If you are starting your own IT consulting business, you need to be generating demand, getting good leads and prospects, qualifying them, going out on sales appointments and following up on those.

Do not get seduced by an aggressive sales person twisting your arm to join a channel program. Don't get seduced by tech gadgets that don't fill an immediate need with your paying clients.

Avoid Channel Programs

In starting an IT consulting business, you need to be very careful that you don't get sucked into joining channel programs that aren't leading anywhere. You need to focus on finding paying clients first.

Determine How You Will Be Paid

With new IT consulting clients, you need to always insist on either getting payment as you do the work or get credit card authorization, especially when you sell products. That's especially if you're going to be selling hardware, software and peripherals.

Of course, to be able to take credit cards, in most cases, you need to get a merchant account. Do not give credit, and then even beyond that, do not give credit unless you're going to do a regular credit application and credit check.

Require Deposits

Always, always, always get a deposit check - a substantial amount of the purchase - especially if it's a product purchase. Even on a big IT consulting project where you're doing services, installation, design work, troubleshooting or upgrades, you should require a deposit.

At the absolute minimum, your deposits should be something in the neighborhood of 10 to 25%. Usually it should be somewhere more in the 25 to 35% range.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

In starting your IT consulting business, be sure you don't end up feeling pinched. It is a good idea to bill weekly and always include a due date on your invoices. Don't just put "Due in X number of days." Include a concrete due date to show your clients you are serious about your business.

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