Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others?

[SueEllen]

^
Good points, well made.
I used the analogy to encourage the OP to consider his situation from a different angle and was not actually talking about cars.

I know you weren't but your analogy missed some important points there as Bluenose explained the situation more clearly.

Anyway in both cases it is about customers' perceptions and knowledge.

If you used the car analogy he would get some customers who run their BMW to the ground but would rarely get those who get a new BMW every few years. Also if he did get the latter they would probably cause him a headache checking all the parts he changed. However on the plus side he would also go customers with other manufacturers makes of cars.

[HugeWhale]

^
Good points, well made.
I used the analogy to encourage the OP to consider his situation from a different angle and was not actually talking about cars.

[SueEllen]

Made me think of car mechanics.
Many people take their cars to a BMW main dealer (and pay £80 an hour) because they believe they're getting a better service, when in fact they're getting a worse service as all the decent mechanics have left and set up on their own. They're paying £80 an hour for an apprentice to work on their car. But still they take their cars to main dealers rather than the scruffy guy with a garage under a railway arch who charges £40 an hour.

Why do they do this? I think it's because the guy under the railway arch isn't selling himself properly. He should play on his main dealer experience, scrub up, keep his garage to main dealer standards, maybe put some nice pictures of Beamers on the wall, make out professional invoices, wear spotless overalls....

Nope it's because the car manufacturer says if you want to sell your car on at the highest price in a few years it has to use BMW parts.

So some people think that the local garage won't use BMW parts even if they ask the guy to as garages have a reputation of being shady. They are also not aware unless your car is an established popular make and model you can only get manufacturer parts.

Before the law changed a few years ago people were told if it wasn't serviced by the main dealer then the dealer wouldn't part exchange it. Some people are not aware of this law change while others think for the life of the vehicle it must be serviced by the main dealer.

[Bluenose]

Hello,

I have worked for a couple of software vendors now and the contracting I do in a software is by a vendor. The software is worldwide and there is a good pool of people who can do the job I do.

However the advantage I seem to have is I have worked for the vendor for a number of years.

Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others? Does it bring an perceived advantage when competing with other candidates?

It is the badge that counts.

£2000 pd consultant with badge will always be perceived as more expert.

If you leave and have no badge the aura will last for 2 years and then you are like all the other rabble.

you could be working for a vendor like SAS being an 'SAS Guru'. one minute you are earning £90k living in the Ritz Carlton in a Doha for a year all expenses paid on an engagement, travelling to work in a chauffeur driven Jag.

Two years later you are on £450 pd working for a public sector body in Croydon, trying not to get stabbed on the tram.

[SeanT]

Why do they do this? I think it's because the guy under the railway arch isn't selling himself properly. He should play on his main dealer experience, scrub up, keep his garage to main dealer standards, maybe put some nice pictures of Beamers on the wall, make out professional invoices, wear spotless overalls....

In the example given, the person you describe is like an independent specialist, but then if a certain car brand goes out of fashion they'll have to retrain / retool or not have enough work on (I'm sure there's a profession this is a good analogy for, think it begins with a "c"...)

[eek]

I think to an extent it depends on the software vendor. I can only speak for the one I currently contract for but the overall knowledge of the people there is greater than I've encountered elsewhere.

[HugeWhale]

Made me think of car mechanics.
Many people take their cars to a BMW main dealer (and pay £80 an hour) because they believe they're getting a better service, when in fact they're getting a worse service as all the decent mechanics have left and set up on their own. They're paying £80 an hour for an apprentice to work on their car. But still they take their cars to main dealers rather than the scruffy guy with a garage under a railway arch who charges £40 an hour.

Why do they do this? I think it's because the guy under the railway arch isn't selling himself properly. He should play on his main dealer experience, scrub up, keep his garage to main dealer standards, maybe put some nice pictures of Beamers on the wall, make out professional invoices, wear spotless overalls....

[HealthyProtein]

It depends. You are a business now and it's not all tick box. So many factors. We can't just give you yes or no answers. For example. Now you've said just 2.5 years which doesn't makes you an expert so another variable etc...

What are you going to do with these answers as well? Is it just for your interest again or will it affect your decisions going forward.

Forget the bench learning BTW. If you don't have credible experience it won't make a difference.

I think you are struggling with the fundamentals of selling your skills to be honest.

I am looking to learn and understand so I can be better informed in how to operate.

[northernladuk]

Very insightful replies, thank you both.

So let's say you did consulting at the vendor for 2.5yrs and you worked with 20+ customers from various sectors from finance to NHS and the engagements were anything from ad-hoc 2hrs Webex to 3 month engagements from a technical point of view to more advisory roles, how about then?

And during that time you used the bench time to get exposure to other products, professional accreditations in appropriate subjects as well.

It depends. You are a business now and it's not all tick box. So many factors. We can't just give you yes or no answers. For example. Now you've said just 2.5 years which doesn't makes you an expert so another variable etc...

What are you going to do with these answers as well? Is it just for your interest again or will it affect your decisions going forward.

Forget the bench learning BTW. If you don't have demonstrable experience it won't make a difference.

I think you are struggling with the fundamentals of selling your skills to be honest.

[Eirikur]

Hello,

I have worked for a couple of software vendors now and the contracting I do in a software is by a vendor. The software is worldwide and there is a good pool of people who can do the job I do.

However the advantage I seem to have is I have worked for the vendor for a number of years.

Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others? Does it bring an perceived advantage when competing with other candidates?

No
I worked for a certain technology vendor (which was the market leader at the time in that technology) for 5 years in a perm role and only got contracts to work for clients that use competitive products, never got one which uses the technology of the vendor I worked for

[HealthyProtein]

Very insightful replies, thank you both.

So let's say you did consulting at the vendor for 2.5yrs and you worked with 20+ customers from various sectors from finance to NHS and the engagements were anything from ad-hoc 2hrs Webex to 3 month engagements from a technical point of view to more advisory roles, how about then?

And during that time you used the bench time to get exposure to other products, professional accreditations in appropriate subjects as well.

[northernladuk]

It depends on...

What you did at the vendor,
Who your client is
What you will be doing at the client
Whether you've got a good CV
How good you are in the interview
If you have plenty of previous experience in general

As a stand alone differentiator it's not that advantageous IMO.

[WTFH]

Hello,

I have worked for a couple of software vendors now and the contracting I do in a software is by a vendor. The software is worldwide and there is a good pool of people who can do the job I do.

However the advantage I seem to have is I have worked for the vendor for a number of years.

Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others? Does it bring an perceived advantage when competing with other candidates?

No, or at least not necessarily.
Experience is very important, but if that experience is only with one client, then it's not that broad.

I have worked with other contractors in the past who have worked for companies such as Oracle and while it's nice to see that on their CV, it's the companies and roles they have done since leaving that are of more interest, unless the job they were doing at the vendor is exactly the same as the role they go for at the client, or they add in "yeah, I designed/wrote that bit"

[HealthyProtein]

Hello,

I have worked for a couple of software vendors now and the contracting I do in a software is by a vendor. The software is worldwide and there is a good pool of people who can do the job I do.

However the advantage I seem to have is I have worked for the vendor for a number of years.

Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others? Does it bring an perceived advantage when competing with other candidates?