Related to engaging the services of an eCommerce Consultant, there are five key areas that differentiate me from other ecommerce consulting professionals. They are business experience, consulting proficiency, concern for return on investment, customer service, and passion for my profession.

Business Experience
For the vast majority my professional business career, 20 plus years, I have either managed or owned my own business. I consider this an extremely important qualification for the simple reason that I am well versed in the extraordinary effort that it takes not only to operate a business, but also to successfully compete in today's business environment. I am on intimate terms with the pressures associated with wearing many hats and working long hours. More importantly, I understand that dollars are scare, and that for every dollar spent on your business, a return is expected.

Consulting Proficiency
Most eCommerce Consultants that you speak to will tell you that they are "The Expert" (consultants are part salesmen, after all). That said, I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered sharply dressed consultants, speaking fluent geek, floating very large dollar figures for their products and/or services that are somehow invaluable to your online efforts, and promise to be the next "Big Thing". Understand that there are some very sharp people available, but it can be extremely difficult to separate the true professionals from the rest of the field. Especially if you do not know what questions to ask. View Consulting Experience

Return on Investment
I focus on the single most important goal of business when consulting- Is your existing strategy, or one under consideration, designed to take advantage of the Internet as you intend it to- PROFITABLY? Unfortunately, "Profitable use of the Internet as a channel of distribution" is a simple concept lost upon many consultants trying to sell you their version of what your strategy should be. Too many times, the end goal is enriching themselves while burning through a pile of your money with absolutely no thought of the client getting a return on investment. Getting excited over technology for technologies sake is simply bad business strategy. If you are responsible for the bottom line in your business, department or division you know that for every endeavor undertaken "return on investment" is an essential part of the equation.

Customer Service
I could go on and on about the vital necessity of good customer service to the success of a business. Instead, I'll take the short route. The client pays the bills. The client does not exist to fulfill my businesses needs, my business exists to fulfill theirs. I am at the clients disposal. I offer timely, personalized and competent customer service.

Passion for eBusiness
I have always been a student of, and have had a burning passion for, business. The Internet is like the "eBusiness Channel", putting the viewer right in the middle of the action. You can see sites making and losing money before your eyes. I buy a lot of thing things online- music, cell phones, software, hardware, performance auto parts, insurance and more- checking out the front and backends, all of the latest bells and whistles. The Internet has changed the face of business in an incredibly short time. From email, to instant messaging, to Internet enabled smart phones, to web meetings, to PDF's, to marketing, to advertising, to data gathering, to buying, to selling, to saving time and wasting time, to adding to the bottom line and taking from it, and more. Online business is 24/7 business. You have to be on your game all the time, as every visitor to your site, at any time of day, is an opportunity for a sale. And don't forget about your competition, they can see everything that you are doing.