Thank you for making 2009 an awesome and prosperous year for us.

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1. Goals for 2009

1. Stay on the record. Conversing in a Wave and reading a wave are distinctly different experiences. Unlike email, it can be difficult to pick up an archived Wave and understand the attitudes and intentions that were communicated during the live conversation. Spoken conversations have a push-and-pull conversational style that is difficult to maintain in a written conversation. This is not a grown-up instant messenger or Campfire room, it’s a completely new conversational paradigm.
2. Wave blips should be focused. Since the conversation happens in real time, it is easy to abandon your comment mid-thought. Don’t. In spoken conversation, we would stop speaking and let the other person react. In Wave, we need to be careful that we take the time to finish our thoughts through to completion.
3. Don’t be afraid to explore and elaborate on the topic in your current blip. It’s ok to be extra verbose when exploring an idea. But, be careful to stay on topic. Going too deeply into thought is better than going off topic.
4. Know when to start a new Wave. The Wave is about the content in the discussion, not about the people involved in the discussion. When you have a new topic, start a new wave. They should be considered cheap and disposable. Shorter topic waves are easier to digest than long waves which span multiple topics.
5. Watch the “fluff.” When having spoken conversations, conversational “fluff” just goes in one ear and out the other. These statements don’t drift away in Wave.
6. Only invite the minimum necessary parties. It’s easier to get a good conversation going with 2 or 3 people and then bring in others as necessary. Otherwise the topic is not solidified enough and the Wave loses focus.
7. Not all Waves are permanent. Sometimes the process of conversing is enough. There isn’t always a document to save and come back to later. Wave is a powerful brainstorming tool, where the content created isn’t as important as the process you took to create it.
8. Reply where appropriate. Where your reply lives can be as important as what your reply says.
9. Prune and Summarize. Take a few moments to summarize the conversation into a more concise blip, and remove the conversation it took to get there. Once the content has been established, rework it to be as clear and concise as possible.
10. Be Flexible. Wave is a brand new protocol with myriad possibilities. Google’s Wave client is the first iteration to try and use it. There will be other conventions and courtesies emerging so don’t get too comfortable in your ways, yet!

Do you have additional tips or tricks you have learned since Wave launched? Comment them.

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Last year we started our transition from a consulting company into a product company, culminating in the release of our flagship product Simpli5 in September.  We also launched a free web service for generating barcodes called Barcodes4.me.  Our development framework Sandstone continued to evolve and grow stronger.  We moved completely to GIT.

2009 brings a new product, an online university where you can signup as a teacher and get paid when students take your class.  Most importantly, 2009 will focus on getting more eyes looking at us and more hands on our products.

Here are a few of our goals for 2009

Move to SCRUM - We’ve been using our own agile philosophies and home brewed techniques the past couple years.  While it’s worked great, we’re starting to feel some growing pains.  We have hired Jon Stahl at LeanDog to help us kick start this transition right away.

Behavior Driven Development – This has been on the back burner for far too long. We need to develop and utilize BDD functionality into our development framework, Sandstone.

Separation of Powers – We spent most of last year designing products and building code.  To get these products into the hands of our customers, we need to change hats.  In late January, Dave will take over development and will be hiring help as needed.  I will be dropping my User Interface Development hat and doing User Experience research and business building full time.

Get Involved in the Community -  I’m looking forward to joining more meetup groups, attending social events and conferences this year.

Speak More Often – I started off 2009 by attending and speaking at codemash.  I have a number of additional speaking engagements in the pipeline, and looking for more.

Strategic Partnerships – I believe small businesses thrive by working together.  I would like to cultivate formal working relationships with more of the people in northern Ohio.

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However, our profitability has started to plateau this year and we need to make some changes to continue growth.

Making money as a consultant is a pretty straight-forward concept. You trade hours for dollars. When you become more in-demand, you raise your prices. However, you do hit a point where you do not have any more time available, and raising your prices any further would turn some of your clients away. The natural response to this is to employ more people, but that is not without its own problems.

There are many designers and developers who are competent as a jack of all trades. For example, a front end person who does design, usability, front-end coding, javascript and basic SQL knowledge. This is very common in design agencies as it’s an economical approach. This produces a good service to the client, although with a painfully average product/service.

The very best designers are not employed. They can make a great living as an independent consultant utilizing the small, but well refined, skill set they have. We have a network of available consultants that we use for these specialized tasks. I work with the same consultants day in and out, so I have a good relationship with them. These independent consultants enjoy the freedom they have, but still have a stable amount of work through their relationships with people like us.

If you are a freelance developer/designers/database-administrator looking to develop a relationship with us, I want to hear from you.

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Our most recent project in the industry, Embroidery-Academy.com has perfectly proven the values of iterative development.

The Vision

Bonnie, the entrepreneurial brains behind the project rightfully had very high expectations and a detailed vision. The idea was an online training center where students could enroll in a course to learn a skill or sew a project. The students would have access to a classroom where they could interact with other students and the professor to ask questions, pose problems and help each other out.

The business process behind the project is simple and fundamentally solid.

Designing the Application

The idea is simple, but the application could quickly get out of hand. There are so many things we could build to make this a slick and cool training center. In fact, we investigated many technical paths to accomplish the project.

We looked at extending Adobe Connect to make a real-time classroom for training. Eventually this was shot down for a fundamental flaw: realtime classrooms. Forcing professors and students to take a class at a scheduled time was inconvenient.

Online training isn’t a new concept, so rather than reinvent the wheel we looked at existing 3rd party solutions. There were a number of acceptable solutions that would get the job done for her, but we had one major concern about them: Feature bloat. These products were chocked full of features that were only good for one thing, getting in the way.

The Solution

In the end we decided a custom application was warranted. An application that focused on the fundamentals. One that only did what was absolutely necessary and then let it grow and evolve over time.

We started simple. Courses were like books. They had chapters and pages. Each book/chapter had an author that would earn a commission on each student paying for the course. Each page of the course should allow for students to interact and ask questions.

We built something fundamental, but real. It was working and Bonnie could play with it. Of course it wasn’t finished, but by playing with real software we could get a feel for what was missing. In the end we embellished on a few things:

• Starting and ending dates
• Multiple Professors on a course
• File attachments for downloadable supplements
• Some administrative reporting tools
• amongst others…

In the end we had a nice clean application which completely fulfilled her business process while remaining simple enough for anyone to use. Maintenance takes hours not weeks. New features can be implemented quickly. We can change faster than any of her competitors to move in new directions.

We’ve watched over the past months while her business starts to grow and while copycats start to build their own classrooms bloated with features. Someday people will learn that to “one-up” your competition you should intentionally do less than they do.

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I boast about Cox for 3 reasons.

1. They provide an unbelievably reliable phone and internet service.
2. They featured us on TV. Sure it was local access… but still, fame is fame… Just ask Darlene, our host with a diva-complex.
3. They treated us to an unimaginable basketball experience last night. (Yes, our loyalty can be bought.)

The Lap of Luxury

Q: Where else can you get a private suite, all you can eat buffet (with the best brownies you’ve ever tasted), free beer, and seats where the players literally jump over you to save a ball heading O.B.?

A: The Mercedes-Benz Platinum Suite at Quicken Loans Arena with court-side seats. Ok, ok… the beer wasn’t free, it was included with the price of the suite… but to us it was still free beer.

Thank you Katie, Victor, Darlene, Missy, Chad and the rest of Cox Business Services for a great evening. Our business would not be where we are today with out you and your fabulous service. I cannot wait to return the sentiment.

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Based on that conclusion, we developed several product offerings specifically tailored to the needs of small businesses. I set out to market these, and quickly developed a respectable pipeline of prospects and working business.

This seems too easy…

One prospect was progressing nicely. Initial meetings had revealed that our product met their needs, and so I prepared and delivered a formal proposal. Our quote covered developing their corporate branding and a simple brochure-ware website, and totaled just under $8,000.00.

The owner agreed that, even with the most conservative of estimates, the work we would be doing for him would ultimately increase his sales by thousands of dollars every month.

He liked our product. He recognized its value. On paper, the project would pay for itself in just a few months. But he would not enter the contract. The deal nearly died because I overlooked a key aspect of his business.

Financially Handicapped

His gross monthly sales only averaged $15,000.00. I was asking him to spend better than half of his entire month’s revenue on that project. It wasn’t a question of whether he wanted our product; the question was how he could possibly pay his other bills if he spent the money on our proposal. I had quoted the job based on what was best for our company, rather than what was best for his. He was financially handicapped, and our solution was at the top of a flight of stairs.

This client’s predicament forced me to re-think how we approach all of our small business prospects. I had several courses of action from which to choose. One would have been to walk away from the deal. Or, I could have slashed my prices to the bare bones and hoped that rumors of my price-slashing, charitable ways would not get out to other prospects.

In the end, our solution was dirt-simple. We went against our industry’s paradigm regarding billing. Web developers like to get paid in full by the time the website product goes online. This ensures that we don’t waste billable hours creating a website for a client, only to have him stiff us on the payment. But in this case, we took a gamble and offered it to the prospect as a monthly rental.

That was all it took. He signed the contract, and I walked out of his office with a check in hand for a deposit and first month’s rental payment.

Our developers freaked at the idea. The notion of “renting” a website to a customer was extremely uncomfortable for them because the customer could possibly go out of business before the development cost has been paid off.

After considering the options, I decided that if operating within our comfort zone is causing us to miss out on new business, it’s time to rethink just how important our comfort really is. Sometimes it’s not a question of “can he pay?” but rather, “can I make it so he can pay?” If your client is financially handicapped, you have to make your product “financially handicapped-accessible.”

Building the ramp

Selling to small businesses can be extremely lucrative when done correctly. The important point to remember is that they typically work within much more constricting financial circumstances than larger companies. They rarely have much in liquid cash in the bank, and their credit is often limited (especially if they have less than two years business history).

Car companies learned this lesson decades ago. If you want to sell a $40,000.00 sedan to a man who only makes $50,000.00 a year, you’d better come up with some way for him to break the cost up into manageable bites.

Regardless of what product or service you provide, you’ll be amazed at how much more you sell when you make your fees more digestible by your customers. Consider these following ideas to make your company more accessible to small business:

• Use a third party lender to enable you to lease high-ticket tangible goods to your client
• Explore the option of allowing your customer pay part or all of his bill through barter
• Offer payment plans or extended terms
• Give customers “in-store credits” they can apply to their bill in exchange for qualified leads and referrals
• Offer a bare-bones, entry-level-priced product or service in addition to your normal line-up

Our blog here at DI often preaches the necessity of making your website accessible and easy to use. I propose you do the same with the rest of your business. It usually means more work for the bookkeeper, but he’ll quickly stop his complaining when he’s recording ever-higher sales figures.

Now go build that ramp…

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The datacenter has had incredibly reliable servers, great pricing and good customer service.

I highly recommend checking them out for your Dedicated Hosting needs.

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Qualify Your Leads

Qualifying leads is a difficult task. The first thing we do is consider the following fundamental factors:

• A positive and responsive personality.
• Sufficient capital for the project.
• Realistic time-frames.
• An interest in being involved in the process.

These factors are critical to a successful and smooth project.

Next, we call back any unqualified leads, thank them for the inquiry, and let them know that we are not right for their project. Our polite, but up-front manner is always appreciated.

Make Contact

When it is time to make contact, phone calls are more personal. Resist the urge to respond by email. If this is a referral, ask the referring party to warm them up with a call first.

Introduce yourself, but restrain yourself from discussing the project right away. You will quickly learn a lot about the personality of the person you are calling.

• Are they fluffy and chatty?
• Are they straight to the point?
• Are they being genuine or putting on a false front?

It is important to understand the person you are talking to you. You want to be professional, friendly and right to the point… but, you also want to respect their time. Remember, spending too much time chatting with them will be a waste of their time, but not spending enough time with them can be even more damaging.

The goal of this phone call is to get them thinking about you, and to setup an appointment to meet with them. If they are local, insist that they come to your office. This shows them that you are a professional organization, and that you are respecting the time of your existing clients by not spending time on the road. Your clients will be excited about the project, and most times will not mind coming to you.

If your client is out of town, you will need to set up an initial phone call to discuss the project, and you travel to them when the project gets moving.

The First Meeting

When you arrive, first impressions matter. Shake their hand, look them in the eye, and smile. You do not want to be false, people see through that. Be friendly, courteous, and enjoy yourself. Forget flattery, it doesn’t work.

Do not overdress. Be professionally casual. Your briefcase should be nice, but not expensive. Your clients notice these things and may think you are overpriced before you ever give them a quote.

I always bring out a nice fountain pen that a client gave me when we first sit down. It’s a great ice-breaker and immediately shows that your clients love you.

Just shut up and listen

When it is time to talk about the project, you ask the questions.

• Tell me about your business?
• What’s the goal of the project? (Sales, Branding, Advertising…)
• If applicable, how well does your existing system accomplish this goal?
• What’s your biggest pain?

The last question: “What’s your biggest pain?” is the key question. Nothing makes your service more appealing than the alleviation of pain. Resist the urge to respond to these questions, but do remember them… you will use timing to your advantage later.

At this point, I should mention my philosophy on note-taking during a sales pitch. It is important to have a notebook with you to demonstrate a concept or idea to the client visually, but do not write down answers to questions, or other comments your client tells you. If you have a genuine interest in the client (which you should) then you will remember these details. Write them down after you leave.

At this point, you should just be listening. There is no reason to butt-in, show your product or make recommendations just yet. You will get your turn, when their done… I promise.

It’s your turn!

Once you have a good idea of what they need, it’s your turn to present a solution. Do not present a specific solution, and definitely don’t come in with a pre-prepared solution. If you show up, listen to them, and then plop down a project overview sheet you typed up prior, you’re in trouble. There is no way you can come up with the formal solution before listening to your client, and working out the details on your own time. What you can do, is take the benefits that you have acquired while listening to them, and apply those to generic elements of your product.

“It sounds like your current manual process for processing phone orders is rather painful.”

“Our point-of-sale interface will alleviate these problems by automating order entry into the shipping system.”

Example Conversation:

You have not given a specific answer to their problem, but have associated a personalized benefit with a feature of your product. You can guarantee that the new point-of-sale software will ease their pain, but you don’t need to go into a long-winded description of how.

You want them to visualize their work day being more productive, and your product actually bringing joy back into their lives. If you alleviate their biggest pains with simple solutions that they understand, the sale will happen on it’s own. You want them to remember the feeling of a painless work day.

At this point, explain to them that you will put a formal proposal together, and get back to them in 2 days. In my experience, calling in 2 days builds some excitement and anticipation that you can’t get with only one day. Whatever you do, don’t call late… Punctuality is important.

When you get back to the office, put the proposal together immediately. While it’s all fresh in your mind, get it down on paper formally. You can retouch it later to round off the rough edges.

When it is time to call them, spend a few minutes on the phone just chatting again so they remember who you are and your personality. Refresh them of your benefits and how it alleviates specific pains. Tell them that you have a formal solution put together in detail, and are emailing it to them right away. In the case of a project that’s too large to fit on a quick proposal, I suggest getting a few paid hours to put a formal requirement document together. More about that in a later post.

Pricing

Do not be ashamed of your price. They know they are going to pay, and by this time, they know you are right for the job. Price is always an issue, but if you come out cheaper than your competition, you may lose credibility.

Ending Strong

No matter what happens, end your conversation with a “Yes.” It doesn’t have to be a “yes” for the deal itself, but just a “yes” in general. Always, ALWAYS, leave on a positive note.

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