Communicating through the RFP Process - what I want Consultants and Businesses to Know
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Communicating through the RFP Process - what I want Consultants and Businesses to Know This presentation is based on a business case study I am currently involved in, the RFP process for creating a SharePoint 2013 version of our compliance system and migrating the SharePoint 2010 data into it.
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Communicating through the RFP Process - what I want Consultants and Businesses to Know
- 1. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Communicating Through the RFP Process MELANIE NELSON, FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING
- 2. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Agenda 1. Introduction 2. Business Case Study 3. Lessons Learned 4. Communication 5. Questions 6. Close and Thank You 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 1
- 3. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Please take a moment to appreciate the sponsors that enable the SharePoint Saturday Community to gather, share knowledge, enjoy lunch, networking and SharePint together. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 2
- 4. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 3
- 5. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 1 Introduction 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 4
- 6. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING About Me Texan & I love it History Hobbies 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 5
- 7. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Speaking from two positions / viewpoints As a consultant: @FairlightConslt 214.507.0053 Melanie@FairlightConsulting.com www.LinkedIn.com/in/MelanieFNelson As an employee: Tait Environmental Services Business Development & Technology Solutions Manager 214.531.9377 MNelson@Tait.com 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 6
- 8. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Making a Business Case for SharePoint SharePoint Saturday| Feb-8-2014 | Huntsville, AL Welcome! The SharePoint & TechFest Communities have given me so much – I want to give back. Today I’ll share the Business Case behind selecting SharePoint as a solution for our Environmental Compliance System. Reason for Presentation Sharing my experience – business case study Prompt discussion and brainstorming of solutions for your needs Audience Business user Level Business of SharePoint, not technical Created for Consultants SharePoint users Business Decision Makers What’s it worth? That depends… 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 7
- 9. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 2 Business Case Study 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 8
- 10. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Meet TAIT Two Companies – complementary services Tait & Associates Tait Environmental Services Civil Engineering Focused on Environmental Services Architecture Boots on the ground Construction Management Oversight Fuel System Design Environmental Consulting Not using SharePoint Using SharePoint Forms and workflows solution for technicians in the field to submit in real time Metadata - Reporting for Clients Exporting data for clients Aware of, interested in but Lack of training Limited access (CALs/licensing) Interesting Yammer Adoption Yammer limited test group Forwarded invitations Seeing new names 8 February 2014 Challenge (quite generic) Additional training needed Not as easy as Microsoft Word © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 9
- 11. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING A Diverse Company 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 10
- 12. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Environmental Compliance System What we do What we use 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 11
- 13. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING TAIT’s Story Environmental Compliance System Needs to be met: How complicated is it? Mission Critical System - Why in SharePoint? 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 12
- 14. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING History of TECS Online TECS 1.0 TECS 2.0 TECS 3.0
- 15. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING How Complicated is it? Workflow Ex. - Testing Communicating w Server Ex. - Certification Verification 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 14
- 16. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 3 Lessons Learned 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 15
- 17. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Prepare! Work ahead of time so you don’t waste other people’s time. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 16
- 18. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Read what’s provided Research the company 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 17
- 19. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Businesses Ask for internal expectations, too • Meetings • Deliverables 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 18
- 20. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Varying expectations of decision makers 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 19
- 21. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Remember, it’s a relationship. You’re going to continue working together. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 20
- 22. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Promises -> Expectations 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 21
- 23. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Businesses Forgiveness Judgment Leadership 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 22
- 24. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Document everything. Wait, you look like you’ve heard that before. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 23
- 25. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Presentation matters Conversations - share w/team 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 24
- 26. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Businesses Document expectations • Consultants • Other internal decision makers 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 25
- 27. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING You wear the tshirt, she sees it and you don’t. Win-Win-Win. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 26
- 28. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Goal = Make $$ How = Make client happy 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 27
- 29. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Businesses Goal = the Solution Internal goals 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 28
- 30. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING You don’t know a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. I wear tall heels. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 29
- 31. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Know their goals 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 30
- 32. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Businesses Know their goals Too many details 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 31
- 33. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Decision Makers v. Drivers v. Point of Contact 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 32
- 34. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING While I’m on my soapbox... 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 33
- 35. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants Customization = Compliments 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 34
- 36. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Consultants People know about Templates Where’s the Happy middle point? Template look being generic 8 February 2014 Regurgitating everything about the company © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 35
- 37. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 4 Communication 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 36
- 38. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING It’s a Relationship. Communication is key. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 37
- 39. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Communication is SO Important In Business as well as Personal Life I work on communicating & coach others on it in my Personal Life I’ll discuss things I teach to couples at Merge and apply them to this business scenario Speaker Listener Technique So what I’m hearing you say is… Expectations Constructive Griping Problem Solving 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 38
- 40. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Active Listening & Problem Solving Important in Business as well as Personal Life Moving forward during the RFP process and throughout development and implementation I must Practice what I preach CLARIFY, CLARIFY, CLARIFY Incorporate these techniques in the workplace What I’ve learned Making Assumptions Level of work not needed Stop to ask if there is more than one way to interpret the message, then clarify “your place” example 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 39
- 41. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING The Speaker Listener Technique Personal Coaching Rules for the SPEAKER 1. Speak for yourself. Don’t mind read! 2. Don’t go on and on. Rules for LISTENER 1. Paraphrase what you hear Stop and let the listener paraphrase. Don’t rebut. Focus on what the speaker is saying. Rules for BOTH 1. The speaker has the floor. 2. Speaker keeps the floor while the listener paraphrases 3. Share the floor. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 40
- 42. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING The Speaker Listener Technique Business Application Rules for the SPEAKER 1. Be prepared. Speak clearly. Don’t assume. 2. Be concice. Stop and let the audience paraphrase. Rules for LISTENER 1. Reply with clarifying questions, paraphrase what you heard Don’t rebut. Focus on what the forspeaker is saying. BOTH Rules 1. One speaker at a time, no interruptions. 2. Speaker keeps the floor while the listener paraphrases 3. Only one speaker, listener paraphrases until the speaker is finished saying everything they have to say.. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 41
- 43. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Expectations Personal Coaching EXPECTATIONS: – are beliefs about the way things will be or should be-- including about behaviors, roles, life and death, relationships, and so forth – that are not met lead to feelings of sadness, disappointment, frustration, and anger. Three Key Problems 1. You can be UNAWARE of your expectations 2. Your partner’s expectations. 3. Your expectations may be UNREASONABLE. 4. Your expectations may be UNSPOKEN. What to do about Expectations Identify them Consider if they are realistic Discuss together -> Aware, Reasonable & Spoken 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 42
- 44. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Expectations Business Application EXPECTATIONS: – are beliefs about the way things will be or should be– based on past experiences and personal preferences – that are not met lead to – lack of efficiency, frustration, and possibly even missed deadlines or underperformance Three Key Problems 1. 2. 3. 4. You can be UNAWARE of your expectations or Expectations of other parties Your expectations may be UNREASONABLE – each business scenario is different and what works at a F100 company may not work at a family owned business, the level of detail one company may provide for an RFP may not be known by another company Your expectations may be UNSPOKEN – you must be clear and document as needed What to do about Expectations Identify them – talk to all parties Consider if they are realistic - how much detail for consultants Discuss together. Ensure expectations are properly set for both parties formally - Annual Review, informally – conversation. 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 43
- 45. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Constructive Griping Personal Coaching When you did X Specific Behavior In situation Y Specific Situation I felt Z Owning feelings Be Respectful and Be Specific 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 44
- 46. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Constructive Griping Business Application When you did X Requested this RFP / Wrote a 60 page RFP In situation Y For the next version of the Environmental Compliance Database The result was Z I thought the goal was getting pricing so wrote as much as I could to get line-item detail for your final selection Additional work needed to be done to adjust for Be Clear and Concise to avoid confusion 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 45
- 47. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Problem Solving Model Business Application Problem Solution Agenda setting Decide on what to work on right now Plan to work the other pieces of the problem at another time Focus in and narrow down the concerns Brainstorming Agreement and compromise Work toward what you can both agree to do Discuss pros and cons of different potential solutions Follow-up Agree on solution to be tried now Agree on a time frame to try solution and agree to assess and revise as needed 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 46
- 48. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 5 Question & Answer Time @FairlightConslt 214.507.0053 Melanie@FairlightConsulting.com www.LinkedIn.com/in/MelanieFNelson 8 February 2014 Business Development & Technology Solutions Manager Tait Environmental Services 214.531.9377 mnelson@tait.com @taitenvupdates © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 47
- 49. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING Enjoy your lunch Please take a moment to appreciate the sponsors! 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 48
- 51. FAIRLIGHT CONSULTING 6 Close Thank you @FairlightConslt 214.507.0053 Melanie@FairlightConsulting.com www.LinkedIn.com/in/MelanieFNelson Business Development & Technology Solutions Manager Tait Environmental Services 214.531.9377 mnelson@tait.com @taitenvupdates 8 February 2014 © 2013 Fairlight Consulting 50
Notas do Editor
- notes
- From beginning in 1964, gas stations & continued entrepreneurial growth
- We do – process of guys going out into the field, etc.We use – many forms, regulatory agencies etc.
- Giving examples specific to TECSWorkflow of Testing documents – discovered needed loop at end of the workflowCertifications – communication between forms and the server
- Read the documentation provided to you. If you’re not going to set the time aside to, schedule time with someone to go over it with you – making yourself accountable to do it. It’s okay to charge time for this. It would have saved days of interviews & asking redundant questions. Learn first so you can dig deeper when you do arrive, and so you aren’t starting at the beginning. It’ll give you questions to arrive with.
- Ask: Get expectations about the meeting from attendees prior to holding the meetings. Ex:Going over the RFP. Tim – over my head, Matt – don’t care only want to see the final results, Scott/Jim – just pick and tell me, I trust you. Figure that stuff out first, then you know who really should be attneding.
- Define and explain who needs what. They don’t know and probably can’t tell you. Ex: Tim – high level overview (fluff), Matt – Forms to PDF final output and mirroring calendar, has to see it to believe it, Mel – technical details to have faith the consultant can do the work (dev & process)
- Don’t make a promise you aren’t going to deliver on. Take notes on what you say you’ll do. Get that verbal discussion down in writing, because what you said to “sell” them, even if it’s not in the proposal may well be what the business remembers and that may be what sets their expectations.
- Give them 2nd chances, opportunities, do-overs. Understand that clients are different and they may have to adjust. Withhold judgment as long as possible – be patient. Drive the project. Be the PM if you have to.
- Create documentation as a deliverable, a product – presentation matters. Cater to your audience. I expect proper English writing such as consistency in bulleted lists (either all notes and no periods, or all full sentences).
- Fully describe your expectations. So much is said verbally in sales conversations, you can’t expect them to remember it all. If it’s something you expect, you’d better write it down and send it to them, too. Working with a team of people, information may be lost / miscommunicated / misconstrued or not even given to the other team members. Sometimes the person you are expecting the action/deliverable/work from may not have heard what it is that you need – send info to the whole team because they may not. Document everything. Follow up email: Per our conversation today…Put all of your expectations in writing. Get expectations in writing from other decision makers. Filter data to them at the level they want. Ex: Tim – bullet points, low cost. Matt – visual solution, needs to be comfortable that we have control to create or alter or consultants can do it quickly = cheaply, Melanie – keep all the rest, the detailed info, the technical solution
- Your goal is to make money and to get more work, because that makes more money. You need to keep the client happy. How do you do that? Fix their problems. Create solutions for them. Look for opportunities to bring additional value. Become their Trusted Advisor. Know and address their goals.You meet or exceed their expectations. It sounds so simple, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Communicating expectations is so important.
- The goal is getting a good solution. That means solving a business problem within your means ($$). Make sure you understand and put the focus on specific internal goals of all of the decision makers. Ex: Tim – need it to work without complaints, that’s not asking much. Matt – wants it to be Adobe LiveCycle or at least almost the same, and for it to mirror Exchange Public Calendars. Jim – wants access for external users, to use it to grow our service business. Melanie – wants UX for adoption, to expand capabilities to grow the company, to leverage expertise and garner more business by automating tasks and saving time spent on multiple systems, connecting disparate parts of the company – local and satellite, TES & TAIT to share expertise
- The consultants want to make money. Saving their time = making more money. More money for them, more work for you for the money you have given them, everybody wins. How can you do that? Share as much information as possible, but only information that is helpful to them. Be available and help as much as possible. Watch for and try to determine the break-even point where you are helping and where you can start to slow them down. Helping is awesome, but not if they can’t be as efficient. Ex: if you give them too much to read that’s not necessarily related, if you want to talk too much, etc.
- Figure out who the decision makers are, and who INFLUENCES them – those are the real decision makers, the drivers of the decision. Respect the gatekeeper and the Point of Contact though, you’re still working with them
- Customize your paperwork! Flatter your clients – show them you know them, that you understand the business problem you want to solve. It’s lip service on paper.
- The world is more techy now. People know about templates. Find that happy medium between giving the client deliverables that are totally generic, and between regurgitating everything they’ve told you about the company
- It’s a Relationship, so Communication is Key
- CLARIFY, CLARIFY, CLARIFY So what I’m hearing you say is…Practice in my personal lifeTeach to couples at MergeIncorporate these techniques in the workplaceWhat I’ve learnedI am assuming what I hear is final, it could just be brainstormingNot every project/job needs to be completed above and beyond, exceeding expectationsNeed to make sure I’m asking for enough details for meMake sure I’ve heard the full messageStop to ask if there is more than one way to interpret the message, then clarify “your place” example