"If there is one message spread by the priests of the .com boom that still holds true, it is that people's desire for faster, more efficient ways to do things trumps brand loyalty every time."

– Technology Review – March 2004

Technology and systems integration firms, large and small, are challenged by the need to develop clearly articulated and compelling proposal presentations that will resonate with their clients. Does your presentation demonstrate that you understand the client’s business needs? Is it clear and focussed on the issues that executives really care about? Does it convince the buyer that you can deliver on time and budget? Simply declaring that “we have a better mousetrap” does not work anymore.

Crafting the presentation is only half the battle. How can you be sure that your presentation will hit the mark? Some assurance can be gained through internal reviews with your executives and experienced proposal development staff. Some can be obtained through selective interviewing and interaction with your clients. Best of all would be a test with the actual client. But how can this be done without “spilling the beans” on the proposal? If you preview the presentation and the client doesn’t like it, have you taken a step backwards? Worse yet, if you don’t preview it and they don’t like it, you probably lose the business. What you need is unvarnished feedback from customers’ voices to highlight weak points and provide constructive criticism.

The TechPar Group (TPG) has developed a service offering specifically designed to meet these challenges. A group of former senior executives is formed into a “Red Team” to listen to your presentation(s) and respond as surrogates for the actual client. The Red Team is composed of experienced and highly qualified former CIO’s, CTO’s and business users of technology. It has been our experience that such a group will respond to your presentation exactly as your real client would.

This program can be organized on short notice and conducted quickly, so that you and your organization can get immediate useful feedback.

Utilizing a flexible methodology and set of practices, TPG will assist you in addressing key questions such as:

• Does my selling message speak to the right audience?
• Does it show our knowledge of the client’s industry and business?
• Does it show an understanding of the client’s objectives in doing the project?
• Is the message clear in terms of benefits and ROI?
• Does the message relate to the right technology platforms & architectures? At the right level of detail?
• Is the message too long, too short or too complicated?
• Does the message address obvious alternatives or competitive solutions?
• Is your pricing strategy likely to be attractive?
  

TPG will work closely with you to address these and other critical issues that benefit from exposure to experienced professionals. Our goal goes beyond just the Red Team Process of testing messages. It is to establish a long-term relationship with you – one that provides guidance and support beyond our initial engagement. It is this special commitment and unique capability that sets TPG apart from other advisors.

The TPG Red Team Process delivers the following benefits:

1. Efficient testing of complex business and technology selling messages.
2. Exposure to decision makers in the field that will help you decide the best way to present your service or product offering.
3. Interaction with a group that will challenge assumptions, identify weak spots, and offer suggestions for improvements.

Among the biggest hurdles identified by technology and service providers are alignment issues: disconnects with executive peers and difficulty proving value. TPG’s Red Team Process can help you get over these hurdles.

The Red Team Process utilizes former senior executives from relevant industries. The Red Team is designed specifically for each client, in order to reflect the required composition of the target audience for specific selling situations.

The following task list describes the usual activities in support of a Red Team process:

Our experience is that we can generally complete the Red Team Process in a couple of calendar weeks. The limiting factors are your state of preparation and schedule constraints.

TPG offers these services via flexible fixed price arrangements. Additional services can be added based on your specific needs.