Offshoring Consultants who can also sell
Most of us in the software services world - whether in the technology consulting, application development or program management space - are acutely aware that we are also continually selling something: we are selling our skills, solutions and competencies, essentially sending a message to ‘clients’ that we [and our organization] can deliver on the requirements and ideas.
Now, selling has two sides to the equation: the client (or someone) should have a need and be willing to ‘buy’ the services that you offer to sell. Identifying such white-spaces in their requirements and helping them fill the gaps with your offerings for a win-win relationship; well, this is business 101, right? However, selling and buying software services is not always as explicit as the marketplace for fungible products. Sometimes, the ‘selling’ also involves helping the client’s stakeholders articulate the demand to her stakeholders [not sure if I would call this ‘upselling’]
On similar lines, Michael Cage blogs “Clients choose the cheapest price option because you haven't given them a compelling reason why it makes sense to pay more.”
Why am I musing about this? Recently a colleague - let’s call her Jane - was working documenting effort estimate for project for a client onsite. In her current role, Jane was also filling-in for the client’s project-manager who was away on vacation and during a meeting the (client’s) IT director she was reporting to asked her to help with budgeting ‘burn rate’ for a few projects for the next quarter.
Now, most Project Managers are comfortable in such projections and cost-budget analysis but here the situation was a bit unique. Jane was comfortable in budgeting ‘revenue’ for proposals and RFPs that her Infosys teams regularly respond to and realized that the client’s ‘burn rate’ is the other side of the equation.
Jane also realized that with this request, her perception of stakeholders was getting enlarged and had to work hard to mitigate any conflict-of-interest. In case you are wondering why there would be a “conflict-of-interest?” Well, Infosys, like all other companies in the world, is a business: which essentially means that it needs to generate revenues with positive margin on business transactions, in this case services we render, and projects we execute. Clients accept that as a matter of fact but with a caveat: the dance of ensuring lower margins for the services vendor (Infosys), essentially translates to a higher cost saving for them. Interestingly, Mike McLaughlin blogs about a related challenge when he advices consultants to "Take a Deep Breath before You Answer These Questions"
This is not a really unique situation. Many of us who work with clients on a long-term basis get embedded within the organizational eco-system and begin to ‘think’ for them, with the implicit understanding that the consultant will build a mental ‘Chinese wall’
Are Jane and her ilk valuable to Infosys…and our clients? Absolutely!
Case in point: at a recent business forum, I was talking with an executive from a service firm (a competitor that will go unnamed). His firm seems to have challenge in grooming folks like Jane: technology consultants who are articulate and can speak technical and business language with equal ease, and can help with quick turnaround of proposals and showcase the organization’s credentials at all times.
He rhetorically asked if I knew folks who would be interested in joining his company. Well, if I knew of such folks in local markets where we operate, I would be hiring them myself, wouldn’t I?
Comments
There is no doubt that professionals like Jane who have a good understanding of technology, architecture, execution, project management and have personal characteristics like (ability to communicate, negotiations, self starter, abstract thinking and analysis) play a pivotal role in building, managing and developing new business opportunities with customers.
However, the key question is why some organizations groom professionals like Jane more effectively than others. I think fostering an environment (mentoring, best practices etc ..) that encourages the evolution of consultants into consultants (having sales and marketing skill sets) play a key role in developing such professionals
Posted by: Chetan Bhor | June 3, 2007 07:45 PM
Great points Chetan.
While talking about the fostering environment, you are essentially are referring to the ‘Good to Great’ aspect: why some service firms successfully mentor and grow their staff, while others just continue to subsist, fighting one fire after the next.
Posted by: Mohan | June 4, 2007 08:10 PM