Business Development Solutions : Dedicated to helping your business grow, 2007

Herein lies a core truth - they are not necessarily experts in the systems they integrate. Their value is in the maturity of processes for Program Management, subcontractor performance, standards-based configuration management, quality and availability of personnel, freedom to be “vendor neutral” and thus a trusted agent. They live and breathe issues of systems interoperability, centralized command and control, impact on network and other resources, short and long term maintenance considerations, training, documentation, cost of ownership, etc. They reduce risk to the customer through the breadth of experience, expertise and holistic view of their project and operating environment. This issue of perceived risk reduction on the part of the customer goes right to the heart of recent trends towards procurements specifying large integrators as prime contractors.

Help reduce the complexity

So, here's the 1st takeaway: the world of the integrator is exceptionally complex because the government customer's needs are complex.
If your company is to be on the team, either have your specifications in the RFP as a requirement or, help ease the pain - reduce the complexity.

Hopefully, you've done the former and are now asking where it hurts? Nice of you to ask. It hurts in the sheer numbers of companies and offerings. For example, as a rough count, there were over 800 security related vendors at a premier security conference in Orlando last year! I was working with one of these large integrators at the time. Two weeks after the show, I presented our capabilities brief to a potential government customer whom I had run into at the show. He said it was “overwhelming” and “bewildering”. I told him that one of the ways an integrator might help him is to bring some order to the chaos - essentially “down-select” appropriate technologies, based on his need - in other words, help ease his pain.

Preface: I wrote this article in 2006 for a Security Manager's periodical. I worked for a large defense contractor at the time and was attending a conference on “Security” and how the nature of the business was changing. In short, the security industry used to be, if not a mom and pop industry, then a playground for niche companies. Since 9/11, the security world has turned upside down. Today, we see companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc. vying for opportunities in that market space. These companies are Systems Integrators and tout mature project management and best practices as a key offering.

While this is not the place to go into the dynamics of the security market, there are some lessons learned here for all small companies who want to join the big guys in competing for large opportunities. So I rewrote and generalized the original article and I hope you find it of some value.

How to get the Attention of Large Companies to Jointly Seek and Win Government Contracts

My goal in this article is simple - to help improve your bottom line through insight into how a large company views and responds to the changing marketplace and selects products and services to present to the ultimate customer. In short, how you can get their attention and separate your company from the pack.

So the first question is: Who are these large companies and why does the government seek them out?

To be sure, they come in many shapes and sizes. They have hundreds and perhaps thousands of personnel with revenues in the millions and sometimes, the billions. Today, many of them are “integrators”. That is, they take technology and services from several sources and provide their customers with the end to end solution.

Help them choose your company

By this time, takeaway number 2 should be fairly obvious: if you want to work with a large company, see them as your intermediate customer and help them see how your offering provides true value. Create, market and present your product or service in terms of the overall solution. That means to start thinking bigger picture. Invest time in understanding market trends, the customer, the breadth and scope of projects and how you fit. In other words, think like an integrator - see the whole picture.

Before you make that cold call or send that email to some person you met at a trade show from large company X, have your stuff together. Do not join the hordes of callers who start off with: “I heard you were chasing opportunity Y. I've got the product/service they need and I'd like to send you a brochure”. You should now see why this is a bad approach. You have not reduced the complexity - you've added to it! Why? Because you placed the burden on the large company to try and find your value. Like you, they are busy. They should be cordial for sure and be happy to receive your information, but do not expect a call back.

To break from the pack, do your homework and try something like this: “I heard you are chasing opportunity Y. We've invested considerable effort to understand this customer and his overall solution needs. We just completed a very similar project. We spoke to the customer and he/she will be sensitive to a standards based platform that can be integrated with legacy systems, is easily maintained in house… etc,” Now you have their attention. You are speaking their language - you understand. The pain's not gone but is certainly reduced.

Honesty is the best policy

Takeaway number 3: Be brutally honest - with yourselves and with the large company. Treat them as a customer. Portray your capabilities accurately, as they currently exist. This is exceptionally important. When they propose your company as part of their solution, they put their good name on the line with yours. If your product doesn't perform as you claim or you don't have the staff to support the project, you will work with them once. If you become a trusted partner, they'll think of you first for future opportunities. As you know, it's very much about relationships.

In summary

Consider the large integrators as your intermediate customer. Think like them. Take the time to understand the bigger picture - and your role in it. Do your homework. Be comfortable in the knowledge that you understand the scope of the ultimate project. Present your capabilities in terms of your place in the whole solution. In other words, help them choose you from the pack. Finally, be honest. No product or service can be all things to all customers.

The world of the large Integrator is complex but not impenetrable. I hope I provided some points to ponder as you work to increase your sales.

Business Development Solutions offers assistance in identifying potential business opportunities with large corporate partners. Call us at (910) 457-9691 or email at hpomeranz@busdevsolutions.com to discuss your needs.