Presentation summary:

Selling creative solutions to clients

Were you unable to attend this CHIFOO program? CHIFOO member and IxDA Liaison Liz Bacon compiled this summary of the panel presentation.

• Justin Garrity is the creative director at Portland interactive agency Pop Art.
• Nicholas Rexing is involved in overseeing widespread change management initiatives at Tektronix.
• John Sherry conducts ethnographic research for Intel and serves as an advocate for user-centered design methodologies throughout the organization.

This panel discussion covered multiple topics in an organic way, guided by some questions from moderator and CHIFOO President Leo Frishberg as well as from the audience. Nicholas, himself a former salesman, spoke from a perspective of selling a major internal project at Tektronix that involved re-engineering the processes of Tek's sales organization and buying new tools to support them. Justin, with a varied design background, spoke from the perspective of selling and managing creative projects at design shop Pop Art. John, an ethnographer at heart, spoke from the perspective of selling ethnography as a strategic discipline within the large organizational structures of Intel as well as purchasing creative services for product development.

We learned from Nicholas about a sales pipeline model for describing the progressively-committed state of potential buyers as well as the phases a salesperson uses to maximize their return from potential buyers. The salesperson identifies Prospects; then Qualifies which potential buyers are serious; then Develops those buyers through education and other persuasive means; then Validates buyers by delivering the key value proposition; then Closes the sale; and finally Follows-up with the buyer.

Justin talked about how when you're selling creative solutions, the buyer often has a fear of being oversold. Collaboration is a key method to overcoming this resistance. You also need to get to the heart of what the client really needs, even if it's not what the client presently thinks they need. Scoping a "Discovery" phase helps to achieve such insight, especially since you can be paid for learning the client's true needs. NIcholas pointed out, however, that Tek ultimately hired one particular external firm because they were willing to get deeply involved in needs assessment prior to signing any contracts; this consultation showed an investment in the overall relationship that he valued highly.

Creative consultants might get involved in "organizational therapy" in their role as an external expert, although you should balance the need to expose larger issues with a concern for keeping project momentum up. Sometimes, consultants do need to be able to walk away from projects. Providing a meaningful deliverable as output from the Discovery phase, especially if the project does not continue thereafter, is an important best practice.

John spoke about the importance of finding the right people who are willing to be catalysts for change. Managing executive sponsorship can be crucial for the success of a given project, everybody agreed. Occasionally, you'll find that the executive sponsor is different than the immediate client champion. Nevertheless, Justin pointed out, you have a major obligation to make your client champion be successful; usually, the rest of their organization will follow suit, even if various individuals will have their own agendas.

It's important that creative processes and ideas are made to resonate with clients. Artifacts which are embodied in the form of stories and visualizations tend to make the greatest impact on people, simply due to our human nature. Showing videos of usability tests or collaborating with clients to perform ethnographic research, for example, can unite consultant and client in a deeper shared understanding of project & product goals. Sometimes, focusing on process alone may backfire because it seems that usability or user experience are still in the "early adopter" phase of a universal lifecycle; if HCI processes are already known to clients, they may in fact be misunderstood or come with certain biases that will need to be overcome.

The panel talk closed with mention of some key sales tools that might apply to creative-selling situations. These included being consultative and collaborative, using a phase-gate project structure to provide clients with decision and control points, understanding the client's decision model, and developing empathy.

Thank you to our three panelists for an engaging evening of discussion!