How to ask the right technology questions for your business

Micro consulting is focused on answering questions for clients in the smallest possible time frame. The problem I often see in small businesses is not so much an inability/refusal to ask for help but more an inability to identify what they actually need help with.

Here are some suggestions to help you ask for what you need.

Define some boundaries

Unless you have an unlimited budget and the A-team of technology professionals at your disposal you are going to want to develop some boundaries to help in the decision making process.

Budget

One of the most limiting factors in any service provision is going to be budget so this is a good place to start. Technology is no longer an expensive unknown for business, with many of the tools you need for a basic operation being freely available online. It’s always hard to estimate to the dollar what a business should budget but for an absolute bare-bones technology solution that goes beyond freely available tools like Twitter, Facebook etc you really probably only need $5-10 per month. Of course the sky’s the limit but if you on a tight budget and DIY focused that’s what you can expect.

Timing

Time is another deciding factor that will also affect your budget so define some key dates with milestones/goals that you would like to meet. Keep your goals as simple as  possible to begin with so you don’t get bogged down in detail – if you need a blog up and running before your store opens next week then all you need to say is ‘Blog: Next week’.

While it’s important to not over think the process of defining boundaries it IS important to take note of any grey areas you aren’t sure about. For example, your geographic location might be an issue or every year a swarm of locusts takes out the phone lines in your town…The point is that if you are in any way uncertain about whether or not something will affect your business add it to your list – let your service provider figure out if it’s a problem or not.

Understand your needs

If you ask me ‘Can you build me a website’? I would say ‘Absolutely’ but this isn’t the right question to be asking. The question you should be asking me is ‘Do I need a website’? If you don’t know what your technology needs are, a good tactic is to get a list of all the technologies you don’t fully understand and ask your service provider if you need them. You might have been told by a friend that you absolutely must have a blog for your business to flourish or that if you aren’t on Facebook you will die a horrible death – make a list and fire away!

If you walk away from the conversation feeling more confused then you:

• a) probably don’t need that technology or
• b) probably don’t need that service provider or
• c) all of the above.

A key part to being a good technology consultant (or any consultant for that matter) is being able to effectively articulate to a client what they need. It’s like having a really good physiotherapist or doctor who will explain a procedure or problem you are having in language you can understand without compromising the quality of the explanation – it makes you feel like you are making the right decision and also confident that they are handling the procedure.

So in summary, first try and establish some boundaries that will help you narrow down what is feasible for you and your business. You don’t have to write giant specification documents or subject yourself to Gantt charts – just get a pen and paper and jot down any obvious/potential limitations you think you have. Secondly, try and identify your own technology needs by simply asking questions you don’t know the answers to. Yes this might sound stupidly obvious but the exercise is as much about determining if your consultant knows their stuff as it is about you gaining a better understanding of your requirements – it’s a win-win with the right person on the job.

If you still aren’t sure about how to proceed then ask me a question free of charge today.

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