A few weeks ago I had an initial meeting with a prospective customer who called us after hearing our radio ad. They were a rapidly growing company, who were just as rapidly outgrowing their off-the-shelf accounting system, which had been purchased nearly a decade earlier. They were obviously a good candidate for ERP and CRM, but since they had some unique business issues - and really, what business doesn't have a few unique requirements - I proposed that we provide them with a Needs Assessment. When I mentioned that this would be a billable service, the response I received was something like "I never charge my customers for a quote, and I don't intend to pay you for one either!". I agree with their statement; no one should have to pay for a quote - but a quote is quite different from a Needs Assessment.
Suppose you purchase a parcel of property, on which you plan to build a new home. You'd have two basic options, going with a prefab design, or having a custom built house. In the former option, you can simply browse the catalog or showroom, and pick out the option that you like best, and receive a free quote right away. Of course, not everyone wants to go with the cookie-cutter approach, and you may want to have some control over what your new house will look like. In this case you'll want to discuss this with an architect, and after some consultation, they will provide you with a set of blueprints that lay out exactly what type of house you want to build, and the steps required to make it happen. I doubt that anyone would object paying an architect for their time and expertise, so why does this happen with software?
Aside from the obvious benefits of having a document which clearly states your business processes, there are two more key advantages in engaging BAASS to perform a Needs Assessment:
If you have any questions, or wish to share a differing opinion about Needs Assessment vs. Quotes, please contact us.