I don t get no respect! How to expand your influence & heighten your personal profile. Colorado Chapter Meeting August 13, 2012

Transcription

1 I don t get no respect! How to expand your influence & heighten your personal profile Colorado Chapter Meeting August 13, 2012

2 Introduction Stumbled into proposal writing 12 years at Healthways, Inc. took it from a one-man shop to 10 people in 6 years Got passionate about proposals at my first APMP conference in 2002 Earned Foundation Level accreditation in 2007 Started consulting in July of 2009 Lead APMP s Health Care Industry Task Force Awarded APMP Fellows Award in 2011

3 Discussion Points Keys to success Defining and communicating your value Serving your internal clients Thinking and acting strategically Implementation Q&A TODAY S GOAL: Empower, Motivate, and get Respect!

4 Keys to Success To expand your influence you must build trust. Building trust within your organization and with pursuit teams includes: Communicating your value Serving your internal clients Thinking & acting strategically Expand your influence Communicating your value Serving your internal clients Thinking & acting strategically

5 Communicating Your Value Change the perception of what you have to offer Document and share what you do SOPS / process flows / project plan / methodology Roles & responsibilities Exploit your affiliation with APMP I m not alone Don t do it because I said so, do it because the worldwide authority for professionals dedicated to the process of winning business said so Accreditation proof that you re a professional Leverage your knowledge Know-it-all The proposal SME

6 Serving your Internal Clients Be a thought partner Develop relationships with your sales teams & SMEs Find common ground Get involved on a social level Decide how you re going to work together Determine how they want to give you the information DELIVER on your promises Be honest Be inclusive Be on-time Be consistent Be PROACTIVE vs. reactive

7 Thinking Strategically Relate what you do to the big picture within your organization Know your organization s goals around revenue/growth Know your department s goals and metrics Know how your personal performance is measured Organization s metrics and goals Your win loss rate How you fit into the big picture Competitive landscape Think beyond the written proposal

8 Thinking Strategically Relate what you do to the big picture beyond your organization Know what the competition is doing and how your company ranks Speak the language of your leadership report out to show how you are helping meet the goals Changing your professional brand one proposal at a time

9 From a pursuit perspective think beyond the proposal and get involved with all aspects of the deal including: Client research Relationship mapping Competitive landscape and spend Internal and external client proposal debriefs Celebrate the win! Acting Strategically Get more involved, if you can Get involved in more conversations

10 Acting Strategically Executing on the knowledge you obtain Writing to your external customer Address the points that are important to the buyer, not you Let them know you heard them Develop specific messages that you weave throughout the proposal Solve their problem Give them a reason to choose you Make it easy for the evaluators

11 Implementation Key takeaways and handouts Sample proposal process Relationship/touchpoint campaign SWOT analysis Kick-off meeting template

12 Sample Proposal Process Qualify the opportunity (strategy) What is current relationship with the client? Who are we competing against? How will we win the work? Identify pursuit timeline (project management) When is RFP issued (if applicable)? When is proposal due? Will there be a QA session or other client meetings? If so, will a separate deliverable(s) be required? Develop your proposal (content creation) Gather and tailor information for documents (e.g., bios, industry qualifications, client service history, etc.) Finalize value proposition, messaging, team, and pricing Have the document formatted so it is client ready Obtain sign-off and agree on production (i.e., on-line procurement system; soft copy; hard copies) Orals preparation (if short-listed) Win/loss update Seek feedback from client

13 Relationship/Touchpoint Campaign Who do we know at the client? Who is the actual buyer? Who are the decision maker(s) vs. influencer(s) Develop an action plan to gain intelligence before you get shut out due to an RFP process It is all about relationship building. Help make those relationships work for you!

14 SWOT Analysis

15 Kick-off Meeting Example

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25 Let s Talk

26 Thanks for having me! Robin Davis, AF. APMP Robin Davis Consulting