Tying Technology to Business Objectives

An international division of Lockheed-Martin aimed to fix its relationship with a large European customer unhappy with the aerospace firm's service, and a $10 million contract between the firms was in jeopardy. Then Mitch Slater arrived.

Slater, vice president of business development for

Visible Innovations, has spent nearly 30 years riding the technology wave, helping firms increase their profitability by better communicating their business value and eliminating their marketing and sales roadblocks. He helped the Lockheed-Martin division earn back its customer's trust by negotiating deliverables that better fit the client's business objectives while still adhering to the contract's cost/profit structure. He helped the aerospace company develop a more detailed project plan for working with the European firm, and the firm went on to achieve 40 percent gross profit on its services for the first time.

Visible Innovations calls itself a "partner in profits" with clients, most of whom are small and medium-sized high-tech firms that turn to the consultancy for help with business development, marketing strategy, product management, sales coaching and graphic design. In essence, Slater is an expert in articulation, helping customers realize and explain their actual value.

He keeps several mantras in mind when analyzing and implementing technology for his customers:

* "Technology isn't the 'end,' or the solution. Rather, it's the means by which a business can grow and be more cost-effective. We don't recommend or deliver anything unless we can tie it back to a meaningful business objective."

* Before placing technology in a firm's hands, use your ears. "We like to spend some time with [our clients'] actual customers if we can, asking them how they make purchasing decisions. What we find out is that most companies don't have a good sense of why their customers buy from them. Typically, it has more to do with a department's agenda than a technology's bells and whistles."

* Understand your market's demand. "I've seen many companies that are a solution in search of a problem. That's not good if you're trying to do things like make money and pay back investors. Good organizations have a tab on technology, but also on market demand that's couched in terms of customers' business practices and processes."

* High-tech can flourish in Cleveland. "We have the breeding ground here, especially in industries like software, biotechnology, polymers and nanotechnology. It's percolating, but we definitely could use more visibility."

www.visinno.com