Clearly Separate the Selling and Delivering Functions

Part of being in the professional services field is selling.  Selling is huge/big/everything.  If it weren't for selling and business development there would be *nothing*.  Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh / too strong.  What I should really be saying it that product and service QUALITY are the number on things that matter.  But when there's trust involved and "strategic partnerships" involved, quality *can* play second fiddle to the relationship.  In fact it should be your preference to have these relationships *so that* quality isn't the only thing.

Contracting is a difficult business.  Contracts will get created and the more clear they are the better the chances are of delivering the right product.  I'm not making an argument here for no documentation, quite the contrary.  What I am trying to do is parse the distinction between two things: SELLING, and DELIVERY QUALITY.

By separating these two things in business we can create great solutions.  By having a sales and selling/relationships context, we can be all about the PEOPLE and RELATIONSHIPS and by having a delivery/quality context we can care all about the PRODUCT and CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

The responsibilities of the Selling/External Relationships function:

• Meet new people
• Qualify people as good-fit customers
• Maintain relationships and remain "friends" even when things are wacky (but try to be on the side of the delivery organization...this can be a very hard balance)
• Sell new solutions and understand what's being delivered
• Understand "drivers" in the client-organization business
• Lead and manage

The responsibilities of the Delivery/Product organization:

• Exhibit engineering excellent
• Make quality/cutting edge products
• Build for the future
• Be great with your estimates
• Communicate well
• Deliver, deliver, deliver (demo, chunk, and milestone)

In your organizations make sure that you clearly separate and spell these two functions out!