ASK THE EXPERTS. Business Development Trends & Best Practices. Brad Douglas Shipley Associates, CEO

Transcription

1 ASK THE EXPERTS Business Development Trends & Best Practices Brad Douglas Shipley Associates, CEO David Bol Shipley Associates, SVP Business Winning Services-West Eric Gregory Shipley Associates, SVP Business Winning Services-East

2 Follow On Our Live Twitter Use: #shipleysocial 2

3 Webinar Agenda Trends and Best Practices in Business Development The Virtual Workforce Recruit the Best Talent New Competitors More Online Bid Requests/Acquisition Portals Social Media Long-Term Position Unpredictable Customer Buying Schedule Cost and Risk are Evaluation Keys (Source Selection) Automation in Business Development Business Development Being More Widely Accepted 3

4 Trend: The Virtual BD Workforce Many companies are moving to a disperse workforce, including BD personnel Often BD personnel located near the customer proposal team elsewhere How to effectively manage a virtual BD team or organization? 4

5 Best Practice for Leveraging Virtual BD Teams Over-communicate. Don t skimp on technology you need great collaboration tools. Get to know your people (team and leadership. Clarify roles and responsibilities early. Hold people accountable. 5

6 Trend: Recruiting the Best Talent Nobody is safe Your competitors will come after your best people Millennials continue to enter the workforce Technology is driving the recruiting battle 6

7 Best Practice for Recruiting Best Talent Think beyond recruiting think retention. Employee referrals (almost half of recruiters say that employee referrals are their top source of quality hires). Social media is significant tool. Mobility enables remote workers. No cookie cutter approach works. 7

8 Trend: New Competitors - Everywhere Almost monthly new competitors Government IT and digital transformation are highest growth market segments Different, often unexpected competitors Teams and alliances form new competitors Mergers and acquisitions not going away No markets; no technologies are immune Worst competitor can be your incumbent status or past performance 8

9 Best Practice for New Competitors Invest in research and analysis get ahead. Focus on discriminators - Differentiate your offerings with to focus on best value. Build brand strength - Your customers value thought leadership and innovation. Avoid complacency- Competitors have a habit of keeping you on your toes. Focus on markets with the best ROI Use caution when entering new markets with new solutions assess risk vs. reward. 9

10 Trend: More Online Bid Requests/Acquisition Portals Examples of various platforms and tools: Ariba (SAP) Deltek Govwin + Onvia Bloomberg Government Govini findrfp.com FedBizOps GSA Advantage govpurchase.com epipeline.com governmentbids.com bidnet.com ezgovopps.com Cal Procure 10

11 Best Practice for Online Submissions/Bids Avoid getting caught up in the system Don t abandon win strategy development Do competitor analysis Perform SWOT internal and external Pay attention to compliance and responsiveness Answer the questions, but add value (responsive) Know and test the system(s) early rehearse submittal Always seek confirmation of receipt 11

12 Trend: Social Media Leverage for Long-Term Positioning Increase your visibility If you re not reaching potential customers, your competitors are Boost your brand awareness Increase conversion (win) rates Validate claims with success stories and past performance 12

13 Best Practice for Social Media Define Your Platforms and Themes. Each platform provides unique outlets to your audience. Keep Brand Message Consistent. Defining your social media personality isn't uncommon, but you must keep it consistent. Research Competitive Analysis. Let social media be an extra set of eyes. Engage, Interact & Humanize. Know your customer. Leverage Multiple Platforms. There is no one-size-fits-all. Stay Current. Content is king. According to Social Media Today, the average person spends 116 minutes on social media each day. That equates to nearly a whole month out of the year. 13

14 Trend: Unpredictable Customer Buying Schedule and Process Government and business customers delay or speed up acquisition with little or no notice to suppliers Acquisitions start and stop and start Protests aren t going away Contract types (IDIQ, Matoc, LPTA, Best Value) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Alternative acquisition methods being explored 14

15 Best Practice for Unpredictable Customer Buying Schedules & Process Be nimble and flexible Cross-train talent the support business development activities and milestones Outsource or co-source to expand capacity and handle surge needs Learn and follow acquisition changes: OTA Know what s going on DIUX (Defense Innovation Unit Experimental) Expect the unexpected 15

16 Trend More Focus on Cost and Performance Risk Evaluators are focusing more and more on cost and risk (capability) Trade offs are alive and well From evaluator: I ll take a higher priced solution over a high risk solution every time. Past performance often a bad position to be in (during times of change) Price Unacceptable Minimum Acceptable Formal Requirements Unawardable The Win Zone Unbelievable Capability Value (desired features) Maximum Reasonable Unachievable Gold plating Maximum Budget Addressable Budget Minimum Reasonable 16

17 Best Practice for Upgrading BD Capability Know where you re at Apply the BD Capability Maturity Model Set a capability maturity target Prepare and implement your improvement plan Maintain and extend your capability 17

18 Best Practice for Assessing Cost and Capability Risk Competitor analysis a must Price to win analysis Balance risk (capability) and cost think like the customer Costs are not defined in a vacuum; they reflect your understanding of the customer s budget Opportunity Discovered Customer Price Expectations and Budgets, Price to Compete Developed Competitors Price Points Estimated Price to Win Established 18

19 Trend: Automation of Business Development Activities Capture and proposal support automation tools continue to improve Artificial intelligence is making an entrance Content databases and repositories more common The Cloud is here to stay To secure the best future for your company, adopting new technology may be the key to retaining and acquiring more clients. 19

20 Best Practice for BD Automation Do your homework Do you have resources and talent to implement? Will your initiative be sustainable? What about changes, new versions, new procurement policies? Have you determined ROI? Try before you buy Have a sustainment plan in place Talk to users 20

21 Trend: Business Development More Widely Accepted as Key to Success More and more companies are investing in business development Advancing business develop maturity pays off Win more business at less cost Forecast and manage revenue accurately Improve working relationships with customers and colleagues Control and direct business development activities and costs Reduce delivery risk Reduce employee job stress and turnover Improve employee morale, work environment, and advancement opportunities 21

22 BD CMM Maturity Levels 22

23 Ways to Advance Maturity Level Prepare improvement plans and manage change Re-engineer business development processes and tools Train personnel to instill relevant skills and competencies Design, develop, and deploy improved systems and infrastructure Educate managers for next-generation BD-CMM innovations 23

24 Summary of Best Practices Let the virtual workforce be your friend Recruit the Best Talent Know Your Competitors and Your Markets Leverage Social Media Long-Term Positioning Count on Unpredictable Customer Buying Schedules Be Aware of Cost and Risk as Evaluation Factors Evaluate BD Automation Carefully Recognize BD as Core Ingredient to Success Mature Your Capability 24

25 Questions Follow Shipley on social media: Shipley Associates Shipley University Shipley Associates 25

26 Thank You! Brad Douglas Shipley Associates, CEO David Bol Shipley Associates, SVP Business Winning Services-West Eric Gregory Shipley Associates, SVP Business Winning Services-East 26