Reflection – visualization

Challenge      & selection

When I started my new job as a business developer at e-Durable two months ago, I had a basic understanding of the cable industry, but no real customer experience. My first client was the owner of a restaurant who had just sent us the termination letter because our competitors' offers were 68% cheaper AND he was upset by the fact that our cable company had decided to no longer support his ISDN telephones, forcing him to replace all his ISDN equipments with IP telephones and call center at his own expense.

I decided to use the Vizualisation Thinking technique to start engaging with the client, show him that our solution was best for him and that the low price offered by the competition didn’t include all the options that were included in our offer (he had to compare apples with apples!)

Application

With the help of the client, I started to draw on a sheet of paper the building, the offices, the existing telecommunications and computer equipments, the staff and restaurant customers. Since the client is not a computer professional and the telephony installation was done 10 years ago, it took us several attempts to get a complete and accurate picture of the installation.

Then I used another sheet (see Appendix) to explain our proposed new setup and the advantages of our solution (less maintenance work for him as many functionalities were migrated to our cloud; a more robust service which was a key risk for him: a break in the phone line means a loss in the reservations and therefore a loss of revenues).

He realized that our price included interesting options that the competitor did not offer.

During the visualization reflection exercise, we tried different options (signal strength tests to locate the IP phone bases, looking for ways to connect the new IP phones without having to rewire the building), in order to save the client time and money.

Back at the office, with the map in hand, my pre-sales team could give me the optimal configuration to prepare my commercial proposal.

Insight & Approach

What I learned from this exercise is that having the client and the service provider work together on a new solution around drawings, helps the communication, builds trust, limits mistakes, facilitates the search for innovative solutions, leading to the signing of the contract!

The Visualization Thinking technique also allowed me to quickly obtain the right information from my technicians, which allowed me to build the best possible business proposal.

I think the client appreciated this approach because he signed our proposal without discussing the price too much. He told us that he trusted us to have understood his needs and to have found an acceptable solution (we were also able to convince our management to give him a few months of free service). He also believed that there will be no hidden costs later on.

Olivier Collet 1/2

This exercise was done quickly because there were only two participants from the client. Engaging with larger companies would require me to divide users into groups to gather their needs using the same Vizualization Thinking technique.

Appendix

Olivier Collet 2/2

Le 14

2è étage

1er étage

RdC

PC David Bello

PC Mr Bello Senior

iphone David Bello

2 lignes: 1 pour le  restaurant + 1 pour Mr Bello senior

Central téléphonique

Nouveau routeur

Répondeur

Soft client

iphone de Mr Bello senior

Soft client

Backup (4G)

DECT

Soft client

Soft client


Reflection – visualization Challenge & selection When I started my new job as a business developer at e - Durable two months ago , I had a basic understanding of the cable industry , but no real customer experience . My first client was the owner of a restaurant who had just sent us the termination letter because our competitors ' offers were 68 % cheaper AND he was upset by the fact that our cable company had decided to no longer support his ISDN telephones , forcing him to replace all his ISDN equipments with IP telephones and call center at his own expense . I decided to use the Vizualisation Thinking technique to start engaging with the client , show him that our solution was best for him and that the low price offered by the competition did n’t include all the options that were included in our offer ( he had to compare apples with apples ! ) Application With the help of the client , I started to draw on a sheet of paper the building , the offices , the existing telecommunications and computer equipments , the staff and restaurant customers . Since the client is not a computer professional and the telephony installation was done 10 years ago , it took us several attempts to get a complete and accurate picture of the installation . Then I used another sheet ( see Appendix ) to explain our proposed new setup and the advantages of our solution ( less maintenance work for him as many functionalities were migrated to our cloud ; a more robust service which was a key risk for him : a break in the phone line means a loss in the reservations and therefore a loss of revenues ) . He realized that our price included interesting options that the competitor did not offer . During the visualization reflection exercise , we tried different options ( signal strength tests to locate the IP phone bases , looking for ways to connect the new IP phones without having to rewire the building ) , in order to save the client time and money . Back at the office , with the map in hand , my pre - sales team could give me the optimal configuration to prepare my commercial proposal . Insight & Approach What I learned from this exercise is that having the client and the service provider work together on a new solution around drawings , helps the communication , builds trust , limits mistakes , facilitates the search for innovative solutions , leading to the signing of the contract ! The Visualization Thinking technique also allowed me to quickly obtain the right information from my technicians , which allowed me to build the best possible business proposal . I think the client appreciated this approach because he signed our proposal without discussing the price too much . He told us that he trusted us to have understood his needs and to have found an acceptable solution ( we were also able to convince our management to give him a few months of free service ) . He also believed that there will be no hidden costs later on . Olivier Collet 1/2 This exercise was done quickly because there were only two participants from the client . Engaging with larger companies would require me to divide users into groups to gather their needs using the same Vizualization Thinking technique . Appendix Olivier Collet 2/2 Le 14 2è étage 1er étage RdC PC David Bello PC Mr Bello Senior iphone David Bello 2 lignes : 1 pour le restaurant + 1 pour Mr Bello senior Central téléphonique Nouveau routeur Répondeur Soft client iphone de Mr Bello senior Soft client Backup ( 4 G ) DECT Soft client Soft client