How should I propose Trello integration for a small business?

Question

I am an employee at a small restaurant with big aspirations. I love my place of work because everyone is at once deeply talented and invested in growth and redefining what it means to work in the service industry. However, I argue that our collective talent is wasted without a coherent and traceable medium for documenting employee performance, business growth projects, and general business updates.

How would I go about drafting a proposal to the owner to argue the effectiveness of Trello for company-wide communication and projects? Should I create a pitch deck? I don't have experience writing proposals like this.

Note: We do not currently have an HR Department

Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting · Answer

Hi Chandler,

Always great to see someone from hospitality interested in Trello, there is huge potential in that industry. You don't have experience in writing proposals but that is okay. 90% of the time a deck of slides does nothing more than distract people.  I have spent my working life proposing solutions to sceptics so I have seen first hand how disengaging it can be.

Before even getting started on that, you have to know some key point to selling a solution:

* They have to want it, they may not know it yet and that part of your job, to open their eyes to it.  1st rule in sales, don't sell to people who don't want what you're selling
* Their vision has to be on the same page as yours and they have to believe that getting there will problematic unless they have the solution you are selling
* You have to know the pain points. What problems occur now that can be fixed by a system like Trello.  They more pain they are in, the more likely they are to take the medicine!
* They have to believe in the product, they have to be confident that it is the solution for them.  With a blank canvas like Trello, the best way is to see it in action, see what it can do for them. 
* They have to trust that you

1 thing you can do is actually use Trello as the bases for any presentation, instead of Pitch Deck.  Nothing says you are confident in the product more than using it to sell it to people.

I hope this helps but give me a shout if you want any other info.

Riley Venable · Answer

You could start by creating a pitch deck that outlines the benefits of using Trello for company-wide communication and projects. You could include information about how Trello can help create an issue for each candidate you are considering hiring, then track the progress of their recruitment on the board, and get a quick overview of who's been interviewed, who's been screened, and more. You could also include information about how Trello can help review customer communication via Twitter, Facebook, public development boards, and incoming email that raise common themes and excellent ideas to the team.
Additionally, you could include information about how Trello can help members of the various teams within Trello meet regularly to discuss the overall direction of Trello and what features will help move the company in the right direction. Finally, you could include a link to the Trello blog article that gives even more detail about how Trello acts on customer requests.