Always Be Selling
Part of being a good researcher is having to sell the work we do.
And no one does it better than Mayank. “Always be selling,” he says. He’s so good at this that he sold me my job as a UX Researcher, leaving behind a permanent position working in the comfort of my home and pajamas. Here’s the full story about that:
Our last Mayank Monday post, Be Annoying, focused on the effort and energy we put into guiding stakeholders to a larger conclusion and how sometimes that could be a longame. Building on that, I’d like to take it a step further back to how we often have to convince stakeholders that bringing in research (especially early in the process) could help them greatly.
When convincing my own stakeholders, I always sell them on the value of what additional research can provide by anticipating their future needs. Of course, I can run a usability test on a prototype — and while I’m at it, I can find out how the prototype performed across user segments by including a few demographic questions. It’s like a 2-for-1 deal! Plus selling additional methods, questions, or other means in anticipation of future questions will save you a lot of work in the long run. It’s not an easy job but somebody has to do it.
Written by Marlana Coignet
Marlana is a UX Researcher for Verizon Connect, specializing in surveys and other mixed method research. The self-proclaimed Costco Queen spends her free time in Costco, talking about Costco, or eating something she bought… at Costco.
