If you run a technology consulting business, it is easy to get bogged down in day-to-day work and lose sight of the big picture.
Sometimes it’s worth going right back to basics and considering the essential things that everyone working in technology consulting should be doing on an ongoing basis. This article considers five of those essentials:
1. Staying Current with Technology
Many IT consultants get stuck in a comfort zone – rolling out the same systems to multiple clients and sticking to tried and tested ways of doing things.
While this is, in some ways, a wise strategy, it is essential that you stay up to speed with new technology. If you don’t, your competitors may swoop in and tempt your clients with new ideas. Plenty of traditional IT consultants have seen this happen with cloud solutions!
2. Maintaining Documentation
Keeping good documentation should be second nature to those working in technology consulting, yet many IT professionals are really bad at it.
The benefits of good documentation include fewer disturbances when you are on holiday and building a business that will prove easier to sell in the future. Those reasons alone should be sufficient to persuade you to do it.
3. Marketing
If you hate marketing your IT business, you are not alone. But the only companies that continue to grow are those that continue marketing themselves.
If you have plenty of clients and have become complacent, it’s time to put marketing back on your agenda. What would happen if you lost your biggest client tomorrow?
4. Having the Right Insurance
Are you covered for every eventuality? What happens if you accidentally delete a customer’s data and they decide to drag you though the courts?
If you don’t have the right insurance coverage, sort it out now – right now.
5. Putting the Customer First
Technology consulting isn’t just about IT – it’s ultimately a service industry.
If you can’t honestly say that all of your customers are content with your level of customer service, it’s time to make improvements.
While your technical skills may keep you employed by a client, your customer service skills are what will ensure that the client refers you to others.
What do you consider to be the essential things to remember in technology consulting? Share your thoughts in the Comments box below.
And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on How to Start a Computer Consulting Business: 6 Proven Ways to Build Your Initial Client Base.
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Topics:- Computer Consulting Business