“How do I know if they can deliver what they promise?”
“I have no idea what they are talking about. What should I ask?”
These are a few questions that many business owners have when looking for a software solutions consultant. Most of business owners do not have experience dealing software consulting services. They mainly focus on what they need to continue their business and hope they would make a right decision to hire consultants that would deliver what they need. This presents quite a bit of risks for business owners especially when they need to commit a good amount of investment building a customized software solution.
Is it always going to be like this? No!
Many times, business owners complained to me about how expensive the quote they obtain from other consultants is. They are confused and don’t even know what to use to gauge the number. When this happens, I usually ask a few questions:
- Do they just give you a number? Or they actually provide you a copy of quote with details?
- What is included in the quote?
- Do they explain how they come up with the number?
Quite often, the answers I got from business owners are no or I have no idea. They did not get an actual quote. In fact, they only got a number. I find it intriguing that those companies can just give a number without providing any kind of reasoning and visioning to the business owners.
As a business owner seeking for a customized software solution, what should I do?
There’s no doubt that it is fairly difficult to explain what you have in mind to someone else. This is especially true when it comes to build software. Software development is a process that requires a lot of details and specification defined before a solution could be formed. In order to have the software done right, enough details must be provided prior to the start of development. There are a few actions you, as a business owner, could take to make this process smoother:
1.Write down what you want to achieve with the software solution before meeting the consultant
A written statement of what you want to achieve could help consultants quickly grasp on the base concept of your project. This would help them align their vision with yours fairly quickly and that will make the conversation more productive for both you and the consultants.
2.Have all the questions listed on the paper before talking to a consultant
This is the difficult part of the process. Since you are dealing with something you are not familiar with, it would be difficult for you to come up with a list of questions. However, remember one thing. There are no dumb questions. Ask as many questions as possible before making your decision. Have it written down on the paper would help the conversation since there is now a baseline both parties could follow.
3.Prepare a list of samples to show to the consultant
Most of the time, Ideas are similar to one another. Having a list of samples ready for the consultants could dramatically help the consultant to understand what you are trying to achieve. This also works by providing a baseline for the conversation. Read through the following examples and see if it makes more sense to you.
“I want to build a site that would bring in more customers to my store. The website needs to look elegant and professional.”
Compare to this:
“I want to build a site that could bring in customers to my store. I think it will look similar to newegg.com”
Sample 2 is more clear than sample 1. You can even pull up newegg.com during the meeting and aid to the conversation.
4.Be sure to ask for the next step specifically before the meeting is adjourned
Once you have a good conversation with the consultants and they have a good grasp on your project idea. Normally, the consultants would describe the next step. If not, it is a good time to ask for the next step. You would want to know the following:
- What should I expect for the next conversation (via email, phone call or in person)
- When will the next conversation be scheduled (by the end of week? Within 3 days?)
With the above 4 actions done, you would have a good overview on how well this consulting company could be and if they are a good match to work with.
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