Building Your Alpha Software Consulting Business

In talking to many of you over the last 18 months, it has become apparent, that however busy you may be consulting in Alpha Five or Four, you can never have too many leads. It also appears that many of you generate new business leads through word of mouth, in your local yellow pages or through the Alpha Web Site.

I would like to share some suggestions that could significantly increase the flow of potential customers to you.

1.
If you don't already have a web site describing yourself and your consulting business, get one set up now. Ask yourself the following -- if you, as a client, were looking to hire a consultant and you had to choose between two alternatives, would you hire the consultant with or without the web site?

2.
Build up expertise on getting your web site listed as prominently as possible on the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Altavista, Lycos etc). Why is this Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so important for your site? Very simply, Web Search Engines have has become the de facto yellow pages/encyclopedia/advice and help center of the world today! Google is handling 150 million searches every day! Altogether, the major search engines are handling 350 million searches a day. If someone is looking for a software/computer/database consultant on the web, don't you want a chance that they will find YOU? As an aside, on Google and the other engines, search for "database software" or "relational database" or "application building software" etc. and you will see how prominently Alpha Software appears, often on page one. This is a critical initiative for us at Alpha and, I suggest, should be equally important to you in building your business. A technical note about SEO from NetInterface Consulting is provided at the end of the article. You can do the SEO yourself or you can use a company that specializes in doing this. At Alpha we are using a company called www.positionresearch.com.

3.
In addition to Search Engine Optimization to increase the number of visitors to your web site, you can also "buy" prominence on the search engines through the pay-per-click programs they offer. This is actually a very practical, smart and cost-effective way to ensure that your site gets its fair share of attention. The way it works is that you identify the searches that will find your site. You also specify how much a click is worth to you so you can control your budget. The key to pay-per-click is to define your area of expertise as narrowly as possible so that you are not competing as heavily for clicks. For example, a search for "database consultant" is highly competitive and results in a lot of choices (thus would be relatively expensive) whereas "insurance agency customer database" may be a less competitive, and therefore more cost effective term to bid on. Take a look at pay-per-click strategies at Google.

You should note that the most important search engine Pay-Per-Click programs are run by Google.com (use their Ad Word Select option https://adwords.google.com/select/?hl=en ) and Overture.com (MSN, Altavista etc). For reference purposes, a realistic range for Pay-Per-Clicks should be between 5 cents to one dollar. Also note it makes sense to consider campaigns based on both items 2 and 3.

4.
We have been talking about new approaches for generating leads. Don't forget about old-fashioned networking. It still makes sense for you to get "out there" and press the proverbial flesh.

Here are some examples of where you could network. You can also track down networking groups through web searches. Check out this link on business networking groups.

5.
Volunteer to present Alpha Five to PC user groups in your area. This is a great way to show off your expertise to potential clients. If you are interested in doing this, please contact either myself at richard@alphasoftware.com or jeannette@alphasoftware.com. Also check out the article elsewhere in this issue, "Alpha Five Presenter's Outline."

6.
Consider starting a user group dedicated to Alpha Five in your area. This also serves as a good way to show off your knowledge to fellow Alpha users who are potential clients. If there aren't enough Alpha users to start a group, you could start a general computer user's group. This would give you exposure to a wider range of users, and some of them might become interested in Alpha, and ask for your help.

7.
Become active in helping folks on our message board. Again this demonstrates expertise to prospective clients. As awareness for Alpha Five continues to build, a lot of new people are using Alpha Five for the first time and some portion of those people will be looking for consulting help.

8.
Like it or not, an important aspect of being a developer/consultant involves generating leads and closing sales. One approach to polish your skills in this regard is to consider signing up for a course at programs like the Sandler Sales Institute (http://www.sandler.com/home.htm).

9.
Finally, get yourself listed on the consultant section of the www.alphasoftware.com. We have decided to waive the fee associated with this to encourage more of you to participate. To get listed, please e-mail me at richard@alphasoftware.com or jeannette@alphasoftware.com with some information about yourself. Please look at the format of the current listings in the consultant section, and provide us with details about yourself in this format.

Summary

By following a few of these common-sense steps you can increase your business, which will be good for you and the Alpha Software Community in general.

Thanks for "listening" by reading this.

Richard Rabins
Alpha Software

If you want to discuss any of these ideas further with me, please feel free to contact me at richard@alphasoftware.com.

Search Engine Optimization Note from NetInterface Consulting

What is a search engine?

A search engine may not be exactly what you think of when you hear the name. When you are searching for something on the Internet using what you believe is a search engine, it may in fact be a directory or announcement site. For example, Excite, InfoSeek, and WebCrawler are search engines. Yahoo is an example of a directory site.

While a directory site is simply a database organized by category, search engines are considerably more complex. Search engines use automatic web surfing agents, typically called spiders or robots. The goal of these agents is to visit every site on the Internet by visiting every URL they can find.

When an agent visits a web site, it reads the whole page and follows all links on it. In this manner, a search engine can index your whole web site even though you only submit your home page. The agent takes the information it reads on your web site and uses it to position your listing within its catalog. Each search engine ranks your site using different criteria, so it is important to follow all of the tips below.

Use a descriptive title

Note that the title of our home page is "NetInterface Consulting: Web Site Design and Network Implementation" and not just "NetInterface Consulting". Many search engines display this title when they list your page in their database. It is much easier for the person performing the search to tell what your site is about if the title tells them clearly. It also makes things easier for someone that bookmarks your page in case they forget what exactly your web site is based on its name alone.

Include meta tags

Meta tags are special HTML tags that only search engines see - a web browser does not display them as part of your page. For this reason, they are an ideal location to place extra information for the search engines to use when listing your site. There are two types of meta tags that you will want to use - description and keywords. The description meta tag should be a short, concise description of your site. This is often what is displayed as the summary of your web site when the search engine lists it, so it is important that it clearly tells the person what they can find on your site.

The keywords meta tag is where you can specify keywords you would like your site to be listed by. A search engine will try to derive some keywords from the content of your page, but this is a place you can specify additional keywords. It is a good idea to use several variations of the same idea, such as web site, www site, and website. However, be careful not to excessively repeat keywords, as some search engines will penalize you for this and actually rank your site lower than a site with fewer keywords.

Use relevant text on your page

Search engines read your whole web page when they index it and use what they find in several ways. Most search engines will attempt to generate keywords based on the body of your page, so a descriptive paragraph on your page will help it be listed under the appropriate headings. Also, the search engines usually give a higher ranking to text placed at the top of the page as compared to text on the middle or at the end of the page.

Validate your HTML

It is important that the HTML on your web site is accurate, otherwise a search engine may become confused and not index the page correctly. Most web browsers are relatively forgiving and may display your pages correctly even though they contain HTML errors, but this is not true of all search engines. Most HTML editors, such as HoTMetaL and FrontPage, can validate the HTML automatically so if you use one of these tools, be sure you have this feature turned on. If you do not use such an HTML editor, there are several online validation services that will check your HTML for you. Also check out search engine optimization.

Examples of places to network:

•	Church and other religious groups
•	Alumni organizations and web sites for schools you have attended
•	Professional groups you belong to
•	The Chamber of Commerce in your own and surrounding towns
•	Local small business associations
•	Better Business Bureaus
•	Women's business groups
•	Rotary and Lions clubs
•	School and PTO organizations

Some sample Web site from Alpha Software consultants:

http://www.peakedatabase.com
http://www.automatedmarketing.com/
http://www.betasoftllc.com/
http://www.kevinmcduff.com/database.htm
http://www.orderentrydatabase.com/Home%20Page%20New.htm
http://www.customdatacal.com/id17.htm
http://www.workings.com/AlphaFive.htm
http://www.netharness.com/Information_Management.htm
http://www.ptolemyconsulting.com/
http://www.martinwcole.com/
http://www.dmsi-south.com/
http://www.diginfoserv.com/p0000016.html
http://home.netcom.com/~finianl/
http://users.rcn.com/csda/
http://www.jamestalbott.com/
http://Compunique.net

1.	If you don't already have a web site describing yourself and your consulting business, get one set up now. Ask yourself the following -- if you, as a client, were looking to hire a consultant and you had to choose between two alternatives, would you hire the consultant with or without the web site?
2.	Build up expertise on getting your web site listed as prominently as possible on the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Altavista, Lycos etc). Why is this Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so important for your site? Very simply, Web Search Engines have has become the de facto yellow pages/encyclopedia/advice and help center of the world today! Google is handling 150 million searches every day! Altogether, the major search engines are handling 350 million searches a day. If someone is looking for a software/computer/database consultant on the web, don't you want a chance that they will find YOU? As an aside, on Google and the other engines, search for "database software" or "relational database" or "application building software" etc. and you will see how prominently Alpha Software appears, often on page one. This is a critical initiative for us at Alpha and, I suggest, should be equally important to you in building your business. A technical note about SEO from NetInterface Consulting is provided at the end of the article. You can do the SEO yourself or you can use a company that specializes in doing this. At Alpha we are using a company called www.positionresearch.com.
3.	In addition to Search Engine Optimization to increase the number of visitors to your web site, you can also "buy" prominence on the search engines through the pay-per-click programs they offer. This is actually a very practical, smart and cost-effective way to ensure that your site gets its fair share of attention. The way it works is that you identify the searches that will find your site. You also specify how much a click is worth to you so you can control your budget. The key to pay-per-click is to define your area of expertise as narrowly as possible so that you are not competing as heavily for clicks. For example, a search for "database consultant" is highly competitive and results in a lot of choices (thus would be relatively expensive) whereas "insurance agency customer database" may be a less competitive, and therefore more cost effective term to bid on. Take a look at pay-per-click strategies at Google. You should note that the most important search engine Pay-Per-Click programs are run by Google.com (use their Ad Word Select option https://adwords.google.com/select/?hl=en ) and Overture.com (MSN, Altavista etc). For reference purposes, a realistic range for Pay-Per-Clicks should be between 5 cents to one dollar. Also note it makes sense to consider campaigns based on both items 2 and 3.
4.	We have been talking about new approaches for generating leads. Don't forget about old-fashioned networking. It still makes sense for you to get "out there" and press the proverbial flesh. Here are some examples of where you could network. You can also track down networking groups through web searches. Check out this link on business networking groups.
5.	Volunteer to present Alpha Five to PC user groups in your area. This is a great way to show off your expertise to potential clients. If you are interested in doing this, please contact either myself at richard@alphasoftware.com or jeannette@alphasoftware.com. Also check out the article elsewhere in this issue, "Alpha Five Presenter's Outline."
6.	Consider starting a user group dedicated to Alpha Five in your area. This also serves as a good way to show off your knowledge to fellow Alpha users who are potential clients. If there aren't enough Alpha users to start a group, you could start a general computer user's group. This would give you exposure to a wider range of users, and some of them might become interested in Alpha, and ask for your help.
7.	Become active in helping folks on our message board. Again this demonstrates expertise to prospective clients. As awareness for Alpha Five continues to build, a lot of new people are using Alpha Five for the first time and some portion of those people will be looking for consulting help.
8.	Like it or not, an important aspect of being a developer/consultant involves generating leads and closing sales. One approach to polish your skills in this regard is to consider signing up for a course at programs like the Sandler Sales Institute (http://www.sandler.com/home.htm).
9.	Finally, get yourself listed on the consultant section of the www.alphasoftware.com. We have decided to waive the fee associated with this to encourage more of you to participate. To get listed, please e-mail me at richard@alphasoftware.com or jeannette@alphasoftware.com with some information about yourself. Please look at the format of the current listings in the consultant section, and provide us with details about yourself in this format.