How to beat a strong incumbent
Dara Lawlor

Getting into the ring and beating a strong incumbent

Dara Lawlor -
How to beat a strong incumbent

This is a magic time of the year in north western Europe.  The switch over to summer sports is more or less done and the Tour de France is upon us.  There’s a bit of heat warming up our bones, the sun is still in the sky after 10pm and the music festivals are underway.  

Watching LCD Soundsystem on that big stage in Malahide Castle the other night I was struck by the scale, ambition, precision and energy of their performance.  They were magnificent.  But how much work went in to getting there?  Think of all the New York dives they played  back in the day before they were even noticed. Think of all the shady promoters who tried to stiff them.  Think of all the education, practice and songs discarded in the studio.  You don’t get to the top without doing the rounds. 

You’re going to reap just what you sow

– Lou Reed

In all of my time working as a business development consultant I’ve never seen a challenger come out of nowhere to win the prize.  They are always known quantities who themselves have done the rounds and earned the right to a place on the big stage. 

If you are at the early stages of your journey here are a number of things to consider if you want to start challenging strong incumbents.

Building your brand, team, offers, influence and ability to execute takes time.  Don’t expect the big contracts to materialise overnight – they won’t.  Most commercial cycles last three to four years so use that time to think, build and make your mistakes.  Working on smaller gigs initially buys you time, space, money and confidence. 

There’s a dynamic in a three-test rugby series that often plays out in other areas of life.  The team that wins the first game goes into the second feeling that if it takes the same approach that should be enough.  The defeated lick their wounds, look at the video, change the team and approach if necessary and often sucker punch their opponent in the second test.  The decider is usually a humdinger.

In business you may not be at the level needed yet to start a serious challenge, but you’ll get plenty of opportunities to go toe-to-toe with the incumbent in procurement competitions – large and small.  The more times you do, the better you will get at performing.  You’ll see the whites of their eyes and work out where you stand in relation to them.  You’ll gradually close the gaps operationally and start to make more powerful offers.  This will be reflected in how you score. You’ll also start to get noticed by buyers.

Once you start to turn some heads you can dial up your marketing and start to make more noise.  This makes it much easier to gain access and  to build relationships and influence across a buying team. 

With access you have more information and leverage.  You can work out what the buying team looks like, who is accessible and who isn’t, who likes what you do and who doesn’t and what you need to do to change minds. 

This is your chance to get a real sense of beliefs and concerns.  Play your cards right here and you create the listening required to be able to educate and open them up to other possibilities.  The back-and-forth nature of this dynamic should help you build an offer that resonates and is in tune with what they need.   This is the “gold among the chickenfeed” and the key to unlocking any opportunity. 

You are now in the mix.  You’ve built your team, your offers, your capability and your influence.  In effect you have inadvertently been laying siege to the opportunity. The buyer can see that you are a serious option, and you’ll feature in formal and informal discussions. 

The only thing left is to assemble a squad –  your best project managers, writers, business analysts and graphic designers –  nail that proposal and storm the castle!

If you want to get in the ring and discuss an approach to beating strong incumbents and winning major  contracts click on the link below to arrange a chat.  You can also try out this scorecard which will give you a sense of where you currently stand.

Dara Lawlor

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Dara Lawlor
Dara Lawlor

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