Positioning Multiple Buyers as One Customer

As a supplier of technical services to a government agency in the 80’s we were always faced with a multiple set of buyers on each procurement. Each buyer within the agencies selection committee had a different need priority. Yes, we had to assess each buyer’s influence on the decision process and address their individual need priority.

• The Technical Lead wanted the best qualified contract personnel to meet his technical requirements. In many cases he wanted specific technical people with a proven track record.

• The Contract Management Lead wanted suppliers that were able to control costs and meet forecasted budgets and deadlines.

• The Procurement Manager wanted the lowest possible cost in order to meet his limited allocation of funds for the project.

• The Affirmative Action Manager wanted to be assured that each prime contractor would subcontract at least a percentage of the work to minority owned businesses.

• The Agency Headquarters Representative wanted to meet the political agenda of the day and accomplish the overall agency objectives.

In a given procurement we may score best technically and see the contract awarded to the low cost bidder or we may be the low cost bidder and see the contract awarded to the best technical team. Some contracts we successfully bid in the past were preferentially set aside for non-profit or minority owned businesses.

The successful bidder satisfied all team members’ minimum requirements and overwhelmed the team decision maker in meeting their needs. The trick was to know each team members need priority and where the power lay in the decision making team. Consistent winners in government services contracting like SAIC, ManTech, and Lockheed Martin know the customers team, their individual needs and who will dominate the decision process.

When selling to any large organization, do you know all the buyers and their need priority? Do you know which buyer will most influence the decision process?