IT consultant Bob Hood shows off an
HP MediaSmart Server running
Windows Home Server at a client’s
office. The “top dog” is part of his client’s
collection of Mexican folk art.
Being Top Dog with Clients
A trusted adviser relationship helps you better serve clients and keeps
your business healthy at the same time. Here’s how.
By Bob Hood
Photo by David Joel
IF YOU ARE A SMALL BUSINESS IT CONSULTANT,
you really become the keeper of your clients’ data
and the caretaker of their businesses. If you can’t
accept that responsibility, then you shouldn’t be
doing what we do. That realization has certainly
driven me—fear is a great motivator!
This is the trusted adviser role everybody is talking
about. I’m on the org chart at two of my clients; and at
three others, every time they put out a new telephone list,
I’m on it until someone realizes I’m not really staff. It’s the
kind of relationship that’s been very rewarding for me, and
