Selling Beyond the Bid Process

Developing a bid response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the private or public sectors is time consuming, resource intensive and in most cases the end result will be a "no sale" unless you are the incumbent, or have established a strong business relationship with the decision-makers in advance.

If you did not write or help the client develop the bid requirements, your chances of winning are less than 20%. Why? Most bids, either directly or indirectly are biased toward another vendor's products or services. Oftentimes, the incumbent plays a significant role in developing the bid specifications, or it is a bias on the part of the client's internal team toward a particular solution that influences the bid specifications and the final outcome.

So, how do you increase your odds of winning when you are in a loss position before you even start to formulate a proposal response? The most effective way to improve your win rates in bid situations is to change the ground rules and sell beyond the bid process.

First, you should know that the vast majority of RFP's are shopping lists that seldom track with the client's true business requirements. In order for you to increase your chances of winning, it's important to meet with the decision-makers and bid team separately (outside of the bidder's conference) to determine the true underlying business requirements, priorities and to identify any potential biases. This will enable you to tailor your bid response to the client's specific business needs, once a determination has been made to move forward with the response.

Next, understand the motivation behind the bid. In the public sector a formal bid may be a mandatory requirement. Many government entities, for example, require that a minimum of three bids be sourced and evaluated prior to vendor selection. However, in the private sector RFP's are generally driven by a level of dissatisfaction with the current vendor, or someone's desire to assess the broader market for enhanced capabilities or extended services to address the company's future business needs. Regardless, it's important for you to know what (and who) is driving the decision to shop the market before attempting to develop a bid response.

Once you have determined the client's business requirements, hot buttons, decision criteria and biases, you can then decide how (or if) you want to proceed. Power Base Selling, written by Jim Holden, is a great resource for salespeople to help them transform their approach to selling, particularly in highly competitive bid situations. Before moving forward with a bid or proposal response, the Power Base Selling methodology requires that you answer these critical questions:

1. Do I have an opportunity?
2. Should I compete?
3. Can I win?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, it is time to abort and no bid, unless of course a no bid response would materially limit your ability to sell other products and services to the client in the future.
If the answer to all three questions is "yes" and the decision is to move forward, then get creative by developing a solution that uniquely positions you as the front runner when it is time for the client to make a decision. Think about incorporating other elements not covered in the scope of the bid - i.e. additional services, value bundles, upgrades, etc. into your response as another way to differentiate your bid response and reinforce that you did your homework to understand the client's specific business needs. Create an "Other Considerations" addendum to your proposal to highlight these enhanced capabilities and/or future requirements you identified in meetings with the decision-makers and bid team.

Throughout the bid and selection process it is important for you to stay in touch with the client decision-makers and bid team so they are fully briefed on the critical attributes of your solution that distinguish you from the competition. Staying in touch with the decision-makers and the bid team will also help you keep abreast of any changes to the bid requirements, selection criteria or decision parameters, while strengthening your key business relationships within the client's hierarchy.

Selling beyond the bid process is all about finding creative ways to help you favorably influence the outcome of the decision and improve your odds of winning the business. So, don't allow the bid process itself to hinder your ability to deliver a solution that will ultimately exceed the client's expectations and differentiate you from the competition.

Good luck and good selling!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Are You the 'World Wide Wes' of Your Industry?

A couple weeks ago I happened to tune into the Mike and Mike in the Morning show on ESPN Radio while in route to a networking breakfast. Jalen Rose, retired NBA basketball player and sports commentator was a guest on the show to discuss where LeBron James will end up if he decides to opt out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But that was not the most interesting segment of the show to me. The most interesting part of the program was when the conversation shifted to William Wesley (a.k.a. World Wide Wes) and the influence he could have on the decision regarding LeBron James' basketball future. I'm a big NBA basketball fan, but have to admit I had never heard of Mr. Wesley and neither had the radio show co-host Mike Golic, much to his chagrin, as he would discover a little later in the broadcast.

As I learned during the conversation, Mr. Wesley is widely touted as one of the most prominent figures in the sports and entertainment industry today, and received the nickname 'World Wide Wes' from Jalen Rose several years ago. I later discovered a 2007 GQ magazine article about Mr. Wesley titled "Is This the Most Powerful Man in Sports? That said, In the NBA, all roads lead to one man, whom you've probably never heard of: William Wesley - a.k.a. World Wide Wes - the most connected, most discreet, most influential man on and off the court ..."

Mr. Wesley hails from New Jersey and Mike Golic played professional football right down the road with the Philadelphia Eagles (1987-1992). As the conversation about World Wide Wes continued Mr. Golic said, "If this guy is so influential, how come I've never heard of him and I played football in Philadelphia for five years?" World Wide Wes was listening to the program and almost on cue; he sent a text message to Jalen Rose during the live broadcast. His message said, "Tell Mike Golic that I was with Jerome Brown, a close friend of Mr. Golic and former Philadelphia Eagles star, and we picked him up at the airport when he first came to Philadelphia."

World Wide Wes was able to recall the restaurant they ate at some 20+ years ago, what Mike Golic ordered for dinner, and that he liked extra sauce on his ribs. Needless to say, Golic was stunned, but could still recall little about the dinner meeting with Mr. Wesley or World Wide Wes himself. Mr. Wesley declined to join the trio live on the radio show when asked, which only added to his aura as one of the most connected, discreet and influential people in sports today.

So, are you the World Wide Wes of your industry? Do you have his keen ability to not only connect with the Michael Jordan's and Jay-Z's of your world on a close personal level, but also work behind the scenes with key people within your industry to help drive decisions and affect change? Besides his incredible recall abilities, Mr. Wesley appears to have an extraordinary capacity for building strong relationships with people at all levels within his industry and the influence to bring them together to make things happen.

In business as in everything else in life, making a difference isn't necessarily about titles, power and authority, it's about helping people get what they want. And it's about connecting them to people who can facilitate those types of "win-win" scenarios. You don't have to be the Chairman of the Board, or World Wide Wes to make a difference, just be there to provide guidance and support to those who could use your help the most.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll