Back to Basics: Understanding Business Development Lifecycle

Transcription

1 Eric Gregory SVP Business Winning Brad Douglas President & CEO Tamara Buckman Director, Business Development Back to Basics: Understanding Business Development Lifecycle

2 Webinar Overview Understanding the Business Development Lifecycle Phases in the Lifecycle: Decision Gates and Milestone Reviews Phase 0: Segment the Market Phase 1: Position Early Phase 2: Assess and Qualify Opportunities Phase 3: Develop and Execute Capture Strategy Phase 4: Plan the Proposal/Bid Phase 5: Develop the Proposal Phase 6: Follow-up and Negotiate: Post-Submittal Activities Making it Work for You An Online Tool and BD Lifecycle Framework 2

3 Dispelling a Myth There is no such thing as the Shipley 96-step proposal process Proposal planning starts at Phase 4 of a 7-Phase lifecycle. 3

4 Definitions Business Development Lifecycle Forbes: Business development is the creation of long-term value for customers, markets, and business relationships Webster: A progression through a series of differing stages of development Business Development Lifecycle Shipley: A progression through revenue generating phases with activities or steps focused on meeting strategic objectives (financial, growth, stability) 4

5 More Definitions Phases A series of activities or steps leading to a decision to advance the lifecycle or opportunity Activities/Steps Specific tasks requiring action and accountability Decision Gates A milestone during a phase where a decision is made to advance the opportunity, re-direct, or stop Reviews Periodic, planned team sessions that evaluate the quality of the opportunity strategy and documentation Pwin Probability of winning; a measure to assess the likelihood of winning business 5

6 Gates vs. Reviews: What s the Difference? Decision Gates Purpose: to make decisions regarding allocation or withdrawal of BD resources Led by management Address business and strategic issues (Pwin) Specific outcomes (advance, end, or defer) Result in action and accountability plans Color Team Reviews Purpose: to improve quality of strategy and documentation Performed by management, staff, subject matter experts Address tactical (actionable) issues Wide variety of outcomes (qualitative and quantitative) Staff and peers execute outcomes

7 Caution: Don t Be Trapped by Process Improve Performance by: Streamlining repetitive tasks Standardizing approaches Enforcing policies Providing guidance on management priorities Consider the Possibilities of: Eliminating phases and gates Standardizing decisions Reducing tasks Combining reviews

8 8

9 9 Phase 0: Market Segmentation

10 10 Phase 0: Market Segmentation

11 Evaluating Our Market Readiness

12 Phase 0: Marketing/Campaign Decision Gate Questions Category Market Overview Competitive Landscape Fit with Strategic and Financial Plans Questions Have we defined a specific product or service we will provide? Do we know typical customers? Have we forecasted size of the market segment? Is our research valid? Unbiased? Have we identified competitors operating in the segment? Do we have qualifications, people, and facilities to enter the market? Does the necessary investment for market entry fit with our plans? Will contracts in this segment contribute to desired capabilities? Does our research support a favorable business case for entering the market segment? Can this market segment be profitable? Short-term? Long-term?

13 14 Phase 1: Long-Term Positioning

14 15 Phase 1: Long-Term Positioning

15 Phase 1: Interest Decision Gate Questions Category Opportunity Fit Positioning Customer Mission Competition Questions Is the opportunity real and funded? Do we know the potential project owner s perception of us? Can we expand in this market? Does this opportunity support our strategic, annual operating, account, or marketing plans? Does the customer know we are considering this opportunity? Are we an incumbent? If not, have we been actively calling on the prospect? Do we thoroughly understand the customer s mission? Do we know who potential competitors are likely to be? Can we team with a competitor if necessary? Are there alternatives to our likely solution?

16 18 Phase 2: Opportunity Assessment

17 19 Phase 2: Opportunity Assessment

18 Phase 2: Pursuit Decision Gate Questions Category Business Case Decision-Makers, Issues/Hot Buttons Contractor Role and Responsibilities Competition Competitive Position Questions Do we have adequate business development resources to aggressively develop the opportunity? Are there acceptable profit margins or other strategic reasons for wanting to win? Does the opportunity conflict with other contracted or expected work? Do we know the customer key decision-makers and their issues and hot buttons? Do the key decision-makers know us? Do we have a clear understanding of our anticipated role? Are there any potential conflicts of interest for us? Have we identified probable competitors? Do customer requirements match our competencies? Have we established a price to compete? Do we have a baseline solution aligned to the price to compete?

19 22 Phase 3: Capture Planning

20 23 Phase 3: Capture Planning

21 24 Phase 3: Capture Planning

22 Capture Planning is an Iterative Process 25

23 Phase 3: Preliminary Bid Decision Gate Questions Category Contract Schedule Evaluation Process Competition Subcontracting Past Performance Management Technical Discriminators, Themes Pricing to Win Opportunity Status Questions Do we have a clear understanding of the deliverables and schedule? Are we sure of the customer evaluation process? Do we know the customer s perception of competitors? Has an objective bidder comparison been completed? Do we have firm commitments from needed teammates? Do we have strong, relevant past performance? Does our management approach provide added value? Does our technical solution provide added value or discriminators? Are our discriminators unique and important to the customer? Can the customer justify selecting us based on our discriminators and cost? Has a price to win been determined, and is it acceptable to management? Is the customer adhering to the expected schedule? If not, why not, and what does that tell us about the opportunity?

24 Black Hat Review Inputs and Outputs

25 Phase 4: Proposal Planning 29

26 Phase 4: Proposal Planning

27 Phase 4: Proposal Planning

28 Phase 4: Proposal Planning

29 Phase 4: Bid Validation Decision Gate Questions Category RFP Analysis Solution Proposal Readiness Issues Questions Are announced RFP terms as anticipated and still acceptable? Does the RFP show evidence of influence by competitors? Based on published evaluation criteria, can the customer justify selecting us? Are technical requirements in the RFP what we anticipated? Is our technical approach verified as acceptable to the customer? Are teammate roles clearly defined and formally agreed? Are the proposal schedule, budget, outline, and compliance checklist complete? Is the proposal team identified? Has a draft executive summary been prepared? Has the price to win been updated based on the latest competitive intelligence and RFP? Is our preliminary, bottom-up cost estimate consistent with the price to win? Can the solution be profitably delivered at the price to win? Have all our internal issues been addressed and resolved?

30 Pink Team Review: Inputs and Outputs

31 36 Phase 5: Proposal Development

32 37 Phase 5: Proposal Development

33 38 Phase 5: Proposal Development

34 Phase 5: Proposal Submittal Decision Gate Questions Category Our Proposal Risk Assessment Negotiation Transition Questions Is our proposal compliant, responsive, competitive, and priced to win? Does our proposal meet corporate quality standards? Are there any unresolved elements of risk to us that could preclude submitting the proposal? Will the proposal be evaluated as being low risk to the customer? Is the contract likely to be awarded without negotiation? Are we prepared to accept this? If negotiations occur, do we know who in the customer organization will be leading them? Is the customer under any constraints (e.g., time) that we can leverage? Has our negotiating team been identified? Is our negotiating position clearly defined and agreed to by senior management? Is our project manager ready to begin delivery immediately upon award?

35 Red Team Review Inputs and Outputs

36 Gold Team Inputs and Outputs

37 43 Phase 6: Post Submittal

38 44 Phase 6: Post Submittal

39 45 Phase 6: Post Submittal

40 Final Offer Decision Questions Category Questions Legal Have contract terms been reviewed and agreed? Have necessary performance bonds been secured? Financial Is the final contract price acceptable? Are any investments fully documented and understood by management? Is requisite financing in place? Performance Is the project team identified? If not, are staffing plans in place? Is the technical solution fully understood? Are production rates and schedules achievable? Are key subcontractors ready to begin work on schedule?

41 Lessons Learned Review

42 Adapt and Scale Your BD Lifecycle Process Constants Disciplined business development process Standardized decision gates Formal color team reviews Variables Number of phases Number of gates Number, type, standards for color teams Number, type, size of documents reviewed Factors Time available Size, risk, importance of opportunity Number of people involved Commitment

43 Make it Work for You: Get Back to Basics 1 Define a lifecycle with gates and reviews 2 Fit the lifecycle to your environment 3 4 Document roles and responsibilities Make the process an executive priority

44 Back to Basics: Understanding Business Development Lifecycle Thank you for participating! Tamara Buckman Eric Gregory Brad Douglas