To win big bids, vendors — particularly those selling outsourcing services — need to convince prospective clients they possess three indispensable qualities:
- expertise
- compatibility
- the ability to create sustainable value for clients.
Establishing expertise is usually the easiest. Cultural fit and lasting value are the hardest to sell. Why? Because those dimensions are not simply about what the vendor brings, but about how the vendor and client organisations actually gel…in practice, over time.
What you need
Successful outsourcing vendors need a way to quickly assess the cultural make-up of their prospective clients’ organisations, demonstrate that understanding and propose service teams that will fit.
What we offer
A number of Throughline methods combine to support vendors making powerful, credible pitches authentically to their prospects.
To communicate your expertise, we recommend a marcomms programme that combines our Distill and crystallise method, with Endorse underpinned with Gauge to engage for audience insights.
To explain your compatibility with the client, we recommend combining Organisational x-ray (underpinned by statistically valid pan-national research) with the anecdotal power of Pleasure and pain. And to really help you get up to speed with your prospect’s approach and way of thinking, there’s Me and my shadow, a service which allows you to enlist Throughline direct in crucial client meetings.
Value — at the bid stage — is about thinking through how you’ll meet the needs and appetites your eliciting from your prospective client. For this, we recommend a War room. It’s the best place to work with colleagues on crafting an irresistible offer that actually incorporates the feedback captured throughout a multi-staged bid process.