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Putting together your RFP technical requirements from an RFI

The technical requirements for an expensive technology system are the specifications and criteria that define the functionality, performance, quality, and design of the system. Creating the technical requirements from a request for information (RFI) can be a risky process, as the RFI may not provide enough detail, clarity, or accuracy to capture the true needs and expectations of the stakeholders. Some of the risks of creating the technical requirements from an RFI are:

  • The RFI may be vague, incomplete, or outdated, leading to inaccurate or unrealistic requirements that do not reflect the current or future state of the system.
  • The RFI may contain conflicting or contradictory information, resulting in inconsistent or incompatible requirements that create confusion and ambiguity for the developers and users.
  • The RFI may not cover all the aspects of the system, such as security, usability, scalability, reliability, maintainability, interoperability, etc., leaving out important requirements that are essential for the system’s success.
  • The RFI may not align with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization, causing misalignment or mismatch between the requirements and the business value of the system.
  • The RFI may not involve enough input or feedback from the end-users, customers, or other stakeholders, leading to requirements that do not meet their needs, preferences, or expectations.
    To mitigate these risks, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of the RFI, validate and verify the information provided, identify and resolve any gaps or inconsistencies, and involve all the relevant stakeholders in the requirements elicitation and validation process. Additionally, it is advisable to use other sources of information, such as existing documentation, market research, benchmarking, prototyping, etc., to complement and refine the requirements derived from the RFI.
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How to capture business from public sector organisations

Public sector organisations are often large, complex and risk-averse buyers of expensive technology systems. They have specific procurement processes, regulations and requirements that must be followed by potential suppliers. To capture business from them, you need to understand their needs, challenges and goals, and tailor your solutions accordingly. Here are some steps to help you do that:

  • Research the organisation and its stakeholders. Public sector organisations rely on public funding. Consequently they have to show that they are wisely using those funds. This means that there are usually much greater needs to be transparent than a private sector business. Being more transparent means there is a lot of information publicly available about their decisionmaking processes, funding, budgets and past expenditure. Find out what their mission, vision and values are, what their current pain points and priorities are, and who the key decision-makers and influencers are. Use public sources of information, such as their website, annual reports, press releases, social media and industry publications, board meeting agendas and minutes, published budgets, as well as your own network of contacts and referrals.
  • Build relationships and trust. Establish rapport with the relevant stakeholders, such as the procurement officers, project managers, technical experts and end-users. Communicate regularly and consistently, provide value-added information and insights, demonstrate your expertise and credibility, and show genuine interest in their needs and goals. Avoid being too pushy or salesy, and respect their time and preferences.
  • Identify and qualify opportunities. Look for signs of demand or interest in your technology systems, such as requests for information (RFIs), requests for proposals (RFPs), invitations to tender (ITTs), or expressions of interest (EOIs). Evaluate the fit between your solutions and their requirements, the size and scope of the project, the budget and timeline, the competition and the decision criteria. Focus on the most promising and profitable opportunities, and avoid wasting time on low-probability or low-value ones.
  • Develop and present your proposal. Craft a compelling and customised proposal that addresses their specific needs, challenges and goals, and showcases your unique value proposition, differentiators and benefits. Use clear and concise language, evidence-based arguments, relevant case studies and testimonials, and attractive visuals. Follow their format and guidelines, answer their questions and objections, and highlight your compliance with their regulations and standards.
  • Negotiate and close the deal. Prepare for the negotiation process by setting your objectives, priorities and limits, anticipating their concerns and counteroffers, and identifying areas of mutual interest and value. Use effective negotiation techniques, such as asking open-ended questions, listening actively, acknowledging emotions, proposing options and alternatives, making concessions strategically, and building rapport. Aim for a win-win outcome that satisfies both parties’ interests and expectations.
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In sales, keep the main thing, the main thing

I recently asked a sales team what question they thought they were answering when putting together a proposal.

They said that they were trying to show how they were better than their competitors, and what differentiated them from others.

I said they may well be answering the wrong question.

They sold mission critical technology systems where clients controlled their operations in real time. Their decisionmakers were middle management who had senior management keenly observing whether they had made a decision.

They also had their staff worried that the new systems might be difficult to use or even worse, fail to perform better than the outgoing system that they had spent many years using.

If the wrong system was chosen then they would get grief from their staff and their grumbling would surely reach senior management and their career prospects could be severely curtailed.

No pressure!

So the question uppermost in the decisionmakers’ minds will be: How will your system do the job that they need it to?

The other question about differentiation and whether it is better than the competition will take care of itself.

“How so?” they asked.

We’ve all been in English classes at high school where an essay question might have been set.

If there were twenty students in the class, how different would each essay submitted be from the next? Probably widely so, even though everyone was set the same essay question.

In fact, if a group of essays were very similar, or even if one pair of essays were very similar, then the teacher would suspect collusion or plagiarism.

Therefore even though our competitors are addressing the same market and indeed the same request for proposals, the proposals submitted will be very different. Differentiation will take care of itself.

The main thing is to answer the key question, how will the potential customer’s stated need, be met?

Sometimes it can be easy to be distracted by the incentive to upsell and cross sell the customer created by the sales commission.

If the sales commission is calculated as a percentage of the order value, then it can be tempting to focus on pushing the customer toward lifting the value of what they buy.

I’ve seen sales people become so fixed on maximizing their commissions through promoting add-ons and expansions that they spent too little time on the main thing: showing the potential customer how their stated need will be met.

How many times have you walked into a restaurant and felt sales pressure because the waiter or waitress has spent too much time promoting side orders and desserts that you didn’t want?

Meeting customer needs is an axiom in marketing. Its the main thing.

Don’t get distracted by the competition or anything else.

Whatever you do in sales and marketing, don’t forget to make the main thing, the main thing.

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The Virtual Marketing Manager – how a marketing consultant brings you more sales

Tons of small businesses neglect their marketing. They know they should do it but more pressing issues keep them from getting to it. No surprise that

  • The last company blog was months ago, the customer newsletter is late or never goes out at all,
  • The company’s signage and customer experience looks tired,
  • Customers looking online for what the business offers don’t see it appearing at or near the top of search hits,
  • Leads don’t come to you, you have to go out and get them,
  • Sales aren’t growing as they should be…

It’s tough keeping up your marketing when there are more pressing things to deal with in the business. Marketing is one of those things that is easy to put off but over time it catches up with you.

Marketing is about focusing on understanding the marketplace, the competition, and the customers’ desires and pain points.

Typically, marketing is about:

  • The future and deciding where to go next
  • Concentrating on differentiation and offerings that are unique enough to give your business a long term competitive advantage
  • Working on
    • growing brand awareness,
    • attracting prospects and
    • moving people into the sales funnel

Marketing is characterized by:

  • Research
  • Mapping strategy
  • Analyzing data
  • Developing performance measures
  • Setting up systems
  • Watching trends
  • Changing tactics as required
  • Developing and leveraging marketing assets
  • Thinking about long term objectives

Sales is not the same as marketing. They require quite different kinds of people. What makes for a good sales professional contradicts with what makes for a great marketing professional.

Sales professionals are driven by:

  • The short term
  • Converting the lead in front of them into a sale, and then moving on as quickly as possible
  • Looking for and closing the deal

Having access to a Virtual Marketing Manager can be a big benefit for a small business.

Most can’t afford an experienced, knowledgeable Marketing Manager on a full-time basis and may never consider hiring one.

That’s a problem because many small businesses fail within the first three years.

Reasons include

  • Failure to set themselves apart from the competition
  • Inability to find a profitable business model
  • Ineffectively building awareness amongst potential customers
  • Not maintaining customer service standards

A Virtual Marketing Manager is an affordable alternative to hiring a full-time Marketing Manager and can make a big difference to a small business by:

  • Helping to clearly define the key benefit that sets a business apart
  • Exploiting this key benefit through the company’s communications
  • Ensuring that the company is regularly communicating with its important audiences
  • Building inbound sales leads through its websites and other marketing assets
  • Ensuring marketing investments are achieving tangible returns

The nature of SMB marketing means that you probably don’t need a full-time marketing manager.

A virtual marketing manager lets you get the benefits of a senior marketing manager without having to establish a full-time position.

A good virtual marketing manager can let the business owner carry on with running the business without distraction while building demand for its products and services.

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Strategy is bottom up | Kan & Company

2 minutes to read

We believe that winning strategies are born from killer tactics.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a Sardinian artillery sergeant in the French army. In his day, artillery was heavy and difficult to move.

He discovered that if he could have mobile artillery he could move it to concentrate its fire on a key part of the battlefield as required.

The rest of the strategy was logistics to allow the tactic to work effectively on the battlefield.

Cannon with lighter designs were procured, larger wheels were fitted to better traverse mud, artillery divisions were given horse and horse handlers.

He needed good messengers to redirect fire during the battle. Lots and lots of training so that they could all operate amidst the cacophony and chaos of battle.

With this strategy born from the simple idea of focusing artillery fire during a battle, he took Europe.

In the 1930s Nazi Germany perfected the idea of coordinating both highly mobile mechanized infantry, armor and air forces in battle. With these new tactics came new logistics.

The new Divisions required were recombined with a mix of armor and mechanized infantry. These new divisions needed new logistics systems to fuel and maintain their vehicles and equipment. Training was needed to improve communications and coordination between different forces.

We in Kan & Company Ltd have evaluated many business models and strategies over the years, we believe in winning strategies based on killer coal-face tactics that win sales which are supported by great logistics.

Despite his success, even Napolean got predictable. Is your Marketing looking stale or missing the target? Has your sales growth flattened out? Is your firm ready for its next phase of growth?

Call us, let’s talk

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