How SE's can shorten the sales cycle: best practices in implementation and integration
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3430216/svg-font-4.png)
@eehayman
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739843/slide-1.png)
a tiny bit about algolia
hosted search as a service
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739887/Screen_Shot_2017-04-25_at_3.43.53_PM.png)
implementation process
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739879/slide-2.png)
What are you looking for?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739893/slide-3.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739896/slide-4.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739899/slide-5.png)
What is the "best"?
- User experience
- Relevancy
- Performance
- ....?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739913/f37a23863ae34d730c85e015b8366bb5.png)
the triad
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739952/slide-6.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739954/slide-8.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739955/slide-7.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739957/slide-9.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3739964/c05e82f0eba9635c43c8fd73b6920e9a.png)
the wonderful wide world of prospects
saas
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3433582/svg-18.png)
e-commerce
media
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3433478/svg-13.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3433478/svg-13.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3433478/svg-13.png)
A/B test-ready working POC
Help customer understand where Algolia can provide value
Guide customer through "mini" implementation phase
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740002/slide-10.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740005/slide-11.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740008/slide-12.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740020/c19e25dc9b3a323e973edafaf5d31c88.png)
the nitty-gritty
Timeline
Provide timeline with major milestones, working backwards from goal completion date
communication
- Slack channel
- Weekly check-ins
- Email threads
- Etc.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740040/ca0858fe2b2a3c7670d70c4a36a11276.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740044/a38911c63362c21c54745eb1f771863e.png)
milestone workshops
deep-dives into the product
- Help frame the upcoming phase
- Tackle bite-size chunks at a deeper level
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740060/slide-14.png)
tooling
SE Tools
Command line interface to run diagnostics on indices
side-by-side comparison
User interface to let customer test queries against two different indices
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740107/slide-19.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740108/slide-20.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740063/slide-15.png)
data indexing
- Offer data structure or format suggestions
- Write a script to update data
- Review data for potential optimizations
- Provide technical debugging of indexing issues
configure ranking & relevancy settings
- Identify problem queries and help debug relevancy issues
- Set up a side-by-side comparison tool to review relevancy across indices
- Provide suggestions to fine-tune ranking based off use-case / data
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740072/slide-16.png)
build the front-end user interface
- Create designs or wireframes to guide the user experience discussions
- Troubleshoot JS questions related to an Algolia library
- Build a full-fledged demo
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740075/slide-17.png)
"no battle plan survives contact with the enemy."
~ Helmuth von Moltke the elder
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740082/Helmuth_Karl_Bernhard_von_Moltke.jpg)
where will your hand-holding provide the most value?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/312421/images/3740087/slide-18.png)
Consider the context:
- Internal resources available
- KPIs identified
- Etc.
questions?
Solutions Engineering - Lessons Learned
By ehayman
Solutions Engineering - Lessons Learned
- 1,839