Innovation September-October 2013

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among other service pro- viders you need to dem- onstrate that you have some. Demonstrating your expertise through examples of work you have completed or pub- lished shows you know your stuff. Even better is to propose alternate per- spectives to the challenges potential clients are facing to let them know you are Timing is everything when you’re selling, so staying in front of a prospect should be an automated drip process . Whether you are a member of a group they frequently attend or you send out a regular e-mail a creative thinker. Regular Contact

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newsletter, make sure you have a consistent, easily maintained method of staying top of mind with the people you meet. Next Steps: Opportunity Analysis As a result of staying in touch and impressing a potential client with your ability, that client may alert you to an opportunity before the RFP drops. Since you recorded their answers to the standard information you gathered when you first met, you have a good idea of what they will need and how they will choose their vendor. It is time to dig in to this specific opportunity. Scope Any information you can glean about the broad scope of the project pre-RFP will help you prepare a great proposal. By asking questions in advance and identifying factors the prospect may not have considered, you may actually be able to influence the scope of work itself. You can also gather verbal information that may not be included in the RFP. Personal Drivers Hypothesize about what the Decision Maker wants to accomplish in their career, not just in this project. For example, sometimes they want to demonstrate to their boss that they are the smartest or the most capable person to bring the project in on time. In this case, your proposed project management process can include regular detailed project updates with information they can present as their own. If, however, they are so busy with other work that they just want to contract a trustworthy supplier so they can pay little attention to the project and feel confident it is being completed, the last thing they want is to be mired in the details. In this case, you can propose a less involved approach. Either way, the

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