SSW Rules to Successful Sales & Account Management

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I've been putting together Development Guidelines for my employer and in the process have reviewed many published standards (in the .Net arena) from around the world. In each category, the suggestions at SSW are always among the best.

- Leon Bambrick,

Software projects are delicate activities and all the parties involved need a lot of love. It's up to the Account Managers to keep everyone on track.

Here are SSW's rules for better account management.

Do you agree with them all? Are we missing some? Email us your tips, thoughts or arguments. Let us know what you think.

Rules to Better Account Management

Do you manage your inbound leads effectively?
Are you prepared for the initial meeting?
Do you know how to conduct an initial meeting?

What are the outcomes from your initial meeting? Spec Review or Ad Hoc work?
Do you enter into a binding written contract with a client before doing any billable work?
Do you cut the scope of a project to get it started at a smaller price?
Do you aim for an advancement rather than a continuation?
Do you realize the value of your existing clients?
Do you know how to manage objections?
Has the client received recognition of our thanks for their business?
Do you review your team member "Client Love" every Friday?
Do you know when and when not to give away products?
Do you avoid giving discounts

Do you manage your inbound leads effectively?

With the amount of money companies spend on marketing these days, it's vital that when you receive a phone call enquiring about your services you know how to handle it.

Be prepared for inbound calls. At SSW we have a script our phone operators keep close at hand to make sure we ask the necessary qualifying questions. Qualifying a lead means categorizing them - we use a 1 - 5 scale, just like hurricanes. 1 means a client who wants a $500 website, and 5 means a custom application solution for a large company. The aim is to determine if we are a good match with the prospect - that way we don't spend time on dead ends and can give all time to the most likely leads.

Once you have qualified the lead, your aim for the remainder of the call should be to arrange a face-to-face Initial Meeting with the client. Our preference is for the Client to come to us. Think of this office as our showroom. Seeing it will reinforce for the client that we are a real business, not just a voice on the other end of the phone. If its more convenient for the Client for us to visit them, we are happy to accommodate.

Once you have agreed on a time for the appointment, you send an appointment to the client and everyone who will be attending the meeting, including the notes from the phone call in the body of the appointment request.

On the off chance that the client wants to commence ad-hoc work (e.g. Consulting) without a meeting, you should immediately enter a contract with the client.

Figure: Send an appointment for your initial meeting

Make sure you enter the contact information for the lead into your corporate database.
Are you prepared for the initial meeting?

Be prepared for the initial meeting because first impressions are the most important. Preparation cements your professionalism and underscores SSW's eye for detail and capacity to deliver. Preparing for the meeting includes:
- Selecting the appropriate SSW Architect to attend the Initial Meeting with you. You should consider whether a business or technical focus is appropriate for the meeting, and the likely technology of the project to ensure you align skills
- Having a short meeting with the selected SSW Architect to discuss your preliminary understanding of the clients requirements so the SSW Architect can consider technology options
- Reviewing the clients website or other available information, taking special note nature of the clients business. It's also useful to remember the office locations (e.g. one office, nationwide or international) and the year of commencement of business
- Reviewing any specification documents the client may have provided. You may conclude the current specs are incomplete and further work is required to develop a Release Plan
- Have the standard SSW sample apps VPC to show SSW developed websites, windows apps and our products (Client Demo VPC)
- Having a wireless card to access the Internet if you cannot connect to the clients network. In fact it is preferred you do not connect to the clients network due to time and security issues
- Having the SSW standard sales presentation. Remember, while clients don't want to think this is you first job, they rarely like to listen to how many CommBanks, NRMAs or Pfizers you've done work for. Clients generally prefer the focus of the meeting is their business. You should however consider any previous projects which bear similarities to the project on offer, you do need to prove our competency
- Have all the information recorded during the initial call
- A hard copy of the Consulting Order Terms and Conditions may be useful for them to review when the meeting is concluded
- Plenty of business cards (that haven't been sitting in your wallet for three months!)
- Turning up early!
Do you know how to conduct an initial meeting?

The first meeting is on us. While SSW has 1 - 2 hours to provide the prospective client with enough information to decide whether to pursue a Spec Review, the focus of the initial meeting is to be the client, their problem, and how SSW might build a solution. The best way to action this is to ask questions, listen and take notes: clients appreciate someone genuinely considering their needs. A brainstorming session is a fantastic way to give and receive feedback immediately. Even if the client decides not to use SSW we like to leave them with useful information and a positive impression.

The purpose of the initial meeting is to:
- Understand the clients motivation for engaging software consultants. We all know clients 'want some software application built', but understanding the motivation for getting that software built will assist you in making a successful bid for the project. Three examples could be: to replace an outdated, hard to maintain existing system core to the business; building new 'nice-to-have' functionality to allow the client to offer a new service to the market; or assisting a start-up company with a speculative venture. This also allows you to prioritise the clients importance
- Understand the 'pain level' of the client
- Determine whether scope, time, quality or cost has the highest priority for the client and what level of project management they require. E.g. if a project must be delivered by June 30, a high level of management will be required to ensure enough resources are supplied to achieve this
- Understand as much as you can about the processes/business rules the system has to manage. Every level of detail you can correctly comprehend and confirm back builds your credibility as a good communicator, and supplier!
- Assess the overall scope of the project, i.e. is this is 'small', 'medium' or 'large' project. The attending architect should start guessing how many man months this project might be. This information will help you assess how long the spec review should be. These initial thoughts should not be shared with the client at this stage as they are most likely incorrect!
- Determine the clients budget and who controls that budget. E.g. are you dealing with the business owner or a line manager in a corporation? Do they have a fixed amount to spend? Do they have a time period to spend it in?
- Consider technology options
- Introduce the SSW team, show the presentation if appropriate, offer how our involvement can help them, and whether we have a 'good fit'.
- Explain SSW rates, including pre-paid
- Explain the strengths and challenges of a Time and Materials or Fixed Price approaches
- Explain our development method including the importance of a Specification Review
- Take exceptional notes
- Ask for the sale: "This project is right up our alley and we'd love to be involved, is there anything stopping us from scheduling a spec review?" will focus the mind of client on the next step
Figure: Do you listen?
What are the outcomes from your initial meeting? Spec Review or Ad Hoc work?

Schedule a Specification Review

For almost all projects, there is a need for additional requirements gathering. Some clients don't have any kind of specification, while the specifications we are given are sometimes lacking in detail or incomplete. Accordingly, before SSW can provide a ballpark price for completing the project there is a another step which requires engagement of SSW resources - the specification review.

It is the responsibility of the Account Manager during the initial meeting to present the benefits for the prospective client of an SSW specification review. Following the initial meeting the Account Manager will send a brief proposal through to the prospective client for SSW to conduct a specification review.

SSW will not offer a fixed price at the conclusion of an Initial Meeting or the Specification Review.

More on the Specification Review.

Figure: Send a brief proposal

Ad-Hoc work/Consulting

In the event the work is thought to be less than 3 developer days and the scope is well understood, it may be worthwhile for the developers to commence work straight away without a Specification Review. Normal standards for work should be followed, such as morning goals. This type of work is called 'ad-hoc' work. If during the course of ad-hoc work it is discovered the work will take longer than 3 days, work must stop immediately with a written request for a specification review, even if it is only brief.

We may also immediately commence ad-hoc work if the client is a technical client and SSW is providing resources for an existing project under the sole direction of the client.
Do you enter into a binding written contract with a client before doing any billable work?

Before SSW engages in any billable work the two parties must enter into a binding written contract. This ensures contractual obligations are clear on both sides, mitigating the potential for disagreements down the line and protecting both SSW and the client in the event of a disagreement. Binding contracts can take the form of Terms and Conditions, Proposals, Emails and Instant Messenger and or even verbal agreements.
- Terms and Conditions
- Proposals
- Ad Hoc Emails, Instant Messenger and Verbal Agreements
Do you cut the scope of a project to get it started at a smaller price?

When a customer is slapped in the face with a quote for a large sum of money, they are often reluctant to sign up for the project. With the concept of an "Introductory Package" you quote a smaller project for the first release for a lower amount. e.g. Rather than quote $100K for a large project for the client's first project, you quote a smaller project for $20K. This concept allows you to get your foot in the door. However, not all customers will continue to the next stage due to the fact that you initially quoted at a lower price.
Do you aim for an advancement rather than a continuance?

Once you have completed the initial meeting and provided a quote, you have to be careful to keep moving towards your goal of making the sale. In business, everyone is busy. The prospect you met with has a million things to do, and they may be relying on a decision from someone who also has a million things on their plate. It's easy to get stuck in a 'continuance cycle'. A continuance basically a stalling tactic. A prospect will tell you that they're still interested, but they haven't gotten around to making a decision for one reason or another. An advancement is a step that takes you closer to closing the sale. You should always aim for an advancement rather than a continuance. An advancement might be an agreement to complete mock-ups for the application. Often, small financial commitments will lead to bigger ones.
Do you realize the value of your existing clients?

It's often quoted in marketing circles that it costs between 60% and 600% more to sell to new clients as opposed to existing ones. It makes sense then to nurture your existing client relationships. There are two strategies that need to be employed here:

Keep your current clients happy
We have received feedback from larger clients in the past that they expect regular checkups and guidance from senior staff. A nice informal way to arrange this is to buy your client lunch one a month. You can review the project for half an hour, then grab a bite to eat. The review should cover the project as a whole, any niggling problems, and discuss any upcoming projects. We do this review free of charge.

As a Project Manager, one of the most important things you should focus on to keep clients happy is communication. For active clients, a week shouldn't go past without a phone call or some sort of contact. A lot of the time this will be emails from the developer. Almost all disputes arise when you don't speak to a client for a period of time. This allows any annoyances to fester and any misunderstandings can turn into real problems.

A "client relationship problem" is when you have said "no" to a client and and they let you know that they strongly disagree. In that case:
- Tell them the reasons for your stand
- Tell them that developers will sometimes do the wrong thing - clients have different opinions of what that is
- Tell them you are authorized to split a problem and offer them that ask if they are happy with that solution
If they're still not happy you may need to refer them up the chain of authority.

Stay in touch with past clients
At SSW we have a system in place that allows us to stay in touch with past clients, even ones we may not have spoken to in a while. Firstly we send a regular newsletter to our subscribers so that SSW stays fresh in their mind. That way when they suddenly realise that they need some work done, we're right at the top of the list. Secondly, we have a follow up system in place so that the client get's a call 3 and 6 months after a job is completed. This should be a friendly call, not a pushy sales call. You should use a line like 'I'm just checking in to see if everything is still running smoothly.' Setting up a system like this will result in more repeat business and less need to spend money on marketing.
Do you know how to manage objections?

When attempting to sell a solution to a potential client, you will invariably come up against some objections. It is essential that you are prepared to handle these objections so the client is confident in your skills and has no reservations about choosing you over someone else. The main reason clients raise objections is because they have concerns about your experience "fit" with their needs.

We recommend you use this objection handling model.
1. Ask the question - "What concerns do you have about working with us?"
2. Acknowledge the objection - say, "Thanks for raising that", or, "Thanks for letting us know about that"
3. Probe - ask, "Can I ask you a few questions about the concerns that you have?"
4. Answer - Pick the best response to their objection (see below)
5. Confirm that they are happy with your answer - "Do you now feel comfortable with our approach towards your project?"
Because we follow extreme programming, a typical objection we get is - "Why do you put 2 developers on the project? This is going to be more expensive isn't it?". This is basically how we handle this question:
- Explain the benefits:
- If they are still unsure, you can offer a small discount off the hourly rate, or offer some free support - it's all about managing risk.
Has the client received recognition of our thanks for their business?

We should always treat our client well. If they are happy with us at the end, we are more likely to win their future projects.

Always be aware of the client's interests and hobbies as this can be a very effective ice breaker. Also, it provides the client with that extra personal touch.

Asking questions like "So do you have a busy weekend plan?", "How's your newborn baby?" may help you to determine personal things about the client.

You may come up with an idea of what to get for the client. It may be a bottle of wine, movie tickets, a box of nice chocolate, or even a cute baby album. Get it approved by Adam and get him to write the Thank You card, then send.
Do you review your team member "Client Love" every Friday?

Developers carry out Client Love every week. Check their time sheets on Friday for this.

Praise each team member when they are creative and relationships improve.

More
Do you know when and when not to give away products?

We DON'T charge clients when an SSW developer uses an SSW product as part of the he takes to his toolkit (e.g. we use Upsizing PRO when doing an upsizing job). This is because it's just like a plumber using his wrench. The developer takes it away with him when he leaves.

We DO charge clients when an SSW developer installs or provides an SSW product for the ongoing use of the client e.g Code Auditor, Team Calendar or Extreme Emails, which the client's staff will use after SSW leaves. This is just like a plumber buying a particular piece of pipe to fix a sink. SSW

SSW does not discount product prices to clients. This devalues the product.
Do you avoid giving discounts?

We should try to never discount our price at SSW. Instead we should be adding value to the offering for the client.

If a client asks for a discount you can add value by offering:
- All our products to our clients at no charge
- Adam and Tim for 2 hours a month to complete the following tasks:
  - Code Review
  - UI Review
  - Help implement the SSW Checklist
  - Tickets to our tech breakfasts for 3-6 months for 2 employees
  - SSW Membership program at no charge