OK, I’ll concede up front that it’s a bit of a stretch to compare your kids to your prospects but it would feel sh*t wouldn’t it?
At Salient we have a 78% hit rate of helping technology companies win major pieces of business in highly competitive environments – pretty much 3 out of 4 bids.
If you are closer to winning 1 in 3 or less, consider the raw numbers for a minute.
Big deals can conservatively cost $50,000 or more including technology pilots, proof of concept testing, tech specialist and executive time, tender document production, meetings, travel costs and the opportunity cost of not working on other clients.
So, if you only win 1 in 3 major deals, the one you win needs to contain $150,000 Gross Profit just to break even!
If it’s worse than 1 in 3, then take the defibrillator into the Financial Controller’s office now.
So, it’s imperative that you maximise your chances of winning. Here are our top 3 reasons why you win.
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You understand the client’s business almost as much as they do. Not only do you understand the network, the software and the topography, you have a solid picture of how they make money, how they track costs, how they compete in their market and how they want to improve their business at the highest levels possible. You are the company that most clearly articulates how your solution is BEST FIT for their company right now. It is not enough to be ‘me-too’ and a bit cheaper or easier. When you boldly differentiate your solution through every step of the bid the cumulative effect on the client is enormous leaving the client to decide in your favour because they think ‘ This vendor really gets us’ You dedicate your absolute focus, commitment and time to the few, not the many. One of the first questions we ask when we consult on pitches is ‘How much do you really want to win this?’ and ‘What are you prepared to sacrifice to give yourself the best possible chance of winning this deal?’ Our statistics on successful pitches over 10 years are unimpeachably clear. If you dilute your time and resources and spread yourself thin, you will also dilute your chances of success. Why? Because apart from the obvious momentum internally, the client FEELS it..!
I’m sure all your kids love you. It’s unpalatable to think otherwise and you probably devote huge amounts of time, energy and love accordingly.
Your big prospects also want to know that you are totally committed, understanding and focussed.
Choose wisely.
(PS If you want the rest of the top ten reasons you win major pitches, send me an email)
As CEO of Salient Communication, Elliot is a sought after keynote speaker and corporate trainer who has coached and trained over 4000 people including CEOs, senior management and successful sales teams throughout Australasia and Asia including Hong Kong and Singapore.
Elliot is a specialist technology sales speaker and trainer for companies of all sizes having spoken at over 1500 conferences, workshops and break-out sessions on presenting, selling, negotiating and pitching for leading companies such as HP, Avaya, Alcatel – Lucent, Hitachi, Computershare and Motorola. He is renowned for ensuring training and presentations are engaging, interactive and relevant to winning business in competitive markets.
He is also an advisory Board Member of Generation–e, one of Australia’s fastest growing IT companies.
Elliot is based in Melbourne where he lives with his wife and two expensive children
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