Better yet, why the hell would I want to buy the services of an Information Architect for my next web project? That is, if I even can explain to my manager what an IA is and does! I love what these guys do, but they need a better sales pitch. Ask 10 people if they know what Semiotics is. There, I've made my point.

From SellingIA, here are some approaches to consider. Frankly, these sound OK to me. I might just be interested in buying now...

* ROI - cost justifying
* shortening time to market/launch
* reducing risk through analyis and ProtoTypes
* strengthing brand communication
* innovating and establishing competitive advantages
* public relations payoffs for friendlier design & increased customer satisfaction
* reduced cost of redesign due to strategic design laid down now
* well thought out structures leads to consistency which can empower others/partners to produce synergistic products/services

Generally speaking, SellingIA has more to do with cost justifying the return on investment to internal buyers rather than direct selling to the client since most IA projects don't exist in isolation, coming part and parcel with the actual development.

Assume the sale...anyone who doesn't bring usability in concurrent to design and functional spec development will surely have problems down the road. Forrester has done some nice research on this one.

What he said. IA is an integral part of our process. A big part of my job is to make sure we are working with clients that understand that before we spend a lot of time writing proposals, etc. We don't do crappy little web sites, and if that is all the client wants I typically punt on the project.

I agree with both of you. Yet for so many of us, even those who 'grew up on the web', IA is not a foreign concept necessarily, but often times is still not at the fore of our design and development process. Even within our own company, and we do this for a living (websites and interactive dev) we have to step back and say, so, how is this thing architected. Just like exercising or picking up a new skill, you have to make it habit to always be thinking of IA in your endeavors.