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Do you need help selling IT services? In order to build a strong IT consulting business, you need to get away from selling low prices and sell your knowledge, expertise and the value-proposition of mutually-beneficial relationships with your prospective clients.
As a small business computer consultant, there are a lot of challenges you will face as you build your business. One of them involves marketing and selling your services to highly qualified business owners that understand and embrace the value of your sophisticated IT solutions. The following 3 tips can help you set yourself apart from the competition and avoid price-sensitive buyers.
1) Leverage Your Expertise. When you are selling IT services, your expertise will set you apart from the competition. There are hundreds of people who can do the easy work of an IT “generalist. ” But you need to make it your business to do the hard work and show you know the industry better than they do. You need to be an IT “specialist” and be one of only a couple people in your area that can do what you do. When you can truly leverage this concept of being a specialist, you will move away from price sensitive buyers and towards those that understand the concept of a sophisticated IT solution. These tend to be the same clients that are willing to pay higher hourly billing rates for relatively scarce, high-value, results-focused expertise.
2) Sell Knowledge, Not Commodities. If you want to have a successful IT business, you need to stop selling the same old products by themselves and start selling the real value of your services. . . and the bottom-line business value they provide. You aren’t going to get very far by selling IT services to product-only customers or competing on price alone. You need to bundle in value-added services and add real value in order to substantially grow your company and survive for many years. Think about the concept of selling “You, Inc. ”. Remember, your value proposition includes everything you know and are good at, as well as the personalized relationships you build with your clients. How can you transform your whole marketing approach, so it’s not about just reaching potential customers and clients? Rather, think about reaching long-term clients, who will need you for many months and years to keep their IT systems up and running. Stop thinking about how to market “low, low prices” and start really selling your specific solutions that solve real business problems and are different from the solutions of any other IT service provider in your area.
3) Sell Unique Benefits. When you are selling IT services, think about which benefits you can give your clients that will be different from the average generalist consultant in your area. You need to differentiate yourself from the competition to increase your base of high-paying, steady, long-term clients. Think about the benefits you offer as part of long-term relationships with clients. For example, what are the terms of your service contracts, and how do they benefit both you and your loyal clients? Or is your location – close to clients – something you can leverage with a guaranteed response time during regular business hours? Think carefully about exactly what you offer clients that no one else can and then stress these unique benefits in all your marketing collateral.
In this article we talked about 3 valuable tips that can help you when you are selling IT services. To learn more about how you can get great, steady, high-paying clients, sign up for free tips on Selling IT Services now at http://www. ITServicesBusiness. com.
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Joshua Feinberg is the author and editorial director of the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course, which helps computer consultants, VARs, integrators, solution providers, and managed services providers get more of the best, steady, high-paying small business (SMB) clients.
Nikita Kashner 
