In recent consulting work for a number of large corporations, I conducted an experiment using software to distinguish the level and value of my services to the companies I worked with on a number of assignments. The objective was to test the response, continued use, and perceived value of the services provided to my customers. As part of each assignment, the companies requested that I provide procedural information to document my positions in a way that would orient their own personnel, or subsequent contractors to the resources, information, and procedures used to accomplish various tasks involved with the work. What they did not specify was the means I was expected to use in accomplishing this task.
Since I had already developed a number of tools for increasing individual productivity, I decided to use the licensed software from my own company to accomplish the assignments. For all the tasks, I packaged the information in a software bundle that included connections to web sites, documents, personal notations, graphics, program start ups, and other media within the context of a single focused application, then added information about licensing, my business contact information, and web site location for purposes of supporting the presentations. In anticipation of the clients' requests, I had built each package from the beginning of each assignment, so by the time my work was completed, I had detailed information regarding how the assignments had evolved, contacts, procedures used, and tools employed in accomplishing the work.
As the assignments drew to a close, the companies anticipated they would need me to spend a week or two with subsequent personnel to orient and train them in my work. When I showed them the information I had already packaged for them, and demonstrated how it was accessed, they were very surprised to see how thoroughly the task had been completed, and accepted the work immediately. Rather than spending weeks in orienting new people to the tasks, I simply turned over the software information package, and made myself available for questions after briefly orienting my replacements to how the software worked. The subsequent "training" required no more than two days worth of being available for what few questions were raised. Though I did allow the customers the ability to change the contents of documents and certain information gathered by the tool, the licensing and functions of the software package itself did not allow users to alter what was included, or how the software itself worked. I also incorporated each company's logo information into the displays of the packages, so they appeared to be managed by the companies themselves.
The techniques resulted in subsequent calls from the clients asking for me by name to return for more consulting work, and led to calls from others within the company to my business over a year later, asking questions related to my expertise on the content of their information. This experience proved helpful in establishing techniques and practices in leveraging software for business promotional purposes, and providing outstanding tools for distinguishing my services from those competitors who are not using similar practices.
John Dir Director of Software Concepts BHO Technologists - LittleTek Center Teaching computers to work with people. We make software more fun for everyone. Stop by for a visit to our web site, and see what a difference ITL technology makes! HTTP://home.earthlink.net/~jdir |
No comments:
Post a Comment