The Agile Bazaar

Presented By: Niraj Khanna and J.B. Rainsberger

Click to download the Mindmap created by Niraj and J.B. at the presentation

Agenda:
6:00 Networking, refreshments
6:30 Supper
7:15 Introductory remarks, followed by the presentation

The agile community has tried for a decade to sell the agile approach reliably with mixed results. They seem to have been learning the hard way that agile is a complex sale—one which requires unanimous agreement from many buyers with differing goals. To maximize the probability of unanimous buy-in, you need to think strategy. You need to answer:

• Who are my buyers and what buying roles are they playing?

• What is my current position with each of these buyers?

• What would I like my position to be with each of these buyers?

• How can I get to that position?

Whether you’re a consultant selling to prospects or an employee selling to the people around you, you need to understand how each buyer responds to your proposal and how to deliver their win-results. This 90-minute talk introduces a sales model and lets you try to apply it to your current sales opportunities or to analyze past, failed sales attempts.

In this talk, we will:

• Explain what makes selling agile services hard.

•  Describe the four buyers in every complex sale.

•  Discuss Buyer Receptivity and what influences it.

•  Explain the concept of buyer response modes, how they relate to each of these buyers and how to develop a strategy that factors in each buyer’s response mode.

• Introduce the concept of win results to strengthen your buyers’ response modes to a more favorable position.

• Discuss the concept of the ideal customer and help attendees identify the traits of their ideal customer.

Bios

Niraj Khanna

Niraj ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )  has been involved in sales since graduating from Computer Science, despite starting off his career as a Java developer. After his first employer went bankrupt in the dot-com collapse (and his valued stock option compensation plan left him with more options than stock), desperate, he signed on with a large accounting firm needing consultants that had both a client interfacing personality and a background in technology. Midway through his third year as an R&D Tax Consultant and Sales Engineer, a friend introduced him to the concept of agile software development. Intrigued, he borrowed the friend's copy of “XP Explained” by Kent Beck. Inspired and convinced, Niraj’s desire to return to the software development industry cemented after a chance meeting with J.B. Rainsberger. In March 2005, Niraj partnered with J.B. Rainsberger as the VP of Sales and Marketing for Diaspar Software. Following 3 very profitable years and J.B.’s retirement in 2008, the two cofounded OutsideInsource in 2009. Niraj also founded GreenBar Consulting in 2009 as he isn’t quite retired yet.

J.B. Rainsberger

J. B. (Joe) Rainsberger helps software organizations better satisfy their customers and the businesses they support. Expert at delivering successful software, he writes, teaches and speaks about why delivering better software is important, but not enough. He helps clients improve their bottom line by coaching teams as well as leading change programs. Joe helps software organizations off the treadmill of over-commitment and under-delivery, addressing all aspects of software delivery including understanding the business, gelling the team and even writing great code. Learn more about how Joe will inspire your software organization at jbrains.ca, at conferences world-wide, or by writing him directly at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 Contact:  Ron Morsicato  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 978-973-1603 (C)