A compelling event is a reason to act. It has a defined date and is a direct response to a business pressure. The compelling event (or lack of one) for a particular project or opportunity might just be most insightful piece of information about its likelihood of success.
Appreciating our customers compelling event gives us a powerful insight into their business motivation. In this often chaotic web industry the compelling event should influence…
1. How we work on projects
From our customers’ perspective, how important are the projects we are currently working on? Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask the following questions:
- Why is the customer participating in this project in the first place ? (Are they chasing an emerging market, cost cutting, reacting to rising competition, is it speculative?)
- What aspect of their business will this project directly impact?
- By what date do they need to act?
- What are the business consequences if this project is delayed?
- What are the business paybacks if this project is completed on time?
Solid answers to these questions will help you determine if this project will have a measurable impact on your customers’ business and when.
2. How we sell
With tighter timescales, budgets, quotas and resources than we have ever seen in this industry, on what deals should you concentrate your time? By trying to appreciate the compelling event you will put yourself in a stronger position to determine if a deal will happen at all and if it is worth winning for you.
Projects with a strong compelling event are more likely to be completed, successful and focused.
If you find that the projects you have or are trying to win lack a compelling event, this can actually be a great opportunity for you. It is an opportunity to work with your customer to define it. This is the stuff that powerful, successful partnerships are made of. Sometimes though, deals will have no compelling event or opportunity for you to help create one, and so you need to be comfortable leaving those deals behind.
Remember, a compelling event is a reason to act by a defined date. Too often in our industry projects drag on and on. I’m sure you have your own examples but I’ll bet that those that drag are exactly those that never had a compelling event in the first place.
I learned about the importance of compelling events (along with a lot of other things) while working with Donal Daly in The TAS group - his business blog is here.
4 Comments
Great post Walter. It’s not just the web app developments that can go on for indeterminate time-scales, it’s a cross-industry issue. Your point on putting yourself in the customers shoes is spot-on. All of us have been guilty of purely looking inwards at our own view of a piece of work, often overlooking the impacts of the project on the customer including what they actually want/need to get out of it. Compelling events give us the tools to do just that.
Posted by Barney at 1:47 pm on 17 November, 2009.
Great stuff! I can’t wait to use this new knowledge on my next project.
Posted by Jacob Bennett at 6:16 pm on 17 November, 2009.
Hi Walter, I am new to the idea of compelling event. Good post
Posted by john at 11:59 pm on 20 November, 2009.
+1
Posted by flomax at 12:40 am on 15 December, 2009.
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