Are Bird Dogs Obsolete?

I've always disliked the term "bird dog" as it has been used to de­scribe what someone felt was the re­sponsibility of marketers in design firms. I always felt it was a narrow and demeaning description of a mar­keters role. It should probably more appropriately be used to describe only one important element of the selling process, that of prospecting.

Within this definition, are "bird dogs obsolete?" It depends largely on how you define the duties of a bird dog.

If you require him/her to "find and point" to new projects, introduce the closer‑doer and walk on to the next project then yes, they are obso­lete. Today's selling environment is too complex and competitive for this simplistic approach to be effective. It may have worked when the rest of the competition was struggling with the basics of marketing, but not any more. We all know the competition is tough out there.

Selling requires more than sim­ply finding and qualifying prospects. It requires building solid relation­ships with owners and nurturing these relationships over time. Thee process is more than just find‑em, propose‑em, get short‑listed, make a formal presentation and close‑em. It requires an on‑going sales effort with regular calls focused on target markets and clients who have on­going facilities programs with op­portunities for repeat business.

Your marketers are the firm as far as the client is concerned. Marketers lays the foundation for a fruitful business relationship from the first contact until long after the project is won. If you are requir­ing your marketers only to "find and point," you are not getting the best return for your marketing investment, and good marketers will be frustrated and leave.

How should your marketer func­tion to be most effective?

1. First, your marketer (sales person) needs the support and guidance of your firm's marketing plan. The plan should identify the market segments (i.e., commercial, industrial, health care, etc.), project type and size parameters, priorities and the geographic area he/she needs to concentrate on.

2. From this, the marketer needs to develop his/her Sales Action Plan identifying high priority clients and prospects within each market seg­ment.

3. Next, the marketer should develop the Client Contact Action Plan with priorities and contact frequencies (monthly, quarterly, weekly, etc.) for each of the targeted clients.

4. Make contact with each target client.

5. Qualify each prospect according to his financial stability? Do they pay on time? Are they a good credit risk? What is the extent of their fa­cilities program, typical project sizes and types, timing of up‑coming proj­ects, financing status of these proj­ects, etc., and how do they prefer working with consultants?

6. On the basis of qualifying infor­mation in No. 5, what should be your contact frequency? Monthly, quar­terly, weekly?

7. Identify near‑term projects and gather intelligence data regarding the selection process, competition, timing, selection criteria, etc.

8. Introduce the project team to the client and his team. Assist the project team in gathering additional project scope information so that they can prepare a response that meets the specific needs of that client.

9. The marketer should chair the strategy sessions in preparation for the proposal and interview stages and coordinate the activities of the marketing/technical team and sup­port staff.

10. At The Interview. Since the mar­keter has been the single point of contact with the client from the beginning, it makes sense for most firms to have him/her introduce the interview team and orchestrate the interview/pres­entation itself. If the relationship with the client is solid, the client will expect the marketer to play an impor­tant role at the interview. If you do not allow that to happen, you run the risk of raising questions in the client's mind that can jeopardize the project and the future relationship your marketer has with that client.

If you require your marketers to function effectively in each of these steps, and support them with the proper resources, you will be well on your way to an effective business devel­opment effort.

Remember, selling is a team ef­fort and your marketer should be leading the team. The much touted closer‑doer is just another part of the team‑an important part. But the closer‑doer comes into the process late in the game. If the groundwork hasn't been properly laid and a strong client/marketer relationship already established, even the best closer-doer will find his closing/hit rate fall.


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