Presales Management

A Framework for effective management of Presales processes.

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 3.5

- This course provides an in-depth knowledge of best practices adopted in tender evaluation
- solution design
- content creation to deliver winning proposals.
- This course provides opportunities in developing your consulting skills by blending technical capabilities with business acumen. These skills will help you in addressing the senior management of the client resulting in successful bids.

What you'll learn

This course provides an in-depth knowledge of best practices adopted in tender evaluation

solution design

content creation to deliver winning proposals.

This course provides opportunities in developing your consulting skills by blending technical capabilities with business acumen. These skills will help you in addressing the senior management of the client resulting in successful bids.

* Requirements

* You must be already participating in the business development activities in IT industry.

Description

This course provides the process guidelines in a framework identifying the essential activities to be carried in developing a proposal.

The framework has been developed keeping in view the following best practices followed for business acquisition across IT Solutions and Service providers:

Study thoroughly the RFP released by the buyer for the needs and problems stated explicitly or otherwise
Develop a solution that not only meets the stated requirements of the customer but exceeds the expectations.
Indicate the features of your solution and explain how they benefit the customer
Be always compliant with the RFP

A winning proposal can be differentiated by its executive summary which brings out the value proposition for the customer in engaging with the vendor on long term basis.

Course delivery:

The framework consists of four phases and each phase has specific modules to be completed before proceeding to the next phase.

All the activities to be performed end to end, from receiving the RFP released by the customer to the awarding of the contract are organized across different modules.

The activities are performed by the proposal management team which has representation from different functional areas within the organization.

There are quality gates to be cleared before proceeding to the next phase.

The Case Study with a sample RFP will help you to evaluate your understanding of the framework and its adaptation in real world scenario. There are 45 templates used in creating the response to the sample RFP, which you can download for future reference.

This course has 2.5 hours video,20 lectures, 8 quiz sets.

Who this course is for:

If you are in business development team in IT industry providing products and services, then this course will enhance your skills in solutions consulting and winning contracts.

Course content

8 sections • 28 lectures

Introduction 3 lectures

Common Understanding Preview 06:16

Welcome.

To begin with, I will show you how we will proceed with this course using a knowledge map.

You may be aware that there are many definitions of Presales management in IT solutions and Services business.

In this lecture I will highlight some of the common activities that are included in Presales management.

Challenges Preview 02:13

As active team members of Presales, you may be familiar with the types challenges faced for effective contribution.

In this lecture, I will identify some of those challenges.

Please note down your specific challenges and at the end of the course check if they have been addressed.

Presales

Framework 3 lectures

Components Preview 04:51

The Framework refers to a structure created with processes, activities, roles and responsibilities to execute various tasks in Presales management.

Thorough understanding of the Framework will help in the next sections of the course.

Benefits Preview 02:02

Adapting the Framework will benefit you, your team members and your organization in effective use of resources for successful contracts.

This lecture highlights some the benefits.

Framework

OA - Opportunity Analysis Phase 3 lectures

Modules: OA1 to OA5 Preview 14:16

This lectures includes the activities to be performed as soon as you receive an RFP.

You should review the RFP and complete the five Modules.

At the end of the fifth Module you will be able to take a decision either to pursue the opportunity or to drop it.

Quality Gate 1 Preview 03:03

This lecture is about the verification of the RFP response with adopted quality norms.

The sponsor or Sales Manager may accept to pursue the RFP, however it is the Quality Manager who reviews the work products as per organization norms and gives approval to go to next phase.

OA

TE - Tender Evaluation Phase 5 lectures

Modules: TE1 to TE5 Preview 14:40

In this lecture under Tender Evaluation section, you will study the RFP in detail to complete the following five Modules:

TE1 - Proposal Project Team

TE2 - Roles and Responsibilities

TE3 - Customer Needs / Problems in detail

TE4 - Business Value

TE5 - Sales Strategy

Modules TE6 to TE10 Preview 11:16

In this lecture under Tender Evaluation section, you will study the RFP in detail to complete the following five Modules:

TE6 - Analysis

TE7 - High Level Solution

TE8 - Finalize Partners

TE9 - Estimate Efforts / Costs / Prices

TE10 - Delivery Project Plan

Modules TE11 to TE15 Preview 10:48

In this lecture under Tender Evaluation section, you will study the RFP in detail to complete the following five Modules:

TE11 - Gap Analysis / Assess Feasibility

TE12 - Risk Analysis

TE13 - Models / Plans

TE14 - Contract and Price Strategy

TE15 - Tender Investment Approval

At the end of TE15 Tender Investment Approval Module, you will be able to take a decision either to pursue the opportunity or to drop it.

This way you can monitor the resources being utilized for the RFP, at every stage.

Quality Gate 2 Preview 02:29

This lecture is about the verification of the RFP response with adopted quality norms during the 'Tender Evaluation' phase.

The sponsor or Sales Manager may accept to pursue the RFP, however it is the Quality Manager who reviews the work products as per organization norms and gives approval to go to next phase i.e. 'Proposal Development'.

TE

PD - Proposal Development Phase 5 lectures

Modules PD1 to PD5 Preview 11:19

In this lecture under 'Proposal Development' section you will start the proposal development activities to complete the following Modules:

PD1 - Overall Proposal Concept

PD2 - Proposal Components

PD3 - Sales Components

PD4 - Partner Commitments

PD5 - Solution Components

Modules PD6 to PD10 Preview 12:44

In this lecture under 'Proposal Development' section you will start the proposal development activities to complete the following Modules:

PD6 - Commercial Components

PD7 - Legal Components

PD8 - Exclusions / Deviations

PD9 - Demos / Prototypes

PD10 - Risk Mitigation

Modules PD11 to PD13 Preview 06:54

In this lecture under 'Proposal Development' section you will start the proposal development activities to complete the following Modules:

PD11 - Proposal Review

PD12 - Offer Approval

PD13 - Proposal Production

At the end of PD12 'Offer Approval' Module, you will be able to take a decision either to pursue the opportunity or to drop it.

This way you can monitor the resources being utilized for the RFP, at every stage.

Quality Gate 3 Preview 01:59

This lecture is about the verification of the RFP response with adopted quality norms during the 'Proposal Development' phase.

The sponsor may accept to pursue the RFP, however it is the Quality Manager who reviews the work products as per organization norms and gives approval to go to next phase i.e. 'Submission and Negotiation'.

PD

SN - Submission and Negotiation Phase 2 lectures

Modules SN1 to SN9 Preview 15:27

In this lecture under the final phase of 'Submission and Negotiation' you will carry out the critical activities for winning the contract. The Modules include:

SN1 - Proposal Submission

SN2 - Proposal Presentation

SN3 - Proposal Follow up

SN4 - Customer Feedback

SN5- Negotiation Strategy

SN6 - Negotiate Contract

SN7 - Contract Award

SN8 - Contract Approval and sign

SN9 - Proposal Project Closure

SN

Case Study 3 lectures

Sample RFP Preview 04:26

This lecture is about the Case Study.

After completing the earlier sections about the frame work, you will now have a good understanding of the Modules, Work Products and templates.

Let us now apply our knowledge of the Framework to develop a proposal for a sample RFP.

Please download the sample RFP and print if required.

Study the RFP and highlight relevant information to develop a response using the templates discussed under each Module.

Proposal Response Preview 07:03

In the earlier lecture, you reviewed the sample RFP and noted your observations.

In this lecture we will develop a Proposal in response to the Sample RFP using the templates.

Please down load all the documents attached in this lesson.

Start with reviewing the 'Case Study Comments' document.

This document explains the approach to RFP analysis and utilizing the relevant template for developing a response.

Please continue this process for each phase and carefully study the completed response templates for all modules.

Note your observations or comments if any and post the same.

I will be happy to respond and clarify them at the earliest.

Case study

Orchestration 4 lectures

Response Benchmarks Preview 08:31

The focus of this lecture is on understanding and setting up response Benchmarks for the development of Proposals.

Adaptation and Best Practices Preview 05:19

This lecture highlights the importance of adapting the Frame work for your organization, and setting Quality norms.

Also to utilize the flexibility of the Framework for different types of opportunity in terms of value of the contract, complexity of solution, commercial considerations etc.

This lecture also covers how to set up Best Practices for adhering the adapted Framework..

Orchestration

PreSales Guru Preview 02:36

The time and effort invested by you in understanding the Framework, applying the knowledge in developing a response to sample RFP as a case study must have given you a new perspective.

The other supporting skills in Presales management are inherent in the Framework.

Equipped with this knowledge you are now truly a Presales Guru.