I’ve been writing about the grey area (here). This is where buyers live who are in transition, who are open to a different way of doing things, perhaps your way. But these buyers know that nothing is perfect and they have a lot of questions that must be answered before they make a change.
The questions below are the kind that business technology buyers are asking themselves. One of the ways that companies can create value for technology buyers is by helping them to answer these questions.
Internal risks – Questions about the risks inside the buyer’s company
- Can I get the project approved?
- Will the team support this project?
- Can I get a team to develop/implement (internal or external) the project?
- Will the users adopt what we produce? How much will the migration cost?
- Is this a good financial investment? How do I make the business case for this project?
Technology risks – Questions about the viability of the underlying technology
- Will the technology work?
- Who else is using this technology?
- What problems have they had? How did they resolve them?
- Will it be easy to support?
- How will integrate this technology with everything else we have? What integration problems should we expect?
- Will it work long term? Or will I have to tear it out in two years?
Vendor risks – Questions the buyer has about any vendor, not just you
- Will they do what they say they will?
- Will they be easy to work with?
- Will they be in business long enough to finish and support the project? Long enough to continue improving the product?
- Will their staff turnover be low?
- Will the company be sold to someone who doesn’t care about us?
External risks – Questions about the world outside the buyer’s company
- Am I adopting the right standards?
- Will the economy continue in the direction I think it’s going to?
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