IT services are a commodity industry. The formula for winning comes down to two things: Differentiation and Relationships.

You can differentiate your IT company by making life easier for those who work with you. For example, consider a monthly fixed price contract regardless of how much (or little) IT consulting/troubleshooting you need to do in any given month. That makes it easy for your clients to budget you in and get the sale. Testimonials - especially from very similar businesses - can be a huge factor. Consider specializing in a specific niche, ie: IT for Law Firms, but choose based on your highest value current clients.

Another opportunity to differentiate comes in when your IT services empower not just operations, but marketing as well. This is a rare but valuable extension of IT seen in the occasional change in corporate hierarchy from the old CIO to the new CDO (Chief Digital Officer). As an outside agency, your expertise can provide a similar boost to the company - not just saving them cost and increasing security and productivity (typical IT services value), but helping them grow through an understanding of the tech that empowers marketing success - and how to integrate that tech while maintaining company security.

Relationships are part two. Here's where it gets tricky - and where IT firms can often rack up huge bills from their sales teams. In commodity industries, relationships close the sale. Your competitors are out there at trade shows, meetups, BNI, seminars, conferences, giving out company swag... you name it. But what they are often missing is the leveraging of their own networks. Who do you know who knows other business owners? How can you tap your network - and extend your network - to find out about 'trigger events'? Trigger events are specific moments when a door is open - for example when a CEO is expressing frustration with their current IT services provider, or when a company expands in size, or when they move to a new location, or hire a new (relevant) leader. In IT services, you'll often interact with heads of finance, IT, or company owners/founders/CEOs - often all three. Be prepared to address the specific pain points of each... and be aware each is very different.

Of course, reaching those individuals is very specific to your target industry, capabilities, company size, experience, existing network. I need to learn more about you to get you on track for more business. You'll see significant results if we deep dive into your specific experiences and goals to build a custom sales system. If you want an action plan for your growth, my company is not taking on new clients but I'm happy to do a mind dump with you to get you launched. If you'd like the help, pick a time at www.clarity.fm/ryandraving