Title: Succeeding With the DoD
1AFCEA West 2008 Small Business Training Forum
- Succeeding With the DoD
- as a Small Business
-
- Perfecting the Client Call
- Bill James
- Senior Executive Services, Inc.
2AGENDA
- Introduction
- What is an Office Call?
- Why Make Calls?
- Value of the Visit?
- Preparation
- Execution
- Follow Up
3 Whos He?
- Bill James
- EVP GM Senior Executive Services, Inc. (WOSB)
- SES Inc. is kind of like a Small Business
Advocate. We help primarily small medium
companies
- Grow and expand business by constructing
successful sales strategies customized to the
companys needs and capabilities
- By assisting companies with capture and proposals
- By recommending improvements to their internal
sales organization
- 20 years DoD Civil Service, GS-1 to SES
- 10 years Business Development Executive
- Litton-PRC (now Northrop-Grumman)
- Computer Sciences Corporation
- SI International
- MTC Technologies
4 What is an Office Call?
- Q What is a an Office Call?
- A A formal opportunity in the clients office
space for you to confirm (not learn) your
understanding of the clients pain and offer a
solution. - Hint Replace the word office with client
- Exploit other client calls like golf outings,
conferences, breakfasts, lunches, dinners,
cocktail hours, chance meetings
5Why Make Calls?
You cant shoot a moose while sitting in the
lodge. Clients rarely come to your office to han
d you a contract. Treat each call like an unsolic
ited proposal
Congratulations, you own an IDIQ gold mine!
Oops Where are the miners? In the IDIQ/GWAC con
tract environment (prime or sub role), you must
proactively find requirements and close task
orders.
6Sea of Client Relationships
- Know and Be Known by
- DoD, Intelligence, Civilian Agency
- Clients
- Small Business Advocates
- Contracts Offices
- Small Business Administration
- Systems Integrators (Prime/Sub Roles)
- Product Vendors (Become a Sales Channel)
- Media (FCW, GCN, Washington Technology, etc)
- Professional associations (AFCEA, NDIA, etc)
7 Whats the point?
Standard capabilities briefings can be BORING.
- Answer the question Whats the point?
- Highlight a unique value or capability
- Person, Place or Thing
- Describe what makes you One of a Kind
- Offer a solution to a client problem
- Offer a Freebie
- Trial run or demonstration
- Training
- Transition
8 Value of the Visit?
- Government clients Go to the top? Maybe not.
- Policy-makers versus money-spenders
- Decisions often made at lower levels
- Research and then prioritize your call plan
- All Clients have urgent issues and need good
solutions
- Government needs innovation and to meet Small
Business goals
- Contracting Offices need to support their
internal government mission clients
- Large Businesses need Small Businesses
- Product makers need more sales channels and feet
on the street
- Learn More
- Help the client discover something new about
his/her problem/organization
- Both you and the client exchange information more
effectively through person-to-person
communication, especially non-verbal
communication. - Build Trust
- People generally prefer to do business with
people they trust
9The Military Client
- Military Client Characterization
- Very Busy Fighting a War
- Direct, BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
- Mission Focused, Goal Oriented
- Well Trained in Leadership and Management
- Earned and Expects Your Respect
- Wants Solutions
- From Your Product or Service
- Easily Usable Contract Vehicle
- Available Funding
10Preparation
- Buy Sales Client Call training - Significant
ROI
- Review briefings given by the client at previous
events (AFCEA)
- Learn the client's chain of command - up and
down
- Get permission to request the client call at a
networking event or from the client's boss,
boss's boss, Service counterpart
- Learn who the gatekeepers are in the client's
office organization
- Have a 3rd party critique your website before
your client does
- Dry run the drive to client site and security
logistics
- At least 2 days prior to the visit, send
attendees biographies, agenda and one-page
meeting summary to exec admin
- Confirm client received the biographies, agenda
and summary
11More Preparation
- Plan and rehearse the client call
- How many should go to the meeting? (2, maybe 3)
- What will your non-briefing attendees do or key
on? (notes, body language, etc)
- Find out how many other people will the client
invite?
- Can you determine the meeting room layout?
- Devise seating plans Conference and coffee
table
- Prepare adequate handouts
- Be prepared but be flexible
12 Showtime
- Take the time to meet the front office
- Exec
- Admin Assistant/Secretary
- Aide
- Note magazines/newspapers in the waiting area
- Peruse the sign in sheet - whos been there?
- Ask the admin about your clients hard stop
time.
- What client issue is more important than you?
- Have simple contracting approaches prepared for
- How do I get to you?
- Be Early - Arrive Early and Leave Early
13Wolves in Sheeps Clothing
- Surprise! Competitors may be in your meeting,
too.
- Who could be your competitors?
- Other contractors
- FFRDCs
- Government employees
- In house contractors sometimes
- Monitor the front office calendar
- Serve in gatekeeper roles
- Feel threatened by invaders on their turf
- Try to find out who will be in your meeting
14 During the Client Call
- Assume the client has NOT read the read-ahead
package
- Review the meeting agenda and allow client to
modify it
- Assume all leave-behinds will be seen by your
competition
- Dont include secrets in leave-behinds
- Do send messages to your competition
- Use your 2 ears and 1 mouth in that ratio
- Awkward silence is a powerfully good thing
- Be respectful to your client and about your
competition
- Propose a solution to "What keeps him/her awake
at night?"
- Educate the client about something they dont
know
- Ask for the next steps to the sale
- Finish early
15After the Call
- Telephone the admin assistant/secretary
- Email the front office staff
- Pen Ink a note to the client
- Verbal attaboy to clients boss
- Assess your teams client call performance
- Follow up on action items
- Maintain relationship with periodic updates
16Questions?
- THANK YOU!
- QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION?