Full Sail Partners Blog (64)

One of the most important tasks within any organization is lead management.  It is vital for the sales staff to have the most comprehensive and up to date information available on a new lead.  With this information the sales or marketing team can seamlessly follow the Lead qualification processes established by your firm.  Once it has been established that a Lead is a qualified prospect, it is time to convert the lead into a company, opportunity and/or contact.

Did you know that you don’t have to create each record in the respective info centers and enter the same information over and over?  Vision can use the information from the Leads Info Center to create the Company, Opportunity and Contacts records in a few easy steps.  Here is how it works… In the lead info center menu, there is a “Convert” option. 

By choosing this option, you will receive a dialogue box that is defaulted to qualify the lead.  There is also the option to disqualify a lead if need be, but we will focus on lead qualification. 

Within the dialogue box you will have the option to convert the information entered into the Leads info center over to a company, contact or opportunity.  You may only want to convert this lead to a contact or maybe you only want to have them set up in the company and contact info centers, you can do so by checking only the radial button next to those options. 

You may also want to associate this lead with the corresponding Marketing Campaign that brought you the Lead.   The appropriate campaign may be selected from the drop down box at the bottom of the dialogue box. 

Once you have checked the appropriate options and associated the Lead with a marketing campaign (if appropriate), you will select the ok button.  Vision will create a new Company, Contact and Opportunity for this Lead.  All the corresponding information such as Company name, address, phone number, e-mail address, company  type, etc for this Lead will be copied into the fields in the new records created in the Company, Contacts and/or Opportunity info centers you have selected. 

Your company now has all of the lead management information necessary to track this client in the Client Info Center, including associating the new contact record with the company.  Within the newly created opportunity is all the vital data your sales team will need to engage and move forward with the sales process.  The transfer of this information has been done without the need to manually copy and paste between the info centers.  Vision has copied the information for you within seconds and the focus can now turn from qualifying the Lead to managing the sales process and closing the deal.  

Learn more about Deltek Vision CRM.

In today’s day and age of fast changing technology, firms must stay abreast of all available solutions to better compete with competition, and win work. Since the ‘great recession’ of 2009, competition on winning work has increased exponentially. Successful firms have combated this increased competition by staying current with technology, and using well thought out techniques to win projects. Included below are five tips that will help your firm better impress clients, and ultimately win more work.

1. Collaboratively share information with your project team. When responding to a client request / RFP, sharing data can become a cumbersome task in itself when working with remote teaming partners or staff. Often, the ability to seamlessly coordinate tasks/assignments, or share large files amongst your team can be the difference in winning or losing the work. To avoid these types of hiccups, leverage collaborative sharing tools such as Deltek Kona to keep your project team on the same page. Deltek Kona allows users to share files, and schedule important dates, seamlessly as though the users were all working in the same centralized office. You will be amazed at how Kona will empower your project team!
    
2. Hasten your proposals process through the use of templates. Unfortunately, many times firms will find out a about a project that they are a perfect fit for days before the due date. These time restrictions can ensnare the proposal process and make it difficult to respond sufficiently. Empower your marketing/business development department by creating templates that will allow you to export your information from Deltek Vision CRM to Microsoft Word or InDesign. This will allow you to streamline the proposal process, and concentrate on the areas of the proposal that require custom attention.
    
3. Avoid boring old PowerPoint presentation. Many firms make it to the short-list process only to utterly disappoint the client through the use of a boring, stale PowerPoint presentation. If you are unable to separate yourself from your competition, you are not doing your best to win projects. PowerPoint has been around since the late 1990’s, and sadly a large majority of presentations look like they came out of that same era. By using presentation software such as Prezi or PreZentit, your firm can immediately stand apart from your competition. With that said, don’t forget the importance of impressing the client by being personable and demonstrating your understanding the project. Overly relying on the use of presentation software is one of the quickest ways to lose a client’s attention.
    
4. Use a CRM solution to track relationships. We have all heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know!” This begs the question; does your firm know who it knows? If you are not tracking your relationships through CRM software such as Deltek Vision, then you are simply throwing darts at a board, blindfolded. A CRM solution will allow you to track who you know, recent conversations, and other important relationship data such as birthdays or anniversaries. This type of knowledge insight is important for creating meaningful relationships between your company, and your clients.
    
5. Optimize information for smart devices. If you own a smart device, and you have not optimized your marketing contact the device, you are not working smart! You never know when, or where, you might bump in to a perspective client. If you are unable to demonstrate your firms expertise at the drop of a hat, expect to lose out on a lot of potential work. Your firms website should be optimized for smart devices (iPhones, Androids, Tablets, Everything!) allowing you to be ready to show off how great your firm is, at a moment’s notice! In addition to optimizing your website for these smart devices, take the initiative to pre-load content on to your smart phone, in case you are unable to get internet service! By doing this, you will not only impress the client with all of your great works, but you will also demonstrate your ability to think ahead and be ready for the unexpected.
   
   If your firm is utilizing Deltek Vision CRM, make sure to check out Vision Unleashed. Vision Unleashed will allow you to access your full Vision system on teh go, from a mobile device. It also allows MAC users to access Vision without the need for running parallels or bootcamp. This allows MAC users to utilize their workstation to it maximum potential without dedicating resources to addition process just to access Vision!

I hope you learned something from this blog. Some of these technologies or techniques might seem obvious, but unfortunately many times it’s the obvious omissions that cause us to lose out on winning new work. If you use any of the concepts highlighted in this blog, make sure to comment below and let us know. We love to hear success stories!

Once you win your next project, make sure to review these project management concepts.

If your business designs and produces projects for external clients, you’re in what is referred to as a project-based firm. This category can include architecture, engineering and construction companies, consulting firms, advertising agencies and many others.

As different as these industries may be from one another, they share a core challenge of completing projects in ways that meet the client’s goals within existing constraints, while at the same time, delivering the desired profitability to their organizations.

There are many tools and methodologies that can help project managers at project-based firms track how successfully they deliver projects. But before managers can benefit from such tools and methodologies, it’s essential for them to understand four basic project management concepts, and how they interrelate.

1. Resources – The most critical resources that your organization manages are its human capital, which, depending on your needs and preferences, you might track as individuals, teams or both. Resources can also include equipment, services, supplies, and funds. A central goal in managing resources is ensuring the suitability of the specific resources, as well as availability, internal costs, etc.

2. Time – Managing time involves organizing and tracking tasks, activities, and schedules. It’s critical in helping to establish a workable plan and schedule, monitoring and reporting on progress, and ultimately, ensuring the profitability of the project. Key aspects include defining and sequencing activities, estimating needed resources and time requirements, and developing and managing to a defined schedule.

3. Cost – Effective cost management begins before the project even gets underway, by planning a budget with as much accuracy and specificity as possible. Cost management also requires developing contingencies for costs that are anticipated, but cannot yet be quantified with certainty. As the project moves forward, the manager tracks estimated vs. actual costs and the overall profitability of the project.

4. Scope – Managing a project’s scope begins with assessing its size, complexity, goals, and requirements. By having a clear understanding of the scope, the project manager is better able to create a viable estimate and schedule, assemble the appropriate resources, and ensure that the team meets its deadlines. Without a good handle on scope, the project can experience scope creep, which can lead to missed deadlines, cost overruns, and decreased profitability.

Taking a holistic view

It’s important to appreciate how each of these project management concepts affects, and is affected by, the others. The skillful project manager addresses them holistically, and makes adjustments in each as the project moves forward. To manage risk and ensure a quality project, managers need to not only understand these concepts, but also have in place the right tools and processes to control them — along with great organization and communication skills. 

Of course, it’s the rare project that goes exactly according to plan… which is why understanding these four project management concepts is so essential. When variances or setbacks arise in any one area, the effective project manager has mechanisms in place to recognize problems in time to make adjustments, and yet still meet the project goals for both the client and the firm.

Checkout more Project Management related articles.

A successful project doesn’t come easy, but it isn’t exactly rocket surgery. Below we’ve outlined six keys to project success to help your staff know where to focus their energy.

1. Plan

Clearly identify and confirm the objectives of the project with your client before you start. A plan will keep you from veering off track and save you from many problems if and when scope creep occurs.  Effective planning enables you to meet the client’s schedule and budget requirements, or work through them together for a win-win outcome.

2. Engage

Both staff and clients have to be engaged in the process in order maximize project success. According to Ed Boyle, Global Practice Leader at Gallup, engagement increases performance-related business outcomes by 240%.

3. Measure

The concept of measuring in order to improve is not just a management catch phrase, it’s scientifically validated. The only way you’ll know how a project is going (or know how to make it go better) is to measure. We’re not suggesting you measure EVERYTHING, but do review your goals and start looking at metrics that can help you meet those goals.  Measuring your clients perception of the project success, during the project, is critical to promoting their goals.

4. Adapt

To adapt means to make things fit, usually by modifying a process or way of thinking. Great project teams are skilled at adapting – having the ability to alter the way they practice or the way they think to increase the likelihood of project success. And these don’t have to be large or dramatic changes; they can be subtle changes, like checking voice mails more often. These small changes can affect the outcome of our projects in a big way, but require understanding the client in order to adapt appropriately.

5. Evaluate

Measuring throughout the project is crucial, just as important as creating a comprehensive evaluation at the end of the project. Taking time to evaluate may seem secondary compared to the primary efforts of executing the project, but don’t get too busy chopping wood that you never sharpen the ax.  Talk to your clients - every project can teach us valuable lessons about how to improve both now and on the next project.

6. Recognize

Our basic human need for meaning applies to work life.  We all feel our contributions are most meaningful when recognized for a job well done. If your staff feels they have a means to be recognized, they will work even more effectively, further contributing to project success. 

Achieving predicable outcomes can be easy if you take a moment to find out from the project team what’s working, what isn’t, and respond accordingly.  Obtaining feedback directly from clients is one of the easiest ways to assure project success.

Checkout more about the benefits of feedback.

Do you lose sleep at night wondering if you have the capacity to handle work coming in or even worse if you have too many people?  As a manager of a professional service firm, managing your human capital is a daily necessity to achieve firm growth and the anticipated performance expected from your employees.  As the market changes, your firm needs information readily available to make quick decisions about acquiring, training, and scheduling your talent.  Many firms rely on resource forecasting tools to handle the management of their employees.  Let’s take a further look at some of the challenges firms have with managing their resources: 

Challenge #1: What are my employees currently doing?  In the past, to see what an employee was working on, managers would go to the desk of their employees to check on the progress of their projects.  However, now resources aren’t always in the same office, state or even country.  Managers are finding they need to easily identify on a daily basis how their employees’ time is being used so they can plan for future work.

Solution - Collect and Measure Time.  As a professional service company – time is what we sell.  Sometimes there is a product that we deliver, but we still internally measure how valuable that product is based upon how much time we have spent creating it.  By capturing an employee’s actual time against a project your firm can now measure that time against what was forecasted to determine the variance. That variance provides you with data to use when projecting future projects.

Challenge #2: How do I match skills with available work?  Some firms are small enough that managers know everyone. However, for a larger firm or as a small firm grows, you don’t necessarily know the skills available within your firm.  Being able to match skills to the work you pursue and win becomes a juggling act.  Not all firms have the critical information available to predict when they need to hire an employee with specific skill sets.

Solution - Identify the Right Resource.  In an ERP, your firm identifies skills, training, role, and experience.  Having this information available allows project managers to identify the right resource based on real-time information.  An integrated solution provides your firm with the ability to search for similar past projects and determine how much experience (time data) they have working on this type of project.  The availability of this employee data allows project managers to make decisions about their collective skills and come up with a plan to increase / diversify their skills needed for the project.

Challenge #3: What predictions can I make about future work?  In order to make a well-informed decision on how to handle the future work, a firm needs historical data.  Without this information, you might as well turn over your resource forecasting to a psychic because your firm is just guessing.  Many firms don’t have the data available to make these decisions.

Solution - Availability.   Project schedules require managing all types of commitments – planned and unplanned. In addition to project commitments, employees take vacation, are on holiday leave, and have internal meetings and activities.  Developing a comprehensive plan for each employee provides accurate resource forecasting to handle future demands.  This helps identify capacity excess or shortage gaps.

The ultimate goal for any project is to end up with a loyal client that will use your firm again.  In order to do that, firms must finish the project on time and on budget.  Choosing a solution that integrates all of these data points allows your firm to report real-time information to make well-informed decisions about resource forecasting needs.  By optimizing your resources, project managers can shorten the decision cycle, increase profitability, and better plan for the future.  

Learn more about Resource Management?  

I was talking recently with a prospective client who observed that his firm had outgrown QuickBooks (QB). The conversation eventually led to a discussion of the advantages of ERP systems over back office accounting systems — which include not only efficiency gains, but strategic improvements as well. 

Being in the ERP implementation business, we hear a lot of customers express frustration over outgrowing QB, so I asked my prospect what it meant specifically for his firm. Off the top of his head, he named several pain points:

• First, their QB systems were disconnected, so there was no particular place where management could view financial performance overall, let alone broken out by project manager or client. 
• QB could display AR for a specific client, but offered little in the way of project information regarding specific services or deliverables. 
• Last but not least, correspondence for each client was buried in various public folders on the firm’s file server. To make matters worse, the correspondence trail was incomplete due to users’ not following the correspondence logging protocol. 

After hearing these insights, plenty of examples came to mind of ways that even a small- to mid-size firm like his could benefit from an ERP system. I mentioned a few of the most basic advantages of ERP systems over back office accounting: the value of integrated data, open architecture and user customizations.  

I also pointed out that thanks to the evolution of niche ERP systems, small firms CAN get the type of functionality that used to be available only to firms with deep pockets. In fact, it’s now quite easy to implement an ERP system that not only addresses the accounting function, but also facilitates the firm’s core processes and way of doing business. 

The Need For Visibility

My colleague next mentioned how his firm actually had strong AR, and good visibility into its cash and cash management. The problem, he said, was that the organization lacked the visibility needed to help back office management play a more significant role in decisions affecting the firm as a whole. By the same token, it was difficult to get project managers more involved in the fiscal responsibility that goes with managing client expectations. 

I pointed out that there were several other major advantages of ERP systems over basic accounting packages. The ERP concept excels at addressing the front end of the project life cycle, by facilitating tracking of projects and providing visibility. Specific examples include:

• Managing data obtained through the business development process
• Generating opportunity notifications and creating process flow through workflows and alerts to improve efficiencies and win rate
• Forecasting for opportunities and already-awarded projects regarding not only revenue, but staffing requirements as well
• Providing for audit trails of communication with clients, contacts and opportunities and supporting technical staff in the delivery of services under specific projects
• Facilitating communication with accounting early in the business development phase regarding terms, rates, related documents and specific contract requirements
• Integrating with desktop tools like Outlook, Word and PowerPoint to facilitate email communication and automate creation of proposal, estimating and contracting documents 

I then suggested we establish a value proposition for the level of investment that would be needed at this critical juncture in the firm’s transition from QuickBooks. This is where my prospect’s eyes started to get big, as he saw how much time, factored by associated hourly costs, was being spent on efforts that an ERP system could automate. 

We assessed values for each of the existing manual processes, and compared them with the reduced time and effort involved using the ERP approach. The resulting savings would go right to the firm’s bottom line. But as significant as those savings would be, I added, the real impact would come from the improved quality of the work environment, better communication with clients, and most importantly, increased opportunities for success. 

See how today’s success-minded firms require a laser-like focus on strong project and financial management practices by downloading the whitepaper on Growth and Transition Strategies.

Last week I was working on my plans for a few upcoming implementations (yes, I have to do plans just like you do).  As I was using the “Resource Search” feature, I thought it would be helpful to demonstrate some of the features of this powerful tool for fellow project managers.  So for those that are thinking about using Deltek Vision's Resource Planning tool and those that need a refresher, here are some great features of the tool.  

What Is Resource Search Option?
The Resource Search option allows you to see who is available to work and when they are available. It allows users to quickly assign resources and respond to client needs. This feature is accessed when working on the Labor Tab of the Planning module.  To search for resources, right click on the left side bar to search for a resource. Then select “Resource Search.”   

Who Has Skills?  
If you are like me, you are already familiar with your team’s skill set because we have a smaller team. Depending on the size of your firm, you may or may not need this feature. However, as your firm grows (that's the purpose of tool, right?) knowing the skills available can be very helpful. The resource search has the capability to search for resource skills. To take advantage of this feature, your organization must simply take the time to enter data within the Experience Tab. The skills feature is also used by marketing as a part of the government SF330 form. The skill and level of expertise is customizable to your firms needs.

Who is Available?  
In addition to searching for skills, the resource search allows you to identify resource availability and commitment. The commitment search allows me to search for over and under usage, as well as, a specific percentage of utilization for a specific date range. This feature in combination of the skills search allows me to narrow down the person that fits my criteria.

An Alternative to Resource Search
I noticed I kept switching back and forth from the Planning module to Resource Management.  Once I've narrowed down my search on the employees I'm looking for, I like to use the Resource Management module.  For me, the coloring provides a quick visual of those that are over, under, or on target for a specific time period.

To simplify this process, lets pull up the Resource Utilization screen in a separate window (Right Click on ‘Resource Utilization’, click ‘Open in New Window’).  Now by simply moving the plan to the left hand side and the Resource Utilization screen on the right hand side, I'm now able to show the available resources.  In the Deltek Vision ERP system, this side by side comparison provides a quick view of our team members availability next to our project plan. This is simple, easy and saves me at least 3 mouse clicks.

More Resources
Are your Project Managers using these tools?  Searching by skills, commitment, and availability are only a few of the features in Deltek Vision's project-based ERP.

Be sure to view our Resource Planning Demo to learn more.

For those using Deltek Vision Resource Planning, try out these tip and let me know how they work for you. If you have any tips and tricks you've learned, please add a comment.

Be sure to check other Project Management articles.

Of all the metrics that professional services firms can track, two of the most important are utilization and realization.  These are different, but related ways of measuring employee productivity and profitability. Both can be measured with a high degree of accuracy — and made visible to management — using software.

A quick jargon review

Utilization measures the hours charged to a client’s project compared to the total available hours (usually 40 hours per week). For example, if an employees’ expected work week is 40 hours and the employee achieves 35 hours of client chargeable work then their utilization rate is 87.5%.

Utilization is not necessarily within an employee’s control: for example, an employee might be working on an important internal project that can’t be billed. Because of the many variables that affect utilization, the longer the period over which it’s tracked — say, over the course of a year — the more useful it is in evaluating performance against employee and company goals.

The second metric, realization, refers to the actual revenue based on employees’ hours charged and billed to clients compared to what they should have generated from their utilization achieved. It’s a measure of their profitability, and a metric that provides valuable insight into how well a company is able to translate hours worked on projects into revenue. In a perfect world utilization and realization will be equal, but this is rarely the case.  Realization can also help in compensation and promotion reviews, staffing decisions, project and unit pricing and assessing the health of the company itself.

The impact of measuring employee productivity and profitability can be enhanced further by a commitment to Earned Value Management (EVM), a project management technique for objectively measuring project performance and progress. Together, these techniques help a firm gain a clear, objective view of employee and project performance, identify where resources are over- and under-utilized, and optimize workforce utilization and profitability.

Software solutions

There are a number of software solutions for measuring employee productivity and profitability. Some focus specifically on project and resource management, while others provide these functions as part of larger, more integrated solutions. 

For example, Deltek Vision can provide a firm with comprehensive visibility into its organization, efficient oversight of its projects and people, and efficient automation of processes. Most significantly, it allows the firm to be proactive rather than reactive in addressing resource management issues, thus increasing the probability of project success. On a more tactical level, the product’s Employee Realization feature allows a user to track and report on realization values, compare utilization vs. realization, optimize staff utilization, minimize scheduling conflict, and substantially reduce the potential for missed milestones. 

Whatever approach an organization uses in measuring employee productivity and profitability, doing so requires a sustained effort and commitment on the part of management. Handled correctly, however, the payoff is immense: instant visibility into resource commitments across an entire organization, and granular awareness of who is available (and when) with the skills needed to satisfy projects’ technical requirements.

Project delivery is all about taking an idea from concept through to production. Firms want their projects completed in the fastest and most cost-efficient manner possible, all without sacrificing quality. Incorporating feedback into a firm’s process helps the team perform at their best, while the very act of asking for feedback shows clients proactive and professional care. To help jumpstart your client feedback process, we’ve listed the top 10 feedback techniques to facilitate project delivery. 

1. Make it Comfortable.

When requesting feedback make sure the process is comfortable to use for all parties. The more comfortable the process, the more likely both parties are to participate. A comfortable process means clients will not feel put on the spot and concerned about a confrontation. Focus questions on processes, not personalities, and offer a flexible answer scale to capture subtle nuances of perceptions. 

2. Create Actionable Results.
An effective feedback technique requires data to enable follow-up. Be sure you are asking questions that allow you to retrieve measurable, actionable data. If the questions are too vague or too open ended, you won’t have the information that you need to take action.  

3. Process Focused.

The questions asked should be about process rather than people or products. We aren’t looking to find out how well the client “liked” us, but rather where our process is working great and where it might need some improvement.  

4. Go Beyond Satisfaction.

Ask your clients questions focused on their expectations, instead of their satisfaction, because satisfaction is the expected norm. The client’s perception of how you performed compared to their expectations is the key to knowing where to improve your project delivery process. Additionally, you’ll find 500% more exceptionally positive feedback than you will challenging feedback – and we all love to discover good news. 

5. Reduce Liability.

When asking for feedback, focus on questions that can reduce liability and encourage positive outcomes. Just by asking for feedback throughout a project, you are creating a record of the service perceptions all along the way, reducing the chance of a lawsuit and increasing your ability to meet their needs. Feedback helps keep you and your client aligned on a common goal - a successful project outcome. 

6. Don’t Wait.

Collect feedback throughout the project, not just at the end - when it’s too late to improve that project. Response rates are highest when the client senses his feedback might improve the project outcome. Once the project is over, the incentive to respond is gone. 

7. Make it Trackable.

Tracking feedback responses isn’t complicated, but making sure everyone on your team gets the feedback they need, reviews it, and takes appropriate action can be much more challenging. Deploy good tools to capture who is asking for feedback, who’s responding, and who takes what action on each critical response. 

8. Use Instant Alerts.

Collect feedback in a way that you can be instantly alerted to new feedback and drive real-time follow-up.  A good system will establish score thresholds that indicate, in real-time, when follow-up is required for exceptional circumstances. Make sure the right people are alerted so nothing falls through the cracks. 

9. Keep the Client First.

Structure your feedback techniques so that it is quick and easy for the client to give you feedback. Don’t waste their time with long surveys or questions with answers that only matter to you.  Response rates are higher with multiple short surveys over a period of time, than with one or two long surveys sent less frequently. 

10. Follow up.

Don’t neglect the follow up! A survey should always start a conversation, not replace one. Typically, follow-up is simply a personal acknowledgement that you saw and read the response. However, if any special situations were noted (either in scores or comments) be sure you open a dialogue to show how the feedback will change the process and project going forward. 

Each of these feedback techniques focus on a deliberate approach to your feedback collection efforts. Set your goals to collect actionable feedback in way that is easy for the client. Make understanding the results and following up easy for you too. See feedback as the opportunity that it is to improve your process, reduce your liability and become your client’s expert.

Interested in learning more about how you can start collecting client feedback?