Innovation September-October 2013

i ns igh t Win the Work before You Bid: The Pre-RFP Sales Process

Tara Landes

Your team will improve close rates dramatically by using these tools: 1. Ten Introductory Questions 2. Automated Drip THEORY INTO ACTION 4 Tools that Sell

If you are an engineer who aspires to be a key player in your firm, you have to know how to win clients. To reliably bring in business, particularly from new clients, you must begin the sales process long before you write the proposal. When you know a prospect very well you can tailor your response to their RFP in a way that few competitors can and even fewer bother to do. Writing a customized response takes just as long as picking through past proposals to find previously written pieces that sort of apply, so it makes sense to customize each RFP response to its specific audience. But, this process only works if you get to know the client before the RFP drops. Intuitively we know that people prefer to buy from people they know, especially people who “really get them.” Yet very few engineering firms teach their staff the most effective and efficient ways to build these relationships. The standard advice is “You need to network,” “Go for lunch,” or “Try calling them.” The unspoken question from the employee is: “How?” The following four topics provide an overview of how you can implement a pre-proposal sales process to help win new business for your firm. Introduction – Getting to Know the Client

3. Personal Driver List 4. Proposal Scorecard

Going for lunch or networking allow you to progress the sales process, but only if you have a plan for what to do when you get in front of those prospects. So, once you have a potential client in mind, what do you need to do to have the best chance of converting a sale? Ask Standard Questions Develop a list of ten pieces of information you will always gather about a company when you are getting to know them. Examples might be: Who are the decision makers? What is their purchasing process? What markets do they serve? What is a typical project size? How often do they use the kinds of services you provide? If you have these questions top of mind and practice your information gathering regularly, they become second nature when you meet a new contact. Demonstrate Competency Your trade is in ideas, so to stand out

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