Murray Kenneth's Catalogue & e-Commerce Blog

A bluffer’s guide to incisive IT supplier evaluations

How to cut through geek-speak to unmask a supplier’s viability.

Ask the right question and a prospective technology supplier will reveal wonderfully useful information to help you in your evaluation. While merchant’s can feel intimidated by acronyms and jargon, you *can* talk tech about the product you're thinking about buying. The secret is to ask qualitative questions, then follow the scent of evasion and pride. That's because it's often not just about the technology.

Most importantly, reflect on the fact that the more critical the supplier's role in your operations, the greater the scrutiny you need to apply to the supplier itself -  the actual company. Products matter, software features matter, technology "stacks" sort of matter -- but they evolve at a pace few of us are likely to totally understand. Trust your supplier to *really* understand. Through evaluating its technology, you can lead your supplier to demonstrate whether the company itself deserves your trust and investment.

Here's an example:
A multi-channel merchant in search of a new ecommerce platform asked our evaluation of the search engine friendliness of a supplier's URL's or links. "They end in .asp. Is that OK?" Our question in reply, having nothing to do with SEO, sought to reveal the product's technology foundations: "Why not end URL's with .aspx?"  The intent of asking this is not to make a value judgement on the technology per se, but to give us an opening to explore the product's evolution and infer the company's health.

(We also answered the SEO question, too: Yes, .asp URL's can assist your SEO efforts providing they resemble an English sentence, containing relevant keywords separated by hyphens, and in a “readable” style.

Let's explore this example further: If a supplier's product still relies on Microsoft's old-style Active Server Pages, which a .asp file extension implies, then its notable that the product isn't yet upgraded to the .NET framework. That matters because .NET is integral to Microsoft's technology strategy -- released circa 2002.

Seven years ago? Ah, so there's a legacy flavor to this supplier's product! There may be a perfectly good explanation for the supplier holding back. Ask for it. Maybe they're not profitable enough to make the necessary investment. Or don't think they have to bother given past success and present busyness. Or they won't explain either way, being evasive. And maybe that's because the founding partners split, and the remaining partner lacks expertise in managing technical operations and so he outsources its "maintenance" to India, and the software hardly evolves anymore.

All very interesting. But what, if you don't know the difference between .asp and .aspx! How would you ever spot a vulnerability like that?

Even if tech acronyms are like Greek to you; still you can learn from this exchange. Ask leading questions, appealing to the supplier's aspirations for its own product. People love to talk about their ‘babies’. Ask for qualitative descriptions. Prompt the supplier to describe what they're proud of; they do have something to be proud of, yes? Pride's important.

Suppliers also know what's old and crusty about their product; give them a chance to describe all the great improvements they have planned. Ask why it matters to them. Sniff for evasion. Then read between the lines. Listen. Sometimes say nothing. Grunt and nod a bit.

Regardless of your comfort level with technology, remember that any question you ask will be more useful if it can’t be answered with a yes or a no. Your most effective questions will be those that can’t be answered with a definitive, factual response. Factual questions are less useful because we're assuming you don't know enough to evaluate the technical decision-making that drives a product's evolution. "What's the technology behind your product?" might serve to open the conversation, but does it mean anything to you if the answer is .php or .asp or .jsp?

Probably not. But you can learn to follow a scent. What sounds evasive? When do you hear pride? Explore this with multiple points of contact within the supplier's company. Trust where it leads you, and keep asking why. In the end, you'll be better informed when it comes to the biggest decision:  can you trust the company?

Cheat Sheet

Qualitative, leading questions you can ask a prospective supplier about its technology product without speaking geek:

1. Why is that important?
2. How does that help you serve me better?
3. What's exciting about that to you?
4. Which part of it are you proud of?
5. How would you improve / upgrade that if you could?
6. Why haven't you done it already?
9. When did you last do something like that?
7. What part draws the most support questions?
8. Why do you think that is?
10. What else?

About the authors:
Patrick Pitman, CEO of E-business Coach, implemented his first ecommerce site in 1996. Murray Kenneth has been a multi-channel merchant since 1998 and currently offers advice and investment to growing merchants. Both love to ask "Why?"

Article licensed for publication with Creative Commons “Attribution” terms.

First published in Catalogue & e-Business, June 2009

Building an effective team in a growing business

“Your team is your greatest asset, and its overall value to your business is much greater than the cumulative value of the individuals within it.”

The sentiment behind this well-worn maxim is one that is impossible to resist, and many owner-operators of growing catalogue businesses yearn for that “dream team” of sparky, committed and hard-working devotees that will propel their enterprise forward towards success.  But in the cruel light of a frantic Monday morning spent fire-fighting the latest unforeseen challenge, your “dream team” of multi-channel superstars can feel more like a distant pipe-dream than a realistic goal.

Just how does an under-funded, under-resourced and over-stretched catalogue entrepreneur maximise the opportunity to build the best team his business can afford? Salary and recruitment costs can be significant barriers when you’re mindful of ensuring that overheads don’t grow faster than turnover.  In a buoyant sector such as ours, suitably qualified and experienced individuals can be hard to find – particularly if you are based in the provinces.  On top of all this, the time required to plan, recruit and train a new member of your team is often very substantial indeed.  Mistakes can be costly!

Here are some practical, common sense considerations to take into account when considering an increase to the headcount in your business:

Plan for your needs
Business planning and budgeting exist for good reason.  A proper annual strategic review provides direction and prioritisation, giving you plenty of time to plan for the team you need to drive growth.  If you’ve tried to recruit in a tearing hurry, you’ll appreciate the huge benefits of such planning. 

Stay focussed on what you need and what you can afford – rather than what you would simply “like” to have.  A good reality-check is to share your plans with someone outside the day-to-day running of the business.  Use a trusted consultant or accountant.  If you have a board, use their knowledge and experience.  In the past I’ve created small “advisory groups” of shareholders, willing to contribute at a high level, three or four times a year, and free-of-charge too!  Such feedback and strategic input can provide tremendous comfort and encouragement for an owner-operator in what can often feel like a very isolated position at the helm of the business.

Consider all your options
My personal view is that small, growing, owner-managed businesses invariably need more good soldiers rather than more good generals.  We are engaged in a heavily process-driven working environment where the complex machinery of an effective multi-channel business needs to be well oiled and efficiently operated.  Achieve this, and you’ll have created more time for you to plan the route your business is going to take, and retain close control over operations and costs.

A simple skills audit of your existing team will help you think more creatively about the options available to you.  It’s quite likely that your planning will have identified a rather hybrid job spec, so some lateral thinking may be appropriate.  Internal re-organisation is often a great way to meet the changing needs of the business while at the same time enabling members of your team to progress their careers and broaden their personal skills set.  Furthermore, it will often mean that you can recruit for “safer” positions where you have retained experience (and training potential) within the organisation.  This is a great way to help build a “backbone” of key individuals who have broad experience across your organisation as well as a desire to progress their own careers in parallel with the success of the business.

Don’t forget to look externally too, particularly if you have identified a requirement for some specialised input.  Consultants can be great value for money when used effectively, bringing experience from other businesses and a quality of input that you are probably unable to afford on a full time basis.  For me, effective use of a consultant means regular but sparing input within the constraints of a tight remit.  Not only will you be filling a skill requirement on a short-term basis, but you will be adding value to the business by broadening your own knowledge and experience in the process.

Prepare for recruitment
When you’ve decided what you’re looking for, prepare a detailed written job specification in a format that clearly differentiates between the scope and responsibilities of the role, the skills or experience sought, and the personal characteristics of the ideal candidate.  Use your marketing skills to write a great job advert (making sure you don’t fall foul of any relevant legislation) and plan the interview process making sure you consider whether any practical testing is required.

The next challenge for the business on a budget is to find the most economical and effective means of reaching potential candidates.  This will, of course, depend on the type and level of position you are recruiting for but the traditional options include the local press, recruitment agencies, or generic online recruitment sites like fish4jobs.  Of course, our venerable trade publications, both offline and online, are likely to get your vacancy in front of suitable candidates who may not even be actively looking for a new role.  Many vacancies are taking advantage of social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to promote their vacancy.  One enterprising business owner recently offered a “bounty” for a referral that led to a high level appointment in his business!  It’s worth remembering to create a “situations vacant” page on your website or even send a speculative email to customers within a certain radius of your base.  After all, a candidate who already knows your brand is at an immediate advantage!

Interview effectively
OK – we all tend to get on a roll when we start talking about our business so it’s important to plan the interview well and stick to the schedule.  A first interview should probably take around 40-60 minutes – plenty of time for you to present a brief overview of the business and the role your seeking to fill, then ask lot’s of open, leading questions that will explore the candidates relevant skills and experience.  Ever since I interviewed a prospective buyer who didn’t know how to calculate a gross margin, I’ve always liked to ask a few technical questions relevant to the role in question.  Take notes or use a pre-prepared “score sheet” with spaces for certain comments – it makes it much easier to compare candidates later.  I like to take a photo (not always a popular move!) and interview with a colleague so that between us we can make sure nothing is missed and we remember later who we are talking about.

Make it a good induction
Once the decision is made, allow the time to make a really good plan of how your precious employee will spend their first days in your business.  It’s amazing how quickly a new member of the team can contribute in a positive way given the proper guidance.  Ensure you team makes them feel welcome and that they get the opportunity to spend some time in every department.  Be prompt to provide a contract and a company handbook, and spend time agreeing objectives and how progress against them will be measured.  Show them you care – careful nurturing and support will pay dividends in the long run!

Be prepared to take a risk
It’s all very well having a fantastic plan and an efficient, systematic process but any true entrepreneur should be prepared to rip it up and throw it out the window at the sniff of a good opportunity.  I’ve heard some of the great leaders in this business express their regrets at not hiring the right calibre of person sooner, but I’ve never heard anyone lament the fact that they employed a really good person too soon!  Recruiting someone with contrasting style, better earning power, and quite simply superior skills or experience to yourself can be a daunting prospect – but the sooner you come to terms with it the better for the long term future of your business!  Similarly, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the maverick candidate if he could bring some X-Factor to the business, or the rough diamond that just needs a little polishing in order to shine at the heart of your business for years to come.  You’ll never know until you try.

Get creative when growing your team:
•    Plan very well
•    Look hard within the business
•    Recruit creatively
•    Use external expertise to save cost
•    Build a solid backbone for your business

Recruit staff as cleverly as you recruit customers:
•    Use word of mouth
•    Work all the channels
•    Offer incentives for recommendations
•    Be targeted with advertising
•    Make your retention good

 

© Murray Kenneth 2009
First published in Catalogue & e-Business