Category: Consulting Strategies

  • Solving Business Problems, Not An Experiment With The Latest Tech

    Solving Business Problems, Not An Experiment With The Latest Tech

    The modern landscape makes solving business problems an exercise in finding the right provider most of the time. In my experience, software consultants and solutions providers come in three types. Some are heavily invested in existing technology and want to use that for every customer. Then, some want to jump on every new technology and use clients as guinea pigs. The third type focuses on the client and the best solution. Once that solution is defined, they decide how to implement it. These are the ones you want for your project. The challenge is figuring out how to weed through the options.

    Solving Business Problems Is The Focus

    I would say start with the website or proposal. However, you might come across a provider that does not have a website and has not sent you a meaningful proposal. Those are easy to ignore. It is hard to take a technology business seriously that either does not have a website or that has one that looks like it was built by a child a few decades ago. Here are some things a good provider will have on their website. The more of these, the better, and the more details, the better.

    • They talk about successful projects and solutions rather than technology stacks.
    • There are multiple clients represented, whether across projects or stories.
    • The focus is on problems they can solve as opposed to buzzwords.
    • Your non-technical friends, family, and coworkers can understand what they do without searching for the meaning of several terms.
    • There is a start and finish to the projects they highlight.

    While all of the above items are not required, a complete lack of this sort of content should raise warning flags. The alternatives you might see will list a bunch of technology they use (the stack) or provide links to cutting-edge vendors. They likely have the wrong focus when the site looks like an article from a tech news site or program.

    Finding That Perfect Match

    Once you have whittled down your list of prospective providers to those that actually solve problems, your next step is finding a match. The best providers will talk about solving problems you have faced or need to solve. For example, a vendor that spends a lot of time discussing how to market your business may not be the best if you need to track sales or integrate systems. On the other hand, a vendor that talks about bringing customers to your website may be the perfect fit.

    Be Prepared

    This may make you wonder how to match your problem to their skills. That is a good question and does require you to start by ensuring you have correctly understood and defined it. That is a mistake many companies make. They look for a provider and expect the provider to help define the problem and then provide a solution. While that is an acceptable approach, it will likely be more expensive. You will end up in a situation where you are in that old description of paying a consultant to use your watch to tell you what time it is. They are going to be an essential part of crafting a solution. However, you will want to invest the time in defining your problem to solve and related requirements as much as possible.

    A software project can be an expensive process. Think of it like a house or a mansion. You would not go into one of those projects blind or without firm ideas of what to expect. Do the same with your business. Take the time to examine your processes and the pain points you want to reduce or resolve.

    Next Steps

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  • The Value Of A Technology Agnostic Provider

    The Value Of A Technology Agnostic Provider

    There is a concept among technology professionals known as being technology agnostic. This is a valuable trait of providers but is not commonly discussed. It is often avoided because not many providers have this trait. They do not want to highlight a weakness. That prompts a couple of questions right away.

    • What does technology agnostic mean?
    • Why is it a valuable trait?

    I am glad you asked. Let’s set the table with a definition and then look at its value.

    Technology Agnostic Is Broad Vs. Deep

    One of the significant differences between a provider (company or individual) that is technology-specific or agnostic is that the former focuses on one technology. At the same time, the latter has a broad-based approach. For example, a provider might be a Microsoft .NET shop (focused) or an agnostic solution provider. Before we focus on the broad approach, it is worth mentioning that specialists can also be valuable. These are people or teams that live and breathe a specific technology, platform, or application. Sometimes you know exactly what you want, and you want the best. It is not uncommon for a project to get to that point as it is refined and evolves.

    Why A Broad Approach?

    When you start on a project, there are very few constraints. You want to be able to leverage that and get a good understanding of your options. Think of building your dream house. You want to be the one that limits price, material, or location, not your real estate agent. That is the same when solving a problem. Thus, you want to be able to examine all the ways it can be solved without someone arbitrarily making that decision. It is not often highlighted. However, the various technology languages, platforms, and applications have strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, when your provider or consultant is narrowly focused, your options will also be limited. That may be a desire to avoid losing business, or it is often just ignorance. They don’t know what they don’t know.

    An Open Mind Brings Better Solutions

    We all have heard about thinking outside of the box. The best solutions often come when we get out of a box or set of constraints and look at the bigger picture. Technology can be powerful in providing solutions. On the other hand, it can handcuff us and constrain how we approach the problem. Rather than go deep into the weeds, let’s consider standard tools. I will even name names and refer to Microsoft Word and Excel. These are two world-class applications that are used every day. However, they have very different features, strengths, and weaknesses.

    It is entirely possible to write a research paper in Excel. Yet, that is not the best approach. Likewise, one can build a budget solution in Word, but Excel is better. These are almost extreme examples. However, I see such obvious forcing of a solution into a technology daily. It is valuable and possibly critical to start crafting a solution without first selecting a technology, whether an application or a stack.

    Finding The Right Provider

    You might now be asking how you would know what your provider fits into. Are they technology agnostic or a specialist? Fortunately, this is easily solved. You can ask them about their focus, background, and experience in previous projects. A provider constantly referring to one approach or technology will be a specialist. One that lists a large number of technologies is likely agnostic. You can then select them based on whether you know your solution needs their specific talents or you need someone that can guide you to the best technology fit.

  • Payment Strategies – Finding a Comfortable Time Frame For You And Customers

    Payment Strategies – Finding a Comfortable Time Frame For You And Customers

    One of the challenges all consultants face is setting up payment strategies for their customers. There is a need to keep revenue flowing while providing a reasonable amount of time for processing invoices. That is not as much a problem when there are multiple customers and they pay regularly. However, it can be crippling to a business when bill payments (or payroll) are delayed due to accounts receivable (AR) issues. A small company or individual consultant can struggle with this. Thus, it is worth our time to examine some options.

    Not One Size Fits All

    Note that the discussion is on strategies and not a single strategy. I have found this to be one of the first steps in meeting your needs and your customers’ needs. One way to slice up the approaches is based on your trust or experience with customers. This approach provides more grace in payments to your established customers while limiting risk for newer ones. Payments terms can be based on AR age or AR total. Both of these are easy enough to track for even a small company and can be set in contract requirements.

    I find that both approaches are helpful in small consulting companies. Some projects generate minimal revenue month over month. That can lead to small receivables sitting on the books for several months. At the other extreme, large revenue items can be critical to cash flow. When they are not received on time, the business can struggle. That latter situation is often a challenge for small consulting companies or individuals due to the feast or famine nature of this business.

    Payment Strategies Based on Trust

    Trust of customers and their payment processes is most effective when it is based on past experience. Therefore, it is best to start all new customers with a tighter set of rules and then loosen them after they have gone through multiple pay cycles. I recommend a minimum of three complete cycles. One or two is too easy to be an aberration or just them trying to keep new accounts current. Then, as you see consistent invoice and payment cycles, you can adjust your requirements to fit cash flow needs.

    Cash Flow Is King

    We all want to sign contracts and get those billable hours flowing. However, we need to see the payments for those hours flowing as well. When planning payment strategies, you need to be aware of your business’s monthly budget/payables and related payment terms. There is often a delay of 30 days or more from invoice to first payment, which can cause challenges if you do not have reliable cash reserves. Take note of your bank’s deposit hold terms as well. Receiving a payment is not the same as those funds being available. That may seem minor. However, we can see fewer and larger deposits for some customers that trigger the hold rules. I have often seen this pop up when a customer delays a few payments and then catches up in one big check.

    Splitting Invoices And Pre-Payments

    Many companies are hesitant to be aggressive with payment strategies when they start. Therefore, they set and accept customer-friendly terms but can lead to struggles as the business gets off the ground. Nevertheless, it is easier to reduce restrictions and policies than add them. Therefore, the best time to take a hard-line stance is when you start a customer relationship.

    Multiple invoices and early invoicing can help with this. Some companies invoice immediately on receiving a signed contract. That can cut down the time to payment by weeks or more. Likewise, it is more acceptable to pre-invoice some portion of the project or request a fee to start work. This strategy reduces risk and ensures you have some cash flow from the time the project begins. It may not solve all the problems, but it is an excellent first step.