IT Spending: Educate Your Clients on Smart Purchases

Often, clients will ask you for advice on their IT spending plans. In this article, you'll learn some ideas to help your clients plan their IT spending. Suggest Your Clients Upgrade Their Machines Your clients also could earmark the budget surpluses for upgrading and replacing PCs more regularly. Because entry-level PCs are often one-half to two-thirds less expensive than top-of-the-line models, they’ll still be way ahead of the game. Just don’t forget to factor in a few hours of configuration time for each PC upgrade (yet another value-added service your company can provide), from an older to a newer PC. IT Spending Requires an Investment Mindset Also, whenever possible frame your client discussions in terms of "investments", as opposed to "purchases" or "expenses". Get your clients thinking about how planned PC hardware purchases should provide a positive return on investment (ROI). Don’t let your clients fall into the trap of thinking of PCs as office equipment. Take time to explain to your clients how PC-related assets have a much greater impact on the success or failure of their business than a fax machine, photocopy machine, filing cabinet or water cooler. Educate Your Clients about the ROI on IT Spending Be sure to impart how technology investments can make or break a small business. So, before your clients contemplate any major IT spending, discuss the expected cost and the benefits, as well as how they’ll measure these benefits. Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}