In the book “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath, they tell the story of a jam sale conducted by gourmet food store. One day, the store put out six types of jam. The next, they put out 24 types of jam. The display of 24 jams attracts a lot more customers, but the display of only six types of jams actually sold ten times as much as the larger display. The Heath brothers blame this on decision paralysis. When we have too many choices, we choose nothing at all. Choosing from six was much easier than choosing from 24.
I’ve written about this concept of too many choices in the past, in the context of not sending an RFP to too many AMS vendors.
But one of the greatest values an experienced consultant (like me) can bring to an association is the ability to cull the list of choices down to a reasonable number, so that you can make a choice and not be affected by decision paralysis. After all, there are more than 40 vendors in the market providing membership management software. Obviously not all of them are going to be even a potentially good fit for your organization. A knowledgeable consultant can help ensure that you talk to only those vendors that would be the best potential fit for your organization.
Wes,
Well said. From the partner side I can tell you that we do not respond to RFP’s when the RFP is sent to more than 4-6 partners. Having a consultant use their industry knowledge to pare the list to 3-4 is a very prudent thing to do. Sending an RFQ is also helpful in narrowing the list of potential partners.
At NimbleUser we look at a number of factors in determining if we respond to an RFP including:
1. Fit. Is our solution a good fit for the association?
2. Is the timeline outlined in the RFP reasonable and can we meet it?
3. Is budget clearly stated and can we meet the budget with our solution?
4. Do we have a good chance of winning this RFP?
RFP’s from a knowledgeable consultant can really help us to answer the above questions as well as helping the association to make the correct decision.
-Sig
Sig, good thoughts. A question for you: What do you do if a potential client hasn’t or can’t clearly state a budget?
Wes, writing a blog telling people they need a consultant is not compelling. Kindly show us case studies where you have reduced costs for the association. Show us how you have displaced products. Convince us why your costs are justified. Thia blog doesn’t educate anyone, it is a commercial.
Kristin (which I assume is NOT your real name), if you find this blog doesn’t educate, why are you here?
As for case studies, see these: http://effectivedatabase.com/success-stories
Unlike your screenname, none of these stories are fictional.