In a famous quote, Lew Platt, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, said “If only HP knew what HP knows, we would be three-times more productive.”
He meant, of course, that HP employees individually and in small teams had critical knowledge of the enterprise, the customers, and the market: research and development, processes, procedures, manufacturing, quality control, and so on. And all of this knowledge is of great value in the sales and business development processes as well as in R&D and customer service.
But this priceless individual knowledge wasn’t known collectively, so that it could not be brought to bear on each new issue, problem, or opportunity. Everything took longer than it should have because critical knowledge wasn't shared deliberately throughout the enterprise.
Surprisingly, this problem may be even more acute in smaller companies.
I just finished working with a small business team preparing a very significant proposal in response to a federal government RFP. This is a very successful company with significant technical expertise in their field, a track record of great success, and very apparent management excellence.
Yet, as we tried to put "into words" HOW they do what they do, they were stymied. They are so accustomed to doing it, it does not occur to them to explain, or to write down the steps, or--in essence--to capture the knowledge.
In fact, they almost think that to explain it step-by-step would be boring and insulting to the reader. "Doesn't everyone know how we would approach this? After all, it's just common sense."
No matter how small you are, or where you are in the development of explicit processes, I encourage you to be certain that everyone in your company "knows what you company knows."
Whenever your team is selling, whether face-to-face or through an RFP, you can use explicit processes to your great advantage in going up against larger competitors, who are more likely to have well-crafted process materials.
And that means paying some special attention to documenting and sharing "how we do it here." Your proposals will get better; they will get easier; and you company's knowledge base will explode.
Do you have an example to share about "knowing what you know?" If so, please post it below.
Rosemary Brehm and Brian Zaas are teaming up to launch Whale Hunters Chapters in the Tampa area. Their first chapter will begin in early April.
Here's how you can learn more.
They are hosting an Intro to Whale Hunting at 12:00 - 1:00 pm. This is a free event with light refreshments served. You can register for this event here: Open Registration--Free Event
Later in the same day you are invited to cocktails and hors d'oeuves at Capital Grille from 4:30-5:30 pm. This event requires a $30 registration fee for food and beverages. You can register here: Open Registration
Rosemary Brehm, president of turningpoints2results, is an entrepreneur and expert in helping organizations accelerate their potential into profitable results by focusing on five key shifts in their businesses: strategic business performance; leadership alignment; team dynamics; customer intimacy, and competitive positioning. In addition to her consulting services, Rosemary is certified as a Professional Facilitator (CPF) through the International Association of Facilitators.
Rosemary was founding Chair of the Tampa Bay Women President’s Organization and served that group from 2003-2009. She is a member of the International Association of Facilitators; the Senior HRD Forum; ASTD; and the Organizational Development SIG. She holds a Certificate in Training and Development from New York University and a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
With over 22 years of experience in leading business development and sales efforts for Technology, Software, and Outsourcing solutions, Brian Zaas has a background in business operations optimization, systems integration, custom application development and technology leadership. He has been responsible for driving global business development and professional service efforts for leading Fortune 500 corporations including Fujitsu, CA, and MCI-Worldcom as well as start-up growth for Pilgrim Software, Best Programs Telcordia, and most recently is leading efforts for Enterprise Solutions with Avineon.
He has led strategic and innovative solution areas for Fortune 500 and emerging growth customers in need of IT, technology, outsourcing and the infrastructure management. Brian has also consulted with market leaders across a number of industries on leadership, pipeline development, innovation, and sales in new product development and market penetration focusing on large, complex deals.
The Whale Hunters are proud to introduce these new Certified Whale Hunters Patners who will provide services to the Tampa business community.
The worst thing about large accounts is that buyers tend to pigeonhole you in the niche where you currently fit.
Sometimes, selling new business to your existing large accounts is more difficult than landing a new account. Here's an example: We had a client that provided engineering validation services to the manufacturing division a large corporation. After several years of providing that service successfully, our client had introduced a totally new service--technical writing. Not only manufacturing but also marketing, R&D, training, and customer service could have used these new services provided by a company that the parent company trusts based on past performance. But the current end-users had no contacts in the other divisions, and the manufacturing division had pegged our client for engineering validation, not technical writing. Ultimately, our client found that it was easier to go elsewhere for the new business.
For another example, we had a client that provided a unique method of delivering discount coupons for local restaurants and other retail establishments to employees at their workplace. They were very successful in serving local and regional franchises of national chain restaurants and groceries. There was often a promise that if there service passed "a test" they would be considered for a national application. However, the national marketing buyers never do business with the companies they consider to be "local" suppliers.
So, sometimes it if best to move on to another customer. But there are ways to influence your current large clients if you are strategic about it:
- Begin to build relationships outside of your current work area when the contract is new. These will take much time to develop.
- Engage your entire team--every area that touches the whale--in planning for new business.
- Turn "common knowledge"--what each person knows about the customer--into "shared knowledge" -- what everyone knows
- Separate fact from opinion and gossip about the customer and the divisions of its business
- create a grid of all the potential buyers of your products/services (divisions, locations, departments) and your offerings. Determine the most likely next sale for your company.
- strategize that sale as you would any new business, leveraging existing relationships
Sometimes the Polar Bear does not appear at the Buyers' Table. One client related an instance in which they were working with a large prospect to implement a blogging strategy. The deal had gone on for months, and the Marketing VP finally signed off. But when the proposed contract went to Legal, the Polar Bear [head of legal!] said "No way are we starting a blog! Too much liability!"
The CEO or CFO may be the Polar Bear. If you are working with someone at the VP level, that person will most likely present himself or herself as the Polar Bear. But very often there is a more formal, invisible vetting process that will take place once your VP makes a decision. That's what you've got to find out ahead of time.
So in a complex sales process with a whale, here are some questions you need to ask--always behaving as if your champion is the final decision-maker, but understanding that usually it is more complicated than that:
- who will be impacted by your decision?
- will you introduce us to them, bring them to the table?
- who are the people upline to whom you will present your decision/recommendations?
- how can we help you present our solution internally? What materials, formats, or meetings do you need?
- what are some reasons that this project may stall even if you are prepared to move forward?
- how can we help you mitigate those potential pitfalls?
Small companies and those small companies with designations as women-owned or minority-owned or disadvantaged businesses have huge opportunities to sell big deals to big companies that dwarf them. To gain that business, you need to become very savvy about locating the real decision-maker--the polar bear.
Are you hungry to grow your business fast? Do you have a sales process strategy designed to help you identify the polar bear every time? Do you have a polar bear story to share with our readers?
I would love to hear from you about how your small/midsize company is landing large accounts and what is your experience with the polar bear.
YOU tend to think about your solutions, products, and services and how--in your mind--the big customers will gain amazing advantage by doing business with you. THEY tend to think about what can go wrong, how they could make a mistake, and what would be the worst consequences of choosing you.
So, you have to learn to think like a whale. And the whales are afraid of you! Imagine the many buyers who will be involved in a big-company decision. The procurement team, many of the end users, HR, Accounting/Finance, Legal, IT, Manufacturing, Shipping, Service and Support--a considerable list that varies according to your particular products and services. A big team, nonetheless. And the safest decision this team can make is to buy from another big company with a well-known reputation, a national or international brand, and a stable financial history--in other words, a company just like themselves.
YOU know that you can provide more flexibility, agility, innovation, speed, personal attention, and control--among other advantages--but they will never choose you as long as their fears linger.
To think like a whale? Figure out everything about you that could be scary in sales and delivery. Imagine what about small business or women or minority business or entrepreneurs or midsize or privately held companies that might scare them. Think about your location, reputation, brand visibility, growth history, capital access etc. -- and then figure out how to present your company and your team as a capable, professional, sophisticated player. THEN you can sell your advantages.
The sales development strategy for whale hunters is to first alleviate fears, then promote advantages, and finally close with both.
I wrote yesterday that your early meetings with the Buyers should be all about them and what you need to learn. But the more you learn, the more you need to begin to disclose to them about your products, services, unique value proposition, your team, etc.
A strong sales process will identify what you intend to discover and what you intend to disclose at each step. Of course your plan is subject to modification depending upon the whale's agenda; however, the more you control the timing and the content, the better your company will be positioned to make a big sale.
Now is the time to keep in mind that whale buyers are not usually looking for the best or most creative or most innovative idea. They are looking for a reasonable solution that will work, meet their budget, cause the least resistance and the least internal disruption. In other words, a safe choice.
What does this mean to you? Your early disclosure should focus on these points:
- ease of transition--how many things will NOT change if they hire you
- short term ROI--what benefits can they expect to realize in the first few months that will make the buyers' team look good
- safety factors--what qualities of your company are persuasive that you are solid, predictable, stable, and financially sound
- how much your company and the whale company have in common re: sales and implementation processes, standards, systems etc.
Why is this announcement relevant to business owners, entrepreneurs, sales professionals and business development professionals?
- First, Frances Hesselbein spent years at the Peter Drucker Institute, helping to translate Drucker's business principles into leadership strategies for nonprofit and public organizations. I believe that leadership lessons for your company are best derived from lessons learned in each economic sector--from the private sector we learn best about markets and competition, from the public sector we learn best about national interests and service, and from the nonprofit sector we learn best about social responsibility. The better we can become at aligning these lessons, the more powerful and successful we will be as leaders in every sector.
- Second, it is very good to see the US Armed Forces continuing on their path to a broader definition of "leadership" -- one that goes beyond military strategy to embrace a deep understanding of language, culture, and place as key elements in a military engagement. Increasingly, these are key elements of a business engagement in the global economy. We should expect lessons learned from this alliance that will enlighten business leaders in new ways.
- Finally, I am pleased to see Frances Hesselbein recognized in this way for her phenomenal career's work. Formerly head of the Girl Scouts of America, she has been a beacon for leadership education that embraces women and girls yet is not exclusive to women and girls. She is a powerful role model for women business owners and entrepreneurs, demonstrating that collaborative, team-based strategies have their own source of power and can supersede top-down directive strategies.
I have been working with a client team going after a big RFP project for the federal government. They are an incumbent provider already doing much of the work that is being bid out. We found that incumbency, while it offers huge advantages, also poses risks for the incumbent when it comes to the win strategy for the RFP. Writing the RFP business proposal is especially challenging from the insider perspective.
I invite you to read today's newsletter on the topic Incumbent? How to Win (Again). Build some new strategies into your corporate RFP training plan.
But it's a short piece hitting a few highlights, so I'm adding to it here:
- First thing you need to know is how the government defines "small business." In most industries, the category includes businesses with as many as 500 employees. So if you are much smaller, and much newer, than the competition, the odds are heavily stacked against you unless you have a product or service that the government wants and no one else offers yet.
- The idea of presenting yourself as a subcontractor rather than prime is especially relevant. Prime contractors need to demonstrate their inclusion of small businesses including women-owned and minority-owned firms. Companies in those categories that are professional, reliable, and knowledgeable about government contracting are at a premium. Rather than working directly for a local, state, or federal government, you work for the contractor.
- If the subcontractor route interests you, build a sales process that targets prime contractors, not government agencies. You will need a completely different approach and message.
- If you have not done business deals with public agencies, understand that there is a great deal to learn. Everything from how to respond to the RFP to how to invoice and track expenses will be new and foreign. If you are not ready, the requirements can undermine your company seriously. Even as a subcontractor, you will need to contribute meaningfully to the proposal.
Invest in some expertise. Be certain you can understand the likelihood of winning a contract versus the cost of bidding on it. The Whale Hunters do not recommend replying to a government RFP just to get the experience of doing it. That strategy gives away intellectual property, demoralizes your team, and still does not guarantee meaningful feedback. Rather, do the work you need to do and position to win.
If you need a Whale Hunting approach to the world of the government RFP, check out Winning Whales With an RFP in eBook format on our website. Or give me a call at 317-815-1170--we have some deep experience in this arena.
Likewise, corporations are relying more and more on the RFP as their method of buying almost everything.
RFP writing is more than a writing process. To be successful requires orchestrating your team to produce a plan, contribute written words and graphics to the proposal, and review and refine the document for submission. When all of your sales skills are reduced to words and pictures on paper, you are at a real disadvantage.
Nevertheless, there is great work available for companies that master this process.
I'm getting a great first-hand look at how a successful whale hunting company approaches the RFP since I am part of a client team right now working on a proposal with a short deadline. They have successfully integrated the Whale Hunters RFP process into their organization, and with each successive RFP they are getting better and increasing their odds of success.
Key steps:
- put the RFP through your Target Filter to be sure it's worth answering
- learn how to critically read and evaluate the RFP
- calculate the cost of losing and the value of winning
- identify primary ways you can win
- identify most likely ways you can lose
- determine your theme and key points of your message
- make sure the capture team has organizational support to complete the best possible proposal on time
What are your most successful RFP tactics?
An excellent article in the Sunday, July 12 Washington Post called Fixing the Economy? It's Women's Work.
It's a good one because it references a number of responsible studies, and because it is more about why companies need a leadership team that includes women than it is about women taking over. I have been observing and saying for a long time that women often demonstrate superior skills and talents that are required for the 21st century economy. Nice to be pointed to more research supporting that observation.
In my whale hunting practice, companies with women owners and/or CEOs have been especially successful in implementing the collaborative, team-based process that we promote. I have also had very successful engagements in which women and men are both represented at the management table.
Conversely, I have been involved in very frustrating engagements in which there were no women in leadership--no women on the executive team, no women on the board, no women with serious P&L responsibility, no women in sales management, no women or only one or two women on the sales team. It was also the case that these leadership teams had no other kind of diversity, either--no people of color, no international people, few people who were born or raised or educated in different parts of the country. In some cases there was a diverse employee group, but it didn't extend to the leadership/management team.
What characterized the all-male teams was a top-down view of leadership--the view that only a few people in the company had the knowledge, experience, and wisdom to lead.
What characterized the more diverse teams was a desire to embrace more collaborative, team-oriented process to draw on all their employees' talents for business development and sales.
Now I want to pay attention to what it's like when the entire leadership team is female. Haven't had that engagement yet, but I suspect that if there is insufficient diversity of experience and opinion and gender, it would be a flawed team--just flawed in different ways. Today's business needs, however, will certainly favor an all-female team over a team that is all male.
So all you small and mid size business leaders who are whale hunting--read this article and consider how your company can accelerate its growth through a more diverse management and governance team.
So excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't Forbes about business? I guess unless you are female.
Lead story is on depression. "Power Women" segment features Mrs. Madoff and Mrs. Sanford (title should be "power-less"!). Other front page topics: Summer fashion. Easy beauty. And How to Raise a Rich Daughter.
These are the leading links in my invitation email:
How will Sarah Palin's resignation affect her career?
Who does most of the housework in your household?
Has the recession affected your spending habits?
These are not questions that affect my business life or even my "balanced" life. Ladies Home Journal cornered that market a long time ago, and People covers the dirt on public figures. If these are questions of interest related to business, they are not gender-specific. Could you possibly imagine an invitation to male business owners based upon questions like these?
The Forbes Fiasco comes right on the heels of Dell's incredible faux pas in launching the "Della."
But this blog is about sales and business development, so I need a link from my real anger at Forbes to some positive ideas or actions for business owners and sales leaders. Especially women, but this is equally important for men.
In the jargon of my business, Forbes is a whale--a big company with a big reach, a big media reach. It matters when major businesses screw up like this. Business people around the world--owners, entrepreneurs, executives, employees, students, wannabe's--they look to Forbes for insight, support, advice, and current events, and not incidentally, the current business environment in the United States. What is the message? The message is that in the midst of a very difficult global economic climate, the American business women are busy standing by their men who cheat and lie, focusing on their office outfits, buying make-up and shoes, and making their daughters rich. That is not a good message or a remotely true message!
I am an advisor to small and midsized business about how to grow by doing bigger deals with bigger clients. It is ALL about understanding your target customer and presenting yourself in a way that is attractive to them, meets their needs, does not annoy them, and does not frighten them. This offer I received from Forbes violates all of those criteria.
So before you make the Forbes mistake, my advice is to consult with your target audience about their business interests, their business needs, their business challenges and their perceived opportunities.
The people at Forbes are obviously trying to get on the very popular and lucrative women-in-business bandwagon. I applaud their motives and hope they will find a way to be successful. But here's just a quick laundry list of topics that would be oh-so-much more interesting to business women:
- who are the lenders and investment bankers targeting women-owned businesses?
- how can your company get involved in the federal stimulus package?
- How are female leaders and employees responding to downsizing and outsourcing?
- What can you do when you are downsized or outsourced?
- How can business owners mitigate the recession influence on their employees?
- what are the most promising new business fields or opportunities of particular interest to women?
I invite your comments. This worth arguing!
My friend Lorraine Ball, founder of the marketing firm Roundpeg wrote an interesting blog post this morning that got me thinking. It's about having just hired her daughter to work in her company, wondering if they could make it work?
Lorraine asked for thoughts from other business owners about their experiences. I have not hired any of my children except for short stints in the summer. I did hire a nephew in a full-time position, and we did not manage that well. However, in my Women Presidents' Organization group are two women who have adult sons in their employ at very high levels, and others who have family members in their business.
Since hiring and overseeing family members is a common thread in our WPO discussions, I've learned how they are making these business relationships work. And I thought perhaps many of you are dealing with family members who are partners or employees.
Here are some ground rules that seem to be effective:
- Clearly defined responsibilities and outcomes-based performance expectations, in writing, and agreed upon in advance.
- Agreement on the time line of deliverables and the consequences of failure to meet performance expectations.
- Separate business conversations from family conversations. For example, during the business day, all conversations are about business. Family conversations are for after-hours.
- Never talk to other family members about business issues until you have first discussed with each other. No surprises!
- Frequent, scheduled review of how things are working.
- Identification of an agreed-upon mediator that either can call if an issue can't be resolved.
Business women and business men alike may find themselves thinking of hiring family members, or perhaps you have done so and been disappointed.
I invite you to contribute your ideas by making a comment, and I will share your thoughts with Lorraine.
I posted the first of a series of blog posts today on the topic of "competition" and "collaboration" at the Women on Business blog.
I believe we are operating in an economy in which the skills of collaboration are even more important than the skills of competition. But I have been challenged to better define where competition comes in, for business success and for motivation to excell.
I'll be exploring this topic in the next few days as it relates to sales and business development. Please log in to Women on Business for the first take. Thank you!
This week I've written about Joyce Anthony, MaAnna Stephenson, Rebecca Benston, and Hazel Walker.
They all blog at least indirectly about business development and the first three focus on business women, women entrepreneurs, and business opportunities for women.
Hazel Walker, who is an offline friend of mine as well as an online friend, blogs bout how to build a powerful referral network. Great stuff!
The Whale Hunting Women Summit in Indianapolis was a great success on Thursday June 4. More than 175 awesome business and professional women attended, with some very self-assured men in our midst!
In a new format this year, we had two sessions of "voices and vignettes," each featuring three women talking about one or more big deals in their lives and how they handled both the adversity and the opportunity. We also had two keynote speakers (plus me!).
I wanted to share my most memorable take-aways from these women, who spoke from their hearts and their experiences about how they've done deals in big business and small business and sales and community, as entrepreneurs, philanthropists, sales professionals, speakers, and educators.
The deals they've done are very diverse--taking on new careers, launching new businesses, building and turning around nonprofit community organizations--building things, raising money, creating powerful partnerships.
These are five themes that I heard over and over, from the lives of whale hunting women:
1. "Can't" is a catalyst
When someone else says "you can't" -- whale hunting women have transformed that negative feedback into a fierce motivation to complete a goal. The closer to you that person is, perhaps the stronger is your motivation to prove the prophecy wrong.
2. "Shouldn't" is a spark
Often the people closest to you are afraid of what will happen to them if you succeed; hence they encourage you not to try. Whale hunting women have transformed the "should not" into a powerful "must."
3. "Boat" is a blessing
The Whale Hunters use the metaphor of "the boat" to indicate those co-workers, friends, and supporters who are on board to support you in landing a big deal. Whale hunting women populate and launch their boats. You cannot hunt whales alone!
4. Learning is Leverage
Our speakers have a very wide range of formal education, from almost none to a whole lot. Most of them have changed careers several times. In every case, they sought out new learning opportunities, applied to their needs, and self-directed--including formal and informal learning and training.
5. Despair breeds determination.
We heard some stories of times of true despair--women who faced physical danger, who dealt with economic ruin, who were betrayed by people they trusted. In these stories of survival, women were able to channel their despair into a determination to change their circumstances.
As I look back at these lessons, I am struck by how often there was a very negative event or circumstance that inspired a woman to take a bold new step, regardless of her fear or negative feedback.
So in these scary economic times, if you are grappling with any demons or big-stretch opportunities, take heart from the whale hunting women who shared their stories to inspire others.
Soon we will have video and still photos of the Summit to share with you.
This week it's about four business women who freely contribute exceptional ideas to the small business marketplace. Each of these women offers consistent useful information on
- business growth strategies
- sales development
- marketing and social media
They are:I am happy to introduce them to my blog readers in this week's article.
One of Monica's most important goals is to encourage business women to have a "success mindset" or orientation. If we live with the idea that we are successful, are moving towards success, are capable of success and are worthy of success, we are a long way towards greater achievement.
I wrote about three obstacles to a mindset for success, which Monica published this week:
Breaking the Minnow Mindset How to match your thinking to your progress.
Overcome the Culture of Scarcity How to live in a culture of abundance.
Overcome This Sluggish Economy How your inner attitude influences your opportunities.
Thank you, Monica, for hosting me on my virtual blog tour! [Which, by the way, is to promote my newest book, Whale Hunting Women, Volume I, available in eBook version at www.thewhalehunters.com and soon to be available in print.
I'll use the blog forum one more time to announce the Whale Hunting Women Summit in Indianapolis next week. Thursday, June 4, 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 45 minutes of networking prior to the 8:45 program start, with plenty of time during the morning to interact with more than 150 other local and regional women. In fact, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio are also represented!
There's lots more info at The Whale Hunters website as well as a link to online registration.
The Summit offers inspiration, motivation, and practical advice on how to do bigger deals in your business or in community affairs.
Awesome speakers--Angie's list founder Angie Hicks; Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn; Ultimate Sales Chick Brooke Green; Referral Institute CEO Hazel Walker, and several more.
The Whale Hunters will present four "Big Deal" awards to women in business, education, community, and . Say tuned for announcement of the wnners.
My home town, Indianapolis, features a beautiful city center, all deliberately laid out before the city was developed. The city center is a perfect square mile, circumscribed by the streets named North, South, East, and West, and in the middle of that square mile is a circle, in the center of which stands a monument to Indiana's soldier and sailors who fought in the Civil War [and also in the Spanish American war, but that is another story]. We call this landmark "the monument" and the center of our city "Monument Circle." At this spring-time of year, it is lush with flowers and its fountains are splashing into the pools that surround it.
The figure at the very top of the monument is "Miss Liberty." It is said that she faces south in order to welcome home the surviving troops. At the lower levels of the monument, east and west depict friezes of "war" and "peace," and each of the four lower level squares is dedicated to one of the armed forces.
Today America honors our fallen heroes and our veterans--all of the men and women who serve and who have served to protect the liberties that we enjoy. I add my voice to that praise and thanksgiving, and I do so from the heart of a city that knows well how to remember and how to honor.
Business owners and executives have struggled through recent downturns in our economy, and it is easy to feel discouraged and disappointed with sales and business development or opportunities or growth, or simply a temporary downturn in expectations. Can we find the grace to honor? Do we have the spirit to celebrate?
I'd say yes, and that grace and spirit is more important today than ever. The fundamental freedoms still live that encourage entrepreneurship in the United States, that nurture business development and business growth, and that allow women and men to found and grow business enterprises.
For those privileges I am profoundly grateful to the women and men who have fought for them since our founding as a nation. I think especially today of my dad Ray Tag, WWII fighter pilot stationed in England and flying missions over Germany, who was a German POW when I was born, and who survived and thrived as an entrepreneur and salesman after that war and who [with our Mom of course!] raised seven daughters to think like he did about American business! My dad passed away almost 40 years ago but his love for enterprise and American ingenuity is alive and--I hope--well. Let's give thanks, celebrate, and build our businesses with renewed energy tomorrow.
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