Before
you go ahead and bet YOUR company on Microsoft Small Business Server,
consider the following three Small Business Server Business Tips… so
you can maximize your Small Business Server consulting profits.
Top 3 Ways to Maximize Your Small Business Server Consulting Profits
Over the past 7 years, Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) has gained
traction as a widely-respected Small Business Server networking suite.
As a result, many small business computer consultants, systems
integrators, and value-added resellers have jumped on-board the
Microsoft Small Business Server bandwagon.
However, before you go ahead and bet YOUR company on Microsoft Small
Business Server, consider the following three Small Business Server
Business Tips… so you can maximize your Small Business Server
consulting profits.
(1) Most small businesses in your area have never heard of Microsoft Small Business Server.
Although there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses
in your area that would be excellent candidates for Microsoft Small
Business Server, don't make the ultra-common mistake of assuming that
the typical non-technical small business owner even knows what
Microsoft Small Business Server is.
If you want to maximize your consulting profits and avoid commodity
price wars, you're much better off leading off with a pitch for
something that's more universally recognized… such as getting rid of
computer viruses, stopping SPAM, or preventing computer security
breaches.
(2) Sell your small business prospects on YOUR company first.
The real money in Small Business Server is NOT in reselling the
Microsoft Small Business Server software. The real money comes from
selling the RELATIONSHIP with the small business. So your company
essentially becomes your clients' outsourced IT department.
Remember, no small business owner is going to wake up in the middle of
the night, in a cold sweat, craving Small Business Server. However,
small business owners DO constantly lose sleep over what will happen to
their companies if their computer systems fail them. Become the
solution to the more primal, survival instinct and you'll get plenty of
opportunities to sell Small Business Server, once you've established a
solid client/consultant relationship.
(3) Microsoft doesn't value computer consultants as much as they sometimes say.
Little known fact: the first version of Microsoft Small Business
Server, planned in 1996 and released in 1997, was code-named “SAM”…
because Microsoft's goal was for Small Business Server to completely
bypass their reseller channel and be sold at “Sam's Club” warehouse
clubs.
So the product team had the mandate to make the Small Business Server
product SO simple that a non-technical small business end user could
buy Small Business Server at the warehouse club and have the Small
Business Server suite running in their office that same day.
Shortly after the first-version shipped, Microsoft realized that the
most cost-effective way to reach small businesses with Small Business
Server was through their reseller channel. And since then, Small
Business Server resources have flowed toward the channel.
However, even today, you can often find 5-user versions of Microsoft Small Business Server in retail stores.
So the point: Microsoft isn't putting all its Small Business Server
“eggs” in one basket, so why should you?!? Which brings us back to
points one and two: Small business owners aren't actively shopping for
a “Small Business Server”. So instead of “selling” Small Business
Server per se, you're much better off selling a small business on YOUR
company, BEFORE you sell Microsoft Small Business Server.
The Bottom Line
In this article, we looked at three Small Business Server business tips
that every computer consultant, systems integrator and value added
reseller needs to be aware when selling Microsoft Small Business Server.
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