If you sense resistance during the IT network sales cycle, listen very carefully to the prospect's objections. Many times, they like what they hear, but small business owners need to hear three or four different opinions in order to bolster their confidence. Take time to understand exactly what's driving the investment in this planned IT network.

In small business IT consulting many of your prospects and clients will have similar IT network needs.

Consider Faxing Needs

Most small business employees have similar experiences when it comes to sending faxes. When a document that needs to be faxed is complete, the employee prints the document and cover sheet, gets up from the desk, walks over to the fax machine, and stands there waiting on line until the fax machine is available. This creates an enormous productivity bottleneck.

Ask Questions about IT Network Needs

To understand the cost of not addressing the single Internet access account or fax machine dilemma, talk with the small business owner. Here's a sample line of questioning you can use to shed some light on the real costs and limitations of sending faxes through a fax machine:

How many people in the office send faxes regularly?

What's the average number of pages in each person's fax?

Does each person typically create a cover page to go along with each fax?

How many faxes a day are sent out?

How often are people sending the same fax to multiple recipients?

How far away is the fax machine from most people's desks?

How many hours are wasted on a daily basis with people waiting around to send outgoing faxes?

How many hours does this translate into annually?

What's the average hourly wage of the people impacted by this productivity issue?

The Bottom Line about IT Networks

It is a good idea to have a blank contract with you when you ask these questions. Why? Because it's very hard for any rational small business owner or manager to refute your

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