| May/June 2006 Volume 2, Issue 3 |
IN THIS ISSUEAnnouncementsFrom the Board - Toolkit for Consultants: Contract Types Main Article - Toolkit for Consultants: Productize Your Services Mentor's Corner - Four Steps to Becoming the Leader In Your Target Niche 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:June 19, 2006 for the July/August Issue |
Our next Volunteers Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 9th at 7:30 at Peking Garden in Lexington.
See the "From the Board" article for more information about this meeting. Elections and Volunteers MeetingBy Kimberly ReddingtonElectionsFor those of you who attended the March meeting, you will remember that we voted on Board members for the upcoming year. All votes were unanimous. We are lucky to be able to keep some of the same good blood we had last year. Here is a list of our Board members. This list is always displayed at the end of our newsletter, as well: Vin D'Amico, President; Mike Spanos, Vice President; Peter Dwyer, Secretary; James Connell, Treasurer; Bob Goodearl, Director; Kim Reddington, Director of Communications; Norman Daoust, Immediate Past President; I would like to offer a huge thank you to last year's board members who volunteered their time helping our organization be what it is. And a huge thank you to those who will continue the tradition for another year!Volunteers MeetingSome of our members mentioned that they were interested in volunteering small amounts of their time to the organization, but didn't have the time to devote to being an official board member. In trying to listen to what our members want, we have revised our Board Meetings to be Volunteers Meetings. These meetings are open to any member wishing to attend. Anyone who would like to volunteer some of their time to do small tasks, or volunteer to be on a committee, or even just see how our organization runs behind-the-scenes and grab a free dinner is welcome to attend our Volunteers Meetings. We always meet at the same location in Lexington on the second Tuesday of the month. Registration is required as dinner is served. If are ever free on the second Tuesday of the month, send an email to our President Vin D'Amico at president@icca-boston.org.On a personal note, attending board meetings has helped me to build better relationships with the other board members. I've learned how they run their businesses, the good ideas and the bad, I've learned who I can trust, who I would work with, and who I can turn to with questions or ideas. I've built relationships I never would have built had I just attended member meetings. Getting more involved definitely helps me get more out of my membership in the organization. Toolkit for Consultants: Productize Your Services By C. Thomas Tyler, Chief Technology Officer of The Go To Group, Inc.While most consultants understand the value of having a product, many find it difficult to actually create one. The investment in terms of time and money to produce a worthy product seem particularly large, especially since it takes time away from revenue generation activities. Coming up with something that's really product-quality often seems unachievable, or at least something that might take years to develop. And then there is the fear that if you haven't built what buyers want, the effort could be wasted. If you're in the situation where hour-rate billing is your primary means of generating revenue, this article provides one way to make that first step toward having a product achievable. Remind Me - Why do I Want a Product?For some hourly-rate contractors, leaving the W2 world for hourly-rate contracting was intended to get direct compensation for their work. They figured, "Hey, I really enjoy my work and often do 50-70 hour weeks anyway, so why not get paid for it?" Fair enough. But those who have been doing it for a long while begin to think of it as a form of slavery, and realize that too many long hour weeks aren't conducive to a good work/life balance. They start dreaming plans to escape. Yes, you can generally get paid well (when work is available), and it's not a bad way to make a living. But a key aspect of getting on the road to riches is to make money while you sleep, and you can't do that with hourly-rate billing. (Well, unethical contractors could, but ICCA members are ethical people!)Click here to learn about products and consulting packages. Four Steps to Become the Leader In Your Target NicheBy Vin D'AmicoHow do you become a dominant force in your chosen computer consulting niche? There are two keys to profitably in selling professional computer services:
Step 1: Concentrate On a Single Niche.Many computer professionals think of "everyone" as their potential client. They've heard the old saying that you can't be all things to all people yet this is exactly what they attempt. When they identify a niche, it tends to be enormous such as 'companies that use Microsoft Windows'.We all do this. It's human nature; we're afraid of "missing" something - it doesn't work. Pick one niche; dominate it and then move on to another. Step 2: Create a Compelling Marketing Message.Speak personally to the deepest needs, fears and desires of your prospects. People don't want to buy a software application. They want to solve a business problem. Managers don't want to hire consultants. They want you to fix something that's broken.Your prospects want to know how they will benefit by hiring YOU. Strategy 3: Become the "Go-To" Expert In Your NicheYour goal is to become known as a leading expert in your computer consulting niche. This will prompt people to seek you out when they have a need rather than forcing you to chase them down.To achieve this, do the following:
Aim for a "massive and memorable" impact in your niche. Strategy 4: Create a Short List of the 100 Most Desired Clients In Your Niche.To become recognized in your niche, you have to concentrate all of your brain power on a small target. Contact each of your 100 prospects several times with your unique and powerful marketing message. (Note: if your marketing message is just another "me too" message, your entire marketing effort is doomed.)Think about total niche saturation. Hit your small target niche of 100 prospects with the following marketing weapons:
No matter where your prospect turns, he runs into your name as the "go to" expert. Vin D'Amico is Founder and President of DAMICON, LLC, your ADJUNCT CIO™. He is an expert in IT Disaster Response Planning, Network Security Management, and Freelance Technical Writing. DAMICON services firms throughout New England. He can be reached at vin@damicon.com or view his website at http://www.damicon.com/. 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 - Mike Spanos - vicepresident@icca-boston.org Treasurer - James Connell - treasurer@icca-boston.org Secretary - Peter Dwyer - secretary@icca-boston.org Director of Communications - Kim Reddington - newsletter@icca-boston.org Director and Web Committee Chair - Bob Goodearl - extcomms at icca-boston.org Immediate 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. |