Stick to the Script

The case for never veering away from your established processes

In our last article , we discussed why every business development team needs to create and follow standardized processes for every pursuit. As a consultant who has guided clients through hundreds of wins, I can attest to the fact that moving away from your proven roadmap is a recipe for disaster.

You may say: “But this opportunity requires us to do things a little differently. Surely, you don’t expect us to miss out on the project over a few details!”

Frankly, yes, I do.

While I recognize that pursuits come in all shapes and sizes, and you need a personalized approach to every opportunity, there is no valid excuse to skip essential steps or ignore your process just for the sake of going after a long-shot.

Maybe you’re from the school of “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” While there is some wisdom in this line of thinking, it also has its downside. Companies spend considerable resources and energy in preparing for pursuits. Submitting half-baked proposals with little or no chance of winning is a waste of time and could have a demoralizing effect on the pursuit team. If developing a culture of winning is important to you, then you need to set up your team for success. Creating?and following?proven processes is step number one.

Artemis’s recent engagement with a global engineering consulting firm is a good example.

We had planned a proactive pre-RFP discovery and outreach and communication campaign to demonstrate trustworthiness and provide the client with inside information. But when their prospect’s RFP was issued months earlier than expected, a slight panic began to set in. Although the client was fully capable of handling the project with excellence, they did not have the time to lay the appropriate groundwork or cultivate relationships with decision-makers to give them a competitive edge for the opportunity.

This put our client at a distinct disadvantage. In our view, the client was not prepared to compete for this project. We advised them not to pursue. But they thought this was too big an opportunity to pass up. The client was confident that their brand reputation and their credentials alone would make the case for them – despite their lack of necessary information and nonexistent relationship with decision-makers.

They submitted a proposal. No surprise: They were eliminated before the interview round. We don’t indulge in “I told you so” rhetoric, but we could see it coming. We’ve seen this dozens of time. When you can’t follow process, it argues strongly not to pursue.

And sometimes the decision not to pursue brings unforeseen dividends.

Consider this case: A story of saying “no” that turned into a big win.

A professional sports team was looking for a new advertising agency. Our client, one of the largest agencies in the Midwest, received the RFQ (Request for Qualifications) out of the blue. The agency CEO called the sports team CMO and asked a simple question, which is surprisingly rare: How many agencies were sent the RFQ?

“We sent it to 63,” she said.

With a large group of competitors, no prior relationships with the prospect, and just a couple of weeks to respond to the RFQ, the odds were crazy bad for our client. While this would have been a fun and profitable account to win, we recognized the futility of the pursuit and advised the client to pass on the opportunity. The CEO took our advice, much to the disappointment of the CMO.

A few weeks later, the CMO contacted our client again with a somewhat surprising offer: “We’ve decided on 20 agencies to receive the RFP,” she said. “Do you want to get it and send us a proposal?”

Again, the answer was no – as it should have been. My client was still one of 20. And no prior relationships or understanding of the real issues that decision-makers would care about. But it seemed the CMO was unusually interested in having our client participate, because calls continued to come in. Finally, when the field was narrowed to just five, the CMO requested that my client submit a proposal – but with a very tight deadline.

After brainstorming with the CEO, we crafted a response that requested enough time to develop a proposal the proper way. This would enable my client to put their best foot forward while addressing the specific needs of stakeholders. The CMO agreed. The agency did it the way they wanted to. They won the account.

If the client had submitted a generic proposal against 63 competitors, the chances of success would have been quite slim. They would have expended time, resources, and money in crafting an unsuccessful pitch. But by following their process and waiting until they had a strategic advantage against a much smaller pool, they were able to secure a lucrative win.

While this circumstance may not be typical, it demonstrates the importance of creating and following a specific, repeatable process to optimize your win rates.