07 Week 2
Post date: Jul 19, 2014 3:8:38 PM
This is our "Sales Funnel" (Lead=>Prospect=>Client) and "Discovery Process" (What are the website goals, What needs done, What are we going propose to do and how?):A "lead" expresses interest and becomes a "prospect"
A "prospect" completes our "Pre-Consult" form.
We schedule a consult with the prospect.
We meet before the consult to analyze the site and develop questions about the pre-consult form, as well as to discuss possible strategies to approach the work.
The consult is conducted. Everyone tries to get clear on the scope of work.
A project lead (among the students) is identified, as well as key team members.
The project lead drafts a scope of work document to send to the prospect.
The final process is "Contracting".
Back-and-forth about the scope of work.
Prospect and Tech Scouts (via Bram) sign off on the contract, prospect becomes client
Work starts.
This week, we completed three Discovery processes:
We have one more prospect to meet with:
Additionally, a few scouts are going after paid work with a commercial prospect (not named here). Payment would be contingent upon delivery of an acceptable website, with the understanding that support from Tech Scouts Staff will be minimal.
This is all exciting news and everyone is juiced! We lost two scouts, and now number 11, which is still a healthy-sized team.
In addition to this, tech scout Matthew Spring finalized his Blog Post / Article, first published in Western Mass Business News newsletter, Incommn. Matt plans to circulate this to other places. Also, Carolyn (our team videographer from GCTV) has attracted the interest of some other video journalists, and we'll be visited next week.
Below are some interviews from Matt's Post. If you visit the post, which is in Google Doc form, you can comment in the margins. The comment will be anonymous, so please sign your name (and add your email) when you comment, else it may be deleted!
Students:
Matt: What do you think the most valuable thing you will learn from tech scouts will be?
Rob:Working within a team that will hold you accountable.
Matt: What was it like to join Tech Scouts?
Gabriel: I joined a little later than the other tech scouts. I have an interest in coding, so when I learned that I would be learning HTML and CSS from codecademy I knew the program would be good for me. I was also happy to receive a free laptop.
Matt: What if I have trouble learning?
Carolyn: Well, I have depression and I learned from this blog that Matt has ADHD and Bram says a lot of us are having confidence issues, so I think we can all work through this together.
Matt: I’m not very social and I don’t like the idea of working with people, is Tech Scouts for me?
Tara: While learning to work with others is probably vital to your success in the field - even if someone else deals with the clients you’ll still need a team - it is entirely possible to ease into the interactions. In fact, you could potentially do all of your Tech Scouts work from your bed and completely remove the face-to-face interactions, if you really wanted to.
Matt: What are you learning at Tech Scouts beside technical things?
Joshua: I'm learning how to interact with clients, good ways to organize and work with a group, and I think most importantly for me, how to get motivated without a looming deadline. I am expected to be motivated and I don't want to disappoint anyone. I'm very much out of my element without hard deadlines and specific instructions, but it's something I definitely need to learn.
Staff:
Matt: Is this like a college course?
Bram: No, because it covers all aspects of the web design business, not just one topic (like HTML Coding or Accounts Management)
Matt: What would you tell students to help them with this?
Evan: I agree with Carolyn. I think we all have our obstacles to overcome, I battle with depression as well. I already feel like we’re a team though and have each other’s back as we learn together. I really dig the laid back yet productive environment - it’s what I thrive in.
Matt: How do you think the program is going?
Currie: I am excited to see a lot of young adults coming together not just a team but a community to support each other. It is really reassuring to hear from others that you are not alone in your concerns and fears.
