Hi folks, I got a few responses to my message yesterday, so here’s a summarized version of my sales, delivery, and follow up strategies for you to take a look at. I’ll tell you up front that I follow this very poorly, but it is what I intend to do from the finding and meeting of a new client to the completion and follow up with said client.
Sales and Lead Generation: Our approach begins with identifying potential customers through various channels, including referrals from existing clients and targeted outreach. We emphasize the importance of understanding customer needs through problem and implication questions. This helps us tailor our solutions to address the most significant challenges they face, ensuring high value and satisfaction.
Agile Project Management: We adopt an agile approach, breaking down projects into manageable sprints. Each sprint focuses on delivering tangible business results, such as custom software to automate time-consuming tasks. This method not only enhances efficiency but also allows for continuous improvement based on customer feedback.
Pricing Strategy: Our pricing is based on perceived customer value rather than production cost, although of course that is considered internally to determine the type of solution we can deliver to solve the issue. We categorize tasks into sizes (Extra Small to Extra Extra Large) and price them accordingly. This ensures that our solutions are both affordable and impactful, addressing problems that range from minor annoyances to critical business needs. We put the categorized tasks based on size into a time box into which the customer can pay for and select which tasks to work on.
Development and Delivery: The development process involves detailed planning, requirement gathering, and iterative testing. We ensure that each sprint delivers user stories that provide significant business value. Our goal is to create solutions that streamline operations and reduce the time required for routine tasks. Delivery of valuable product updates are intended on a weekly basis.
Billing and Maintenance: Ideally, we would invoice customers for each sprint up front, before the work is performed. This approach (delivering very quickly – within one week) fosters trust and ensures that payments align with the progress made. Additionally, we offer ongoing maintenance and support to address any new requests or features, ensuring long-term satisfaction.
Customer Feedback: Soliciting customer feedback is crucial for continuous improvement. We follow up with clients at regular intervals (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, annually) to gather insights and ensure our solutions continue to meet their evolving needs. This feedback loop helps us refine our processes and deliver even better results.
In conclusion, the HCI Way™ combines agile project management with a customer-centric approach to deliver high-value Microsoft Access solutions. By focusing on the most impactful problems and continuously improving based on feedback, we help businesses achieve greater efficiency and success.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further information!