Typically, the first thing I ask when meeting with a new prospective customer is, "Why are you looking for new business management software for your business?"

I am probably jusy overly curious, but given more than a few years in the industry, it still amazes me that people actually want to undertake the challenge. By now, most people have gone down this road before, some of them three or four times in their career. Those with multiple implementation projects in their background almost always have a horror story to tell. Still, they want to do it again.

Replacing a software system is one of the most disruptive activities any business can undertake. The challenge of this particular change and the multiple ways in which change can both positiviely and negatively impact the work place must be the first thing considered.

Taking the time to ask yourself why, is really counting the cost. I recommend asking five important questions.
1. Does your business have real PAIN attributable to your current business management software systems?
2. Will the software solution you are considering HELP your business?
3. Does your business and the consulting firm you are about to choose have the ability to develop TRUST based relationship?
4. Do you have the MONEY required to insure a successful implementation?
5. Is there a sense of URGENCY regarding this endeavor?

At Omega these five questions have come to be know as PHTMU:
P - PAIN
H - HELP
T - TRUST
M - MONEY
U - URGENCY

As you might imagine, it's possible for any business to have a signficant internal dialogue about each one of these questions. At first glance they appear simple, even easy to to answer with a yes/no response. However, when approached with sincerity and a genuine concern for the truth behind the yes/no - the discussion and the resulting conclusions are illuminating.

After a business has arrived at the place where the NEED for change has been agreed upon, it is also important to understand the possible MOTIVATIONS which are driving them to buy.

NEED is about common sense. MOTIVATION is about emotion. Motivation and emotion are not logical, but certainly powerful. Everyone experiences strong motivational emotions that obliterate common sense needs.
Roy Chitwood, president of MAX SACKS International is well know for articulating six buying motives:
1. Desire For Gain
2. Fear Of Loss
3. Comfort and Convenience
4. Security and Protection
5. Pride Of Ownership
6. Satisfaction Of Emotion

My own conclusion is that we buy what we want to buy. The reason we purchase anything, paying whatever the cash and personal time investments may require, is because we want to. I have seen hundreds of businesses who have an imperative collection of serious needs, but they do not buy. Why? Because they have no motivation. They do not want to!

Unless a business has invested the time and obvious cost to introspectively and honestly ask why, they should not move forward. They are wasting their time and the time of any consulting firm they engage with. No one can afford to spend time kicking the ERP tires. However, if they have asked why, and are ready to move forward, a consulting firm like Omega would be highly motivated to guide them through the remainder of the discovery process.

The very first thing to ask is - Why?

CBL>

Carl Britton Lewis
carl@omegagroup.com
www.omegagroup.com