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08.24.06
IT Consultation: Qualifying A Customer
 By
Joshua Feinberg
IT consultation projects start with a phone call and are followed by a meeting
with prospects.
The initial meeting is a great time for the client and the IT consultation business. It is an opportunity for you as a consultant to properly qualify the client to figure out if a contract will be possible.
How to Qualify
Many clients will waste your time by giving your IT consultation firm false hope. They might ask for additional proposals or presentations even though they don't intend to sign a contract. You can avoid spending excess time on non-serious clients by properly qualifying them using the following techniques.
Submit Pared-Down Proposals
An IT consultation needs to present simply a broad idea of the actions that will be involved in the project. If you give too much information, you are giving away your expertise free of charge, and the client might not feel the need to hire you. You should withdraw from the project if the prospect asks you for too many details up-front and spend your time looking for more possibilities.
Make a Decision Timeline
IT consultation firms need to create a timeline with prospects to figure out when they will decide. You should allow enough time for the prospective customer to think about your offer, but also make the deadline clear and final. Without a timeline, you might wait for months and waste time that could be spent on getting other projects.
Get Decision-Makers Involved
If you can't get decision-makers involved in discussions, you should be very wary.
The project will probably never get approved if you can't get the attention of
important people, and the absence of decision-makers in the process might be a
sign that your IT consultation firm should move on. Getting decision-makers excited
and involved from the beginning will lead to a great opportunity for a long-term
relationship.
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