“What software should I get to…”

As a technical person, do your customers sometimes expect you to:

• Know all the answers
• Have those answers right now
• Have a simple solution

- – even if it’s not your area of expertise?

People who are not technical assume you will know pretty much everything, including the answer to “what software should I use for _______?”

Beware of the risks of recommending software outside your expertise -

• It might not do what they need
• There might be a cheaper or better product
• They’ll probably expect you to help them when they have questions or problems

"You never said it would..."

Even a good recommendation can create expectations that lead
to calls to you or your staff for help, instruction, support and  complaints. You are “on the hook” because it came from you.

HERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE

Bring in a resource who focuses exclusively on software selection

• You will add value, without spending a lot of time doing it
• Your customer will get software that will make them happy
• You’ll avoid all the rest of the risks

Our expertise: Years of running software projects for small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries, defining software requirements, researching alternative solutions, and then communicating all the pluses and minuses in way that regular folks can understand, so they can make intelligent decisions.

What we do: We meet with the customer, listen, learn, and then do research, bringing back options to choose from. We do not sell any software, nor are we affiliated with any company.

Tell your customer that we specialize in finding the right software for their needs. They won’t get a generic recommendation or a “best guess.” Pass the buck to us.

Photo credit: Silversprite