| | 9CIOReviewDECEMBER - JANUARYChecking with your finance team and determining your current spending and the budget you need/have will be essential. Engage with finance immediately as this will give you an idea on who to consider as a provider.Working with your IT team is essential, you need to understand what kind of infrastructure your company uses. This will have an impact on what providers you may want to consider. 3- Write a comprehensive RFP Writing an RFP can be a daunting, yet it saves you a lot of time when vetting potential vendors. Even though this solution is oriented towards your department, it is critical to have stakeholders review the RFP as it will touch the infrastructure of your organization. Marketing, Operations, and IT should have at least a look at the RFP before sending it out to selected vendors. The RFP should encompass your vision. Security concerns need to be listed regarding your customers' PII and GDPR compliance if you are operating internationally. A specific timeline should be spelled out to when you are expecting the proposals and the expectations of completion dates. Many vendors will refrain from submitting proposals as they can't meet thecriteria, which saves you time. When you work on the RFP, keep an open mind. There will be providers who claim to be a one stop shop, which may seem appealing from an ease of implementation point of view. Nonetheless, it comes with limitations as it would be difficult to cover all channels in one solution and be the best at it. You maybe surprised that you can secure the best in class solutions by using multiple up and coming providers. 4- Use your network Word of mouth is still golden. Connect with your peers in the customer experience world. CX Conferences are great venues to build a network of professionals who can give you advice based on their previous experiences. Ask your peers for their opinion and if they experienced the vendors you are considering, or if they can connect you with someone who did.The feedback you receive from peers tends to be more honest and direct compared to references provided by vendors. Setup 30-minute meetings with peers who are using solutions you may consider, ask them about their experience with the provider throughout the process: Sales, project management and development, deployment support, training, and customer success support 5- This is a marathon, not a sprint: timeline matters Set expectation to yourself, your team, and stakeholders. The timeline of implementing a new solution varies depending on the scope and complexity of the project. At a minimum it will take you 6 months to complete this properly and it may take a full year to see it through. It is important to make sure you put your project on the development roadmap early on. You will need to campaign internally to prioritize your project as it will be competing with other projects. In larger organizations, you will be assigned a project manager who will help keep the timeline on track and work with the project manager on the vendor's side. In smaller companies with smaller scopes, you will find yourself wearing the project manager hat. Utilize a project management tool such as Podio, asana, monday or Jira to make sure you are keeping track of the timeline and tasks. Working with your IT team is essential, you need to understand what kind of infrastructure your company usesRami Sarabi
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