by: Sara Wilson-Thacker & Tricia Peck

1. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Using What You’ve Got: Preparing for
RFPs and Proposals
Sara Willson-Thacker & Tricia Peck
B2BCamp Summer 2013

2. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
When Procurement Attacks
• New products and pioneering services make tasty
targets:
– Commoditization happens fast
– Contacts abdicate “buyer” status
– Consultants appear out of nowhere

3. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Prepare by Doing What You’re Already
Doing
• Add more value to current info and activities
• Acknowledge limited resources
• Don’t do more than you need to…yet

4. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Before You Get a Request
You Need
• Aligned Sales & Marketing
messaging, reality-checked
by Delivery (Ops)
You Have
• Approval processes for
website text & email
templates, regular training
for ALL, centrally stored
competitive intel, etc.
4
Why? Because this.
Sales
Delivery/OpsMarketing
Proposal

5. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Before You Get a Request
You Need
• An honest assessment of:
– Buyer internal awareness
– Individual contact awareness
– Individual contact style
You Have
• A CRM tool where you note:
– Buyer stakeholder
information
– Relationships and
conversations
– Info from additional resources
(e.g., LinkedIn)
5

6. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Before You Get a Request
You Need
• Reliable flow of information
across the organization
– Know who knows what
– Share, share, share!
– Be comfortable asking for
input, information and
ownership
You Have
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Sales
DeliveryMarketing
Market Demand
and Feedback
Solution
and
Customer
Feedback
Competitive
Intel & Market
Chatter
Market
Positioning and
Demand Gen
Prospect
Requests and
Challenges
Solution
Capabilities
and Creative
Options

7. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Before You Get a Request
You Need
• Someone to steer the ship
– Treat it like any other project
– Think about candidates ahead
of time
– Know your outsourcing
options in a pinch
You Have
• Awesome employees
– Known strengths and
weaknesses
– Cross-functional skills
– Calm under pressure
7

8. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
When You Get the Request
• Scope it – deliverables, due date, team
• Clearly identify and support your designated proposal
manager
• Remember your roles, balanced with creative contribution
– Keep your buyer/evaluator in mind – technical, non-technical
• Don’t forget all the work you’ve already done
• Determine and document who has the “last red pen”

9. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
My Unofficial Minimum SLA
• Say “you” more than “we”
• Answer each question, and answer it directly
– Corollary: Get to the “yes” as quickly as you can
– Corollary: Don’t be afraid of the roadmap
• Show, don’t (just) tell
• Never, never, never lie

10. Copyright © 2013 AirWatch, LLC. All rights reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.
Don’t Forget the Follow-up
• Yes, have a debrief
– Assess internal process, communication, content
– Revisit what you thought you knew about your buyer
– Look at the bigger picture: Was this a one-off? The
beginning of a trend? The emergence of a consultant?
– Understand the situation before you take further
action so you don’t waste time, resources or money
• Stay in touch with the customer, ask for feedback