge may find a solution in the forthcoming Varnex University, presented by distributor SYNNEX. The aim is to help VAR members to get the training they need, but may have had difficulty completing on their own.

The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) is firmly stamping its 2012 RetailNOW annual convention in Las Vegas with the theme of education.

When you offer an IT services contract to small business clients, they are sure to ask what hours you are available.

The Cisco Partner Summit, running from April 16^th to April 19^th, had its sights set clearly on the future. Technology providers who are Cisco partners experienced four days of networking and leadership development. They also learned about Cisco’s latest channel strategy initiatives.

People who become an IT consultant for local small businesses find that it not only provides high job satisfaction, but that it can also be very financially rewarding.

Microsoft describe its Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certification as a reinvention of the well-known MCSE certification track that was present in the industry for a long time before being briefly removed and replaced with other Microsoft accreditations.

If you’re new to technology sales in the small business segment, you may be tempted to think that reaching its decision makers is pretty simple. It can be, but not so fast. 

SP Home Run Weekly Update Newsletter

June 13, 2012

How Computer Consulting Services Can Find New Client Contracts (Video and Transcript)
Do you need some new client contracts? If so, you're in good company. Most owners and managers of computer consulting services are constantly on the lookout for where their next new client contract is going to come from. In this video tutorial, you'll learn the answer to "where should I search for new contracts?"
Watch the Video...


3 PC Repair Advertising Tips
Don't waste your money on ineffective PC repair advertising. Designing a home or business computer repair mailer can be a great way to generate leads, if you follow these three tips.
Read the Post...


How to Start a Computer Consulting Business (White Paper)
Learn about 11 key steps to take right away to get established professionally in business (pages 3-5). Find out 7 ways to keep your expenses low as you ramp up (pages 7-8). Build your initial client base with a simple, very low cost 9-step plan for getting in front of the right decision makers (pages 8-10). Fortify your IT startup with 4 sources of revenue so you don't put all your eggs in one basket (pages 10-11).
Download the White Paper...

An unlimited budget for your technology marketing?

There are many steps in learning how to market a computer repair business. It’s an easy mistake to skip a few steps, either because you don’t think they’re necessary, or you don’t know about them.

If you are familiar with IT certification courses, you are probably also familiar with how often IT certifications are changed and updated. 

MVP Nation ran from March 2nd to 3rd. It was the world's first conference to discuss Windows 8, something that guarantees it a place in IT conference history.          

The Information Security Forum (ISF) considers that businesses emerging from the downturn will now have to accelerate to avoid lagging cybercriminals—who didn’t experience any downturn.

When entering a mature market, you need to focus your efforts to position your computer service and sales business in a way that will maximize your sales and beat out the competition.

When you’re first starting an IT business, consider how you’re going to get the kind of IT consulting rates that will make your firm profitable. To do this, you need to think about how small businesses work.

If you’re looking for good IT marketing ideas for engaging with your customers, show them how they can better engage with their own customers. According to industry gurus like Geoffrey Moore, the short-term answer for companies is not in information technology from the business sector, but from the consumer side.

If you wish to professionally deliver your IT support contracts, you need to ensure that all of your client calls are being logged. 

Do you need some new client contracts? If so, you’re in good company. Most owners and managers of computer consulting services are constantly on the lookout for where their next new client contract is going to come from.

An increase in paying membership from 7 to over 100 is what the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the IAMCP (the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners) has recently accomplished.

A technology provider business can gain an advantage when it becomes a Symantec Gold Partner. It enters a commercial relationship with a Fortune 500 company. Some of the credibility, success, and profitability of such a company can transfer by association.

Don’t waste your money on ineffective PC repair advertising. Designing a home or business computer repair mailer can be a great way to generate leads, if you follow these three tips:

If you provide an IT support contract service to your small- and medium-sized business (SMB) clients, there are various types of software you can use to organize yourself and enhance the service you provide.

Calling all IT solution providers! CompTIA Breakaway is back! From July 30th to August 2nd, Las Vegas hosts what the CompTIA organizers call "the premier education and training event for the IT channel."

A stereotype about public sector contracts being only for larger resellers may be on the way out in the UK, leaving the door open for computer distributors to help small- and medium-sized IT resellers move in as suppliers.

If you offer computer repair contracts, you are sure to be aware that computers always come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Depending on the country of sale and the specific product, these warranties typically range from one to three years. 

When you take on a new small business as a customer of your IT franchise, you're rarely supplementing an existing IT department.

Are you one of those people who dread marketing computer repair? 

Having already conquered the hearts of consumers (B2C), social networks are now also increasingly in fashion for businesses (B2B). E-marketing consultant Bob DeStefano has a number of remarks on the optimal use of these resources in a B2B environment, such as for technology marketing.

As a SharePoint Partner, your business has the backing of Microsoft. This gives you significant potential to promote the Microsoft SharePoint solution to small, medium, and even multinational companies.

B2B computer marketing can be enhanced significantly by incorporating social media into your overall marketing strategy. There are many platforms out there and more are being introduced each week. So the key is to focus your efforts on those platforms where your audience currently is.

A PC repair flyer can attract business if it finds its way into the right hands.

If you are considering IT certification courses, the self-study option may seem an attractive proposition; buy a few books, set up a test network, and learn at your own pace.