In the professional services sphere, if each of us pursued only the "right" opportunities, most would be more successful, less pressured, happier, and much more profitable.
One of the abiding challenges for professionals is to quickly sift through a myriad of leads, possibilities, and requests for proposals to identify those with strong potential coupled with prospects of proper reward.
Invest a little time in checking out an opportunity before committing substantial time and resources to pursuit. These questions will help.
Client
Do you have an established relationship with the ultimate client ?
Do you understand the client and their operating environment ?
Services
Can you do what the client needs and wants ?
Have you the skills and people to do the work ?
Is the service model ready-made so you can deliver ?
Match
Are the resources available to deliver the project or work within the timeframes required ?
Is this client a good fit for you and your firm ?
Will your work yield a satisfied client ?
Competition
Which competitors will be in the running for this work ?
What disadvantages do you confront ?
What positively differentiates your offering ?
Decision process
What is the proposal/sales process ?
What resources will it absorb ?
How will the client make their decision ?
What are the imperatives for them to reach a decision ?
Rewards
Realistically, what will the client pay ?
Is the reward sufficient ?
Would this divert you from more profitable work ?
Strategic fit
Does this work help you along your strategic path ?
Are there realistic and attractive opportunities beyond the immediate work on offer ?
Honest, objective, warts-and-all answers to these questions will help you avoid squandering time and money on poor-fit prospects. And, you'll be clear-headed about decisions to pursue seriously good opportunities and have resources available and undiminished professional passion to get results.
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