Scott Hulett

As an IT consultant I’ve found clients have a tendency to not ask for exactly what they want. I’m not really sure if they don’t want to sound stupid (There really is no such thing. Computers are a complex subject and not know something is a given for anyone.) or they feel embarrassed. Either way it works better for companies when they do. Most requests are too general with “just make it work.” This can be hard because it may be the wrong tool for what they want and “making it work” would break the functionality they already have. Consultants really want to provide you with a good product. But by not knowing what you really want they won’t always provide it. Telling them to fix the server, could cause them to work on updates or file access speeds, instead of the fact your employees are using excel to track all your clients and a CRM database would speed them up ten fold. It is true that consultants are supposed to recommend these things but we only operate with the data we are given and most will not want to cost you extra money and will do what they need to do and go.

Most small businesses rely on their servers and computers now to the point of loosing thousands of dollars when they are down. Any doubts or reservations from a company owner should be seen to. In the least, to let him or her to sleep at night. And I have seen the most off hand question remove a tremendous burden and speed up a company.

So the next time you have a consultant at your office sit down with them for a minute. Go over your concerns, or even ask if there is an easier way of doing what you are doing. It will work out better for you.