9 Tips to Become A Good IT Consultant

If you’re considering becoming a consultant, here are 10 tips:

I.  Take it Seriously

Do it the right way. Always be mindful of the old adage about consultants being people between jobs. Avoid making such an impression. Have business cards and a website. Establish yourself on social media as a consultant. Never let both potential and actual clients doubt you.

II.  Don’t Apologize for Being on Your Own

Don’t pretend even if you work out of a small office or home. Take meetings in your client’s offices. You might be surprised to learn that most of your clients will be happy to deal with the person that will actually do the work and never mind that it isn’t an entire company they will be dealing with. Clients almost always prefer the expertise over the overhead associated with a large business.

III.  If Possible, start with a Consulting Contract from the Employer You Are Leaving

The most successful consultants in the world actually started out with one big but reliable client, which is most often their last employer. However, if that does not work out for you, it’s possible to reduce your risk significantly by finding that one big client you actually need to survive.

IV.  Plan for Late Payments

Now that you are on your own, you need to plan for late payments since there’s no longer the safety net of a salary. So, you should consider having something like a bank line of credit to survive when big clients pay late. You cannot hassle your clients since they probably have signed the invoices already and passed them onto the accounts payable function in client companies.

You are going into a business-to-business world, which means that you turn invoices to your client and the client company takes anywhere from several weeks to several months to make a payment. Never hassle your clients for prompt payment. Find out who’s in charge of payables, and keep yourself informed on a payment schedule. Speak to IT consultancy services to ensure that your business is running efficiently and automate where possible.

V.  Under Promise but Over Deliver

The key to success is repeat business. It takes 4 times the resources to find a new client than to keep an existing one. Even when it’s very early in the morning, and you are hating the job, stick to it and deliver the best work in the morning.

VI.  Demonstrate Your Skill by Starting Small

For your new clients, try finding a small quick job to demonstrate your skill without having the client commit to a long-term expensive job.

It’s the equivalent of having coffee together before taking the weekend in Hawaii. It is also easier to sell an engagement if it begins with just a first step, which means less of a commitment. It also gives you enough time to sell yourself.

VII.  Get Your Schedules and Deliverables Properly Defined, Agreed Upon, in Writing, and Signed

Always anticipate scope creep – clients that ask for more even after agreeing on price and deliverables – and deal with it delicately, suggesting that the additional work requires additional fees. It is one of the biggest challenges you will face, and it has no easy solutions.

VIII.  Write a Boilerplate Proposal

Do a boilerplate proposal that includes prewritten text on your qualifications and background. Give your clients peace of mind by seeing the formality of a proposal with a lot of background.

IX. Avoid Long Legal Contracts

You won’t sue your clients, so long legal contracts do you no good. Make it easy on yourself and your clients by having a simple letter of commitment. If the client needs you to sign a contract, if you need to negotiate key points related to the work product and intellectual property, then do, but always try to avoid it.