Business Development for Professional Services (Summit Presentation to Queen's University)

Business Development

for Professional Services

Queen’s University, School of Business

09-20-2013

Peggy Steele

Principal, Summit Proposal Group Inc.

© Summit Proposal Group Inc. ("Summit") 2013. All Rights Reserved. 1

Agenda

• Round‐Table Introductions

• Business Development Lifecycle – Theory, Best Practices1. Market Research

2. Capture Management

3. Proposal Management

4. Relationship Management

• Case Studies – Your Project Proposals


Profile – Peggy Steele

• 14 years of consulting experience:• Market Research and Strategy• Capture and Proposal Management• Procurement Advisory• Business Planning and Strategy• Business Process Reengineering• IM/IT Strategy

• Industries: Public Sector (Specialization); Financial Services; Technology; and Life Sciences

• Global: Canada (Specialization); US; Australia; and European Union

• Queen’s University B.Com 1999


Experience

Overview: Business Development Lifecycle


Market Research Capture Management Proposal Management

RFP Release

Project D

elivery

BP3‐2: Manage Proposals Like a Project

BP3‐3: Thoroughly Plan Content

BP3‐4: Run Structured Reviews

BP3‐5: Use a Structured Proposal Process

BP2‐1: Assess Opportunities BP3‐1: Plan for RFx

BP2‐2: Develop Capture Strategies

BP2‐3: Develop Capture Plans

BP1‐1: Conduct Historical Market Research

BP1‐2: Conduct Forward‐Looking Market Research

Relationship Management

BP1‐3: Conduct Market Research Annually

Regularly Identify, Monitor Opportunities Business Development is a Cross‐Practice

Responsibility

Part 1: Market Research


Market Research


Not This… But This…

• Pick what to win

• Typically includes:• Historical Market

Research

• Forward‐Looking Market Research

Market Research – Key Best Practices

• BP1‐1: Conduct Historical Market Research• Top Vendors / Incumbents Matter – Do you really know who your

competitors are?

• Buying Patterns Matter – Do you really know what your clients’ preferences are?

• BP1‐2: Conduct Forward‐Looking Market Research• Follow the Money – What are your clients’ key issues, priorities, and

opportunities?

• BP1‐3: Conduct Market Research Annually• Findings change from year to year

• Multi‐year patterns are important


Part 2: Capture Management


Capture Management



• Position to win

• Typically includes:• Opportunity Assessment

• Capture Strategy

• Capture Plan

Capture Management – Key Best Practices

• BP2‐1: Assess Opportunities• Combine market research (external analysis) with internal market

intelligence (staff) to define pipeline

• Make a “go / no‐go” decision:

• Can we win this? (Capability, Capacity, Client Relationship)

• Should we win this? (Strategic Fit)

• BP2‐2: Develop Capture Strategies• For each opportunity, identify the win strategy

• What discriminators and/or differentiators will you highlight?

• What competitor discriminators and/or differentiators will you downplay?


Capture Management – Key Best Practices

• BP 2‐3: Develop Capture Plans• For each opportunity, identify the activities to build the client

relationship and position for the opportunity

• For example: client calls, presentations, and demos; establish vendor partnerships; competitor acquisition(s); build or hire expertise; etc.


Part 3: Proposal Management


Proposal Management



• Plan to win

• Typically includes:• Proposal Win Strategy• Proposal Outline• Proposal Writing• Proposal Review• Proposal Production &

Delivery• Proposal Management

Proposal Management


• Consulting proposals vary significantly:• Complexity – Corporate, Methodology, Business, Functional,

Technical, and/or Resource Requirements

• Size – Multiple Pages to Multiple Boxes

• Formats – PPT, Word, Multimedia

Proposal Management – Small Firm

Typically letter proposals, including:• Who Describe the resources advising, managing, and/or

delivering the project (e.g. experience summaries, profiles, and/or resumes).

• What Describe the in‐scope consulting services.

• When Describe the key project activities and milestones (e.g. calendar, Gantt Chart).

• Where Describe the project location (e.g. client site, off‐site).

• Why Describe the key client issues and objectives behind the project.

• How Describe any approaches and methodologies to be used (e.g. SDLC).

• Cost Describe the cost (e.g. rate x LOE estimate), including any assumptions.


Proposal Management – Big Firm

• BP3‐1: Prepare for RFx• Typically ~80% RFX requirements are “common”

• If we have no insights into what the client will ask for, we should question our win probability

• BP3‐2: Manage Proposals Like a Project• Proposals = time‐compressed projects

• So, manage proposals like you would a project:

• Develop a Proposal Management Plan

• Communicate, Implement and Monitor Plan


Proposal Management – Big Firm

• BP3‐3: Thoroughly Plan Content• Consider developing a section outline prior to drafting content

• Plan out sections (e.g. target page range, win themes, boilerplates vs. net‐new content, visuals, relevant experience, external proof points such as client quotations and industry rankings, etc.)

• BP3‐4: Run Structured Reviews• Mandatory – Validates mandatory requirements are met

• Rated – Validates rated requirements are addressed to maximize score

• BP3‐5: Use a Structured Proposal Process• Establish a CMM appropriate to your firm

• Aim to move from “compliant” to “high scoring” to “efficient” and, finally, “consistently efficient”


Proposal Management – All Firms

Key Characteristics of Winning Proposals

Client Focussed Demonstrates understanding of ...

• Opportunity requirements

• Client current state issues

• Client future state objectivesValue Packed • Clearly communicate benefits of selecting vendor

Succinct • Clear, concise proposal

Visually Appealing

• Well formatted

• Rich in visuals (e.g. figures, tables)

• Consistent look‐and‐feel

A proposal is an opportunity to build relationship, brand.


Part 4: Relationship Management





• Become a trusted advisor

• Typically includes:• Pre‐Delivery Relationship

Development• Delivery Relationship

Development• Post‐Delivery Relationship

Development


• BP4‐1: Proactively build, maintain strong relationships with existing and target clients

• Clients buy based on who they trust to deliver

• “Trusted Advisor” relationships can help firms:

• Avoid business development lifecycle (e.g. directed)

• Shorten business development lifecycle (e.g. project extensions, amendments)

• Influence business development lifecycle (e.g. shape RFP requirements)

• There are no shortcuts; trust can only be fostered over time, with effort (e.g. being in the trenches with clients)

• Even after delivery, keep in contact with the clients – stay top‐of‐mind (e.g. catch‐up emails, helpful articles)


Recap: Business Development Lifecycle


Market Research Capture Management Proposal Management

RFP Release

Project D

elivery

BP3‐2: Manage Proposals Like a Project

BP3‐3: Thoroughly Plan Content

BP3‐4: Run Structured Reviews

BP3‐5: Use a Structured Proposal Process

BP2‐1: Assess Opportunities BP3‐1: Plan for RFx

BP2‐2: Develop Capture Strategies

BP2‐3: Develop Capture Plans

BP1‐1: Conduct Historical Market Research

BP1‐2: Conduct Forward‐Looking Market Research


BP1‐3: Conduct Market Research Annually

Regularly Identify, Monitor Opportunities Business Development is a Cross‐Practice

Responsibility

Case Studies and Discussion


Contact Information

Peggy Steele

Principal, Summit Proposal Group Inc.

[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/peggysteele

@peggy_steele | @SummitWins


© Summit Proposal Group Inc. ("Summit") 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at: [email protected].