Outline of Technical / Marketing Role in Customer Meetings

My experience in dealing with both technical and marketing people is that, often neither of these classes of specialists has a firm idea of what should take place when meeting with prospective customers. The technical people have little appreciation for the programmatic considerations, and the marketing people are often without formal sales training. The result can be a disjointed meeting, which in the end fails to accomplish the desired goals. One reason things don’t go according to plan is that there never was a plan.

This paper provides a framework for such meetings, and establishes objectives and ground rules that apply.

The Scenario

You have secured a meeting with a prospective customer. This customer has announced that his/her office is to procure some goods or services. You have a specific time slot, with the customer’s technical and programmatic people, at the customer’s place of business. You plan to have both your own technical and marketing people present. The marketing individual has been tracking this opportunity for some time, and believes the competition is one that your company can win. Your technical people are knowledgeable about the customer’s problem, and can make some meaningful relationship between what your company could do for this customer, and what you’ve done for other, similar customers in the recent past.

Strawman Agenda for the Meeting

1. Introductions
2. Meeting Purpose
3. Why We’re a Good Company to be Your Contractor
4. Our Technical Approach
5. Conclusion

Problem-Solving

My strong suggestion is that you get through the first five parts as soon as possible, and spend as much as 70% of the meeting time on problem solving. You don’t learn ANYTHING while you’re talking, and so getting down to problem solving is your real goal. OK, but what impressions should you leave with the prospective customer, and what data should you try to get from that customer?

1. Information You Should Strive to GIVE to the Customer

2. You understand the importance of the customer’s problem
3. You’re technically competent
4. Solving that problem is important to you
5. You’re one of the two of three best offerors for this contract.

Information You Should Strive to GET from the Customer

1. What is the favored technical approach, and why?
2. What is the procurement schedule?
3. What is the budget for this program?
4. What are the plans for risk sharing, and therefore what TYPE of contract is contemplated?
5. Are there any special features, or unusual considerations, of this competition?

Summary

If your follow these guidelines, your meetings should be more fruitful, and help to meet your business development objectives.