How Large Organizations Select Vendors

One in a Billion
So you are trying to win an account with a large organization. Times are hard; everyone is tripping over each other to break thru and get noticed. To hopefully get noticed by the decision maker and earn the business. In your way are a number of the usual obstacles. They don’t know you…they already have relationships with other agencies of record…you can’t get by the gatekeeper…the decision maker is busy and he or she is overwhelmed with the daily task of managing their calendars.

Is Anybody Out There…Does Anybody Care?
So how do you get noticed and command their attention? More importantly how do you close a sale? I wrote a blog a month or so ago on how to win the presentation but I never told you how to get noticed. So if you care to listen…I’d be happy to share some of my experiences as the guy who walked in your shoes and now has the fortunate opportunity to give you work.

RFP’s Suck…But They are a Smart Sign of the Times
We all hate RFP’s…we do. Enough said. But here s the reality in hard times companies like mine need to evaluate stability and whether a company has the team available to support the project. Thus we have turned of late to an RFP. Typically if I’m interested and think you fill the bill to take on the task with the service offerings, talent and creativity I’m seeking…I’ll contact you.

So you already got my attention or were refererred to me by a peer. You’ve made the short list…I want you to win my business. Remember I picked you…if you fail…I fail. And if you are too arrogant to take on the RFP… then Gods speed to you in the future. All you needed to do was to prove yourself here and have retained my account for multipe projects and perhaps years to come. You’ll learn I am very loyal to someone who is loyal to my organizations needs.

Don’t Sell…Tell
You don’t have to over sell you just have to win the task at hand in the RFP. I already feel you are worthy of the task…but I need to be certain in these hard times that you still have an “A” team to support my project, a deep bench, the funds to stay afloat, the creativity to implement my strategy and the experience to be fiscally responsible and get the best for my dollar. And none of these points are taken lightly…I have the same responsibilities and accountabilities if I hire you.

Big companies are big fish in a big sea. And they want to be the big fish.

If You Look in the Mirror…You Will See Me
Let me be confident that I made the right decision bringing you into the account and put you in front of all of those on my team and leadership…you are a reflection of me.

You Didn’t Make the Cut
Ok so you didn’t get invited to participate in the RFP. UGH. Now you have a real problem cutting through the perfect storm. For me getting phone calls are bad. I get a ten vendors a day trying to call me… I want to use the phone to get through my day…not yours. If I’m not working on a project with you…I don’t have time for hellos. It’s nothing personal…it’s just the reality. I barely have time for my staff…and they come first…as do my customers. VM is a chore and leaving me a message every week to tell me about your services is irritating and taking up my time to listen to them each week. So now what?

Tried and True
If you do good work…I mean really good work…I’ll most likely know about you…reputations still precede us. If I’m new to a position and you’re trying to get me peer references is the best resource. Relationships are still king. References rule. Great work always gets noticed…even if it’s by snail mail. Emails will be opened if the subject line is relevant to a need I have or a service I need. Junk mail is junk mail…spam is spam…and direct mail with a cheesy offer is cheesy. Less is more. Professional and respectful communication still is of value…even if you are trying to reach me once a month. Timing is important…luck is real. If I don’t think you are a good fit respect it and try again later. You may not fit this project but you may rock for another. Don’t try to buy us…gifts are for family.

No One Does Everything
Never oversell…don’t tell me you do everything…I’ve heard that too many times. Tell me what you are great at…then be great at it. If you don’t meet the requirements…do not waste my time…really don’t…you won’t be called back. Refer only the best to me. Don’t refer someone you don’t know or is not good…it will be a direct reflection of your judgment. If I don’t add you on a social network it’s not personal…social networks are personal…I’m not hiring you the company is…that’s who I represent.

Enterprise Consistency
If your creative, account team, project management all are great and your invoicing…accounts payable and receptionist isn’t professional…kiss the account goodbye. And by all means do not … I repeat do not nickle and dime me.

Honesty is The Best Policy
Always be fair. Always be honest. I’m wrong at times and so are you. If you outsource it I want to know. If you have additional fees I want to know. Your bills are my bills. Never speak poorly of anyone on my team. Never speak poorly of anyone on your team. That’s my team too. Only put the right people on my team…don’t add bodies I don’t need. Let people on your team learn on another account not on mine. I pay for experts … I want experts. I’m in a service business and you are servicing my customer.

Understanding
Understand my brand. Know my industry. Know my client. Diversity is important to us. If you are a minority owned business…a woman owned business I want to know…it’s important to you … it’s importan to me. Understand there are many ways to get to the same destination. Respect my culture and my team even if there are weak links. Never…never go around the owner of the project.

And The Winner Is …
And the most important thing to remember is if you win … we all win.

One web year = One dog year

FACE REALITY
So you are embarking on a site relaunch. Your investing a year of resources and big dollars to elevate your business communications and marketing efforts. If you think about it no matter what you do or how good you are at anticipating designing and relaunching a website you will never be ahead of the game. The moment you launch your site you will be behind. Face reality.

THE SCENERIO
You are a multi-billion dollar corporation. You have just made an large investment to re-design your website. We’re talking about thousands of pages of content and thousands of hours to get it right. So you have taken the plunge and are ready to hold on for a great ride.

WEB CYCLE
When you are heavy into the discovery and strategy phase of the project you are typically going to burn about three to four months of your engagement. Let’s assume your project build cylce is twelve months and each phase consumes approx. a third of the process (discovery/strategize, architect/build, release/evolve.).

So in reality once you do your strategy and your discovery (the heavy business strategy and goals of the project) it will be another eight to nine months before you see it implemented and live for John Q Public.

WEB YEAR = DOG YEAR
If it takes a year to build from concept to completion the moment the site launches it will be out of date. All of your strategy and discovery took place eight months earlier. And believe me when I say that one web year is like one dog year. So most likely you are behind in technology, ideas and new best practices. Something else has replaced YouTube, facebook or Twitter as the next best thing. SEO will be different, rich media will be differnet, social media, mobile all different. UGH.

So what now. Do you scrap your investment? Do you pray that you were wise enough to build in scalability and content that stood the test of time? Or do you simply run home crying and praying you won’t lose your job for all the effort you made an entire organization endear for a whole year!

Before you order tickets to the border and plan your escape…relax. It’s not about the technology remember. It’s about the content. So since you are a man of wisdom …a women to be reckoned with…you already factored this in. RIght? You did…didn’t you?

THINK BIG
Keeping up with technology has always been near impossible. Anticipating marketing trends and business plans is what you our others on your team get the big bucks for…so sports fans…do me a favor and don’t forget when you are in the critical stage of discovery and strategy. Think Big. Think about the content and the tends of your industry one year from now. Don’t allow your limited view of marketing today effect your view of tomorrow. What is important now may not be twelve months from now and you have to have the guts to admit that.

The tendency in building a website is to only see the now…to only face your organizations current problems and not predict or anticipate the future trends and insights.

I urge you to be bold. To be a rogue. To let your mind get above the now and think…think…innovate.

It took me approximately two dog minutes to write this blog. Wow…I’m slow.

How to Win that Big Website Account. To the Victor Belongs the Spoils.

Ok here’s the deal…you’ve been advised that you have made the selection cut. It is down to three companies trying to win the account. We heard your first pitch and that of your competition…now you are being told it is yours to win or lose. It is a head to head competition…gut check time. Seize the opportunity.

What’s next…here’s some ammunition to help you win the biz.

Advice from Both Sides of the Fence
I’ve spent 11 years of my career working on the client side and 14 years of my career on the vendor side. Most recently I have returned as the client…and we have just awarded a large website project to a firm who did everything right in earning the business. And they did it with class, patience and the willingness to invest in the relationship.

How Do You Win that Six to Seven Figure Website Account
Well pull up a chair…I’m about to tell you exactly how to do it. From a guy who has been on the winning side of earning this type of account more then a few times and from a guy who has had the pleasure of awarding this type of an account; I thought I’d throw you a bone or two. I’ve got a little advice for those of you who are out there each and every day trying to close that big deal for your company.

The Best Want the Best
Most companies don’t have this kind of money to spend on an endeavor like this very often even if they are a great organization. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often for the client or for you. First things first, remember they want you or you never would have got the call to present and bid. When an organization elects a team to go out and seek the right partners these individuals are putting their jobs on the line. They have a job to spend the organizations money wisely. So trust me when I say they are seeking you. They know who you are and have researched your organization. So the best brands want to work with the best digital brands.

Don’t Teach me Web 2.0
Never underestimate the knowledge of your audience. If I tell you that you will be presenting to a sophisticated audience for your presentation don’t try to show me that you know more than the audience. Tell me you are equipped to do it…tell me how you are going to do it. Don’t teach me something out of a Web 2.0 book. We already get that. What we need to know is that you took the time to figure out where you can make us better.

Put Some Skin in the Game
It’s not easy to earn money…you need to work for it. You’re not vying for a 100k job. Don’t show me the same thing you would show an account one fifth or one tenth the scale and size. In this case sports fans…you need to spend money to make the money. Is it a risk? Of course it is. But it’s a risk for me to hire you as well. This is business. So…you need to put some skin in the game. Be prepared to go above and beyond. Be prepared to put it all out there and do the research, analyze my current site, tell me what you can do over the other guy. Because believe me they are doing it.

It’s an Investment for You and I
My career is on the line hiring you. And your career is on the line earning my business. I have to go back to my board of directors or executive leadership and answer to them. I have to tell them that this project is right for the company, right for our audiences, and right to spend the money. I want you to want to showcase this project to all of your future clients.

The Yankees and the Red Sox
The best are going to go up against the best. So how bad do you want to win? Imagine you are on national television you are being seen by millions of viewers…so your reputation is on the line. Keep it real …play hard…play fair…play like there is no tomorrow. I’ve got to know you want it. If you play this game like you do a Tuesday night game in June it won’t sell with me. This is the stretch run you’re in the playoffs…one game away from the big show.

We’re Not Playing Poker…Show Your Cards.
Don’t sell me. I’ve already walked onto the car lot to buy. I want you. So wow me with new ideas that apply to me and my audience. I know you can do it and that you have done it for others. But I don’t know how you will do it for my organization. I don’t expect you to give me all of your ideas nor do I expect you to know exactly how you are going to do it. But I do need to see how learnings will apply to me. What I mean by this is I don’t know how your team communicates…I don’t know the detail on the type of process you use or the type of project management tools you use. I need to see them my team is going to have to work with your tools to make us all successful. And I need to see you have the thinking to elevate my audiences web experience vs. my competition in the marketplace.

Humility vs. Arrogance
Humble not slick. Passionate not cocky. Confident not arrogant. If you’re not asking me a lot of questions from each key member of your team (SEO, Analytics, Development, UX, IA, Creative) then I figure you think you know all there is to know about me. You know it all…you’re arrogance has won. If I keep asking you… are there any more questions you have for me or members of my team…I’m telling you you aren’t asking the right questions. And I am feeling like you don’t care enough to want it. And perhaps you don’t need to know me or build the relationship. The wise man asks questions. You are building my house for my family and friends. I know you know how to build a house. But how on earth do you know the experience I want for those visiting my home?

It’s an Investment
I want you to grow your business with our relationship. I want to be your case study. I don’t care about awards. I want you to be proud of me and share our experience to help others. I want to be best in class. I want to exceed anything proceeding us in my industry. Period. And I want you to carry my flag high and proud for other to see. And I want to do the same for you. I want to recommend you to other. I want them to know that quite frankly YOU ROCK.

A New BMW or a Brand New Ford
Ok you’re off buying a new car so what’s the difference between purchasing a new BMW or a new Ford…they are both new cars. You can buy both models for the same price. But one manufacturer is selling a car and the other is selling an experience. I know BMW has great engineers and state of the art technologies to offer me and so does Ford. I expect this. But what separates the men from the boys is the driving experience. This BMW has mastered. There’s a difference in being a leader and a follower.

Don’t Over Charge…Take Charge
The NY Yankees built a new stadium and tried to get fans to pay a ridiculous price per seat. So what happened when they overcharged for their greed. People stayed home. Seats still remain empty. The owners will have to take charge…and access a fair price to regain their following. You best do the same when earning that business. Take charge…blend rates and make adjustments. Win the business. I’m not responsible for paying for your overhead. Keep it fair and over time this relationship will be fruitful. Keep your rates transparent and I will be loyal to you. Be fair. Be sharp. No hidden fees.

Booty for Booty
These opportunities don’t come a knockin everyday. You’re going to have to go streaking across the stadium. If you are not willing to let me know that you will expose all for the account then why should i trust you with all that coin?

It’s My Brand as Well as Your Brand
It’s my brand. This is my biggest touchpoint to the world. Respect this…stay within my brand guidelines. Be my brand advocate and steward. My brand is a promise to my audiences…you now are carrying this flag…don’t drop it. I am passionate about it and so should you be. Once you join me your brand is on the line as well.

As Natalie Merchant liked to sing…Give Them What They Want.
It’s always important to give the client exactly what they ask for…regardless of how small it may seem to you or your team. If I ask you for something I am testing to see if you are listening. If you can’t give me what I want when you are trying to win the account…do you think I will have faith you will give me something when you don’t need to earn it? In a bidding process you’re running a mile so you need to know when to pull away from the rest of the pack. Ask the client where you are in the process. Don’t be afraid to ask for more. To offer up more. To ask for additional one on ones with key players. For instance if you feel you aren’t getting your point across on certain advantages you hold. Provide it or ask if you can submit more information to solidify your case. Follow the rule of engagement. But there’s nothing that says you can’t ask for more. If you don’t ask you won’t advance.

Sell me What I Need
It’s my house. I don’t need the swimming pool just because you figured out how to build one. Offer up ideas. Do what you do best. Offer the services you are confident to support. But don’t sell me something I don’t need or that doesn’t apply to my audience just because it’s cool.

Bring your “A” Team
I want to know who I’m going to be working with day to day. I want to know that you are not one swine flu bug away from stalling my efforts or project timeline. I need to know you have a deep bench. I also need to know if a personality or two isn’t working out on the account that we can transition the person without any animosity. Let me know the percentage of time that I will be engaged with key players on your team. I’m reasonable…I understand that you have rock stars and that they bill differently. But that’s your issue to resolve…all I want to know is when and how long I have them as a resource. Relationships are key. Personality is key. Remember for the most part this is a professional service offering. Whatever you do…do not bate and switch. That will be the kiss of death.

Social Conscience is Real
It’s no longer a tree hugging concept. Work this into the play. Whether it is a green initiative or a global health initiative … it’s worth it for all of us. The worlds best brands are starting to figure out that the world is bigger then they are…so they are waking up and smelling the coffee. Be prepared to respond to global issues for your client. Be prepared to offer up new ways of thinking…even if they are not ready for them…they will appreciate your foresight.

Speak my Language
Understand my industry. If you don’t understand it … do not act like you do. Be open and honest of your level of understanding; I will see right through you if you don’t. If your selling to a Quaker you better act like a Quaker. Understand my culture. Speak to me as though you are a part of this culture. If I talk like I’m Amish keep the four letter words at the golf course. CPG, Healthcare, Pharma, Retail are not the same. I want you to bring in learning’s from other industries even better…I’ll listen to them…but make sure you don’t ignore my industry.

Finally…for those of you who feel this type of diligence or advice isn’t necessary to win that big account. You probably weren’t selected for that very reason.

Remember the key differentiators…collaboration is real this is a partnership, listen to what I am asking, pay attention to detail, transparency is truth, know and understand my business, I know you know what you’re doing or I wouldn’t be wasting my time listening to you, we want you to win the account or you wouldn’t be in the final three, ask questions and more questions and more questions.

As Senator Marcy was quoted as saying, back in 1832… “to the victor belong the spoils”

Coming soon at a blog near you…
“So I followed all of your advice why did I still lose the business?”

Gartner – Ten Technologies and Trends for 2009

From Gartner, Inc.

Gartner, Inc., analysts have announced their top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations. The analysts presented their findings during the annual Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando.

Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.

The top 10 strategic technologies for 2009 include:

Virtualization – Much of the current buzz is focused on server virtualization, but virtualization in storage and client devices is also moving rapidly. Virtualization to eliminate duplicate copies of data on the real storage devices while maintaining the illusion to the accessing systems that the files are as originally stored (data deduplication) can significantly decrease the cost of storage devices and media to hold information. Hosted virtual images deliver a near-identical result to blade-based PCs. But, instead of the motherboard function being located in the data center as hardware, it is located there as a virtual machine bubble. However, despite ambitious deployment plans from many organizations, deployments of hosted virtual desktop capabilities will be adopted by fewer than 40 percent of target users by 2010.

Cloud Computing — Cloud computing is a style of computing that characterizes a model in which providers deliver a variety of IT-enabled capabilities to consumers. They key characteristics of cloud computing are 1) delivery of capabilities “as a service,” 2) delivery of services in a highly scalable and elastic fashion, 3) using Internet technologies and techniques to develop and deliver the services, and 4) designing for delivery to external customers. Although cost is a potential benefit for small companies, the biggest benefits are the built-in elasticity and scalability, which not only reduce barriers to entry, but also enable these companies to grow quickly. As certain IT functions are industrializing and becoming less customized, there are more possibilities for larger organizations to benefit from cloud computing.

Servers — Beyond Blades – Servers are evolving beyond the blade server stage that exists today. This evolution will simplify the provisioning of capacity to meet growing needs. The organization tracks the various resource types, for example, memory, separately and replenishes only the type that is in short supply. This eliminates the need to pay for all three resource types to upgrade capacity. It also simplifies the inventory of systems, eliminating the need to track and purchase various sizes and configurations. The result will be higher utilization because of lessened “waste” of resources that are in the wrong configuration or that come along with the needed processors and memory in a fixed bundle.

Web-Oriented Architectures – The Internet is arguably the best example of an agile, interoperable and scalable service-oriented environment in existence. This level of flexibility is achieved because of key design principles inherent in the Internet/Web approach, as well as the emergence of Web-centric technologies and standards that promote these principles. The use of Web-centric models to build global-class solutions cannot address the full breadth of enterprise computing needs. However, Gartner expects that continued evolution of the Web-centric approach will enable its use in an ever-broadening set of enterprise solutions during the next five years.

Enterprise Mashups – Enterprises are now investigating taking mashups from cool Web hobby to enterprise-class systems to augment their models for delivering and managing applications. Through 2010, the enterprise mashup product environment will experience significant flux and consolidation, and application architects and IT leaders should investigate this growing space for the significant and transformational potential it may offer their enterprises.

Specialized Systems – Appliances have been used to accomplish IT purposes, but only with a few classes of function have appliances prevailed. Heterogeneous systems are an emerging trend in high-performance computing to address the requirements of the most demanding workloads, and this approach will eventually reach the general-purpose computing market. Heterogeneous systems are also specialized systems with the same single-purpose imitations of appliances, but the heterogeneous system is a server system into which the owner installs software to accomplish its function.

Social Software and Social Networking – Social software includes a broad range of technologies, such as social networking, social collaboration, social media and social validation. Organizations should consider adding a social dimension to a conventional Web site or application and should adopt a social platform sooner, rather than later, because the greatest risk lies in failure to engage and thereby, being left mute in a dialogue where your voice must be heard.

Unified Communications – During the next five years, the number of different communications vendors with which a typical organization works with will be reduced by at least 50 percent. This change is driven by increases in the capability of application servers and the general shift of communications applications to common off-the-shelf server and operating systems. As this occurs, formerly distinct markets, each with distinct vendors, converge, resulting in massive consolidation in the communications industry. Organizations must build careful, detailed plans for when each category of communications function is replaced or converged, coupling this step with the prior completion of appropriate administrative team convergence.

Business Intelligence – Business Intelligence (BI), the top technology priority in Gartner’s 2008 CIO survey, can have a direct positive impact on a company’s business performance, dramatically improving its ability to accomplish its mission by making smarter decisions at every level of the business from corporate strategy to operational processes. BI is particularly strategic because it is directed toward business managers and knowledge workers who make up the pool of thinkers and decision makers that are tasked with running, growing and transforming the business. Tools that let these users make faster, better and more-informed decisions are particularly valuable in a difficult business environment.

Green IT – Shifting to more efficient products and approaches can allow for more equipment to fit within an energy footprint, or to fit into a previously filled center. Regulations are multiplying and have the potential to seriously constrain companies in building data centers, as the effect of power grids, carbon emissions from increased use and other environmental impacts are under scrutiny. Organizations should consider regulations and have alternative plans for data center and capacity growth.

Source: Gartner, Inc.