During a Department of Defense briefing in 2002, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld offered a speech that seemed like Washington doubletalk at first, but quickly became an overview of the entire consulting industry.

The remarks were simple, explaining a matrix of things known, unknown, and the combinations therein. It proved an excellent explanation of why now is a good time to offer IT consulting services.

The Rumsfeld Approach to Consulting Services

When an agent looks to provide IT consulting services, that agent provides value on several fronts at once, addressing Rumsfeld’s remarks.

• Known Knowns. The agent that provides IT consulting services can step in as a fresh set of eyes to make sure the tunnel vision didn’t miss an obvious problem.
• Unknown Knowns. That fresh set of eyes can go a long way toward spotting unexpected mistakes that come up. Incompletely-understood processes can be shored up and the best results achieved.
• Known Unknowns.  IT decision makers routinely hear about new technologies, but aren’t quite sure if such technologies are right for their business. IT consulting services can fill that gap.
• Unknown Unknowns. Even as decision makers hear about new technologies, some are too new or too esoteric to be widely known. Agents providing IT consulting services can steer their clients in the right direction.

Beyond the Knowns, Unknown or Otherwise

Those are far from the only reasons to offer IT consulting.

• Offer your own products. When you’re offering IT consulting services, you’re in the best position to see what’s wrong. You can make recommendations to fix these issues accordingly, and leverage your Technology Services Distributor (TSD) relationships to offer the ideal solution.
• Improve your professional image. There’s a difference between selling products and providing solutions. The solution provider is there to fix things that go wrong. The product salesman just wants to bring in cash. Offering IT consulting services helps secure trust with your customers.
• Increase your value to the client. It’s one thing to be the one who sells certain products. It’s another to be the one who installs them, gets them up and running, and can be called in to fix them when things go wrong. You can help your clients — both big and small — plan for the future, and ensure they will always come back to you.

Setting Up IT Consulting and Agent Relationships

If you’re ready to start adding value to businesses, then a great place to start is with eXemplify. An experienced Technology Services Distributor (TSD), eXemplify routinely keeps up on new product offerings and can provide the best in portfolios to offer a clientele. Whether it’s known unknowns or otherwise, eXemplify is ready to step in and help companies improve their operations across the board.