I was reminded this week of a presentation I gave to the Sun Microsystems sales team when I first started the CIO gig back in 2004 (Thanks Leo). Seeing that I’m about to transition jobs from the demand-side to supply-side, I figured it would useful for me (and to share with my readers) my preferred engagement style (and annoyances) with IT suppliers.
Do’s
- Initially contact me through a trusted source
- Research my industry, company strategy, IT budget and environment and ME
- Articulate your product or service’s Unique Value Proposition – upfront
- Keep it real – be honest and transparent – build credibility and trust
- Teach me new concepts – make me a smarter business leader
- Provide a ‘ballpark price’ when asked
- Effectively ghost-write the business case for me – make it easy to get the investment approved internally
- Find the common ground and inject some humor and character
- Follow up all questions and actions within 24 hours
Don’ts
- Cold call me and ask for a meeting – CIO’s get 10+ calls a week like this and don’t have time to deal with them all
- Make initial contact with my boss or business unit peers
- Ask me to recite the IT strategy before I understand what you can deliver – keep the discussion relevant
- Try to sell me something I’ve just implemented – do that research
- Send me gimmicky gifts in the mail
- Say “I want a long-term partnership with you” – of course you’d like that
- Try to sell me something without a concise list of benefits and costs
- Tell me you have no reference sites/customers in my State (or Country in some cases)
- Keep calling me every 3 months when I asked you not to
Yes, some of this advice is tough, even arrogant some may say, however in my experience it’s the reality of many CIO’s.
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