Client Pipeline Training
We need to be consistently working on site to get consistent profits.
To do this, we need to start new projects regularly.
The way to do this is to ensure that our pipeline is always full.
We do this by completing the Client Pipeline schedule and tracking actions.
Download the tracker here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b6qK93fhTz1hdFqv-anMARCVc8tMF9R7dMr5PsfM03c/edit?usp=sharing
The 3 Fundamentals
The priority is getting the right projects.
There are 3 parts to this:
1. Getting clients into the pipeline.
2. Getting tenders from these clients.
3. Signing contracts from these tenders.
To get the right amount of projects, we need to make sure each of these 3 areas are always full.
So we need to keep track of all of these, and make adjustments where necessary.
We should start off by working out how many projects we want to work on over the next 12 months.
So, as an example, we may want 6 projects over the next year.
From here, we need to ascertain what our success rate is for winning tenders.
We may not have this information, so we could make an assumption that we will win 1 out of every 4 tenders we receive.
This means that to win 6 projects we need to price 24 tenders.
So, we could assume that to get 24 tenders we need to be in discussion with 24 clients.
This is because we might get 3 or 4 opportunities from 1 company but there will be some companies that we don’t get any opportunities from.
So, we should make assumptions for all 3 categories and then make a start.
These assumptions will change as time goes on.
Next, we need to divide the work into monthly actions.
General Actions
Contact Existing Clients
Contact all clients dealt with in the past 6 months or those not heard from in some time.
The first step is to identify all the companies that we wish to target and identify what the next steps are.
We should identify clients that we have worked with before and that we wish to work with again.
This will enable us to secure projects similar to the projects we have worked on successfully before.
We should ask about their current projects and enquire about other opportunities.
It is important to clarify with clients the types of opportunities we are interested in.
Develop New Clients
The next step is to identify potential new clients.
We should look to arrange meetings with potential clients.
It may be worth targeting a specific location and we should identify a specific number of potential targets.
Again, the plan is to understand upcoming opportunities and request enquiries.
Online Lead Generation Tools
There are a number of online lead generation tools.
These include Glenigan and Barbour API.
It may be beneficial to look into online lead generation.
Another potential avenue is creating social media content.
These are not essential but they may help.
Enquiry Evaluation Process
An Enquiry Evaluation Process should be developed to help make decisions on whether to price opportunities.
It is important that we price opportunities that fit within the overall strategy for the company.
We don’t want to waste our time pricing a tender and then realise it isn’t right.
To avoid this, we should develop a Go / No-Go Process to ensure we price the correct opportunities.
Weekly Reporting of Pipeline
We need to monitor the 3 categories on a weekly basis to begin with:
1. Number of approaches to clients
2. Number of tenders received
3. Number of projects won
By monitoring on a weekly basis we can make adjustments where necessary.
Specific Actions
Once we have identified the general actions, we should identify the specific actions that need to be carried out this month.
This should be scheduled out in the Pipeline tracker.
The upcoming actions should be spread out over the month.
If we need to approach 24 clients, we can approach 6 a week.
Client Details
We need to identify the names of the companies.
We should then include a column showing which office we are going to contact on any further contact details we have.
We should then include details of any specific projects that we wish to target.
We may be booking to attend a specific event and this should also be included here.
Purpose of Visit
We should determine the reason for contacting each client.
This information also needs to be tracked.
There are 5 potential reasons for visiting clients.
Project related visit (tender not received)
We can visit clients if there is a project we want to work on and we want to be included on the tender list.
We may know members of the project team or this may be information that comes out of the visit.
Post tender visit (tender received)
It is a good idea to visit clients once we have received a tender.
This is a good time to talk about that project and other upcoming opportunities.
Non-project related visit
It is also important to visit clients even if there isn't a specific project we are targeting.
One of the most important actions we can take is to get a client’s pipeline showing their upcoming projects.
In these meetings, we can clarify the types of projects we are looking for.
We can also clarify next steps required to get on tender lists.
CPD or Technical visit
We may attend these events with the intention of talking to specific clients.
These events are also opportunities to talk to potential clients who were not on our radar.
It is important to go with clear intentions but be open to new possibilities.
Client entertaining / social
There will always be networking events.
It is important to identify these and ensure we are attending regularly.
Niche events are the most important.
Aim of Visit
It is important to plan these events with specific outcomes in mind.
We may be visiting clients with the intention of acquiring leads and contacts.
It is always important to get information on upcoming pipelines.
After the visit, we should record how it went.
We should state whether the client has committed to provide specific opportunities.
We should also note whether the interactions have been positive.
The final column should state whether we have achieved the specific outcome of the visit.
Have they confirmed that we will be given the opportunity to price a tender?
If not, why not?
Recap
We need to manage 3 part of the pipeline, and adjust where necessary:
1. Getting clients into the pipeline.
2. Getting tenders from these clients.
3. Signing contracts from these tenders.
We need to contact new clients and existing clients.
We need a clear Enquiry Evaluation Process.
Client visits need clear aims.
The success of these visits needs to be tracked weekly.