How savvy technology leaders leverage their implementation partners for greater return - the insider tells all.

Brendan Connolly describes himself as an 80s kid from Ireland. "I grew up in a small town called Leixlip - best known for being where Guinness was first brewed,” he tells me, with an accent still detectable.?

Brendan ditched Leixlip for the Big Smoke and is going into his fifth year as?head of technology sales at Accenture Australia.?

“I initially studied a degree in economics in university. Once I completed it though, I thought I wouldn’t want to work in finance for the rest of my life. I jumped into a postgrad in information technology and that opened up a whole different world.”

I crossed paths with Brendan well before his days at Accenture. Brendan began his career in roles where he delivered big media implementation programs, such as global SAP and Siebel rollouts.?

Although Brendan has come to love his position at Accenture, he admits that the transition from delivery architect to sales was not always easy. I admit from my own experience that coaching people how to sell throughout the CRM journey and then flipping the switch and doing it for myself was tough.?

“It has taken me five years to become comfortable with the fact that I am a sales guy. I tell everyone I meet that I wasn't born a sales guy. Sixteen years of working with partners and in the delivery trenches forms a major part of my credentials.”?

“I'm still partnering with that organisation where we first met way back when. What I love about being my job is that people you have partnered with years prior keep coming back and want to engage you again.”?

While this interpersonal part of the job is something that Brendan is passionate about, he also admits that fostering long-term connections is good business.?

“As an 80’s kid I always think of the quote from the classic movie?Glengarry Glen Ross –?it goes something along the lines of ‘the idea is not to sell one person a car one time… it’s to sell somebody three cars over 15 years.’ That’s the essence of a partnership.”

Apart from Brendan’s clear success in his current role, the longevity of the partnerships he forms demonstrates he knows what it takes to make the most out of partner-client relationships.??

Picking up where I left off with Lee Tsiamis last week and the minor wave of outrage I provoked - I thought it would be best to get another expert opinion on the topic of RFPs.?

Brendan thinks that there are four things that procurement needs to satisfy.?

“Firstly, and probably most obviously, the client needs to be confident that the partners they have engaged have the capabilities to complete the necessary project. Secondly, it needs to address whether there is a solution. Brendan thinks that criteria number three is price, and whether the price represents fair market value. The last necessary requirement is compliance – have all the compliance needs been met.”

It seems glaringly obvious that a bunch of smart people using their time to fill in a spreadsheet would not be the best way to answer those things (in my opinion).?

“One large client that we've worked with recently executed an interactive RFP,” Brendan tells me. “They didn't start out with a 200-page briefing document or a spreadsheet with ten tabs to populate. They started out with just a very light briefing deck, and they engaged three partners to go on a journey with them over 8 weeks of workshops. It was a much more enjoyable process for us because they get to know us, and we get to know them.”?

Brendan also believes that this interactive RFP process is more effective because it allows partners to see the business for what it really is.?

“I think you benefit from it by virtue of that closer interaction, challenging each other, understanding what you mean by disruption, or what you mean by transforming your business and becoming an agile organisation.”?

Seizing the opportunity, I mention that this is probably a good segue way into another slightly controversial diatribe I went into during my last episode: the talk about rate cards.?

“There is definitely a place for a rate card in commercial agreement,” Brendan tells me. “I think we are moving more and more towards price per scrum team in an agile context outcome, and in bigger ambitious organisations. I’m really comfortable with the rate card staying in, but a change I would like to see is to shape commercial conversations around outcomes.”

It’s hard to disagree with Brendan. I also would rather the conversation be centred around the outcome the client is looking for, and what they think is a reasonable investment to achieve it.?

At the end of the day, the client isn’t just buying the outcome. Through the process of delivery, the client is upskilling their team and adopting ways of working which are going to enable them to move forward and continue to deliver value with or without the partners. The DNA of what a partner delivers is greater than just the sum of the outcome.?

If you were an executive, would you choose to use an RFP as your procurement option? Or perhaps could?you consider ditching the status quo and venturing into potentially riskier (and higher reward) terrain? If you remain dedicated to the RFP – I would love to know why. Leave a comment or contact me.

About the author:

I am a technology strategy advisor and advocate to leaders of high-growth businesses (scaleup’s). I specialise in leveraging software platforms to enable your business to scale. I am the author of the best-selling?The Platform Owner’s Guidebook: How industry experts unlock value from enterprise software ?and creator and host of the "Platform Diaries ” Podcast, a fortnightly conversation with entrepreneurs, founders, investors and thought leaders on what it takes to sustainably scale a business.?

When not in front of a client or a screen, you'll find me riding motorbikes, brewing beer, or camping with my kids.?