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The Virtual Consulting Discussion List [VCDL]
http://www.TheVCF.com/vcdl.phtml
May 5th, 2003 Digest #4
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List Moderator: Michael S.DeVries DeVries@cris.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ...
---> [NEW] <---
#1 Why don't clients consider Remote / Virtual
Consulting?
- Michael S. DeVries
#2 Is anyone using the Keen Advisor service?
- Michael S. DeVries
---> [CONTINUED] <---
#3 Where / how to find good Virtual Consulting
Clients / Engagements?
- Michael S. DeVries
#4 What are your favorite / the best Virtual
Consulting Tools?
PC Remote Access / Control
- Michael S. DeVries
#5 What are your favorite / the best Virtual
Consulting Tools?
Realtime Chat Programs
- Michael S. DeVries
---> [NEWS] <---
---> [INTRO] <---
#6 Sam Knight
---> [HELP WANTED] <---
---> [ADMIN] <---
************* [NEW] ***************
#1 Why don't clients consider Remote / Virtual
Consulting?
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries
<DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday, May 5, 2003
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
I actually started the thread referenced below
in the
alt.computer.consultants newsgroup on what used
to be Dejanews back in
May of 1998.
Granted many things in our environment have changed
since then ...
Which we may also discuss relative to their positive
and negative
impacts on Virtual Consulting, etc.
But ...
Don't we still need to work hard to "convince"
clients / companies to
consider Virtual / Remote Consulting?
Please feel free to read others (historical)
comments, feedback and
discussions on this topic, which I initiated in
1998 at (and please
accept my apologies for the way-too-long-URL
from Google Groups, but
...) :
And please post your comments and feedback regarding
what you think
about ...
Why don't clients consider Remote / Virtual Consulting?
What may or may not have changed from 1998 to
2003 which may have
helped? or hurt? our ability to get clients to
consider and accept
Virtual (vs. on-site) Consulting?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on these
matters,
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
-----------------------------------------------------------
#2 Is anyone using the Keen Advisor service?
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries
<DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday, April 28, 2003
Dear Fellow Consultants,
Is anyone using the Keen and/or a similar Advisor
service?
If you are not familiar with Keen, they allow
you to set yourself up as
an Advisor / Consultant and offer to accept consultative
phone calls,
which are accessible via a "Call Me"
type button on your web pages, and
charge a fee per minute for the calls. I see quite
a few people listed
in their directory, but ...
I am wondering if any of you veteran Virtual Consultants
are actually
providing this pay-per-minute type service, through
Keen or any other
provider?
and more importantly iff you are:
1) Does it really work for you?
2) How is this service received by your list members
and/or site
visitors?
3) Are you making any money at it? I would definitely
be interested in
hearing any of your experiences with and/or thoughts
on this type of
"cross-media" internet-to-telephone
pay-per-minute type service(s).
Thanks for your help!
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
************* [CONTINUED] ***************
#3 Where / how to find good Virtual Consulting
Clients / Engagements?
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries
<DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday, May 5, 2003
In the VCDL Digest #3 April 28, 2003 Randy Bennett
wrote:
> At 07:26 PM 4/21/2003 +0000, Michael S.DeVries
wrote:
> >Let's share our thoughts, experiences,
ideas and
> best practices regarding ...
> >
> >Where / how do you find good Virtual
Consulting
> Clients / Engagements?
<snip>
Randy,
Thank you for your posting and ...
Welcome to The Virtual Consulting Discussion List!
:)
(BTW - you may want to introduce yourself to our
rapidly growing group
of Virtual Consultants! ;))
> This is a good question at a great time,
at least for
> me.
Well, Thank you! ;)
That is why we are all here isn't it?
To help each other, right?!
> I am preparing to start
> my own business to offer consulting/coaching
> services
Randy -
Firstly, Congratulations on making the "leap
into" your own business! :)
Secondly, iff you are going into the (virtual)
coaching biz (?) ...
Are you already familiar with Coachville?
If not, they offer a free lifetime membership
and appear to have a lot
of free resources and support for coaches ...
There address / URL is: http://www.coachville.com
Hope this helps get you started?!
Does anyone else know of any good Coaching resources
/ sites?
> and have been giving this
> question a lot of thought.
Good idea!
Since we all have limited time and resources it
is, IMHO, always
important to spend these in those areas that will
give us the "biggest
bang for the buck (or hour)" right?!
Further, since you mentioned you are just starting
out ...
I would also recommend beginning to develop a
Marketing Plan and/as part
of a Business Plan.
Wouldn't the rest of you agree with this suggestion?
<snip>
> it looks like
> referrals from clients and networking and
the top
> two methods of obtaining leads.
Yes!
These appear to be the top two from my research
and discussions as well.
A common thread with these (top) two sources of
good leads, that I hope
we will stimulate some healthy discussion regarding,
is ...
The "Trust Factor"!
The common thread being that you have already
established trust with
both previous happy / satisfied clients and other
consultants /
professionals with whom you have a prior relationship.
What do you all think about this common "Trust
Factor" as being the #1
important factor in generating leads and getting
new good consulting
engagements / projects?
Let's talk about it!
Couldn't this make if (more) difficult for a
consultant / professional
just starting out? ...
Since they may not have previous clients and other
consultants do not
have experience working with them previously.
So ...
How would you all recommend that a new consultant
/ professional
establish these relationships / trust with potential
clients and/or
colleagues?
> Various forms of
> publishing, from writing articles to your
web site,
> follow closely. Interestingly, at least to
me, is that
> while advertising is the least likely to
produce leads,
> PR is another high ranking method.
Yes!
FME (From My Experience) publishing, speaking
engagements, etc. are also
good for helping to establish credibility and
name recognition and thus
I would hypothesize a lesser level of trust, than
the direct
relationships mentioned above.
> In constructing a marketing strategy I have
built it
> along these lines. I am planning to continue
> networking among fellow professionals and
where
> potential clients are likely to be. I will
spend time
> writing articles and continuing to deliver
professional
> papers, and I will build a web site.
Excellent!
It sounds like you have done your research and
are prioritizing your
efforts and resources accordingly.
Again, I would recommend thinking about ways
to establish and enhance
"the trust factor", as again my hypothesis
is that this is the common
thread in all of the top means of getting new
clients, engagements and
projects.
What do the rest of you think about this?
Also, please let us know how we may help you
get started in your new
endeavors.
> Does this follow the real-life experiences
of those on
> the list? I would really appreciate seeing
a
> discussion on this.
Yes, it does, at least from my experience and
research ...
Although I continue to research these topics and
...
I would also really like to hear what all of our
other Virtual
Consultants think on this topic?!
Thanks again for your participation, Randy,
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
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[Now back to our "regular scheduled programming"
...
-----------------------------------------------------------
#4 What are your favorite / the best Virtual Consulting
Tools?
PC Remote Access / Control
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries
<DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday, May 5, 2003
In VCDL Digest #2 April 21, 2003, Michael S.
DeVries wrote:
> What are your favorite / the best Virtual
Consulting Tools?
<snip>
In response to this question in some other forums,
I received
recommendations for the following Virtual Consulting
PC Remote Access /
Control Tools, which I wished to share with you.
You may find links to the sites to free downloads
for each of
these PC Remote Access / Control Tools at:
http://www.TheVCF.com/vccenter.phtml#PCRC
1) Timbuktu
Firstly, in the category of PC Remote Access
/ Control, a fellow
consultant recommended Timbuktu.
I am familiar and have seen similar products in
operation for both
Technical Support and sales / demonstration type
activities! I am not
sure however if they were using Timbuktu specifically,
and I have not
used Timbuktu previously myself, but ... It sure
sounds good! :)
My colleague also specifically commented that
the use of Timbuktu saved
him many trips to client sites.
To which I responded ...
"Absolutely! :) And saves you and the client
a lot of time and money,
right?! :) Which, IMHO, is one of the distinct
advantages of Virtual
Consulting! :)"
Wouldn't you all agree?
Have any of you had experience with Timbuktu?
If so would you recommend it? Why? or Why Not?
2) GoToMyPC
How about GoToMyPC?
Has anyone used this one?
If so would you recommend it? Why? or Why Not?
3) Others?
What other PC Remote Access / Control software
have you had experience
with?
Which ones would you recommend to use or to stay
away from?
Why? or Why Not?
We look forward to hearing from you for our mutual
benefit.
Hope this helps!
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
-----------------------------------------------------------
#5 What are your favorite / the best Virtual Consulting
Tools?
Realtime Chat
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries
<DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday, May 5, 2003
In VCDL Digest #2 April 21, 2003, Michael S.
DeVries wrote:
> What are your favorite / the best Virtual
Consulting Tools?
<snip>
In response to this question in some other forums,
I also received
recommendations for the following Virtual Consulting
Realtime Chat
Tools, which I wished to share with you.
You may find links to the sites for free downloads
for each of
these Virtual Consulting Realtime Chat tools at:
http://www.TheVCF.com/vccenter.phtml#CHAT
In the category of Realtime Chat Tools, a fellow
consultant recommended
each of the following:
1) MSN Messenger:
I do not have any experience with MSN Messenger,
so ...
Can someone else comment about it's pro's and/or
con's (e.g. a Product
Review) as a Virtual Consulting Realtime Chat
tool?
2) AOL IM (AIM):
AIM is one of the chat programs which we use too.
It's ok, but ... it does have some adware and
doesn't seem to support
offline / asynchronous messages like Yahoo Instant
Messenger does.
What do the rest of you think of AOL IM (AIM)?
and ...
3) Trillian:
I have used Trillian and some of the nice things
about it include:
It "lets you simultaneously connect with
the five most popular chat
clients on the Web: Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger,
ICQ, mIRC, and AIM"
and allows you to import your passwords, buddy
lists, and various client
preferences. "Also noteworthy is the fact
that Trillian is truly free.
It doesnt contains any adware and has no time
or functionality
limitations."
It also supports secure communication, so even
your company and/or
clients cannot "snoop" on your chats.
A downside of Trillian is that is may not support
all of the latest and
greatest of the native functionality available
in each of the chat
programs which it supports.
What do the rest of you think of Trillian?
Additionally, I use or have used the following
Realtime Chat Tools as
well:
4) Yahoo Messenger
This is probably my favorite Realtime chat program
just in terms of ease
of use and functionality. It also supports offline
/ asynchronous
messages and archiving, both which are nice, IMHO,
for the Virtual
Consultant.
What do the rest of you think of Yahoo Messenger?
5) ICQ:
We used to use ICQ, which at the time seemed
to be the most popular chat
program, but ...
Nowadays the popularity of ICQ seems to have "waned"
and we rarely use
this one anymore, so ...
What do the rest of you think of ICQ?
4) Others?
What other Realtime Chat software have you had
experience with?
Which ones would you recommend to use or to stay
away from?
Why? or Why Not?
Which one of these (realtime) chat programs is
your favorite?
Which one(s) do your clients prefer? and why?
We look forward to hearing from you for our mutual
benefit.
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
************* [INTRO] ***************
#6 Sam Knight
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: boomer4ever1@juno.com
ate sent: Thu, 1 May 2003 15:33:54 -0400
Hello. My name is Sam Knight, and I am editor/publisher
of "BOOMER BRIGADE!" Newsletter. In
line with that,
I head an *affordable* Ad Copy Writing/Mail Distribution
Service.
I am also an author. While I have written a booklet
entitled
"I Wish I Wrote That" for the benefit
of those who need help
with creating more dynamic ads and are not yet
in a position
to hire someone to do it for them, most of my
ebooks deal
with strengthening and/or understanding personal
relationships
(e.g., "Marriage-Eaters...Is Your Relationship
At Risk",
"Why Do Men Cheat?" and "Why Do
Women Cheat?"). It
gives me great pleasure to have received feedback
from those
these have benefitted, particularly those whose
marriages/
partnerships they helped salvage. My latest work
is entitled
"Mixing Blood, Weaving Hearts", a very
frank look into what
can happen as the result of an interracial relationship.
This was not meant to be an ad, but rather to
let you know what
services I can provide. I would very happy to
assist anyone who
might be in need of assistance and can be contacted
at
mailto:boomer4ever1@juno.com?subject-VirtConsul
http://www.boomer4ever.com
Thank you..
[Moderator Comment -
Welcome to The Virtual Consulting Discussion List,
Sam! :)
Ok ... Who's next?]
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