[off-topic] how to "sell" GIS idea?

[Richard Orth - osmoGIS Incorporated]

Use the proprietary software's GIS news and articles to help make your 
sale. Use the stories of the success of GIS, just don't state the 
specific software used during your pitch

Some potential sources for information:
http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/arcnews.html
http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/index.html
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/
http://www.directionsmag.com/
http://www.mapinfo.com/registration/tier1/Registration.jsp

I'm sure there are many others; check industry and forestry newsletters. 
Just remember to use anything you find as examples, such as "doubled 
production of farmed pulp timber in five years". DON'T cite any specific 
software.
Good luck!

Richard C Orth


Eduardo Patto Kanegae wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> Recently one customer asked me a hard favor: to sell GIS ideas to the 
> president's company!
>
> For me , this is very hard to do, because "presidents" normally knows 
> *business* language, not GIS-language
> or IT-languages .
>
> What we are trying to do basically is to *sell* the creation of a new 
> department inside the company. The company
> is the forestry division of a pulp-n-paper brazilian insdustry.
>
> the main goal of this new proposed department is
> to create, test and prototype GIS solutions for the forestry day to 
> day operations. ( and of course,
> my contribution here is help them to do it only using FOSS 
> solutions... or as much as possible :-).
> so, HOW to do it will not be the problem.
>
> My real problem is: "how to SELL GIS benefits, but NOT using technical 
> terms?"
>
> does anybody recommend any links or bibliography?
>
> best regards.
>