Thinking of investing in new technology? Here are the BIGGEST mistakes you want to avoid when selecting and implementing new technology

1. ContactCentreSmart
Biggest mistakes
in technology
selection…

2. ContactCentreSmart
Dismantling Frustration. Engineering Excellence.

3. Beware of the
spotlight effect
making decisions based
only on what you see.

4. 4 villains
of
decision
making…
4ContactCentreSmart

5. 1st Villain…Narrow Framing
Framing our choices too narrowly as either this OR that.
Need to consider this AND that.
Advice: Be paranoid about missing
out on a viable option
Think 'AND' not 'OR'!
Ask: 'Are these the only
options available to us?'
Counteract
Strategy:
Widen your
options
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6. 2nd Villain…Confirmation Bias
People are more likely to seek information to support one's
pre-existing beliefs.
Advice: Guard against only gathering
'self-serving' information.
Be the ‘devil’s advocate’
Ask: ‘What would have to be
true for this option to be
viable?
Counteract
Strategy:
Reality test
your
assumptions
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7. 3rd Villain…Emotional Bias
Some decisions are difficult because one is emotionally too
close to the situation to make a rational decision.
Advice: Get an outside perspective
to help make clearer
decisions.
Ask: 'What would an outsider
do in this case?'
Counteract
Strategy:
Attain
distance
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8. 4th Villain…Over-confidence
People think they know more than they do about how the
future will unfold.
Advice: Distrust your own optimism.
Hope for the best but plan for
the worst.
Ask: 'What can go wrong?
'What if my assumptions
are wrong?'
Counteract
Strategy:
Prepare to
be wrong
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9. Widen your options
Reality test assumptions
Attain distance
Prepare to be wrong

10. ContactCentreSmart
What are the
Biggest Mistakes
in technology selection
& implementation?

11. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not determining your
sourcing approach that
best fits your business
and IT strategy.
Not documenting
requirements
clearly.
Not providing a clear definition
of your expectations for vendor
proposals and presentations.
22 33
44 Not defining
evaluation
criteria clearly.
55
Not investing the
time and energy in
negotiating a tight
vendor agreement
66
Not assessing
the upside
potential of
your current
solution.
11
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12. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not assessing the upside
potential of your current solution.
11
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If your current technology is a source of dissatisfaction determine if
it’s the technology and/or the services that’s causing the problem.
You could be blaming the technology yet haven’t stayed current on
upgrades? Or a lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities?
While you may still move forward with a new solution, you’ll gain
valuable insights to improve your selection process.

13. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not documenting requirements
clearly.
22
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You need to articulate your specific requirements in a document.
Otherwise your quoted price won’t include all the components and
licenses you need.
You’ll also end up with an incomplete or generic Statement of Work
(SOW).

14. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not determining your sourcing
approach that best fits your
business and IT strategy.
33
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Technology can be premised-based, cloud/hosted, or a hybrid.
The sourcing decision is typically depends on…
• The availability of IT support resources
• The operation’s desire for deeper involvement in the solution.
• The need to migrate capital expenses to operational expenses
Know your preferred sourcing model, to narrow the list of viable vendors

15. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not defining evaluation criteria
clearly.
44
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Evaluation criteria are not the same as requirements.
Requirements help the vendor understand your needs so they know
what to propose; evaluation criteria differentiate vendor responses.
Define and rate vendors on criteria such as:
Features & Functions, Technical Fit, Implementation, Support,
Vendor Fit and Price.

16. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not providing a clear definition of
your expectations for vendor
proposals and presentations.
55
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If you want to save time and make apples-to-apples comparisons,
specify how you want each proposal structured.
Make it clear you don’t want long, “boilerplate” responses.
Most importantly, specify how you want the pricing structured and at
what granularity.
Stay in the driver’s seat. Don’t let the vendor take control.

17. Biggest Mistakes
in Tech Select…
Not investing the time and
energy in negotiating a tight
vendor agreement.
66
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Work with your preferred vendor to ensure everything is included to
minimize the risk of add-ons and change orders.
Iterate and negotiate as needed.
Use the competing bids as leverage where appropriate.
Include a detailed SOW and document SLAs.

18. Hopefully, we’ve created better…
Awareness
which will lead to better…
Choices
which will lead to better…
Results
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19. About...Hilario Fiandeiro
I’m the founder of ContactCentreSmart, an independent
consulting practice, that helps organisations deliver…
10X better customer service experiences
10X more cost-effectively.
I have 20+ years experience, successfully helping organisations:
• Select better technology solutions & outsourcing partners
• Develop business cases that lead to budget approvals
• Design service that’s faster, better quality AND costs less
• Optimise people productivity and turnover
#BeContactCentreSmart #MakeBetterDecisions
For more information
contact me via:
Email | LinkedIn |
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