IT Consultancy
Finding a Simple, Profitable Solution
An international IT consultant faces all the limitations of the telephone: On the sales front, there’s the challenge of connecting with a potential client and demonstrating the strength of your solutions. On the technical end, you’ve got to install the solution, trouble-shoot, train the client and field support calls. Both sets of challenges have one solution: desktop sharing via Mikogo.
“We can’t work without systems like this,” says Alvis Tabaks, sales manager of Elva Baltic. The ERP software consultancy, based in Latvia, serves customers throughout the Baltic States and the United States. “Just imagine if every time a customer has a problem, our consultants should have to get in a car and drive to the place.”
“We use Mikogo a lot because it’s just so easy, even for me as a sales consultant, to understand. There isn’t a better way to do it.”
Alvis Tabaks
Elva Baltic Ltd.
It’s the same for Jon Pearson, whose Jon Pearson Analytics provides Excel automation and Access Database development for clients in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. “Working in such a niche market,” he says, “almost none of my customers are local.”
The Virtual Foot in the Door
Pearson says Mikogo gives his initial consultations a longer reach — and a better one.
“The customer wants to convey his or her needs as quickly as possible, and I want to efficiently canvas what I can do for them,” he says. “Mikogo literally gets us on the same page much faster than a phone call alone.”
“Using Mikogo during the initial consultation with a client greatly improves the odds that the project will move forward.”
Jon Pearson
Jon Pearson Analytics
With ease-of-use in mind, Mikogo also allows potential customers to take control of the session, to easily demonstrate current business processes on their own desktop. “With ERP software, it’s very important to understand their processes and whether they’ll work within our software,” Tabaks says.
Keeping Things Running
IT consulting is about more than the sale — it’s an ongoing relationship involving customization, training and support. Mikogo streamlines every step, giving consultants easy remote access for installation and trouble shooting, and a way to make training more hands-on and personal.
Mikogo also makes the process more satisfying, providing near-instant gratification on both sides, Tabaks says. “When a customer asks for new functionality, we can immediately show them how to use it,” he says. “We write the code, call the customer and open it up with Mikogo, and show them how to use it. It’s like finishing the task.”
“Mikogo greatly increases my ability to satisfy my customers,” says Pearson. “About 80 percent of my consultations are done using it, and all are happy to be able to share screens during a phone meeting.”
