Outside Client Project Part 1- Client Identification

Directions

In addition to the suggestions offered here, chapter four of your Bowdon and Scott book provides a good overview of the client identification and selection process. This part of the project is worth 5% of your final grade.

To complete this part of the project, your team will select two potential clients and submit them to me for review using the Potential Client form available on the web before proceeding.  To ensure the best possible outcome, you should consider the following selection criteria as you identify and decide on a potential outside client:

• Your client must be a local campus or community non-profit organization that is physically accessible to every team member.
  
• You must establish a relationship with an organization contact person who has the time and interest to participate, as well as the authority to make decisions about your proposal and deliverables.
  
• Due to the lengthy duration of the project, every member of your team must find some aspect of the client's organization interesting and appealing.

Some Preparation and Guidelines for Working with Clients

Professionals, particularly in service-oriented organizations, are generally busy people. It is important that you present your team professionally by preparing to meet with potential clients. This includes:

• doing some background research on the organization so that you know what they do and how you might contribute.
  
• having a plan about the kinds of documents your team might be able to produce for the organization given their needs (i.e. web sites, employee or volunteer manuals, newsletters, software documentation, educational or training materials).
  
• providing a timeline for interaction between your team and the organization regarding research, proposals, feedback, and deliverables.

Be clear with potential clients about how you plan to contribute to their organizations through the production of communication materials. You should also make sure that your contact person and/or organization understand their role and responsibilities in this project. The clearer everyone is about expectations, the more smoothly and successfully your project will proceed.

Once you have narrowed your potential clients to two, your team will use the Potential Client form to meet with me to discuss the final selection.  This conference will take place on Tuesday, September 20th.

Client Leads

Clicking here will link you to a page with a number of leads and ideas for selecting a client for your team.