Posted on August - 28 - 2009

IT Consulting, Connecticut: Tips On Qualifying Your Clients

So you’re an IT consultant. You’re aware of your own skills and experience, and you know the tricks to bring in the clients. Now, the process of qualifying your prospects is going to involve knowing the advantages and disadvantages that each market possesses.

A vital step in the client qualification process is ensuring that you are working with a key person within the company – someone who knows the goals of the company and has the ability to call the shots. When you deal with a qualified decision maker, it can help you get around any potential delay issues due to a lack of authority; and in turn, keep the process flowing well.

The advantage of consulting in the governmental marketplace is that it contains a large pool of opportunity and is not as susceptible to bankruptcy as are other companies. IT Consulting Connecticut can focus on everything from the United Nations on down to community organizations.

The disadvantage of consulting for these entities is the bureaucracy, politics and multiple tiers of organization you may need to wade through, making them harder to qualify. In addition, the more cumbersome the entity the slower they are to take action, even if you have a decision maker on board.

Large companies can also be burdensome to deal with at times. A good trick when dealing with the bigger companies is to get hold of an organizational chart. This can help you get to the right people in the company to help qualify them as a client. Smaller businesses, though they may be tougher to collect from, can usually be a great source to go to for clients; and, due to their smaller size, can often have a simpler qualification process.

Another possible avenue is alternative energy companies. With smaller companies (like these and others just getting started) you can pull from a huge list of possible clients that could be very easily qualified because of their size. You may even benefit in the end from offering some pro bono time with these companies (not too much, of course); and bring some good will to the community while you’re at it.

The qualification process can be completed relatively quickly by simply finding out about their timeline and budget. Again, as mentioned before, this can go much smoother when you are dealing directly with one of the decision makers of the company.

Now in closing, a word of caution. Beware of those potential clients who are looking for something for nothing. An experienced Connecticut IT consultant will know the difference between a “free quote” and “free business.” Knowing that one difference can save you a lot of time and money down the road. Keep the free-quotes short and to the point, and most importantly, presented to the right person, and you’ll find the pre-qualification process much shorter, thus bringing you more clients in the end.

IT Consulting CT can be a difficult line of work. Joshua Phelps is an experienced writer who specializes in this and other related topics in the tech field. Searching for additional content on IT Outsourcing CT? Feel free to check out his additional content and posts.

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