Local consultants. Hire a local engineering firm or PR firm or attorney as a representative to do the handholding. You hire someone who knows all the right folks with a good rapport and a grasp of the technicals. Even paying someone who normally charges $400/hr for a few weeks of work who has the right contacts can reap rewards. You can structure those consultants with a lower base rate and a commission upon success.
The problem is, in smaller cities, the local consultants are your competition. They are the one providing the cities with decade old technologies and ugly U.I./U.X.
Truth is, and i can't stress it enough, you are a 100% right. If you can find someone to cooperate with after you already beat him at the public bidding process, you did 90% of the personal relation work.
Right.
On a bill, it will show a 80/20 ratio for the tech/support pricing, but in your internal cost structure, you put 30% for the tech and 60% in support.
Because they are small organizations, they are used to pick up a phone and talk to someone right away.
x0xo is perfectly right. I did not own a car, so it costed me 4k$ just in car/hotel/food/printing for my first client.
PRINT EVERYTHING. Buy a nice presentation template online, print it on glossy paper, and you will always have a meeting in person or at least, a phone call.
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How do you afford the travel time? Seems like all the handholding would be quite expensive.
Local consultants. Hire a local engineering firm or PR firm or attorney as a representative to do the handholding. You hire someone who knows all the right folks with a good rapport and a grasp of the technicals. Even paying someone who normally charges $400/hr for a few weeks of work who has the right contacts can reap rewards. You can structure those consultants with a lower base rate and a commission upon success.
The problem is, in smaller cities, the local consultants are your competition. They are the one providing the cities with decade old technologies and ugly U.I./U.X.
Truth is, and i can't stress it enough, you are a 100% right. If you can find someone to cooperate with after you already beat him at the public bidding process, you did 90% of the personal relation work.
That gets rolled into the price.
Now you know why software sold to governments starts at hundreds of thousands per year.
Right. On a bill, it will show a 80/20 ratio for the tech/support pricing, but in your internal cost structure, you put 30% for the tech and 60% in support.
Because they are small organizations, they are used to pick up a phone and talk to someone right away.
x0xo is perfectly right. I did not own a car, so it costed me 4k$ just in car/hotel/food/printing for my first client.
PRINT EVERYTHING. Buy a nice presentation template online, print it on glossy paper, and you will always have a meeting in person or at least, a phone call.