How To Prepare Yourself Before Meeting With Your Technology Partner

  • By Ana Musa
  • 26-02-2019
  • Technology
technology partner
While planning, designing and developing mobile and web applications, we often meet with clients who don’t know what exactly they want in their project.
 
In the middle of a project, they come up with some new ideas which are hard to implement and often cost a lot more than the planned budget.
 
That's why, we need to, once and for all, collect and create checklist about what things clients (and also, tech companies) need to know before starting a project - it will be pleasant in both ways.
 
Preparation For Clients:

If you don't understand tech vocabulary - ask for an explanation
Here is a thing - your tech company is used to words like API, sprint report, GitHub, single page, or just talk about technology like Pimcore, Magento or even talk about programming languages like PHP, JavaScript, etc.
 
If you find yourself in a messy tech meeting and don’t understand a single word of it - that’s a problem of your tech company.
 
If you don’t ask for a detailed explanation of every word or what technology you tech company will use - that’s your problem.
 
Why?
 
Tech company doesn’t expect you to know everything about all the technologies they will use, but they are your partner, and they want you to be ready for every solution.
 
Prepare your questions about communication
 
questions about communication
 
Grab your notebook and write down all your questions; here is a list we think you should have:
1. How many developers I have on my team
2. With whom will I communicate the most
3. Are there marketing experts in your team
4. When can I add my comments regarding design or development
5. Do we communicate via emails, Skype or something else
 
With this set of questions, you will know who you need to reach out when having questions about your project. And trust me, you will have them a lot.
 
Know your KPIs
Your tech partner needs to know what you want to accomplish with your website or mobile application.
 
Is it to have a beautiful presentation site; is it to inform your readers about news from your news portal; is it to tell your shoppers about upcoming sales or is it to have as many users who request for your service offerings.
 
When tech company addresses your goals and KPI-s, they can advise you on the next step you need to do.
 
Market research is must-have
What’s to the point of building a software solution if you don’t know who your customer is and what your customer wants?
 
You need to gather information about industry and market environment, customer and competitors.
 
To help you our, here are some templates to do the research:
 
1. Research competitors, use a simple spreadsheet like this:

spreadsheet
 
2. Choose the right business model
Here is a canvas with nine elements to help you out
 
3. Know your audience
Here are a lot of ideas about how you can do it. Choose it wisely. 
 
Don’t think your job is finished after the first meeting
After your initial meeting is done, we advise you to collect all the tasks you need to provide to your tech company.
 
Please, do your homework after the initial meeting - it will speed up the process and in the end - you'll be more satisfied with the solution.
 
Here is a checklist to make it easier for you:
 
checklist

Checklist for a technology company

Plan a suggested agenda
Your client believes you - that's why you need to be a leader and set a good example of what questions needs to be answered during the initial meeting.
 
Create docs with fields and needed information and send it to your client before they show up in your offices or before the initial call.
 
With this docs, you and your client are sure about the outcome of your meeting.
 
Create a tech dictionary for your client
 
tech directory
 
I'm pretty sure you know how hard it is to understand every single tech word - think how it was for you while you were learning them.
 
To help your client, create a document with the most common phrases and words so they can understand what it means when you say:
 
Check it on the dev site. (not on the live site)
Or,
please provide content in the administration.
Or,
this content on this static page will be hardcoded.
 
Meet your client to the core of their heart
In your initial meeting, ask your client to explain their background, ask them how they come up with the name of the company; don't hesitate to ask questions about the financial structure or how many people they have in the team.
 
But also, your task is to know a little bit about your potential client - know their industry and prepare your ideas that will help them understand why they need web or mobile application or how it will affect their sales/marketing/or some other department.
 
Be clear with whom will your client communicate - get them their person
Meet your client with every single person they will have to communicate. Explain what questions they can call the sales manager, for what they call project/product manager and when will the marketing team communicate with them.
 
Create a document with a little introduction to your team. Include a photo or just a short biography about people who are dedicated to your client.
 
It can be as simple as this:

meet the team
 
Think about follow-up activities
Conclude together with your client on the main problems you addressed at this initial meeting. Explain milestones to your client so they can know when to expect work from your side.
 
Bonus tip: to be sure that your client has every document you have for them, send them follow up mail with all documents you prepared for them.
 
Include your initial offer, tech vocabulary notes from the meeting and also, document where they meet your team.
 
Here is a checklist you can use to collect all tips for preparation before meeting:
 
checklist for a tech company
 
That's all folks.
With these tips, the client will save money and technology company will have a satisfied client with whom will cooperate the next few years.

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Author

Ana Musa

I'm the marketing manager Factory.hr - a mobile & web agency that provides fresh design and high-performance applications people can't stop talking about.
 
I love to travel, good music and reading everything and anything connected with the new technologies. One of my biggest love is economy and I'm a proud ex-student of the Faculty of Economics in Osijek.

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