Marketing consultants are focusing more and more on Internet marketing than ever before. Why? The answer is simple; this type of marketing is here to stay. In today’s marketplace a strong online presence is almost a necessity. Businesses that make the decision not to jump on the bandwagon will be losing out, in the future.

Marketing Options for Every Business Owner

There are marketing options for every business owner. Good marketing consultants have done their homework and are adept at putting together a customized plan for every client, based on those individuals marketing budget and expectations.

Novice small business owners may feel as though they cannot afford to work with a marketing firm. However, this expense is well justified for many of them. These particular individuals are aware of the importance of getting their business off to a good start, especially when they are up against a great deal of competition.

Working with a firm provides them with the guidance they need and gives them ample opportunity to ask questions and learn basic marketing procedures that they can put to good use in the future.

Seasoned business owners can certainly benefit, as well. Many times, even with the most successful of businesses, marketing consultants can immediately pinpoint an aspect of a marketing plan that has been overlooked. When this happens the next step is to integrate it into the existing plan and continue to monitor overall progress.

Types of Internet Marketing

There are many types of Internet marketing. Depending on the business niche, some types of marketing are more successful than others. Marketing consultants can help the business owner decide on the options best suited for the business.

Types of Internet marketing include: email campaigns or newsletter creation, coupon distribution, pay per click ads, article marketing and blogging, contest sponsorship, banner ads and surveys.

Coupons typically work well to attract repeat customers. Everyone likes to get something at a discount or for nothing. When customers are already familiar with the quality of a product they are typically more apt to use a coupon that has been presented to them.

Contests usually draw a large audience. Everyone likes to get something for nothing. Entering a contest not only familiarizes them with the prizes being offered it also gives them the opportunity to look at other company-offered products and services, as well. Marketing consultants can attest that a certain percentage of contest entrants will go as far as purchasing one of these additional products.

As a noted educator and writer once said, wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.

The successful independent consultant, must have all three requirements, but knowing how to do it is essential. Knowing how to get your message out to your potential clients using press releases, direct mail, e-mail, print advertising, web sites, blogs, word of mouth and other appropriate actions are important. Also important is knowing how to engage the potential client, gain the client’s acceptance of you as an expert who can deliver, and then gain the client’s willingness to use your services to solve his problems.

To do this you have to be able to actively listen–to receive, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues; to actively learn–to acquire, evaluate, organize, and process information using the computer and other resources; to apply technology to tasks — to understand proper procedures for the operation of the equipment; to use critical thinking — to look for the rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and use it to solve problems; and, to actively use record keeping skills — to predict and manage cash flow, keep control of your costs, set fees that are reasonable and competitive, keep records of receipts and outgoings; and to manage your time and the time of others.

Moreover, other skills that a successful independent consultant must have include the ability to negotiate — to work towards agreements, involve exchange of resources, resolve divergent interests and essentially to bring others together in an effort to resolve differences. In addition the independent consultant must be able to teach others new skills, communicate ideas to justify positions, persuade and convince others to change their minds and behaviors, responsibly challenge existing procedures, understand how social and organizational systems work, and work to satisfy client expectations.

The exercise of all the above skills presume that the independent consultant possess strong reading, writing, and speaking skills. You must be able to locate, understand, and interpret written information in work-related documents, communicate thoughts, ideas, and messages in writing, including creating letters, manuals, reports, directions and flow charts, and, organize ideas and verbally convey information effectively.

All of these skills are learnable and does not depend on any particular education or experience. However, it does require knowing how to use efficient learning techniques to apply new knowledge and skill technologies. Knowing how to learn is life’s most important skill.

What an image consultant can do for you is vast and varied. The very word image has a lot to contribute to the way a business or an individual is portrayed to the world. Because people usually form an impression within the first few minutes it is critical to seize that moment and be viewed in the right light. People have so much information to process and so your first impression in these few minutes is often your only opportunity. If you do pass on a sub-optimal image you will have to do considerable damage control to rectify your impression.

Questions like how do I create a professional image, how can I improve my presentation skills, how can I handle my staff, how can I create a corporate identity are well within the capabilities of an image consultant. Image consultants are well trained to identify problems and provide practical solutions according to each situation. They can be responsible in creating the right image with your business, staff, dress codes, staff empowerment etc.

Your focus may be to feel more in control over how you present yourself in general. Many of us don’t feel confident about our image. We would like to know what kind of insight an image consultant can provide in selecting the best colors that complement us, types of clothing for our body type, appropriate makeup, as well as etiquette tips and awareness of body language.

No celebrity takes decisions by themselves with regard to their appearance and body language. It is critical to present the right image when meeting their fans and the media. Although you may not need an image consultant by your side as frequently as a celebrity might, a few consultations can give you some wonderful insights and tools to make those key changes that will have far reaching implications.

An image consultant has a wide range of clients from pharmaceutical companies, property management groups, insurance groups, financial consultants, accounting firms, retail stores, oil companies, software companies and the general public too.

At a time when opportunities are limited, getting noticed in a positive way couldn’t be more important.

Your resume is effective if it creates an impact on management consulting recruiters within less than a minute. To go in this direction, ensure that it emphasizes your strengths, it contains no errors and it is written in a well-customized manner. If you, unfortunately, swerve to the wrong direction, you might commit any of the common mistakes of applicants.

Mistake 1: Providing Irrelevant Details

Brevity, not length, is the main principle to be followed when writing a resume. A long list of information doesn’t necessarily mean you are better than other applicants. It can even mean you are not capable of organizing information in a concise manner. Include only the information that is relevant to the management consulting position. Unnecessary details just cause the document to appear wordy. Ideally, it should only have one to two pages. Anything more than that is quite dragging.

Mistake 2: Failure to Highlight Accomplishments

Too many applicants apply for a single management consulting position. Hence, recruiters are challenged to shortlist them based on the knowledge, skills and abilities stated in their resume. They will also look for your accomplishments in your previous workplace or as a student. If you place a description of your previous responsibilities, it will give recruiters an idea of what you used to do, and this is good. However, if you state a few bullets of accomplishments, it will tell them how you performed, and this is much better. Recruiters believe that past behavior predicts potential performance at work. If they appreciate what you have done in the past, they will most likely bank on your capability.

Mistake 3: Not Specifying ad Quantifying Performance

Numbers matter in a resume, especially if they uncover your performance. Thus, when stating your accomplishments, quantify it as much as possible. Instead of saying, “Led a team to investigate marketing issues,” say, “Led a team in market segmentation and recommended measurable strategies in launching the new product within a month.” The second statement is better because it’s specific. Further, the recruiter will be able to appreciate your conscientiousness and dedication since you could finish the project within a month.

Mistake 4: Failing to Review Content of Resume

Grammatical errors and misspellings are a turn off for recruiters. If they see your resume with these blunders, more likely you will be rejected. There are three reasons for this. First, written communication skill is a must for management consultants. If you can’t perfect your resume, how will you be able to write reports for your clients? Second, mistakes indicate you are not meticulous with details, another winning characteristic important in dealing with information. Third, remember that there are heaps of qualified applicants for the vacancy. Why would recruiters favor you over those who can describe their competence excellently?

Mistake 5: Using a Disorganized Layout

The manner of presenting information also matters. If you squeeze in too many details in a page, management consulting recruiters will feel tired to peruse your resume. Hence, make use of the features of the word processor you are using. Italicize, underline or bold phrases for emphasis. Insert white lines in between categories for the eyes to rest after reading a chunk of information. Using bullets is also a good way of breaking long sentences. It makes your document reader-friendly. It’s a great idea not to use fancy fonts. Times New Roman, Tahoma, Arial and other readable fonts are more professional-looking.

Mistake 6: Sending a One-Size-Fits-All Resume

Management consulting firms are unique from each other; thus, you must ascertain that all given information is in line with their goals, work values and corporate culture. To be able to do this, conduct an intensive research about your target firm. Browse their website; almost all information is stated there. You can also refer to people in your network who are and were connected with the firm. If you send a generic resume, recruiters will feel your impersonality. However, a well-tailored resume is more attention-grabbing for them.

Do not take for granted the power of a resume to sell your services to a management consulting firm. It may be just a simple document, but it can pave the way to your promising dream job. Spend sufficient time in writing and proofreading it. You will be grateful for your effort once you are called for an interview.

If you’re an independent computer consultant, for you to compete against the larger MSPs and IT Service Providers for your target small business customers, you need to offer something that sets you apart. Something that makes you unique that the other guys simply can’t or don’t provide. This “something” is called your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.

The Managed Service Model works and is the only way to operate an IT Support Company profitably and successfully. Eventually, all support providers will move away from hourly support and onto the Managed Service Model. But when everyone is offering essentially the same thing… 24×7 monitoring, remote helpdesk support, flat-fee billing… what can you as an Independent Computer Consultant offer that’s different?

Well, it’s the fact that you’re an Independent Computer Consultant that will set you apart and give you a very distinct advantage over your larger competition. I get calls all the time from small businesses owners inquiring about my service because they’re unhappy with their current provider and looking to make a change. What do you think is the #1 reason usually given for wanting someone new?

Their current provider isn’t responsive enough! The client often feels like they’re being treated as a lower priority than some of their IT Provider’s larger clients. Or their consultant is continually late or reschedules on-site appointments. Or they simply don’t receive the level of communication they would appreciate and believe they deserve.

Why is this such a problem for so many larger Support Providers to address? Because there’s typically a large amount of overhead needed to support a large IT Support Firm. To remain profitable, they must maintain a large client base, while keeping expensive internal staff members to a minimum. It’s a difficult balance to achieve and often the consultants are simply spread too thin.

But an Independent Computer Consultant operating under a Managed Service Model only needs to maintain a very small client base to remain profitable. In fact, I’ve proven time and again how a single computer consultant can generate a full-time income while supporting only 4 small business clients and working a total average of about 10 hours a week, a large portion of which is performed remotely.

Because as an Independent Computer Consultant you now only need a few clients to thrive as a successful business, and you can maintain these clients on such a flexible schedule, it’s very easy to provide a level of dedication and attention to your customers that your larger competition simply can’t match.

You can approach a potential new client and state, “I currently maintain a client base of “(number of)” clients, all of which will be glad to provide a glowing recommendation. I never maintain a base of any more than (number of) clients at any one time, so that I can be sure to give each and every one of my loyal customers the level of dedication and attention they deserve.”

You can easily show that you can provide the same level of monitoring and remote support that any large provider can offer. But it’s this level of personalized support that the small business owner craves, and knowing that they will have an expert IT Support Person who’s dedicated to them is what will help you win the contracts and beat out your competitors every time.

Of course, your clients will want to know how you intend to support them when you’re sick or on vacation. This is easily accomplished by creating a partnership with another consultant or support provider. We discuss this, and many more topics on starting a successful computer consulting business at http://SuccessfulComputerConsulting.com.