Seeing clients succeed is something that’s always fueled me. With over 20 years of experience as a Client Executive focused on software development services, solving clients’ biggest challenges, while also learning about Agile principles and Scrum methodologies, has become a passion of mine. Having had the opportunity to start the Agile PMI Forum in Atlanta, be an early and regular contributor to Atlanta Scrum Users Group, an organizer of the first ever Agile Day in Atlanta, then working in the early start-up days with LeadingAgile, I’ve dedicated the better part of my career to Agile efforts. I found myself asking, “What Agile principles and Scrum methodologies can be applied to the selling process?” The parallels always converge on creating better business outcomes.
Beyond the deliverables
Two clients that we’re proud to work with are ParkMobile, a consumer application with over 20 million users worldwide, and BetterCloud, a security and management platform for SaaS applications. In ParkMobile’s recent client showcase, Chief Technology Officer Matt Ball said that he enjoys working with our team because we challenge their ideas and push them to think outside the box. In my opinion, this is a big reason why we’ve had such a successful relationship. To us, it isn’t about our quota, our issues, and our goals, it’s about thinking beyond the deliverables to ensure our clients are set up for long-term success. In BetterCloud’s recent client showcase, Jim Brennan, BetterCloud’s Chief Product Officer said, “We’re also looking for a partner from whom we could learn, so we’ve been able to bring back some of those things into our own practice and in many ways make our team stronger as a result.” When we’re empathic, respectful, curious, and caring with sincere intentions, we become not just a partner, but a member of their movement, and an integral component of their success.
Owning the outcome
Recognizing the parallels between Agile and Scrum practices and relationship management has helped our team understand the integral role we play in our clients’ success. Barry Hodges, VP of Software Development at ParkMobile, mentioned how important it was to have a team that “acted like they were full-time employees.” Jim Brennan of BetterCloud also echoed that statement saying that Sparq is “a true partner and somebody that’s aligned with our values, and it’s only served to further our resolve that we’ve made the right choice in terms of who to choose as a partner.” This means we don’t just own the work, we own the related business outcome; it drives us to be client-centric in everything that we do.
Focused on success
“Create raving fans” is one of Sparq’s core values for a reason. It not only encourages us to take ownership of every aspect of a client engagement, but keeps us 100% focused on their success. After all, anytime a client succeeds, I can’t help but feel like we’ve succeeded too.
About the Author
With over 20 years of experience, John Kosar has helped some of the Southeast’s largest corporations with digital engagement and transformation across technology, process, people, and infrastructure. His teams have focused on all things Agile from Enterprise and Mobile Application Delivery, to DevOps and QA, and Cloud Solutions. As a certified scrum master, product owner, and Agile marketer John not only understands the value in delivering quality but he is also always uncovering better ways to improve business outcomes.
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