autor Luis Carrasco
Independent Advisor Enterprise Software • Project Manager • CIO • Senior IT & Business Consultant
traduccion Federico Dilla
Sell consulting with GTD
December 11, 2014
David Allen, a renowned expert in productivity, is popularly known for its methodology Get Things Done (GTD or abbreviated form). Allen, within this methodology, identifies a series of natural steps in planning any action:
1. Define the project purpose (what we want to achieve).
2. Display the result (what we want).
3. Alternatives (what possibilities to reach the desired result and what do they mean).
4. Organization (How to get it, tasks and resources).
5. following actions (Getting Started).
These steps correspond to what according to Allen is nature's way of thinking of the human mind when planning any task.
This approach to David Allen, and offers an interesting structure planning project implementation framework, I think it may be useful also in other areas such as the drafting of a commercial proposal to sell our consulting services:
1. Define the project purpose
I like to start my business proposals stating the goal of what is intended and why. A classic approach, but it works, is to start with a summary of the current situation (emphasizing the points of pain), stick with why you want to change this (the end of the day if you do not want to change anything there to do anything) and finish explaining that the project would solve / mitigate the problems identified.
The purpose and objective of the project we want to sell is formulated thus relating it to the situation and the need for change in order to justify it.
In the multinational consultancy where I worked a few years ago this point holder used as Analysis and Opportunity, a somewhat bombastic name in my opinion, but it describes perfectly.
2. Display the result
Once established the purpose and need of the project must be described in detail later time, ie the state of affairs after having undertaken the project and highlighting the benefits for the organization. These benefits can refer to the previous situation problems have been resolved with the project (if it is a project aspirin) or new benefits that the project creates, enables or allows to reach (vitamin projects).
This point is a basic and fundamental commercial element because it allows the potential customer can make tangible and imagine the future situation. It can also serve to begin to narrow the scope of the project.
3. Alternatives
David Allen presents this step as brainstorming to identify the different possibilities we have to achieve the goal. I use this step to identify the various alternatives available to undertake the project (approaches, technological solutions, etc.) and compare them with each other in terms of economic costs, duration, impact on the organization, risks, ...
If you bet on a concrete alternative is the time to sell and demonstrate that the alternatives are worse. If there is no alternative bets you can get valuable information as the customer meets your arguments to refine your proposal.
4. Organization
So far we had not committed from the contractual point of view and in this step we specify how we propose to implement the project, ie identify resources, costs, schedules, tasks, etc.
I will not elaborate further on this point because it is usually well known, only I would comment that I often find that many vendors use this point to narrow the scope of the project, which I consider a mistake because the client normally what is set is whether or not getting the results, regardless of what the provider need for it.
5. Follow-Up Actions
This point is critical to closing the sale, We propose actions as the customer and to justify them. These actions may be specific tasks (help clients sell the project internally for example) or take certain decisions.
A typical example is to force the decision to start the project linking it to the calendar of it: if we are in April, the new ERP must start in January and I am proposing a timetable for eight months to do so, we must start now (although, yes, you have to be clear as to justify the calendar change if the decision is delayed).
Special mention the trick of cutting up the project and propose next action as a beginning, more or less veiled, the same project deserves. This is very useful to have faseado draft so that it can start, for example, a finer decision requirements. In this case it should be clear that it is not free and will serve for the later phases can be adjusted and / or reduce risk.
Finally, these steps should not only serve to structure the formal document with our proposal, but I think they could also articulate our communication with the prospect during the final part of the sales process.
