This month, Andrea Dunathan was the featured guest on the ExitReadiness© PODCAST produced by the folks at Ennis Legacy Partners. It was a far ranging conversation about how business owners can use technology to improve their marketing, sales, and delivery engines. During that discussion, she emphasized and expounded on several key points:
- Before buying any piece of technology or software, business owners should define their needs carefully before looking for a specific solution and be aware that there will be tradeoffs with any packaged software.
- During the evaluation and selection process, it is critical not to get sidetracked by “shiny objects,” so defining the company’s needs first can’t be overemphasized, nor can getting the right stakeholders at the table. Given how quickly business and technology change, it’s not realistic to think you are going to find a solution that will be in place for the next 10 years, so pick a tool that supports your operations/growth for the next two.
- To ensure successful adoption, business owners must plan, plan, plan. This includes planning for: the transfer of any existing data, how/if integrations with current systems will occur, and the training of staff on the new tool and how they will be held accountable for using it.
For further context and explanation, we encourage you to check out the 30-minute podcast and the entire ExitReadiness© series which offers a variety of valuable topics for business owners.
Of course, often what business owners need in this area is a trusted advisor who brings a special skill set—business acumen combined with technical expertise. This person takes the time to understand your business processes and can translate the needs of your business into the features of a particular software.