Stage two: Organization questions Next you'll need to ask questions like these about your organization: — What are the best matches between the services/prod- ucts we provide and the needs of the marketplace? — What's already working well in the marketplace? — Is there an opportunity for us to follow this example because of growth in a new region? — Where are the gaps in services or products that you may be able to fill? — What is not available in the marketplace? How can we verify the need has demand behind it, or is it just a need that doesn't have enough demand to overcome inertia? (Remember how strong the pull of inertia is!) Stage three: Customer/client questions You also need to ask questions about your clients. The best way to do this is to make two lists that respond to two questions: 1. What do your best customers look like and why are they your best customers? Write down the answers to these questions and be spe- cific about what it is that makes these customers the best, including any cultural attributes that make working with them enjoyable for your organization. 2. What do your worst customers look like? Write down exactly why they are on this list, including what they do or don't do that does or does not fit with your organization. Be specific in detailing the points that rub you raw. Maybe their accounting system drives you wild, caus- ing lost time and money trying to get your invoices through their system. Or maybe their internal process for handling reviews of professional work is chaotic, and this eliminates your margins with their schedule failures. From the two lists you can now write a de- scription of your ideal customer. What elements should you be looking for that will be better matches for your organization? You may decide to change some things in your organization in order to better match with some of your customers. Sometimes reorganiz- ing your own accounting systems makes some of the “worst customers” your “best customers” immediately. All of this analysis goes into your marketing plan. And remember, the plan will be fluid to ac- commodate new information, as it's discovered. Even though goals and targets will shift, there must be a plan. After all, how are you going to get “there” if you don't know where “there” is? Your organization is not so much like a ship as it is a bunch of canoes lashed together with ropes. The trip can't be made if you're headed out onto a lake without sharing a target. When everyone knows what the plan is, they can support the plan in the hundreds of little ways that add up. ______________________________________________ One organization I worked with set a goal to pare down their customer list to the most profitable clients, their top 50. Everyone in the organization was shown the list. One day in the reception area, a customer from one of the top 50 was waiting for the same per- son as a customer from the bottom of their client list. Because the receptionist knew where the firm's priorities were, she gracefully shepherded in the top 50 client without letting on that she had put her in front of the other client. ______________________________________________ This is an example of one of those “little hundreds” of ways that everyone in the organization can contribute to the goal – if they buy into it. If they're told about it and the information is shared with the entire firm, you'll be amazed at the results. When management has the nerve to open up and show everyone where they are going there's no stopping you from getting there. Stage five: Selecting the targets At this stage, the marketing managers should be ready to select target organizations for a marketing approach and investigation. After checking the target against the market- ing plan, they work to identify how best to infiltrate the tar- get organization and collect and analyze the intelligence gathered. By first finding the CASE of the organizations and then identifying the BUGS and documenting the ISSUES, you can be in a position to decide whether your organization can be a winner with this prospect and turn them into a customer or client. Excerpted from the recently-published book: The Magic of Winning Proposals: The Simple Step-by-Step Approach to Winning Proposals that Win, Getting new clients, and Implementing an Unbeatable Marketing Plan, by Laura Ricci (with a forward by Matt Handal). The book is available in hardcover format at Ama- zon.com and in a free electronic version, which you can request by emailing propos- albook@cadcr.com. Stage four: Sharing the plan The marketing plan must be shared with everyone in your organization. The organization can't move together un- less everyone knows what the course is that's being charted. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Winter 2015 – 9