Why do so many well intentioned plans fail? What causes good ideas to fail?
How can an organization make new plans and implementations more successful? What's the secret?
What is the right approach to ensure continued excellence after a new program kicks off? What builds (and sustains) momentum?
Adoption. In business and software, it means getting people to actually use all that nifty stuff you've invested in. Think CRM, something we've implemented countless times. Too many sales organizations build it, and then they either hope sales people will start using it, or they shout and scream and threaten in hopes of driving usage. Either way, for many organizations, CRM is a 4 letter word. That is NOT what we want for the Presales Framework. We call it a Launch, because we want it to fill people with energy, enthusiasm, and even some joy in knowing they are being prepared to be successful in their work.
We start with ongoing support. We call it Office Hours. It is a time when we can answer questions, review discussions, documents, estimates, and give feedback. And it is a chance to monitor adoption and to make changes if there are any 'bugs' in the design. Generally, it is a time when we can be there to support the presales team. Again, this whole effort is about building the processes and culture of excellence in presales. And it starts by providing a period of additional support after getting the framework live.
The next part is what we call Ride Alongs. Just like during discovery, we will quietly sit in on presales calls or we will watch videos of them. We will have a set of guidelines (a rubric) and will give detailed and insightful feedback. And we will provide guidance on ways to take what is learned during the Presales Framework and convert it into actionable knowledge. Again, if we find any kinks or bugs, we will work with the organization to fix things.
Finally, we will offer ad hoc trainings. Is estimation still causing confusion? We will do an additional training session. Are people still struggling to get actionable requirements? We will do a breakout session and focus on this crucial skill. In this final step, we are all about finding what will help the team to succeed.
Please get in touch to find out how the Presales Framework can help your organization.
Email sales@acivica.com to learn more.
