| March/April 2006 Volume 2, Issue 2 |
IN THIS ISSUEAnnouncementsFrom the Board - Toolkit for Consultants: Contract Types Main Article - Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications Mentor's Corner - Engagement: The Art of Getting a Prospect’s Attention Who Are We? From the Editor:We would like to encourage anyone to submit articles to the new ICCA Greater Boston Chapter newsletter. If you know of anyone interested in free publicity, ask them to write an article of any size or topic pertinent to our organization for submission in the next issue of our newsletter. The good news is the smaller the article, the better, since long articles are hard to read on-line.We are very open to ideas and suggestions regarding article topics in all sections of the newsletter, including: Local or Chapter Announcements; Articles; Member-to-Member Spotlights; Member-to-Member News; Mentor's Corner. Submit ideas or articles to:Kim ReddingtonDirector of Communications newsletter@ icca-boston.org Next Deadline:Apr 24, 2006 for the May/June Issue |
This newsletter is chock-full of information for getting the most out of your prospects and clients. We even offer you help in our
From the Board section as a "Toolkit for Consultants". Our Main Article takes a new spin for us. We usually are supplying you with information on how to improve your business. In this issue you will learn about a new technology that seems to be the up-and-coming arena for major websites to adopt. Make sure you check out the excellent applications described in the article. The URL links are provided. Toolkit for Consultants: Contract TypesBy C. Thomas TylerSo, your marketing prowess has won you a client’s attention, and they’re sold on your value proposition. One of the next steps is to work through the mechanics of how business will be done – time and materials, fixed-price, support agreements, etc. This isn’t a “pick one” decision. In fact it probably makes sense to check the “All of the above” box! Supporting multiple business models can expand your reach by allowing you to handle clients in different situations. It’s also easier to have multiple concurrent clients without working yourself to death if you support several ways of doing business. Time & Materials – Hourly RateMany contractors start out doing only the default, hourly-rate, time & materials contracts. This is a tried and true method of earning money, and tends to generate a lot of revenue. It is certainly a viable approach for situations where the client isn’t exactly sure what they want. But there are common pitfalls to be avoided:
Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications By Carm Huntress, Co-Founder of GreetingsXpressFor the last year many Internet evangelists have been focused on the advent of Web 2.0 technologies. Finally, at a browser lever we are starting to see the development of software that goes beyond clunky HTML based interfaces. For developers it has been hard to manage the vast array of possibilities when it comes to client side compatibility, not to mention that we eat up large amounts of bandwidth everytime we have to refresh a page of information even though all we needed was a small piece of data. Web 2.0 has promised the creation of rich desktop-like applications that run through your browser. Technologies such as AJAX have gotten large amounts of press, mainly due to its use by Google and its very popular maps software. However, AJAX has yet to find a suitable set of standards for development and you still face the issues of client compatibility. Click here to learn about a great rich-application alternative to AJAX. Engagement: The Art of Getting a Prospect’s AttentionBy Melinda Moses, founder and principal consultant of MSM Strategic MarketingGetting new business can be the toughest part of independent consulting. Especially if sales and marketing is not your forte. My philosophy when it comes to the discomfort of prospecting is to make it easier for others to want to do business with me. It works when I'm building effective partner relationships for my clients, and it works when I’m trying to find new clients of my own. The first and arguably the most important part of this process is to engage with those who might want to do business with me. "Engage" has dual meanings. First, it means getting the attention of others and drawing them in to learn more about what you and/or your products and services have to offer. Second, "engage" defines the ultimate goal – actually getting that all-important business. I'll cover the others – enabling (giving them all the tools they need to be successful) and motivating (giving them sound reasons why they will use your tools or services to be more successful) in subsequent articles. They’re the concepts that lead you to the happy conclusion of that preliminary engagement. How Do I Engage a Prospect?The only sure-fire way to engage your prospect's attention and cut through the clutter of their busy and information-overloaded day is to make it easy for them to understand how you can help them. It's one thing if they are looking for a solution and you’re on a short list of options based on niche products or services. It is much harder for you to engage a prospect's attention when they don't know they need your services in the first place, or you’re a virtual unknown in a universe of many others.Click here to find out and learn even more about engaging a prospect.. Founded in 1976, the Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA) is a national not-for-profit organization of independent computer consulting firms sharing the highest ethical and professional standards. The ICCA Greater Boston Chapter Mission Statement: The Greater Boston Chapter of the ICCA supports and encourages the growth of individuals and small firms in the business of computer consulting through education, networking, advocacy, and the exchange of ideas and knowledge among peers. The ICCA offers great services and benefits to its members including business and health insurance, marketing programs, a National Conference, standard form consulting and subcontracting contracts, and many discount programs. For additional information regarding the ICCA or to search the National Membership Directory, visit the national website http://www.icca.org or the Greater Boston Chapter website http://www.icca-boston.org Board MembersPresident - Vin D'Amico - president@icca-boston.orgVice President and PR Contact - Mike Spanos - vicepresident@icca-boston.org Treasurer - Michael Stiefel - treasurer@icca-boston.org Secretary - Peter Dwyer - secretary@icca-boston.org Director of Programs - Gordon Corzine- programs@icca-boston.org Director of Internal Communications - Kim Reddington - newsletter@icca-boston.org Director of External Communications - Bob Goodearl - extcomms at icca-boston.org Director of Membership - Jim Connell - membership@icca-boston.org Past President - Norman Daoust - pastpresident@icca-boston.org Legal StuffThis newsletter comes to you via the Chapter Members Announcements list of the Greater Boston Chapter of the ICCA.If you believe it has reached you in error, or if you do not wish to received further messages from this list, visit the Yahoo URL following this newlsetter. Alternatively, you can send a message via US Mail to: ICCA, Greater Boston Chapter Attn: Chapter Email List Unsubscribe 11131 South Towne Square, Suite F St Louis, MO 63123-7817 Publisher: Greater Boston Chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association, http://www.icca-boston.org Copyright 2005, Greater Boston Chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association This newsletter may be distributed without charge as long as it's distributed in its entirety. Individual sections and portions may be distributed with permission. |