SMB Consulting Best Practices (Harry Brelsford's SMB Series)

by Harry Brelsford, Michael Vizard (Foreword by), Vicki McCown (Editor)

Overview

This book serves the small and medium business (SMB) technology consultant seeking to make a great living as a professional service provider. Focused more on the "business" side than the "bits" side, it's all about:

• Not only surviving but thriving as an SMB consultant by cultivating a superior portfolio of top flight customers with appropriate, effective and efficient business development approaches.
• Keeping your customers happy by applying the consulting practice management skills presented between the covers.
• Finding your calling in SMB consulting life by discovering niches such as Windows Small Business Server 2003 (SBS 2003) that allow you to master a technical area and consistently deliver assured outcomes.

Some will find this book, built on the well established construct of the finder, minder, grinder professional services delivery model, could aptly be titled "How to Make Money as an SMB Consultant." Others will view this book as a transition tome between SBS 2000 and SBS 2003 due to the timeframe that is was penned (this books uses both examples as . Others will view it as the first SBS 2003 book to market! And finally, many will consider this book their ready guide to taking their SMB consulting practice to the next levels of profitability and service delivery.

Bottom line: This is your "pocket MBA" course on how to launch yourself as an SMB consultant using Microsoft's SBS solution -or- if you're an experienced consultant, this book will help you sharpen your SMB consulting operations. It's safe to say it's purchase price will be returned many times over and reflect an positive return on investment!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Seattle-based SMB consultant Harry Brelsford brings to the table over 10 years of technology consulting experience. The author of ten books, Harry�s consulting niche is Microsoft Small Business Server. A trainer and a frequent speaker at conferences, Harry is the founder of the SMB Nation conference series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780974858067
Publisher:	Hara Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/28/2003
Series:	Harry Brelsford's SMB Series
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.02(h) x 1.33(d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xxv
	About the Author	xxvii
	Preface	xxviii
	What this Book Is About	xxviii
	Who Should Read This Book	xxx
	How This Book Is Organized	xxxi
	Acknowledgments	xxxii
	Forward!	xxxiii
Part 1	Painting the SMB Consulting Picture
Chapter 1	So You Want to be an SMB Consultant?!?!	1
	Why Be an SMB Consultant?	2
	A Week in the Life of an SMB Consultant	6
	Business Planning	10
	SMB Consulting Success Factors	10
	Who Shouldn't Be an SMB Consultant	12
	Summary	14
Chapter 2	SMB Consulting Business Plan	1
	How to Write a Business Pan	2
	Resources to Assist With Your Business Plan	22
	Required Paperwork	28
	Business Advisors	29
	Your Decision Point	31
	Ongoing Business Planning	31
	Brelsford's Mailbox	32
	Summary	33
Chapter 3	Foundation for SMB Consulting	1
	Gain Trust	1
	Practice Expectation Management	3
	Overcommunicate	4
	Be Willing to Wear Many Hats	7
	Become a Business Advisor	8
	Take a Long-Term View	10
	Act as a Client Advocate	11
	Mentor Your Clients	12
	Provide Pro Bono Services	13
	Live By Referrals	14
	Always Operate Under NDA	15
	First, Do No Harm	16
	Introducing Brelsford's Dozen	16
	Brelsford's Mailbox	17
	Summary	18
Part 2	Finder
Chapter 4	Planting Seeds and Growing an SMB Consulting Practice	1
	Plant the Seeds	2
	Life Cycle for Developing Business	3
	Brelsford's Dozen	6
	Have 12 Months' Cash on Hand	6
	Interim Measures to Accumulate Startup Cash	8
	Landing Your First Client	10
	Your SMB Consulting Transition Plans	30
	Firing Your Clients	34
	Good Client Selection	34
	Brelsford's Dozen: Client Rejection Ratio	36
	Microsoft's Go To Market Campaign	36
	If It's Broke, Fix It!	40
	Brelsford's Mailbox	40
	Summary	42
Chapter 5	SMB Marketing	1
	The Five Ps of SMB Consulting	2
	Product	2
	P-distribution	12
	Packaging	34
	Pricing	40
	Promotion	46
	Brelsford's Mailbox	63
	Summary	64
Chapter 6	SMB Consulting Sales	1
	Defining Your SMB Customer	2
	SMB Sales Tactics	5
	SMB Solution Selling Paradigm	32
	Advertising	38
	Microsoft SMB Sales Resources	43
	SMB Sales Alternatives	48
	More Sales Tips	52
	Brelsford's Mailbox	58
	Summary	59
Chapter 7	Be the SMB Rainmaker	1
	Good Business Development Habits	1
	Building Your Book	7
	Be a Discerning Rainmaker	14
	Environmental Scanning	15
	Writing Great Technology Proposals That WIN!	19
	References and Referrals	34
	Building Trust Relationships	41
	Partnering	43
	Paying a Finder's Fee	48
	Guerrillas and Cheese	49
	Bottom Line	52
	Negotiating and Consummating Transactions	52
	Brelsford's Mailbox	54
	Summary	55
Part 3	Minder
Chapter 8	CRM: Client Relationship Management	1
	Human Communications 101	1
	Project Management	10
	Using Microsoft Project	16
	Other Project Management Tools	21
	Managing Ongoing Engagements	24
	Status Meetings	26
	Client Service	29
	Brelsford's Mailbox	34
	Summary	39
Chapter 9	SMB Practice Management	1
	Managing Workflow	2
	Managing Staff	15
	Compensation Guidelines	20
	Training Yourself and Staff	26
	Retention and Termination	38
	Brelsford's Mailbox	40
	Summary	41
Chapter 10	Financial Management	1
	Financial Accounting Matters	1
	Management Accounting Matters	6
	Strategies on How to Make Money	13
	Budgeting	17
	Boosting Your SMB Consulting ROI	23
	Resources	27
	Brelsford's Mailbox	29
	Summary	31
Part 4	Grinder
Chapter 11	SMB Consulting Methodologies	1
	Don't Reinvent the Wheel	1
	One-Hour Rule	6
	Go To Market	10
	More Microsoft Resources	13
	Brelsford's Dozen: Methodology Samples	23
	SMB Methodology Tips and Tricks	23
	SMB Case Study	25
	Brelsford's Mailbox	27
	Summary	28
Chapter 12	SMB Consulting Niches	1
	Microsoft Office	1
	Collaboration	6
	E-Commerce	11
	Microsoft Line of Business Applications	13
	Project Management Consulting	18
	bCentral Consulting	20
	More SMB Niches	21
	Being a Trainer	32
	Advisory Services	37
	Packaging Revisited	39
	Underserved Areas	42
	Sage Advice for Niche Pickers	43
	Brelsford's Dozen: Create Your Top-12 Niche List!	45
	Brelsford's Mailbox	46
	Summary	47
Chapter 13	Small Business Server 2003	1
	Defining Small Business Server	2
	Installation and Deployment	3
	Ongoing Maintenance	13
	Adding Value in SBS Engagements	24
	Premium edition matters	38
	Building Better Client Relationships	40
	Important Note	42
	Brelsford's Mailbox	43
	Summary	44
	Appendix A
	Microsoft Partners Sites	2
	Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) Sites	2
	Additional Microsoft or Microsoft-related Sites	2
	Third-party SBS-related Sites	3
	Newslists, User Groups, Trade Associations, Organizations	3
	Seminars, Workshops, Conferences	5
	Business Resources	5
	Media	6
	SMB Hardware & Software Companies	7
	Miscellaneous	8
	Appendix B
	Introducing Brelsford's Dozen	4
	Have 12 Months' Cash on Hand	5
	Client Rejection Ratio	6
	Better Business Research	7
	Competitive Survey	9
	Giveth Business Cards	9
	Receiveth Business Cards	10
	Attend a Dozen Marketing Events per Quarter	10
	Great Expectations	13
	Scope a 12 Percent Fudge Factor	14
	Nine out of 12 New Clients Must be Referrals	14
	Partnerships!	15
	Finder's Fee	16
	Scanning Contemporary Texts	16
	Communications	16
	Analyze This!	18
	And Analyze That!	18
	Client Treatment	19
	Daily Limits	19
	Annual Departures	20
	Bill 1,200 Hours per Year!	20
	12 Percent Profit Margin	21
	Calculating True Costs	22
	Assume a 12 Percent Write-off Rate	23
	Dissatisfied clients	23
	Learning curve analysis	23
	Trying new niches	23
	One-Hour Rule	24
	12-to-1 Odds	25
	Methodology Samples	27
	Create Your Top-12 Niche List!	28
	Ongoing Maintenance Tasks	29
	Appendix C
	Bits and Bytes	2
	SMB Consultant Toolkit	3
	Ten Things Not to Forget About Small Businesses	5