| spot small businesses have distinct support | | | | start to become extremely important. At this level, a |
| needs-strong desktop support skills and light LAN skills. | | | | “real” seasoned IT manager knows |
| In this article, you'll learn what skills and certifications are | | | | exactly what the different levels of IT certifications |
| most important to your sweet spot business clients. | | | | are. |
| What Specific Tasks Will Your Clients Need Help | | | | At this level, there's a very good chance the buyers |
| With? | | | | you're selling to are certified and they'll typically look for |
| These sweet spot clients are looking for help with | | | | deeply niched experts-as opposed to virtual IT |
| popular desktop applications like Microsoft Office, Intuit | | | | generalists. An in-house IT manager often handles the |
| QuickBooks, and Interact ACT! and help doing | | | | generalist work in-house. So this kind of larger small |
| hardware upgrades. They need help setting up shared | | | | business doesn't need a virtual IT department-they are |
| folder backup software and keeping their antivirus and | | | | looking for someone to fill in their own skill gaps. |
| firewall software up-to-date. These small businesses | | | | For example, if this client has a Microsoft Exchange |
| need help synching up their PDAs with ACT! and | | | | Server installation, the IT manager may bring in a |
| Microsoft Outlook. And they definitely need help with | | | | consulting firm skilled in doing forms development or |
| their networks. | | | | hooking up a Java-based application to something |
| Micro Small Businesses Have Different Needs | | | | that's based in a Microsoft Exchange Server Message |
| Micro small business space with fewer than 10 PCs, | | | | Store. Or the IT manager may be looking for a |
| the peer-to-peer end, don't bother spending a lot of | | | | Microsoft SQL Server developer or someone with |
| money on certification. In fact, IT certifications are often | | | | strong Microsoft Visual Basic development skills. |
| perceived as a negative-small business owners feel | | | | The Bottom Line about IT Certifications |
| like they're paying for someone who's overqualified for | | | | The sweet spot clients are a very different type of |
| the job. | | | | opportunity than where most small business computer |
| IT Certifications Are More Important to | | | | consulting firms focus. At least at the outset, put most |
| “Real” IT Managers | | | | of your energy into the 10 to 50 PC space which is |
| When you start selling to a real IT manager, in a much | | | | just big enough to need fairly sophisticated solutions, |
| larger small business (50+ systems) you'll find a more | | | | but not nearly large enough to justify putting a |
| sophisticated IT buyer. At this point, IT certifications | | | | “real” highly-skilled IT person on payroll. |