Analytics Magazine Analytics Magazine, January/February 2014 | Page 40

ADVEN T U RE S I N C O NS U LT I NG I’ve done a number of software development projects for a firm fixed price, under a contract that comprised three tasks: Task one, it’s ugly and balky and frustrating, but if you can manage to get a full set of test data in, the output indicates that the computations are being done correctly. Task two, the program fully meets specifications: output in formats specified in the task order, user-friendly, doesn’t break under intense challenge testing. Task three, I fix everything they didn’t like after it met spec. The three tasks are equally funded. This contracting approach prevents the usual “requirements creep” and continuous wrangling over change orders. It has the added advantage of weeding out quite a few bad clients, as people will never sign a contract like this if they can’t acknowledge to their bosses that they can’t write a perfect spec. Now, as you prepare to go selling, remember these three things: 11. In a successful sales call, the salesperson does about 5 percent of the talking. Listening to the customer is critical, and not just to learn what you could say next. Once I saw a super-salesman interviewed on the Tonight Show. Johnny Carson asked, “How would you sell me this coffee cup?” The salesman promptly 40 | A N A LY T I C S - M A G A Z I N E . O R G responded, “Tell me all the things you could do with this cup.” 12. Humor can be a very good icebreaker. You have to have a good feel for what the other person thinks is funny, though. Humor with strangers is risky. That’s precisely why it’s so effective when you get it right. In any case, pay close attention to cues that let you know whether you’re breaking down barriers to trust. Remember you’re there to get them to believe you understand their problems and can solve them, not to entertain them or show them how smart you are. Techies often blow sales calls by talking too much about technical details. The right way to show your capabilities without talking too much: 13. You have to keep replenishing your intellectual capital. If you concentrate exclusively on billable work, your skills will be obsolete within five years. Take courses. Participate in professional societies – especially your clients’ and prospects’ professional societies. Read. Listen. Write articles, do presentations and pay attention to the feedback. Find knowledgeable people and ask questions. Mentor others; their questions will stimulate you. Learn new methods, new application areas and new ideas, W W W. I N F O R M S . O R G