We present the software product. How to convince the client of your choice

“Eloquence produces a strong, but minute, action. People who are easily aroused are just as easily calm down. Cold and powerful persuasion does not produce such a lift; but if it engulfs a man, it penetrates him, and his action is indelible. ”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau


In his last article, “Selection of a software product. Collecting the requirements ” ” I told about the very beginning of the cooperation of a business consultant with representatives of small and medium-sized businesses. How to get acquainted with a new company for you, how to build a dialogue with the business owner or director of the company, how to offer your services.

Let me remind you that the first step in the work of a business consultant is the choice of a new software product, one that will effectively solve the tasks. We figured out how to convince the head of the company of the need to introduce a new software product and why the choice in this case should be given to a business consultant. We discussed how to get maximum information about the company, study all the stages of the enterprise, and, finally, choose the most suitable software product for solving the problem.

Today I continue to acquaint you with the work of a business consultant and, fulfilling the promise made in the last article, I will tell you about how to present the software to the client.
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Most IT specialists follow the usual way of demonstrating software capabilities based on test examples.

This is mistake! The client does not need tests, the client needs a result!

Now you have done some work, chose a software solution that is really suitable for a particular company, you understand why this particular solution is better than others. Believe me, your client is not interested in a test show, he still will not have time to figure out how the program works during the presentation. He needs answers to questions. Therefore, do not waste time, give the client what he really needs.
Tell us how your chosen product can solve the problems of a particular business and why it turned out to be the most effective. In addition, it is very important to clarify how you can help in solving the task with the help of your chosen software product. Remember, you are selling your services, not software!

It is important to understand that in most cases the client is not interested in the technical details of the implementation of the software product. And all the slides or test shows he perceives as beautiful, but incomprehensible pictures. The client is not yet familiar with this software environment, he does not understand where to look and where what information is displayed. And now he does not need all this.

Do not forget that in most cases you present the program to non-IT specialists who will consider the interface with interest and discuss the nuances of the implementation of this or that module, you tell a software product to a businessman, a person far enough from the "IT-kitchen", often not the usual too experienced user. It is important for him to understand that the software product will really be able to solve the set tasks, and, moreover, it will do it more efficiently than current solutions, and also what additional opportunities the client will receive after switching to this program.

How to answer customer questions?

You must be prepared for the fact that during the presentation there will be someone who will ask you tricky questions. Often this person turns out to be quite aggressive towards you and your offer, behaves accordingly, and diligently deals with finding flaws in the product or gaps in your knowledge.

The most important quality in this case is stress resistance. Understand these people are very common. I regard them as inevitable evil. Sometimes they are even specially invited to the presentation as expert critics. This could be your own system administrator, marketer, accountant, or even a person invited by your client. Some with the help of critics are trying to identify the "weak points" of your proposal, others are simply too conservative and subconsciously resist change.

In any case, you should be calm, friendly, in any case not to change the tone and not switch to the proposed aggressive or even sarcastic style of communication. In doing so, you must be well prepared enough to be able to answer most of even the most difficult questions.
On the other hand, to know everything in the world is impossible. To know that, as for the solution of an objective, you are obliged. Know in general the software product as well. But all the nuances of the program you know you can not. It is simply impossible. Especially if you yourself have never implemented this product.

What to do if you are asked a question, the answer to which you do not know? I believe that the best solution is to honestly answer: “I do not know.” You have already demonstrated your competence, managed to answer most difficult questions, explained to the client all the advantages and peculiarities of working with a new software product. Therefore, in a particular case, admitting that you also know far from everything in the world would be the best solution. After all, if in a situation where you “float”, try to get out, the client will definitely notice. In personal communication, such nuances are almost always visible. And such an attempt to save face ”can be mistaken for insincerity and stubbornness. Thus, you will prove yourself to be not honest enough, as well as difficult to communicate, a person who is unable to admit a lack of knowledge or is wrong. Also, very often, your attempts to get out of it look more like a manifestation of a blinkered belief in a certain software product. So, I advise you to always be honest and not hide the fact that you are not ready to answer a specific question. The client should see that you are always very frank with him, and then he will trust you.

Remember: you are the seller now!

Once I myself made such a mistake. I thought that the software is so cool that it will sell itself. And therefore there is no point in showing any extra activity. You just have to show the chosen solution and stand aside. Alas, this approach often does not work.

It is very important to understand that now, at this presentation, you are not even selling a software product, you do not have any special interest in it, because you are not a representative of a manufacturing company. You sell yourself, your knowledge and skills. Right now the attitude towards you of the client is forming. And if he trusts you, then in the future you will be able to work a lot and fruitfully.

Remember: you are selling not a program, but a solution. And always start from this.

And because you do not need test examples and shows. It is important for you to show the solution of the task, not the features of the interface and the beauty of the diagrams. Explain exactly how this software will help solve the problem of the client, what benefits it will bring. And do not forget that you are selling, first of all, your competence.

On the issue of price

“How much will it cost?”, “What is the price of your services?” Are questions that you will hear. On the other hand:

1. You sell not a software product, but your services as a business consultant. Therefore, we should speak both about the program and about possible future cooperation.
2. Before you have a tool for "accurate diagnosis", you can not name the price. Just because any preliminary calculations may be wrong. Inflate the cost in advance - to scare the client with too large amounts. Trying to calculate the amount based on the data that I already have - most likely, to deceive myself. After all, if you voice a certain cost of work, it will be difficult to change it in the process, not to mention the fact that this behavior reduces your trust in you. And without trust, the work of a business consultant in small and medium business is impossible.

Because I chose the following solution. First of all, I’m sure to say that the choice of software and preparation for switching to it (let's say transfer of balances) is only one of the steps to solving its problem. I also explain that at this stage I don’t have enough data and can’t even approximately estimate what work will be needed and how much it will cost. At the same time, I always focus the attention of the client on the fact that my services always have certain terms.

My services are limited to certain deadlines! I solve a client problem and leave.

Thus, already at the moment of offering services, I denote the fact that after some time there will be a final collaboration. It can be half a year, maybe 1.5 years. But the final will be.

Understanding this fact helps the client to be more sympathetic to your suggestions. He understands that you are discussing the final project, where the business consultant will do some work, help out of the crisis or find new ways of development, after which it will be eliminated. Otherwise, the idea of ​​working with you, especially until some concrete solutions appear, may look incomprehensible and, in some cases, even suspicious. A person should understand that he is offered help that will be with him as much as he really needs, and will be eliminated (along with the need to pay for it) when the need for it is over.

But back to the issue price. Calling the total cost and even to outline the stages of work at the beginning of cooperation is not realistic. To do this, you simply do not have enough data. I found this solution: I propose to work in stages, and discuss each of these stages separately. And the first of them call the work with the software. I choose it, I carry out the transfer of residues, i.e. I am preparing for implementation. This stage is not difficult to count. The amount and terms are often quite small. The client sees quite a democratic cost of work and the opportunity in the near future to get something specific for their money. Most often, this proposal meets with understanding and, as a result, approval.

In addition, I do not deny that in the process of work very often additional tasks arise. As you know, the appetite increases with food. I also tell my clients about this in advance. As a result, the client understands that, on the one hand, it’s not realistic to calculate the total cost of the project in advance; on the other, I don’t hide anything from him, it will be convenient to work with me, and you can always discuss cooperation and make necessary adjustments. The result of this approach is mutual trust, which is further confirmed by the results of my work on each of the stages. As a result, the cooperation is quite long and very fruitful.

In the meantime, I undertake transparent and clear commitments: I transfer the balance, I prepare the system so that it can start working on it. The client understands what he is paying for, the amount is quite democratic, and the time frame is small.

In addition, I will definitely negotiate with the client at the end of this stage to meet and discuss the following. And this very next stage is almost always necessary and paid, as well as a sufficiently large number of stages until the moment when I myself understand what I have done for this company. And I'm leaving. I always leave, I never pull time unnecessarily. More often than not, customers then call themselves again. And it is much more profitable than trying to accustom customers to ongoing service.

Briefs and technical specifications: do without them!

Almost every IT-specialist does not think of cooperation without these documents. Clients fill out briefs, a technical task is issued, and only then does work begin. Many of you are now nodding approvingly, as they are confident that in this way they protect themselves and their interests, and make cooperation as civilized as possible.

If you work with a large company, then everything happens that way and no other way. But when working with small and medium-sized businesses, technical tasks only interfere with mutual understanding.

Let me remind you that a business consultant is usually called to help, just for the reason that something needs to be changed, and what the customers themselves do not know. And they call him as the expert who will help to figure out what needs to be changed, how and why.

Further, when choosing a software product, the consultant proceeds primarily from the real need of the company, and not from the wishes of the client and his habits. We talked about this a lot in the last article, including, I told you how to convince the customer to give you the choice of software.

It is clear that with this approach both the brief and the technical task will be superfluous. In order to protect your interests, there is a contract, there is a prepayment. Although I personally mostly work on trust. Because we communicate with clients, we see each other, and not only communicate by correspondence, we often turn to informal communication outside of work, and, of course, I try to make the customer trust me. As a result, I also most often can calmly trust my client.

Moreover, for small and medium-sized businesses, a single reference to a technical task may be a seller’s mistake, and this applies not only to business consultants, but also software vendors.

A business manager cannot compile such a document on his own, he does not have a suitable in-house specialist. Most likely, he doesn’t have enough knowledge even to understand all the nuances of a correctly drafted technical task that you bring to him for a signature, since it uses professional terminology, an approach from a programmer’s point of view, etc. Remember: you do not communicate with an IT specialist, but with a businessman!

As a result, the head of a small business, such a document causes distrust. He fears that he may be deceived, but he cannot in any way check how accurately and honestly the document is written.

And if the company already has the experience of buying unsuccessful solutions, then the situation looks even sadder. Because along with boxes with unsuccessful software solutions that gather dust on the shelves, there are usually briefs, technical tasks, multi-page additions to the contract. And the result for some reason turns out to be not in work, but in a box. Why? Did not fit. Not understood. Did not like. Could not implement.

I have seen a similar situation many times. That is why I found a completely different approach, in which neither a brief nor a technical task is needed, and I work very well. The clients are very grateful, since I understand their needs, delve into them, and then instead of them I make a decision on choosing the best software product, helping to implement it, and only when everything is already working “like a clock”, I calmly leave.

Instead of an afterword

I tried to describe, above all, the correct approach to the presentation of the software product that you have chosen. But in the work of a business consultant for small and medium businesses, it is very difficult to distinguish clear steps. And even the presentation of the program is, first of all, a presentation of the business consultant himself, a demonstration of his ability to make the right decisions, his knowledge, flexibility and other qualities. At the same time, it is often not only and not so much the software product that is discussed, but the stages of work to identify and solve a problem in business. You must remember that either you and the client have a trusting relationship when he agrees with your suggestions on the issues for the solution of which you have been invited, or nothing good will come of such cooperation.

Yes, trust is hard to win. Of course, this will have to work. It is even possible that the first shoots of trust relationships will appear only after you transfer the leftovers or even begin to train the staff and manager personally to work with the new product. We need to work on this constantly.

I hope that I have given enough information on the presentation, but I propose to talk about the implementation of the software product and other stages of cooperation between the business consultant and small and medium-sized businesses next time. I can talk about my work very much, and am ready to generously share information.