Rick Rant

Views and opinions on the latest news and hot topics for computer business owners and other IT service professionals.

National IT Contractors: is yours listed and still in business?

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One of the most accessed and utilized areas of the IT Business Resource Directory on The Force Field portal is the National Contractor Directory. This directory is one of the most complete and comprehensive listings of national service companies for contract IT work available on the web today. Unlike previous directories, one of the advantages of utilizing ours is the ability of the tech to comment on and rate the company. The comment and ratings feature is powered by our peers and is intended to help techs make sound decisions when dealing with these companies and help them decide whether or not to perform work for them at all.

I am currently updating the National Contractor Directory and searching for companies whose status is either unknown or may no longer be in business. At last count there are over 100 companies on the list and more will soon be added. While there are no plans to remove any companies at this time, there are obviously some who are no longer active or doing business, at least as they are listed. These companies will be flagged as such and will remain on the list for the time being as a point of reference for those techs researching them.

Locating and researching each company is a long and comprehensive job and due to other obligations it is one which I am not able to devote all my time to perform. I need your help.

I am compiling a list of companies that need to be updated as well as new ones  that need to be checked out. All I am asking is if anyone who recognizes any companies on the list and/or has performed work for any of these companies and knows whether they are currently active and are recruiting techs or no longer doing business to either e-mail me at comments@theforcefield.net or post your comments in this forum thread or this blog below.

This will allow me to update the listing and keep it current for everyone. Also, if you know of any national contractors, platforms or service companies not on the list please let me know.

Here is a current list of nationals who are either new, MIA, or whose status is unknown:

  • ACSYSTECH, Inc.
  • ATC Tech Solutions
  • CanDoIT
  • Cindy’s Techs
  • Cilicon IT Solutions
  • Computer Source North America
  • Equant
  • FS 24-7 Ltd
  • Integrated Automation International
  • iTechnicians.net
  • iTenol
  • New Edge Technology
  • Pro-Tec Services, LLC
  • On-Site Computer Services, LLC
  • Ryno Network Services, Inc.
  • WifiLand

 This list will be continuously updated during the next couple of days as we go through the directory. If anyone knows these companies or does any work for them, please let us know!

Thanks in advance!

Third episode of The Force Field restored and re-released

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Last year the CDN which hosted the first six original episodes of The Force Field went offline permanently, taking the episodes with it. As we just released The Force Field Premium Edition Volume 1 in The Force Field Podcast Store on another host, which consisted of the first six episodes remastered with extended content and no advertising, there was no immediate concern.

The original, free versions of the first six episodes of The Force Field have been remastered, restored and there are plans to re-release them online during the next few months. Two months ago I re-released The Force Field Episode 1 – Pilot and uploaded it to another CDN which hosts our current episodes. 

Last month I re-released The Force Field Episode 2 – The VoIP Connection and made it available as well.

 Today I re-released The Force Field Episode 3 – The Last Frontier and it is now available in its original listing on The Force Field Podcast Episodes page.

This episode features an interview with Dave Hendrickson in which we talked about his experiences as an IT tech and OnForce Provider living and working in the great state of Alaska.

For those who remember the earlier days of OnForce, these episodes will be a trip down memory lane. For those who just started listening and are curious, it will be a trip back in time and a glimpse into the start of an experiment in podcasting that became a project dedicated to The Business of Tech. It is interesting to compare the early episodes and hear how the show has changed to become what it is today. If nothing else, it should at least be entertaining.

You can hear the episode at http://www.theforcefield.net/wordpress/?p=11 or at Episode 3 – The Last Frontier.

This is the third in a series of re-releases during the next few months. Episode 4 is planned for re-release next month. An additional episode will be re-released each month until June 2010. I will post an announcement as each episode is released.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Your Company Name Here

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I was searching the Internet Archives for public domain music this evening and ran across an amazing piece of history that still applies to marketing today. I wanted to share it for a nostalgic look at the way companies were marketed and promoted yesterday, for a laugh and perhaps to make us all think.

How well do you promote your business? How will the way you market your product or service today be perceived by the world in the future?

Here’s a great way to market your business. Simply enter “Your Product Here”.

 

Are the Yellow Pages relevant to your marketing strategy?

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Awhile back I was talking with a service provider about marketing strategies and the topic of yellow pages advertising came up. We basically agreed that, in this day and age of Internet directories and mobile communications devices, print advertising such as the Yellow Pages were somewhat passe’.

This is no great revelation to many business owners who are fairly caught up with technology in the 21st century. If you Google, Yahoo or Bing the topic you will find a plethora of articles and blogs to support this.

The reasons for this conclusion are obvious, of course, but while there is a general consensus among those who commented online that the Yellow Pages seemed to be losing their effectiveness as a marketing tool, it rather surprised me to actually find a blog to claim otherwise – and with great conviction.

The article that caught my attention was  called “Yellow Pages Are Dead?? Far From It . It was on a wordpress blog http://askmeaboutyp.wordpress.com . The author KenC was obviously defending and promoting his product and services. No surprise there. What made it an interesting read was that it was posted in 2008, was still receiving comments and he was responding to comments a year and half later with the same conviction.

This particular post addressed the argument from whom KenC called “paper athiests” that printed phone directories (the Yellow Pages in particular) were not the environmental handicaps and landfill hogs many in the “green” world made them out to be.  According to his post, Yellow Pages were still relevant and profitable forms of advertising and not a waste of good paper dumped at millions of front doors to be simply tossed aside or into recycling bins.    

It was somewhat amusing because most of the readers disagreed with his position, and one or two even questioned the data used to support his claims. Comments posted in other blog entries throughout the site echoed the sentiment, many citing personal experiences to support the argument that today’s technology has made the Yellow Pages somewhat obsolete and in comparison was an expensive form of advertising with little ROI.

The most interesting read for me, however, were his responses to the comments. While I expected him to be somewhat defensive of his position, he was aggressively so, calling his detractors “uninformed” and “obtuse”.

He seemed to take it personally, as if anyone’s dislike of a printed phone book was an attack on him. This obsession piqued my curiosity, so I decided to investigate further.

Apparently the blogger known as KenC is Ken Clark, owner of KenC Consulting LLC. According to his Bio his specialties include strategic business planning and support in sales and marketing. Now, I don’t claim to be a salesperson or marketing guru here, but I was always taught that if you want to sell or market something to someone, don’t talk down to them, don’t be condescending and never treat them like they are stupid.

I left the pages of that blog with the feeling that he did all three to me.

Now, I don’t have anything in particular against using the Yellow Pages. I do think that the Yellow Pages and printed phone directories in general have lost much of their impact and relevance in the marketplace and for many of the same reasons given by those who commented in KenC’s blog. Here are the reasons why:

The decline of traditional landlines

Traditionally, listings in the White or Yellow Pages are those of individuals and businesses who have landlines with the phone company who publishes the books. With a decrease in the number of landlines used today and an increase other forms of telecommunication such as VoIP, the printed phone directory is not the ultimate source for phone listings it used to be.

The rise of mobile telecommunications

Most consumers have cell phones and other mobile devices to communicate with. Phone kiosks with directories are disappearing from the public landscape. When was the last time you saw a phone book at a public telephone booth? When was the last time you saw a phone booth?

The proliferation of mobile apps

Mobile devices do not typically need an eight to fifteen pound book of yellow pages to lug around with them. If you need to find a dry cleaner or dog groomer in town is it easier to dial 411, Google it up or search for one on your mobile device, or is it more expedient to let your fingers do the walking through a 2000 page phone book on a shelf? Why bother with the book? There’s an app for that.

The Internet and New Media marketing venues

the White and Yellow Pages are online. I don’t need to pull the phone book that’s propping up my computer desk  to shop for a new one. I can save my back and surf for it instead.

CODB

The Cost of Doing Business includes marketing and advertising. Most businesses today, especially in a tight economy, are looking for ways to decrease spending and increase ROI. There are a myriad of ways to market your business to specific target demographics  without spending big bucks on print advertising to general audiences. While the printed Yellow Pages can still reach an audience, it isn’t a targeted one but compared to some other forms of targeted advertising it is very expensive.

Now, those are reasons I disagree with KenC’s views on Yellow Pages advertising. I tend to concur with others who disagreed with KenC and commented in his blog. Does that make me uninformed or obtuse? I don’t think so. Not at all. I never said advertising in the print Yellow Pages was totally ineffective. It is merely a form of advertising that may not be for me. However, there may be others whose businesses may do very well with Yellow Pages advertising. It may be the best fit for their business. If so, by all means go for it. If it isn’t, don’t use it. Do what works best for you, but don’t let anyone call you obtuse if you don’t think the Yellow Pages works for you.

Do you use the print Yellow Pages to advertise your business? If so, does it work well for you? Do you think the printed Yellow Pages is still relevant or has it, like other forms of print media, become obsolete and offers little ROI? Whether you agree or disagree, no worries. I won’t call you obtuse.

Novell wins, SCO loses and the Linux world is safe again

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After years of ugly lawsuits and court battles over copyrights between Novell and SCO, a Utah court ruled in favor of Novell and said SCO has no ownership in Unix code the company claimed was used in Linux. In a brief post on their web site Tuesday Novell said “this decision is good news for Novell, for Linux, and for the open source community.”

SCO, as you may recall was the company that claimed ownership of the Unix code and said some of that code was in Linux. SCO filed lawsuits against IBM, Novell and Red hat to prove its point – a point that could have potentially turned all three companies – and the entire Linux community – upside down had any of it been true. However, SCO could not come up with any viable examples of such transgression during the discovery phase. Yesterday a jury determined SCO didn’t own the code to begin with, so any Unix intellectual property used in Linux, if there was any, wasn’t theirs to claim or defend at all.

The Linux community is both relieved and elated. SCO wasn’t merely attacking a few companies, it was attempting  to change the entire open source landscape and there was uncertainty over how the case would affect the entire open source model.  After the lawsuits were initially filed, SCO became the most hated and vilified company in the tech world. For years SCO was seen asThe Big Bad Wolf to their defendants’ Three Little Pigs, but for all the huffing and puffing the company couldn’t blow down them down.

In fact, early on in the game SCO ran out of breath and had to be propped up by Microsoft, themselves searching for a way to combat the spread of Linux.

However, tonight, The Three Little Pigs and the entire Linux community can sleep well knowing that, finally, the Big Bad Wolf has been put in his place. SCO has no claim to Unix or Linux.The Linux world is safe again.

 

Second episode of The Force Field restored and re-released

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Last year the CDN which hosted the first six original episodes of The Force Field went offline permanently, taking the episodes with it. As we just released The Force Field Premium Edition Volume 1 in The Force Field Podcast Store on another host, which consisted of the first six episodes remastered with extended content and no advertising, there was no immediate concern.

The original, free versions of the first six episodes of The Force Field have been remastered, restored and there are plans to re-release them online during the next few months. Last month I re-released The Force Field Episode 1 – Pilot and uploaded it to another CDN which hosts our current episodes. 

Tonight I re-released The Force Field Episode 2 – The VoIP Connection and it is now available in its original listing on The Force Field Podcast Episodes page.

This is episode features an interview with an OnForce Provider, Jamie Begin from Bright Idea VoIP, who entered the VoIP market, found out how it worked for him and what opportunities were available for other Providers who were thinking about reselling VoIP solutions to their customers.

For those who remember the earlier days of OnForce, these episodes will be a trip down memory lane. For those who just started listening and are curious, it will be a trip back in time and a glimpse into the start of an experiment in podcasting that became a project dedicated to The Business of Tech. It is interesting to compare the early episodes and hear how the show has changed to become what it is today. If nothing else, it should at least be entertaining.

You can hear the episode at http://www.theforcefield.net/wordpress/?p=10 or at Episode 2 – The VoIP Connection .

This is the second in a series of re-releases during the next few months. Episode 3 is planned for re-release next month. An additional episode will be re-released each month until June 2010. I will post an announcement as each episode is released.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

ACRBO to host FREE computer business webinar

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I recently received an e-mail from Dan Hand at ACRBO about an upcoming webinar that may interest members in The Force Field.

The webinar, “3 Easy Strategies To Double Your Computer Consulting Business In 6 Months Or Less”, will be hosted by Pamela Viveiros of Technology Marketing Toolkit and Daniel Hand of ACRBO (Association of Computer Repair Business Owners). The live webinar is FREE and will be held tomorrow, March 18, 2010 at 8 PM EDT.  

I wanted to pass along the information to everyone at The Force Field and am posting the entire content of the e-mail below. Anyone interested can sign up for the webinar in the link at the bottom of the e-mail.

From Dan:

Last week I sent out [an e-mail] about a new webinar we would be doing this month. I now have the outline, solid date and time. As you can see below it explains what the webinar is about. I made sure the time for this one would allow more people to participate.

Below is what I was given to send out (no time to construct something that intelligent myself 😉 )….But the bottom line is this is good content and well worth the hour of time. DO NOT feel obligated to buy anything or anything else. BUT, I would highly recommend attending and watching what Pam covers. It is very easy to takes bit and pieces of it and implement things into your own business at no cost.

I know for a fact that others have bought things from Pam, and others that have listened and done their own things based on what is covered in the webinar and it works both ways.

Looking forward to it myself, and hopefully everyone will attend.

Dan
ACRBO

“3 Easy Strategies To Double Your Computer Consulting Business In 6 Months Or Less”

FREE Webinar With Technology Marketing Toolkit’s, Pamela Viveiros & Daniel Hand of ACRBO

When: Thursday, March 18th
Start Time: 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT/ 7:00 p.m. MT / 6:00p.m. PT

REGISTER NOW at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/682501889

Dear Fellow IT Business Owner:

Many of you have shared with me how this economy has affected your business. You’re working hard, going the extra mile for your customers but business isn’t growing. You need to know how you can get NEW business. That’s why I’ve invited Pam Viveiros of the Technology Marketing Toolkit system back to come and speak to the ACRBO membership.

Because, as Pam says:

It doesn’t matter if you are the absolute best provider of technical solutions in your area; if you don’t know how to market your business to attract more high-paying clients, you are going to continue to be the best kept secret in your town, struggling to get by, barely generating any real revenue, and left to compete solely on price alone.
So, join me & Pam on this Webinar. Register Now:  
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/682501889   

You’ll discover:
•    The one thing you can implement IMMEDIATELY to prevent your customers from doing business with anyone else
•    The fastest way to get new business coming in your door that doesn’t require a big budget or a bunch of time
•    How to develop a PROCESS for your marketing rather than having to rely on referrals or wait for the phone to ring.
•    How to get good, qualified leads to yes “YES!” to more project work and do even MORE business with you

REGISTER NOW at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/682501889

First episode of The Force Field restored and re-released

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Last year the CDN which hosted the first six original episodes of The Force Field went offline permanently, taking the episodes with it. As we just released The Force Field Premium Edition Volume 1 in The Force Field Podcast Store on another host, which consisted of the first six episodes remastered with extended content and no advertising, there was no immediate concern.

The original, free versions of first six episodes of The Force Field have been remastered, restored and there are plans to re-release them online during the next few months. This evening I re-released The Force Field Episode 1 – Pilot and uploaded it to another CDN which hosts our current episodes. is now available in its original listing on The Force Field Podcast Episodes page.

This is the very first episode that started it all. It features Randy Campshure of Randy’s PC Repair and Steve Porter of Minuteman Tech. This is the premiere episode in which we discuss remote support programs and the difficulties of being a MacGyver when serving customers.

For those who remember the earlier days of OnForce, this will be a trip down memory lane. For those who just started listening and are curious, it will be a trip back in time and a glimpse into the start of an experiment in podcasting that became a project dedicated to The Business of Tech. It is interesting to compare the early episodes and hear how the show has changed to become what it is today. If nothing else, it should at least be entertaining.

You can hear the episode at http://www.theforcefield.net/wordpress/?p=9 or at Episode 1 – Pilot.

This is the first in a series of re-releases during the next few months. Episode 2 is planned for re-release next month. An additional episode will be re-released each month until May 2010. I will post an announcement as each episode is released.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Seven tips to help techs learn sales

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When I first opened my computer store, I envisioned myself behind a desk or workbench and building, selling and repairing PCs, but not necessarily in that order. To be honest, I mostly thought about building and repairing them. I really didn’t think much about the selling part at all. In fact, the whole concept of actually selling the computers was limited strictly to the part where they give me the money after I built or repaired the machines. There was no initial sales or marketing pitch included in my little fantasy.

Imagine the rude awakening when I finally realized that when I opened my store, I had to be a salesman and that my first and primary job in my business was not fixing stuff, but actually selling it.

I was not a salesman. On the contrary, I was someone who was typically put off by salespeople or the notion of sales as an actual, serious career. I didn’t consider myself particularly gifted for it and the fast-talking, classic used car salesman stigma I attached to the word when ever it was applied to any industry (or, worse, think Mr. Haney from the TV show Green Acres) was somewhat distasteful to me. Yet I knew that if I wanted to build computers, I had to sell them first.

So I did.

I never had any formal training in sales and the mistakes I made were many. But I realized that if my business was to survive at all, I had to learn how to be a salesperson and I had to learn to not only to accept, but embrace that role as a vital part of the operation.

This is one reason why a lot of techs don’t make it on their own. They are techs. Sales requires social networking and people skills. The personality of the typical tech isn’t geared for that type of interaction with others. The typical tech (think geek) is more analytical, more aloof to many of the social skills that others may master. This isn’t a slam on techs (or geeks) of course; I consider myself a member of that tech group as well. It’s just the way it is. It’s simply who we are.

It doesn’t mean those skills can’t be acquired or learned, either. Take Bill Gates, for example. He’s a classic symbol of geekdom, yet he built a software empire and is one of the wealthiest and most successful men in the world today. He sold the world on Windows. Now his software is another window to the world.

Then there are those who are born with a little of both. Is Steve Jobs a tech geek or a marketing genius? I guess it depends on how you look at him. Yet the story of Apple speaks for itself. When Jobs speaks, he’s speaking for Apple, and it seems like one big sales pitch. That’s Apple. It develops technology, but it’s really a marketing machine.

These skills can either be born within or they can be learned. The key is that they must be developed and utilized. Techs in the tech business must be techs, but unless they have their own sales staff, they must be salespeople too. As the tech needs tech training and, where necessary, certification, they need sales training as well. Without sales savvy you won’t have many sales and without sales you won’t have a business.

I know many in the business who are techs and don’t like playing sales person and don’t want it. But they need it. I did. We all do. But where can we find sales training on the fly without having to retrain ourselves for something completely different from what we learned as techs and without investing a lot of time, money and effort to do it?

Here are a few tips and resources for learning and channeling sales skills without sacrificing a lot of time and energy away from your workbench:

1. Vendor reseller and partner programs.

You know I am very pro-partner, and this is one reason why. Aside from the marketing tools, spiffs and product support vendor partner programs offer to resellers, Many of them offer sales support and training as well. A lot of it is FREE training.

For instance, Microsoft has a partner program and offers free sales kits, tools and training for its partner members. Trend Micro has a sales certification program that involves only a minimum of study and testing. It is free. I became a Trend Micro Certified Sales Representative in their TSEP (Trend Micro Security Education Program years ago. I completed the course in a couple of hours and not only learned specifics about the products, I learned a few things about selling security software to SMBs that came in handy later.

2. Online vendor sales seminars and podcasts.

I’ve attended many of these over the years. They are generally free and provide tips on selling vendor products to specific target markets as well as offer insight into industry sales and market trends. Some of them give out free prizes for attending the video seminars. You can’t beat that.

3. Trade publications.

You’ve heard me promote them ad nauseum, but amid all the ads and self promotion inside industry trade publications, there are some good articles in many of them, including tips on selling in the IT marketplace as well as case studies of other successful IT companies and how they sell products and services to their customers. Learn by example. They are free too. Here is a list of FREE trade publications you can subscribe to.

4. White papers.

Like trade publications, white papers geared toward the reseller often contain strategies or “best practices” for selling specific lines of products or services to clients in targeted markets. Like trade publications, white papers are usually FREE. You can sign up for free white papers here .

5. Books about selling.

Okay, these are generally not free, but books are one of the oldest resources available. A good book on sales by a qualified author is a tried and true resource that you can keep handy to read at your leisure or keep just for reference. No time to read long books? Buy them as audiobooks and listen to them en route to or from the job or on your mp3 player.

6. Organizations.

Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Many will offer sales training seminars, networking opportunities and other events to help you gain education and experience. There are many small business organizations on the net that offer similar resources. Join NASBA , ASCII , ACRBO and  any others you can find and utlilize their resources. ASCII isn’t free, but the others mentioned are.

7. The Force Field.

Hey, we can’t forget where we are now, can we? Listen to The Force Field podcast, join the site, browse the IT Business Resource Directory and join the forums. You can enjoy yourself and perhaps learn something along the way.