
   .... The Last  Word

  Consulting in the 90's                      (C)  1994 by Ben M. Schorr


  The times they are a changin'.  That phrase is true of few enterprises
  more than the fire engine paced change in the computer industry. As
  this industry changes, so do its' consultants. The entire field of
  computer consulting only got big when computers went mainstream in the
  early 80s.  Before then it was mostly major corporations and hobbyists
  that had computers.  We are now approaching the end of the century and
  look to see a computer on almost every desk. And for all of that
  computing power there is a veritable army of support personnel setting
  it up and training end users on how to use it - at least in the
  business sector and for specialized tasks.

  As the home and home office markets heat up with a resulting flow of
  computer information, even more people are gaining confidence in their
  abilities to configure, repair and add computer components to new and
  existing systems. This  challenges consultants in at least two ways:

  1.  Everyone has a brother-in-law who is a "Computer Expert." You know
  the type. He's the office guru because he knows how to change the
  toner in the laser printer, subscribes to PC Magazine and bought a 486
  at the swap meet for his house. Suddenly everybody is calling him for
  free advice and he is more than happy to get wrist deep in their
  WIN.INI files. Well folks, if you think working with professionals is
  expensive, try working with amateurs. I get a lot of calls from people
  who've either messed up their own configuration or, more often, had a
  "friend" come in and "fix" it for them.

  The real problem begin when these so-called "experts" get laid off or
  get ambitious and decide to have some business cards printed up that
  read "Computer Consultant."  Now they're out in the marketplace
  alongside the professionals disguised as a professional consultant....
  and they may not be easy to spot at first. They'll have their Paper
  Direct business cards and brochures. They'll toss out buzzwords like
  "Information Super Highway" and "Scuzzy." AND they'll offer their
  services at ridiculously low rates and are often pleased to get much
  below prevailing local rates. But you can quickly separate
  the pretenders when the work begins.

  I've heard reports of "experts" who left a system unbootable because
  the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files were in WordPerfect format. I've
  seen "experts" who deleted key .EXE files trying to free up hard drive
  space. I've also seen hard drives mounted backwards in the case, laser
  printers plugged into UPSs and systems with three copies of Windows
  installed.

  Where and how does this hurt ? Perception. It can sometimes take a
  little while for a professional to spot a pretender, especially if we
  haven't had a chance to see his work.  Imagine how difficult it is for
  a lay-person to spot one! Let's assume as a lay- person you've just
  paid a "Computer Consultant" $500 to set up your system. Nothing works
  well or at all and that computer is a constant headache. The fellow
  rarely returns calls and when he does, seems befuddled and has no
  answers. Yet another person hands you a card that reads "Computer
  Consultant" and offers to take a look at your systems...for $75/hour!
  Wouldn't you be a bit wary of being taken by yet another pretender...
  and this time for a lot more money?

  Many prospective clients have been swindled by not one, but two, three,
  four or even a longer succession of these impostors. They've paid a lot of
  money for minor success and as a result are justifiably wary and more
  cynical when we tell them what we can do for them and for how much. They've
  heard our song before...and they can't tell if it's live or Memorex.

  Making yourself visible:

  How can we show and then prove to the public that we're the "real deal"?
  It's not easy and it requires a lot of determination and time. First of all
  you must establish yourself as a legitimate expert and viable businessperson.
  Join the Chamber of Commerce and a local community organization like Kiwanis.
  Get involved and establish yourself as a stable and hard working member of
  the community with a telephone which is regularly answered and where phone
  calls are always returned. Establish yourself with your local bank.  Write
  articles on your subject of expertise and actively seek speaking engagements
  on your subject. Offer seminars and classes. Offer to teach part-time at a
  local school or be a volunteer at a "Career Day" at the local high school.

  Encourage your clients and colleagues to refer business to you and, most
  importantly, be honest and straightforward in your dealings with clients,
  prospects and vendors. They will remember this and you will get a reputation
  as someone who can be trusted.

  What They Say....

  2.  As "Plug-and-Play" becomes a reality,  the PR spin, is that systems will
  become easier to setup and maintain. The implication is that there no longer
  exists a need for a consultant to setup a system if the end user can simply
  twist three thumb screws, plug in a card, close the case and voila - it's
  finished. Even the brother-in-law, the computer expert can't go too far
  wrong with this. They are saying that as applications become more intuitive,
  the need for training will be reduced. They, also say, that as hardware
  prices continue to fall, having a system that is robust and new becomes more
  realistic for all commercial users. Further, if a system fails...replace it.
  The parts are cheap and "Plug-and-Play."

  The above is the party line that Microsoft, IBM and other big vendors would
  have us believe. Until just recently I feared that they were not far from
  reality. However, the more I see of the new operating systems, new hardware
  and new applications the more confident I am that we are not an extinct
  species just yet -- or  for  some time to come !

  Custom programming is still very much alive.  What about the new "intuitive"
  programs? How many times have you been called because the end user forgot to
  turn on their monitor and assumed their system crashed? No matter how simple
  developers try to make their programs, there will always be a need for end-
  user training...primarily because it IS very foreign terrain for most users.

  As for Plug-and-Play, many of the upgrades we now do could be done by end-
  users. The fact is that many end-users don't want to do their own upgrades.
  Just as I don't want to wash my own car, they prefer to pay somebody else to
  do it for them...and if PCMCIA is any example, there will be plenty of
  compatibility and configuration problems to go around.

  There is lots of information but very little confidence!

  The more robust systems are just great and mean there are more things the
  end- users can do. I have a client who told me that he thought that buying
  a computer would save him time...now he spends just as much time as before,
  if not more! The difference is that he's accomplishing ten times as much.
  The new systems will take end-users to a level of productivity they never
  dreamed was possible ...and good, experienced, honest consultants will be
  their guides.

  I rest my case!


  BEN M. SCHORR is the Director of Operations of Watson/Schorr Consulting, a
  Canoga Park, California-based computer and business consulting firm. Ben is
  the moderator of the CONSULTANT and LANTASTIC conferences on the Ilink Email
  network and the SMALL-BUSINESS conference on the Intelec Email network and
  has been a computer professional for over 7 years. Ben can be reached at
  (818) 993-8640 or via the Internet at ben.schorr@ panasia.com

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