using what youve got

Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.

Using What You’ve Got: Preparing for RFPs and Proposals

Sara Willson-Thacker & Tricia PeckB2BCamp Summer 2013


When Procurement Attacks• New products and pioneering services make tasty

targets:– Commoditization happens fast– Contacts abdicate “buyer” status– Consultants appear out of nowhere


Prepare by Doing What You’re Already Doing

• Add more value to current info and activities• Acknowledge limited resources• Don’t do more than you need to…yet


Before You Get a RequestYou Need• Aligned Sales & Marketing

messaging, reality-checked by Delivery (Ops)

You Have• Approval processes for

website text & email templates, regular training for ALL, centrally stored competitive intel, etc.

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Why? Because this.

Sales

Delivery/OpsMarketing

Proposal


Before You Get a RequestYou Need• An honest assessment of:

– Buyer internal awareness– Individual contact awareness– Individual contact style

You Have• A CRM tool where you note:

– Buyer stakeholder information

– Relationships and conversations

– Info from additional resources (e.g., LinkedIn)

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Before You Get a RequestYou Need• Reliable flow of information

across the organization– Know who knows what– Share, share, share! – Be comfortable asking for

input, information and ownership

You Have

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Sales

DeliveryMarketing

Market Demand and Feedback

Solution and

Customer Feedback

Competitive Intel & Market

ChatterMarket

Positioning and Demand Gen

Prospect Requests and

Challenges

Solution Capabilities and Creative

Options


Before You Get a RequestYou Need• Someone to steer the ship

– Treat it like any other project– Think about candidates ahead

of time– Know your outsourcing

options in a pinch

You Have• Awesome employees

– Known strengths and weaknesses

– Cross-functional skills– Calm under pressure

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When You Get the Request• Scope it – deliverables, due date, team• Clearly identify and support your designated proposal

manager• Remember your roles, balanced with creative contribution

– Keep your buyer/evaluator in mind – technical, non-technical• Don’t forget all the work you’ve already done• Determine and document who has the “last red pen”


My Unofficial Minimum SLA• Say “you” more than “we”• Answer each question, and answer it directly– Corollary: Get to the “yes” as quickly as you can– Corollary: Don’t be afraid of the roadmap

• Show, don’t (just) tell• Never, never, never lie


Don’t Forget the Follow-up• Yes, have a debrief– Assess internal process, communication, content– Revisit what you thought you knew about your buyer– Look at the bigger picture: Was this a one-off? The beginning

of a trend? The emergence of a consultant?– Understand the situation before you take further action so

you don’t waste time, resources or money• Stay in touch with the customer, ask for feedback

using what youve got

Business