Service Contract Clients Protect Your Company's Future

While most IT consulting companies would like to have a very stable, steady client base, very few IT consulting businesses have solid, compelling service contract offerings that lure in their customers and clients effectively and consistently. How does your firm measure up?

 

Is every prospect, customer, and client of your IT consulting business moving towards a service contract?

 

And, do you have a consistent marketing plan that effectively and consistently seduces your customers and clients with irresistible, must-have service contract benefits?

 

If your answer to either of these questions is “No,” you really need to work on your service contract offering ASAP and know what it is all about before you start delivering services to long-term clients.

 

The following 3 steps can help you build a strong service contract package, that will keep your clients happy, and help you build predictable, recurring service revenue for your own IT consulting business.

 

1. Plan Ahead.  The best way to build your confidence as an IT professional at any stage of your business is to make sure you always plan ahead.  As you are planning and strengthening your support contract package, take stock of what you can do today and make a skills inventory list.  Then look at what your competitors are doing and figure out where the skills gaps are.  Which of your services would be most useful to small businesses with client/server networks?  What are your competitors offering in terms of services and solutions?  Once you determine the answers to these critical questions, you can start to make a plan of attack.  Work on delivering irresistible, must-have service contract benefits, that no one else can offer.  This way, your target prospects will have an easy-choice when they pick you to fulfill their long-term IT needs.
   

2. Don't Worry About Certifications.  Remember, most small businesses are a few years behind the technology adoption curve.  They are typically “non-technical” and more often than not focus on business problems rather than the technology that bolsters their infrastructure.  Your job, through ongoing client service contract arrangements, is to translate their technology needs into easy-to-use, dependable, and scalable business solutions with strong, positive return on investment (ROI). With that in mind, don’t obsess over keeping up-to-date on the latest software versions the moment they come out, because your clients are most likely still working with older platforms.  Any skills gaps can usually be quickly remedied with qualified partners and subcontractors.  All you will need in the small business arena is some basic certifications and a working knowledge of popular software and hardware.  Most small business owners will not be able to differentiate between simple and advanced certifications.  And those that can, will frown upon the idea that they might have to pay you more because you are too advanced to fulfill their more modest IT needs.      
   

3. Remember that a Service Contract is What Makes Your Business Profitable for the Duration.  You can’t really put your “all” into providing IT consulting services if you are constantly waiting for the phone to ring, or putting in a few hours here and there for non-committal customers and those in a panic over IT emergencies.  If you really want to find the right types of clients that will buy into long-term hand-holding, oversight and the security of a real, outsourced IT department, you need to have a strong service contract offering with highly-compelling, must-have benefits.  The ideal clients will expect you to take care of long-term projects and upgrades and be available to coordinate important aspects of building a network and a stable IT plan.  When you have a well-defined service contract package, you give clients peace of mind and a reason to work with you long term.  And in return, you will be paid regularly, which will help you build your much-needed recurring service revenue.

This short article introduced you to some of the more important considerations when packaging and marketing your service contract offering for your IT consulting business.  To learn more about how you can get great steady, high-paying clients for your IT service contracts, go sign-up now for the free Sample Tips and Excerpts below from the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course.

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