Being a part of the IT services industry for a little less than 2 decades, there are many challenges that I have faced and overcome. But the very first challenge on any new requirement is always about bagging the order.
From my perspective, pre-sales is a crucial cog in the whole cycle which can define success or failure of an assignment at every stage there on.
From the clients perspective cost is a key factor in the decision making process.
Prospective clients always tend to want everything at the least price. Nothing wrong in it, the whole point of being in business is about maximising returns, and what better way to do that than cutting input cost or support cost?
If you ever faced a client during the sales / pre-sales cycle, you would have come across "when I have offers for x amount from other companies, how come you guys are quoting x+ for the same?"
If you have worked out your costs and estimates right, you might have the numbers to prove your quote mathematically, but to win the deal, you need to convince the client of the cost. This is where Value Proposition kicks in.
Value Proposition is all about showing the customer what he is going to get for the money he is going to part with. Some of it are tangible assets, some are not, but all of them have to be explained in clear terms. In short Value Proposition is the ROI to the customer.
Apart from Value Proposition, you have to specify the differentiators,
1. Experienced Team
2. Domain Knowledge
3. Quality Assurance
4. Standards and compliance
5. Documentation
6. Maintenance & Support
These are what can make or break a deal.
So just remember that for every pitch you make, you check for these factors to be covered and you could possibly have a quick positive closure.
