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IT Consulting: The Final Three Steps

 
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Joshua Feinberg

These are the final three of the 21 steps you need to take to make your transition from part-timer moonlighting into full-time IT consulting.

Step 19 Never Stop Meeting New People

Attend networking meetings regularly. Keep expanding your IT consulting prospect file even when you’re really, really busy. You're always going to need people in your funnel. Get to know the organization's programming needs, what kind of speakers panels and educational programs they have, etc. Volunteer to speak at an upcoming meeting on an IT-related topic.

Speaking is such a powerful way your clients. Speaking at a chamber of commerce event or rotary seminar can get you a huge pool of potential future IT consulting clients and business contacts.

Step 20: Plan your first cold direct mail postcard campaign.

It’s really important to use some kind of targeting method. Narrow it down to something so you’re picking a list of certain occupation certain industry so you can write advertising copy that can address their needs. Set a deadline for a free analysis.

Mail a 1000 card postcard test and measure response. Assuming you get a decent response and you establish a control, mail 1000 or 2000 cards a month. You should look to spend $300 - $700 depending on how much your rented mailing list is. A good modest goal would be a 1 percent response rate so you get 10 to 20 inquiries for you to add to your IT consulting sales funnel.

Step 21: Set Up an Effective Follow-Up System.

Keep attending networking events, get the contacts that you meet at those networking events into an effective follow-up system, keep going to the meetings on a regular basis, and do targeted mail and keep doing those four things until you have enough leads and billable work. Even when you’re really, really busy, with IT consulting, keep up these activities.

Go to a networking event every other week and still try to get some postcards out once a month because. Within ninety days, a good modest goal would be to pick up at least 3 to 5 steady clients so you can be well on your way to full-time IT consulting income. Go to the events so you can understand what’s driving your prospects nuts with their computers and how you can help.

Develop a follow-up system so you can stay in front of them until they’re ready to raise their hands and say, "We need you now." Keep going to more of those meetings, get on the radar screen as an expert so you can be on panels and then gradually start to do some targeted direct mail.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

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Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training at http://www.ComputerConsultantsSecrets.com
Article Tags: consulting [See Dictionary], mail [See Dictionary], networking [See Dictionary]
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Article published on July 19, 2006 at Isnare.com
 
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