IN EVERY COMPANY there are professionals who recognize the critical need to improve the organization's core competency in project management. As insightful as these individuals may be, all too often, limited budget or authority prevent them from taking the necessary steps to implement a comprehensive project management campaign. When attempts to focus management's attention on the benefits of project management seem to fall on deaf ears, able professionals often find themselves in a frustrating and untenable position. Here are a few suggestions to help you make your case.
To persuade management that implementation of the project management process is worth the time and investment, you may need to play an unfamiliar role: that of the salesman. However, I am not advocating the traditional role of the fellow with the shine on the shoes and a smile on his face. Rather you need to be the strategist, preparing your goods and knowing your buyers in order to make the strongest possible presentation.
For many of you the notion of becoming a salesperson may be somewhat disconcerting or downright uncomfortable. Yet, to be truly successful in making an appropriate case for the implementation of project management principles, you must be prepared to present information in a way that results in the decision you want.
Once you have decided to step forward with a proposal for project management assistance, there are a handful of basic components to the sales process—or the “response engineering” job, for those of you who are totally uncomfortable with a sales role. Put simply they are: identify your target audience, know your customer, identify requirements, match a solution and close the deal.
Identify Your Target Audience. A number of factors must be considered in the extremely important step of targeting the right audience when presenting your case. First of all, establish who the ultimate decision-maker is. Usually this is the senior manager with both the budget and authority to approve a project management intervention, whose sponsorship is most critical for the success or failure of the implementation. Secondly, identify others who may be impacted by this initiative. They can influence your sales effort negatively or positively, so make them part of the campaign. If they are afraid of change, show them that you wish to make them agents of improvement instead. Bring them into the fold.
Potential candidates include your management chain (your boss, your boss’ boss, etc.), the decision-maker's other direct reports, existing project or program management groups, company productivity or quality managers, human resource or training managers. Some may require individually tailored presentations prior to engaging the decision-maker.
Know Your Customer. Successful salespeople know they must create a justification for their product or service, often referred to in sales as the selling proposition. With my background, I prefer to think of it as a value proposition. This proposition is designed to directly address customer need and position your solution as a viable alternative to meet this need. Creating this justification requires intimate knowledge of the customer (your management team) and their business (your company).
Although knowing your management and company may seem simple, there are other factors to consider. Understanding these factors is integral to the type of solution you sell later on in the process and will facilitate complete customer/management satisfaction in the end. Below are key factors important for positioning a project management implementation.
Business Conditions. Business conditions may not be the ultimate factor in determining the core of the selling proposition but they certainly will influence the final selling strategy. Some key issues to consider in this category are:
Status of the local or global economy: Is the economy shrinking, leveled off or growing?
Financial and growth status of the industry: Is the industry showing strong results as a market sector, and what does the future demand look like?
Status of competition: What is the competition doing? Is your company appropriately positioned for the future vis-a-vis your main competitors?
Regulatory environment: Are there any potential regulatory issues which are or may become relevant?
Consumer confidence: What mood are consumers in? Will their attitude impact your or your customer's business?
Evaluate Company Attributes. This category is not the core of your selling proposition; however, these variables should be taken into account in developing the solution you will propose to your senior management decision-maker. Some items to consider are:
Company size and maturity of industry: How large is the company? Does it have the resources to devote to a comprehensive process implementation program? Does the industry support process improvement as a way of doing business?
Financial condition of the firm: What do the numbers look like?
Geographic diversity of the firm's operations: In what regions is the company operating? Will project management need to be implemented consistently across different geographies and cultures?
Know Your Company's Orientation. Every organization tends to have a very distinct personality and business orientation. Understanding this orientation creates the foundation for any selling proposition. This will be the core of your approach and your proposed solution. We have found that companies are oriented in one of five ways, and think of them as Humanists, Auditors, Behaviorists, Technologists and Certifiers.
Humanists focus on consistent employee policies and procedures tailored to individual needs and individual growth to achieve organizational productivity. They believe employees are their most important asset.
Auditors are “bottom-liners” who want stockholder and Wall Street happiness. They build their organizations on rules and systems for resource management, to maintain financial control.
Behaviorists, like Auditors, also build guidelines into their systems, and are inclined to talk about the need for employees to adhere to corporate values. Also interested in control, they are motivated to establish systems that create consistency across the entire enterprise.
Technologists look to the future and structure their organizations to be ready for this future. Always seeking a competitive advantage and edge, this kind of organization puts much emphasis on customer satisfaction, but with focus on the customer's changing needs.
Like Technologists, Certifiers want a competitive advantage, but concentrate on excellence. This corporate group embraces initiatives like TQM and external certifications like ISO 9000.
Companies may fit into more than one category. However, we have found that firms have a natural orientation. Before you formulate your selling proposition, you need to identify what your management values before you can present a winning solution.
Successful salespeople know they must create a justification for their product or service, often referred to in sales as the selling proposition. I prefer to think of it as a value proposition.
Factor In Individual Styles. Clearly company attributes and orientation can be influenced by individual management styles. Some managers prefer a message that provides the “big” picture, while others prefer abundant detail. Some decision-makers are risk takers, while others are risk averse. Some managers have a hard-hitting, bottom-line orientation, while others appreciate a more people-oriented approach. In any case, you must account for these individual styles and tailor your approach to provide the most effective presentation for project management process improvement.
Identify Requirements/Match a Solution. Examples of some possible project management solutions are discrete training courses combined with mentoring; a centralized program management function with a specific focus on resource management and better management of a multiproject portfolio; a core competency development program through training; and mission-critical project management interventions.
The Close. Ask for the order. If your decision-maker doesn't want to buy your entire proposal, ask what he or she would be willing to consider. Make the first sale, then build on your success. If they say no, find out what their objections are. They will most likely be related to one of the factors discussed above. Take their feedback and recraft your proposition so that it addresses the objection in a positive way. Stay focused, stay enthusiastic, stay patient, remain calm. Don't take it personally if you aren't able to close. Good salespeople must turn rejection into opportunity to sell again.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT WORKS! You know it, I know it. Now educate your decision-maker so that he or she knows it. ∎