Diana's Top 3 Strategy Questions for Kick-Off Meetings
When it comes to kick-off meetings, most teams have what I call a "who's on first" meeting. I'm not sure where I picked up this phrase, who's on first, but it sounds like something my dad would say. A who's on first meeting is focused on assigning responsibilities, creating internal deadlines, and planning logistics.
These aspects are important, yes…
But when they are the only details discussed, you miss the opportunity to strategize and customize the proposal to your client and their needs. And that means the proposal is not as persuasive as it should be.
As a kid, I asked a million questions. So, formulating questions and asking them comes naturally to me. If I could only ask 3 strategy questions in a kick-off meeting, I'd ask:
#1 – Tell me about the project.
Okay, technically, it isn't a question, but it's the best way to start. We need to hear about the project from the project manager, business developer, and technical lead because they usually know details not in the RFQ.
For example, if this project is or isn't on a tight site or if there is an active faultline on the site. These details are key for showing the client we're paying attention and considering their needs.
As the team talks about the project details, they will also refer to past projects with the same details or challenges. I key into these nuggets of info to know what points to highlight on a project case study or team member's resume.
#2 – How are we going to win this?
This question is meant to get your team talking about strengths and differentiators. Also use this question to understand how to persuade the selection committee.
For example, I asked this question while kicking off an architectural proposal for a private school. The architect I worked with shared that the CFO of the school was the final decision-maker. This information allowed us to strategize answering the RFQ questions, not just assigning them to someone to write and leaving them to figure it out. We discussed what was important to the CFO and included those notes in the kick-off document. This way, when the architect began to write his responses, he had meaningful points to write from.
Getting clear on what makes you different and being able to articulate that in a way that shows your client the benefits is crucial.
#3 – Why would the client NOT choose us?
Oof. It probably seems like a counterintuitive question, but the magic of going through this is to address hang-ups your clients might have before they get to them.
For example, maybe your company is perceived as not being local, or you're only known for one project type, or you don't have the capacity. If you can acknowledge potential barriers, you can positively address them in your proposal.
It was hard to pick just 3 questions to share with y'all. And these questions always spur so many other great things to ask.
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