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For years, I carried around a belief that I wasn’t a “sales guy.” To me, that phrase conjured up images of someone pushy, insistent, and maybe even disingenuous. This was someone more focused on landing the deal rather than actually helping the person in front of them.
Most companies only realize the importance of the right software partner after they’ve had the wrong one. Maybe it was a project that ran way over budget for unclear reasons, a solo programmer who disappeared, or a developer who just didn’t get the assignment.
When people start looking for a custom software developer, the first things they usually consider are experience, industry knowledge, and technical skills. And while those are important, I’ve learned that there’s another factor that can make or break a project: communication.
You’ve probably heard the familiar sighs from colleagues when it’s time to pull the numbers for the next team meeting. There are three different spreadsheets, scattered metrics, and one person left to piece it all together.
We had a frustrating experience a few months ago in Valencia, Spain, where I was speaking at a conference. The morning after we arrived at our remote beachfront hotel, we thought we would take the bus into downtown Valencia. Since we had just arrived, I didn’t have any euros yet, so I went online and found an official Valencia Metro app where I could load money and use it to scan the bus fare.
Can you remember the first statistic you read that changed your perspective?
I’d like to think my kids experienced this the day I told them about a statistic I’m going to call “one out of twenty.” When they were young, I shared with them that about one out of twenty people on the planet call the United States home.
In sales, people talk about businesses falling into two main categories: hunters and farmers. Each approach has its strengths, but we’ve realized that we use a third, less-talked-about category: trappers.
You know the old story—the one where someone, usually with a tortured expression, says, “No matter what I say, don’t let me out of this room.” It’s a clear warning. They know what’s coming. And yet, when the full moon rises, the pleading begins.
We experienced a widespread power outage, a few months ago, in Seattle. For days, about 250,000 people didn’t have power, offering a valuable lesson in communication and expectation-setting among business owners.
Working with hundreds of potential clients over the years, I’ve learned that reaching an agreement requires both timing and confidence. When a conversation is going well, you must recognize it and lead the client to the next steps without over-explaining. Once the client says “yes”, it’s essential to take that answer and move forward rather than offer more reassurance when it isn’t needed. A specific example is references. Sure, we have a bunch of them – but we don’t offer them when the answer is already yes!
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At J Street Technology, we’ve been working with clients for over 20 years. In that time, we’ve developed some recommendations on the topic. We hope you find our checklist useful