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Competitive Intelligence in a Professional Services Firm

Competitive Intelligence in a Professional Services Firm. Timothy R. Corman July 23, 2004. NEED. IDEA. SOLUTION. RESULT. Creating a Competitive Intelligence Unit takes time, patience, and thought Understanding the process is critical The Need The Idea The Solution The Result

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Competitive Intelligence in a Professional Services Firm

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  1. Competitive Intelligence in a Professional Services Firm Timothy R. Corman July 23, 2004

  2. NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT • Creating a Competitive Intelligence Unit takes time, patience, and thought • Understanding the process is critical • The Need • The Idea • The Solution • The Result • Linking investment to reward

  3. NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT What Tipped Us Off? ? Number of Competitors Market Prices Win Rate

  4. NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT What Could We Do? • Innovate our offerings • Lower the cost of delivery (and hence price points to retain margins) • Speed • Reuse • Quality • Beat the competition at their own game Obviously the answer lies within all areas!

  5. How Do We Beat the Competition? • First, we needed to better understand what they were doing • Second, we needed an approach to mine the wealth of knowledge our own staff had about the “other guys” beyond conventional means • Third, we needed to get in on the ground floor of opportunities to anticipate and make a difference in competitive situations NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  6. What are the Ground Rules? • Reasonable payback potential • Scaleable investment • Visible value • Ethically by the book • Simple to understand for the staff • Straightforward to document Senior Leadership needed to be convinced the Ground Rules were viable. NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  7. Convincing the Leaders • Facts to support the need: • Competitive losses – why you lose a deal • Pragmatic sources of information – tapping the field • Extending knowledge management (we had the core framework) • Achievable Payback Expectations • Respected Ownership/Sponsorship NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  8. A Simple Value Proposition • Assume a 20% Contribution Margin • Average Deal Size = $1 Million For every 5 deals where CI makes the difference, that’s $1 Million in incremental contribution margin! NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  9. Organizational Alignment Information Free Flow • Knowledge Management • Solution • Industry Sales Teams • Competitive Intelligence Filtered General Counsel • Sales Support • Deal Structuring • Deal Review “Chinese Wall” NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  10. Tactical CI Solutions Industry Solution Account Deal NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  11. Proof Thru Example - Start • Competitive Bid Project worth ~ $80 Mil • Confidence in our solution • CI Involvement: Knowing the Competition beyond the published information: • Board of Director/Decision Maker Allegiance Mapping • Pricing History • Key Personnel (Project Leaders) • Solution Differentiators (Successes/Failures) NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  12. Proof Thru Example – Ending • Personal Discussions with Supportive and Undecided Decision Makers • Modification of Solution • Differentiate our ability to deliver where the competition has struggled • Promotion of key project leader strengths Having the knowledge from CI enabled the team to consciously address (or not) certain competitive elements leading to a WIN! NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  13. Measuring the Results • Each Major CI program MUST have measurable metrics • # of new hires debriefed • % of revenue from supported accounts • #/$ of supported pursuits • Cost to Value • Sales/Executive team MUST reinforce value delivered • Testimonials • Recognition of metric achievement NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  14. Things DO Get in the Way! • Sustaining Exec Sponsorship – The Battle for Attention • Scope Control – Can you also look at this, this and this • Confidentiality – C’mon, you can tell me • Acceptance of CI Analyst – And you are? • Unmet Expectations – What, no guarantee? NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  15. Chipping Away the Barriers • Sponsorship – Regular Communications • Measurement Reporting • Successes and Losses • Passion & Discipline to Utilize • Scope Control – Consider fee for service • Confidentiality – Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell • CI Analyst Value – References • Expectations – • Testimonials • “Better” losses NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  16. Variation on an Old Adage Power is in who you know not just what you know… Success is in what you do with BOTH who you know and what you know! NEED IDEA SOLUTION RESULT

  17. So You Still Have Questions?

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