Improve your OCM offerings to improve your ServiceNow RFP win rate
Organizational change management (OCM) services are a key differentiating factor for ServiceNow partners. You can increase your ServiceNow RFP win rate and improve your firm’s overall competitiveness in the ServiceNow space by integrating OCM into your ServiceNow RFP process, templates, and staff training.
With hundreds of partners working in the ServiceNow space, your firm must remain competitive during the ServiceNow RFP process. Recent studies show most organizations win less than half (47%) of their RFPs.
So, how can you make sure your firm racks up more wins than losses?
Over the last several years, organizational change management (OCM) services have become a key differentiating factor for ServiceNow partners when they submit proposals. In 2021, ServiceNow officially released its OCM recommendations. Since then, the industry has seen an increased focus on OCM, leading smaller firms to scramble to sell and support OCM services.
If you’re consistently losing out on more RFPs than your sales team thinks you should be, or if you are receiving feedback on rejected RFPs related to a lack of structured OCM offerings, it’s time to consider how your OCM offerings (or lack thereof) are impacting your overall wins.
The good news is you can increase your ServiceNow RFP win rate and improve your firm’s overall competitiveness in the ServiceNow space by integrating OCM into your ServiceNow RFP process, templates, and staff training.
3 Solutions to Improve Your ServiceNow RFP Win Rate
Your firm is likely facing one or more of the following problems when it comes to winning RFPs:
- Failing to include OCM offerings in RFP documentation
- Not integrating OCM Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) into your RFP process
- Having a sales team that doesn’t know how to talk about OCM
We’re here to help you solve these problems so you can win more ServiceNow RFPs.
Problem 1 - Your ServiceNow RFP Doesn’t Adequately Describe Your OCM Offerings
Through OCM, clients can manage enterprise changes to minimize disruptions and encourage stakeholders and others to support implementing the change.
Now, you might think your firm’s commitment and expertise in OCM are so evident it doesn’t need to be included in your RFP. But this is a mistake.
Savvy clients know they need OCM for their ServiceNow implementations.
You’re competing against other firms offering (and actively marketing) an integrated OCM approach. So if you don’t effectively communicate how you’re integrating OCM, you look like a firm that doesn’t recognize the importance of OCM or have the capability of including it in your ServiceNow rollout.
An effective ServiceNow RFP includes OCM deliverables that support user adoption and accelerated ROI.
This should be more specific than an offer of standard training materials.
You also need to offer stakeholder management, communication plans and templates, and comprehensive training planning support in your RFP. Otherwise, you’re not offering the full range of OCM services that your competitors surely are.
Bottom line: No matter how great your OCM offerings are, if they aren’t effectively communicated in your RFP, clients will naturally gravitate towards firms that promise higher adoption rates, ROI, and overall success.
Solution
There are a few things you can do to fix this problem. First, ensure every proposal includes detailed descriptions of your OCM offerings, and make sure your sales team knows how to talk about the value of OCM. Create a bank of reusable Questions and Answers you often get from prospective clients you can pull from when creating your proposal. In addition to being valuable, it will save you time writing a proposal.
Next, if you don’t already have clear internal OCM processes that can be easily described in a proposal (including supporting Q&As), make some!
Now is the time to start offering OCM services as a ServiceNow partner.
Problem 2 - Your OCM SMEs Are Not Well-Integrated into Your RFP Process
Your RFP may be challenged by lacking integration with any internal OCM subject matter experts (SMEs) your organization has. Best practices for RFPs include involving business stakeholders, procurement, executives, and suppliers in RFP reviews. Unfortunately, it’s easy for OCM SMEs to get overlooked as participants in the process.
Are your OCM resources focused on operational processes or billable hours?
Most OCM SMEs are focused on billable hours. As a result, they often don’t have the time, or personal motivation, to support internal processes like RFP responses. This can lengthen your RFP turnaround time and lower your chances of winning an RFP bid.
Bottom line: You need to find ways to encourage your OCM SMEs to get involved in the RFP process if you want to ensure you have effectively communicated your OCM services.
Solution
Your whole end-to-end RFP process likely needs to be updated to include support from internal OCM SMEs. This requires motivating them to be involved in the RFP process.
The best way to motivate OCM SMEs is to give them data. First, start tracking the number of rejected bids which specifically mention OCM as a critical area you were missing to emphasize the importance of their inclusion. Then, bookmark several administrative hours for OCM advisory time to support the RFP process and participate in sales calls.
There’s a chance your internal OCM resources genuinely don’t have time for this. In that case, it could be time to bring in outside advisory services to help you prioritize OCM in your RFPs to win more bids.
Ready to implement end-to-end OCM processes?
Problem 3 - Your Sales and ServiceNow RFP Teams Don’t Know How to Talk about OCM
You may have the documentation and processes required to support OCM in your RFPs. But if the people working the sales calls don’t understand the purpose, approach, and ROI of OCM, your RFP win rate will still suffer.
Solution
The solution for this is pretty simple – train your sales team on the importance of OCM.
A well-trained sales team will contribute significantly to your ROI and retain top performers. So, take some time to assess your sales team’s understanding of and ability to describe your OCM offerings. Then, close any gaps you find with dedicated training.
Utilize your OCM SMEs for this, but be careful! While your SMEs are passionate about OCM, they aren’t always trained on how to frame their expertise in a way which will engage buyers. As a result, they can deliver OCM services to clients but aren’t necessarily equipped to sell OCM services. This is one reason why bringing in an outside perspective like SkyPhi to help with sales training can be valuable for an organization.
Conclusion
To increase your firm’s RFP rate, you must find ways to integrate OCM processes, tools, and training. By formalizing your OCM offerings, your firm can become more competitive and close more deals.
Want to know what OCM might look like for your firm? Schedule a call to discuss jumpstarting your firm’s OCM offerings today.
