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Since 1997, we have been helping organizations with assessments and software selection engagements.

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In that time, we have developed valuable relationships with  some of the premier software solutions in the market, worked with hundreds of partner vendors, and been involved in hundreds of Customer Relationship Management for Nonprofits and Association Management Software selection projects.

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Throughout the process of working with clients and partner vendors in the market, we have perfected a smart methodology for assessing technology needs based on goals and an effective method for evaluating non-profit and association management software.

 

Our assessment and software selection advisers are experts and bring many years of intellectual capital in our knowledge base to provide you with the most effective and efficient process to assess and then if needed find the best suited solution for your organization.

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The Dysfunctional Software Procurement Process 

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Does this sound like your approach to the software selection project?

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• You form a software selection committee.

• After hours of meetings, guessing about what to expect and needs, you finally gather lists of requirements.

• Committee appoint a junior level staff person to short list options.

• He or she "googles" their way to nowhere for days. 

• He or she reads a few paid by the lead "peer" review sites. But, everyone is negative so makes it even more difficult to know which ones to review.  

• Spends hours and hours aimlessly documenting options and capabilities.  

• Spends hours and hours talking to vendors and getting interrupted by them while searching. 

• You still are unsure that you have performed a good process or included the right options. 

• Exhausted and ready to give up, settles on some options but still very uncertain.  

• Draft a request for proposal but "guessing" and perhaps even using a template someone gave you. 

• You schedule demos with no plan or guide on what want them to show you. 

• The software vendors wastes your teams time because they show you things you could care less about. And, are back to square one. You have no clarity!  

• Despite all the time and effort, you stall the project and punt it down the road yet again because your "conference" or "major donor campaign" is coming up.

• You don't select a vendor and wasted literally hundreds of hours. 

• Or, worse, you selected an option with a faulty process or incomplete information. 

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While this method seems tried and true for many, it’s hardly the best approach to find your best fit. Agreed? 

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The problem with using the conventional "dysfunctional" method, is that it plagued by errors, draining for the staff and overall inefficient to say the least.

 

There is a better way! And, we have services which can help make it so.  

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Software Advisement Services Options 

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Like Software, there is not one size fits all for services either.

That said, our services can be as simple as a free one hour phone call up to and including more packaged service offerings:

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• Strategic System Assessment

• Smart Software Selection

• Vendor Match engagement

• Service Pricing 

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The Importance of Getting The Decision Correct 

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Selection of any enterprise solution is a critical decision with major strategic and financial implications. As associations move toward using digital media to interact with members at a deeper level, the membership database plays a critical role. You owe it to your members to make the right choice.

 

Please take some time to review our approach and services available for you. And, if you simply want to have a free consultation today, please reach out to us.

Until then, keep SmartThoughts in mind.

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