Finance and IT Consulting... The Time is Right (again)

 When computers first showed up in small businesses, there were two sets of people who installed software: Consultants and Bookkeepers - because they were used primarily for accounting. Skip ahead. When computers became more generalized, those two sets of people were called on to fix "little stuff" - because they know how.

When I got into the biz, in the early 1990's, I had two key contacts who had started on the financial side and moved into computer consulting. Both of them became great referral partners. They still dabbled in bookkeeping, and virtually all of their business came from that side of their experience. When the computer side got to be too much, they called me in.

Today, I think we're seeing a similar synergy. In the last week, I had several experiences that brought this to light.

• I had a conversation with a former coaching client who is expanding the financial security side of his business.
• I had dinner with someone from the hot "Fintech" community.
• I had a Zoom call with a new SBT Community member who is considering a vertical in financial software and services.
• And, on Friday, I had a long discussion with my friend Sam Saab from Results Software. They're broadening their scope beyond QuickBooks and looking for larger IT partners who want a financial CRM focus.

Not on that list are my regular conversations with Heather Johnson from Gozynta and Rayanne Buchianico from ABC Solutions. All of those folks have one foot solidly in IT services and the other in some kind of financial services.

Some vertical markets are easy to see and define. Dentists, attorneys, manufacturers, restaurants, etc. The financial vertical includes accountants and enrolled agents, who are easy to spot. But it also includes a collection of services that are less visible or obvious.

While you might just specialize in a software package or CRM systems (e.g., Dynamics), the juicy good opportunity is really in getting back to actual consulting. Our industry was not founded on computers. Yes, we sell computers. But it's the actual consulting that brings clients in, and makes them sticky.

Consulting consists of 1) being an expert in something, 2) giving excellent advice, and 3) creating solutions that help the client be more productive, more profitable, or more efficient. It includes "solving problems," but it goes way beyond that. Solving problems is reactive. Creating new solutions to improve a business is an active, forward-thinking process.

Don't consider yourself a financial wiz? That's okay. I've supported several specialized line of business packages that I didn't know how to "use." I'll bet you have, too. Get the right hardware and network, set up the database, configure the users, and verify that you have a regular backup and maintenance program. Boom. Done.

Run a sales report by county for each customer support rep? No. Not my job. Having said that, there are also people who specialize in training on just this kind of thing.

Other finance-related specialties include point of sale, specialty printers, database management, security, credit card processing, and pretty much everything that has to do with CRM systems. And there's so much more, all of which is a great place to start building a business around true consulting, and not just pushing boxes or license.

As technology becomes less "physical" onsite, and easier to deploy and maintain, I believe the future of our industry will be with people who are willing and able to engage in good old consulting and providing what we used to call solutions. If your key selling point is that you can deploy Microsoft 365, you're quite replaceable. (Sorry.)

Whether it's finance or another special focus, how do YOU go to market?