Best Practice Branding: Winning the RFP Process

February 1, 4:05 PMPublicity ExaminerCarrol Van Stone

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Brenna Garratt, CEO of The Delve Group, Inc.

The Delve Group creates, implements and manages brands that deliver measurable results for business services companies. The operative word here is “measurable” because the Delve Group, led by CEO, Brenna Garratt, has an unprecedented rate of helping their clients win more deals.  “In this economy,” says Garratt, “there is no time for a learning curve and making it as runner-up won’t be enough to survive.  We help take our clients to the winner’s circle and make sure they take home the prized bid.”

In the long, complex, and expensive RFP process – and with nearly all companies offering the same deliverables at similar pricing, Delve fosters businesses by focusing on what differentiates them from their competiition then use this to create the perception of market leadership which leads to winning more deals. “In other words,” says Garratt, “we help companies break the cycle of ‘always a bridesmaid’ and help them walk down the aisle as the bride.”

Since 2001, The Delve Group has worked with companies on their branding ROI which has influenced the outcomes of many RFP wins. B2B companies have come to realize that Delve is a critical tool for them to stop coming in second, third or fourth in the RFP process and finally land the deal. Below are her five tips that every company should follow to begin the process of not just separating from the pack but actually breaking away from them.

1.     Take stock of who you are today.  Solicit internal and external perspectives to clarify how you are perceived by your target audiences.  Have a defined value proposition and the ability to meet or exceed expectations.

2.      Understand your competitive landscape.  Study and grasp your industry and identify where you are in context and compared to others. Are your offerings or approach sufficiently unique and/or compelling enough to win?

3.      Define your goals and objectives.  Set the bar for what you want to accomplish. Identify potential opportunities and barriers to achieve them.  Your brand positioning will need to offer relevant, credible, differentiated and sustainable responses to truly separate from others.

4.      Build a plan to achieve your objectives.  Begin by realizing that brands can have an aspirational element to it – so if you look, sound and act like who you want to be – you soon will be. Once you have defined your brand then build a plan to articulate and express it with a go-to-market strategy, sales approach and internal communications. Figure out the resources you will need and build in metrics, checkpoints, reviews, accountability and consequences to the plan.

5.      Execute the plan deliberately and consistently.  Frame your offerings as solutions to your customer problems. Simplify your message so it is easy to describe and interpret.  Empower your people to be brand stewards and give them tools and training to consistently deliver on your brand promise.