The key to overcoming client cost concerns is to focus on value and return on investment (ROI), rather than expenses. While every one of your computer consulting business prospects and clients will have a different way of defining "expensive" and "affordable", it’s crucial that you show how your proposed networking solution is anything but expensive.

Learn from Example

For example, a local insurance agency, with 11 employees and PCs, runs a combination of Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Professional desktop and notebook PCs. The agency is about to "hire" three new independent agents (pseudo or virtual employees).

Each agent currently gets their own analog modem line, modem, and ISP dial-up account once he or she has been with the company for at least 90 days. In the U.S., this means each agent will incur about $25/month for an analog line -- plus message units.

Illustrate Costs to the Client

So with 40 hours/week of Internet access, this ratchets the cost of the analog line up to about $60/month. Then add around $20/month for a dial-up ISP account. So for these 14 agents and employees, your computer consulting business’ prospect spends upwards of $1,100/month for analog lines and dial-up ISP accounts.

If your computer consulting business prospect uses no other feature in your proposed networking solution besides centrally managed, shared, secure high-speed Internet access, the prospect’s networking investment would pay for itself within a matter of months.

Illustrate the Benefits to the Client

In addition, the prospect gains the benefits of a central point of control, administration, and monitoring over Internet usage.

So in reality, the prospect really can already "afford" your computer consulting business’ proposed networking solution as you’ve shown how consolidated Internet access will bring about a return on investment in a matter of months.