Working with An Out-Of-Town Consultant FAQ

We’ve always thought so, and we still do, all things being equal.  However, over time, things have become less and less equal.

In the case of system change, the key to a successful system engagement  is our cumulative experience in understanding a client's needs and capturing them in a comprehensive Request For Proposal.  It is beneficial —  but not necessary —  to physically visit a client to be able to do so.  And although it helps if we visit the client at the beginning, but even then, once that's done, we don't have to physically be at the client's premises for the consulting process to proceed and result satisfactorily.

The value the consultant brings to the table, whether the consultant is from out of town or not, is not necessarily whether that consultant knows your company or even your slice of your industry particularly well. In our case, we've learned hundreds of such slices, and we have significant insights into how many industries (and distribution and supply chains) work. Ultimately, our worth rests on our ability to bring this comprehensive perspective to bear on your on your situation.

Remember, systems don't know who's using them, nor in what industries they're being used. Technology is nothing but a tool and a significant issue in today's economy is that there are so many tools. What is important that the consultant understand how companies work, how to help you articulate appropriate strategic objectives, how to use technological tools to attain those objectives, and how to do so in a time-efficient and cost-effective non-disruptive manner that yields the most optimum short and long-term results.  Whether the consultant is local or not — as long as it's the right consultant —  largely becomes immaterial.

That’s always an option. Sometimes it's desirable and sometimes it’s necessary.

But equally or even far more important is the question, do we ever get to know each other? Physically meeting a client who reveals little of himself or herself is better than nothing, but it may not be enough. Over the years, we've established superb relationships purely over the phone, sharing perspectives and opinions, even some that over the years have turned into true friendships.

Retaining a consultant necessarily creates a relationship of trust, of openness and frankness. It’s up to us to go first and so the material on this site deliberately reveals what you should know about us: Our experience and areas of competence; our ethics and values; our perspective and methodology. It you met us and didn’t find that out, how valuable would our getting together really be?

Sometimes, it makes more sense for us to get started over the telephone and then have us spend some time on your behalf before meeting face-to-face to discuss our findings and lists of issues that warrant further exploration, plan next steps, etc. At other times, the situation requires that we get together to meet key players, establish personal relationships, view premises and plans, etc. It’s largely a function of your situation, your preferences, your priorities, and your budget.  In this economic environment, it’s prudent to evaluate trading travel time and airfare for more working time from afar.

The first step in the Teleconvergence process is to ignore market alternatives while we obtain an understanding of your objectives, needs, and operating and financial parameters. After that, we create a Request For Proposal (RFP), and send it to prospective vendors, evaluate their responses, etc. In short, we do the entire process.

As we discuss, first in The Teleconvergence Approach to System Selection, and then later in The Teleconvergence System Selection Process in Detail, there are inevitable rounds of clarification that take place and we still conduct those to ensure that the results of all bids become as comparable as possible.

Once the results are ready for comparative discussion, we send them to you and work with you to arrive at a decision, again, as explained in detail in the articles mentioned above.

By sharing the work, the cost is reduced and you still achieve your objectives in a timely manner.

With non-local clients with whom we visit infrequently (or even never), however, we take an even more balanced and shared approach. We still spend time identifying and incorporating your requirements into an RFP. However, you (perhaps along with us) determine to which local vendors to submit it. You field their calls, arrange for premises visits, if appropriate, and your staff discusses such items as space requirements for equipment, etc. When the vendors respond electronically, they simply copy us on everything they send you. We have a Letter of Authorization you sign that allows us to negotiate with them on your behalf, and we copy you on all communications.

Many systems and services are now available over the Internet as hosted services or SaaS (Software as a Service). Frequently, the system isn’t physical or nearby, and neither is support. The very concept of local in many instances has simply evaporated.

Technology enables us to minimize time differences.  We compensate for distance issues through audio, video, and web conferencing. In short, physical proximity remains desirable, but it’s no longer necessary.

Our consulting time is increasingly spent in our own office doing research, engaged in live or telephone conversations, or writing RFPs (Requests for proposals) or in creating worksheets and presentations for our clients. Most of the time, it honestly makes no difference if we’re in the next office, the next state, or the next country.

We’ve been for consulting for more than 25 years. We know more industries, more systems, and more alternatives than most. Experience is frequently more valuable than proximity.

The principal at Teleconvergence has lived in medium-sized towns and some of the biggest cities in the country. He’s multicultural, bilingual, and speaks technology (including telephony, data, and IP), marketing, and finance. Sometimes, that’s hard to find locally, too.

Those are all good questions, which is why we agree that if you find someone locally with our depth and breadth of experience, with our perspective and range of competencies, then you should retain that person.  The truth is, though, that most people in this business are relatively new to telecom.  They lack the perspective that enables communications systems to enrich the fabric of interpersonal relationships that are the hallmark of great and successful companies. They think of telecom as just another area requiring technical expertise.

We disagree, and we invite you to read, for example, Bridging the IT-Business Unit Divide to see how our perspective differs from almost anyone else you're likely to run across.

We don't know your business, but the odds are that we do know your industry because we've worked for so many clients in so many industries.  Every client naturally believes that his or her company is special, and it is.  But not to a phone system, which at heart has only three basic functions. Nor is it special in terms of the business.  We cannot tell you how many times we've heard  "Communications is the Lifeblood of my Business" from numerous prospects and actual clients over the years, even the undertaker from whom we first heard it.

Let's face it: We don't know your business as well as you do and we never will, whether we're next door or a continent away.  But we know how different businesses in many different industries communicate and use technology to achieve their objectives and how many others fail in their efforts. Please remember, we're management consultants, not technical ones.  

You're the one who knows your customers, your employees and your supply chain better than anyone else.  What we can do for you is use our knowledge of your industry and the potential opportunities that await you, couple that with our perspective of technological and demographic trends, and add our ability to apply all of the foregoing to a specific situation and create a superior and sustainable competitive outcome.  Unless you live in a large city with extensive resources and you meet someone who knows what we do, and whom you can trust implicitly, you're not likely to find that locally.

If you like what we can do for you, whether we're local or not ultimately doesn't matter as much as the results we can achieve together.  If you agree -- at least in theory -- then contact us and let's see how important the physical distance between us really is.

We don’t. To minimize the risk, however, especially where a client is unsure about a remote relationship, we try to create our relationship in stages so that a client’s initial financial exposure is limited. That way, the client can gauge the probability of long-term success and benefit as we progress toward the client’s goals.