

Ask HN: I'm an IT consultant doing something wrong, I think, ... What is it? - awnstudio

I am an IT consultants and I am actively looking for better ways to solicit new clients. My company provides web design, application development, voip and other general IT networking services. Any suggestions on what I should do differently on our website, http://ana.im/, or what we should try in general?
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philiphodgen
The website isn't the problem.

Focus is the problem.

You do a wide variety of stuff. How can you be an amazing expert in all of
them? You can't.

Do one thing. Be amazing at that one thing.

/Phil.

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eengstrom
Your web presence is really very splattered and doesn't tell me in 15 seconds
that you understand the pain I'm going through and how you will go about doing
that.

Websites don't work really well for niche services. Your best approach is to
identify companies that need your services and then plan a campaign to get
into said customer via cold calling, targeted networking and possibly even
advertising.

Instead of talking about technology, talk about solutions and your personal
approach to solving problems. Sell us on you first, then present a list of
things you've accomplished. You want to communicate in broad enough strokes to
encompass your capabilities, talents and experience generally and make a
strong impression on the visitor.

If you're an individual, make your site about that - do not pretend to be a
firm unless you have access to capital, partners and sources of qualified
people and a reliable hiring channel.

If you have previous customers, tap them to make introductions and stay in
touch with them. Most of my customers started as brief 2 and 3 week
engagements that usually spanned 18 months of billable work over several
years. Learn to negotiate or at least setup your next deal with a customer
while delivering the first.

Another element I shouldn't neglect: if you have a repeatable practice or
service, find something of high value to the customer and offer it for free or
at your cost. "Assessment", "Risk Analysis", something that leverages your
expertise and provides you with an opening to the customer at low risk for
them and potentially high gain for everyone.

I used this for years with very high success to get started with customers;
presenting a comprehensive report as an a la carte menu of solutions and
opportunities.

~~~
awnstudio
Thank you for your reply, this is providing me with a great foundation for
contemplation on what and how I should change my direction. The problem is
that I can do a lot of things well and I don't want to limit myself by only
showcasing one or two.

But I do know that too many options is usually bad (or atleast not optimal).

~~~
eengstrom
Can you work on an elevator pitch; 100 to 150 words max? Can you identify
three intangible benefits you offer a customer? Can you list a few customers,
or provide referring comments from past customers? Give it some thought and
post here. You may find yourself able to break your web presence down into two
offering specific sites.

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emerglide
Your network is probably the most valuable thing to have as a consultant. Work
on that at all times. Go where potential clients and partners go, and go there
often. Spend the money on it if you have to, it is worth it. See it as another
form of marketing.

It seems like you're taking a shotgun approach on the site regarding services.
Don't spread yourself thin. Focus on a small number of services and providing
things like quality and value for money in order to attract clients initially
- then seek out other opportunities.

Lastly, mention any good previous clients on your site.

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sagacity
Clickable: <http://ana.im/>

On your 'services' page, the 2nd headline reads:

What Were Really Made Of

Shouldn't it be: What We're Really Made Of ?

HTH

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awnstudio
Thanks, it wasn't a typo but a limitation of the custom font I am using, I
have made the necessary adjustments.

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aquark
Whatever font is being used/requested for the headings looks awful on Chrome
under Windows 7 on my box. Looks like all anti-aliasing is missing.

The general layout of the site looks good, if a little busy, but the font
issue really detracts from it.

