Proof of concept best practice #2: The POC must have a client-side business and technical sponsor
November 12, 2013 § 2 Comments
In the introductory post for this series, I present a list of POC suggestions that I’ve learned – too often the hard way. Next up, I describe why it’s so important to have client-side sponsorship.
I’ve already written about why a POC should only happen when there’s an active sales opportunity. Assuming that there’s indeed a live deal, there are still many ways for things to go off the rails. First, every substantial technology sale I’ve ever been involved in was impacted by client-side politics. After all, any significant new systems, processes, or technologies will affect large numbers of people. Some will be strengthened by the purchase, and others will be weakened. These machinations are often invisible to the sales team, but trust me: there are definite winners and losers, your client’s employees know this, and this impacts how every one of them will behave regarding your POC.
This means that there’s a very good chance that some individuals will be rooting for your POC to fail. Resistance may be passive, such as taking a leisurely three days to respond to your emails and calls, or giving you wrong or incomplete information. You might also encounter active opposition, even to the point of deliberate sabotage of your POC.
Given that every POC is a potential minefield, you need at least two trusted guides to help you get through safely. These sponsors should represent both the technical and business side of your prospect. It’s a huge red flag if your client won’t assign anyone, or if they assign people who don’t seem to have the respect of their colleagues.
Good advocates will help remove barriers to your success. They know the landscape far better than you do, and they can head off the active damage to your POC – often without you even knowing that they were acting as your guardian angel. In particular, a technical benefactor will quickly get you access to the resources you need – which is helpful, since time is of the essence on a POC. And a business champion will be intimately involved in drafting up the rules and goals of the POC.
As a sales engineer, you need to speak up – to your sales rep – if you determine that your sponsors are weak, disinterested, or not giving you the resources you need, because guess who will get blamed if the POC fails?
If you’re interested in POCs and all things related to sales engineering, check out my posts on the habits of the most effective sales engineers.
rdschneider 
[…] The POC must have a client-side business and technical sponsor. Otherwise, nothing will come of your hard work. […]
[…] The POC must have a client-side business and technical sponsor […]