Celerity Works

Business development decision making 101

The first step in qualifying an opportunity is to make the decision whether the lead is even worth the effort. Too often, companies expend significant time and energy qualifying an opportunity that is either inconsistent with their strategic plan or that has a very low probability of win. The inevitable no bid or contract loss is not only frustrating to everyone involved, it also diverts critical resources from more worthy business pursuits. The best way to minimize this phenomenon is to carefully answer the following questions before expending additional marketing effort:

Bid pursuit matrix

• Is a significant part of the work consistent with one of your company's core competencies or products?

• Will the client perceive your company as a credible provider of this service?

• If there is a major incumbent contractor, are they vulnerable and are you potentially strong/big enough to unseat them?

• Is there a reasonable chance of this being a real funded project?

• If it would be a very small task, is it of strategic performance? Could it be expected to result in more substantial business?

• Is there enough time to adequately market the client before a Request for Proposal is released?

• Is there enough time to adequately market the client prior to an RFP being released?

• Last resort question…

If, in spite of two or more "no's" above, you still want to pursue this lead, explain why.

One of the main reasons to evaluate a new marketing lead from this perspective is to remove as much of the emotional attachment as possible. Too often, individuals become enamored with new technology or the special relationship they have with a prospect, and fail to question whether the opportunity is consistent with the company's direction or even possible to win. Making these critical decisions is the responsibility of the senior company managers with input and advice from the BD staff.

When enough information is collected (the lead has been qualified), the business development (sales) lead should schedule a bid decision meeting with the Business Unit executive.

Bid decision matrix (Professional services example)

Note: A more comprehensive version of the matrix is presented in Winning and Managing Government Business.

(rate each question from 0 to 9)

1. Is this bid consistent with our strategic focus (our three major competencies, target markets, staffing location & labor costs)?

2. What is our overall ability to meet the technical requirements (Discriminators)?

3. Do we have the past performance necessary to win the job?

4. Do we have the available key personnel including a Project Manager?

5. How much risk is there to successfully executing this contract (Do we really want to win?)?

6. Have we marketed the client and established a good rapport?

7. Will this job be profitable?

8. Can we be cost competitive?

9. How much competition is there?

10. Do we have the necessary available proposal resources and the time to do a good proposal?

Scoring Key:

* 75 point score is ideal for a very strong bid
* Below 60 points is probable "NO BID"

These two simple tools can revolutionalize a company's business development process and results.