EP018: A Simple, Focused Strategy for Business (and RFP) Success – with Gina Catalano

Strategy is the highway for vision. The problem is, too many business owners spend a lot of time developing a complex roadmap that a) never gets finished, b) never gets communicated, or c) is too difficult for frontline workers to understand. So, how do you design a simple, focused business development strategy that leads to RFP success—and growth in your business at large?

Gina Catalano works with CEOs and leadership teams to improve operations and increase business value. With 20-plus years of experience leading and consulting with businesses, she is an authority on the integration of business development and operations. Gina serves as a volunteer for Startup Tucson’s Thryve mentorship program, and she is the author of the Amazon bestseller Tandem Leadership: How Your #2 can Make You #1.

Today, Gina joins us to discuss the benefit of a simple, well-explained business strategy, offering advice around narrowing your focus to a single vertical. She describes how to write an RFP through the lens of the client and identify your champion within a particular organization. Gina also covers the Lean Startup concept of customer discovery, explaining how to leverage the people in a company who touch the customers in this process. Listen in for Gina’s insight on framing strategy as an exercise in choosing what NOT to do and learn why implementation is more important than trying to craft a perfect strategy.

 

Key Takeaways

  • Gina’s reputation as the CEO Swiss Army Knife

  • How Gina helps leadership teams next-level their business

  • Gina’s definition of strategy as the ‘highway for vision’

  • The benefit of a simple strategy that is well-explained

  • Gina’s advice around focusing on one vertical or client

  • How to write an RFP through the lens of the customer

  • The value in understanding who a prospect is buying from

  • How to identify your champion within an organization

  • How to recognize your customer’s ‘dream come true’

  • The Lean Startup concept of customer discovery

  • How to leverage the people that touch your customers

  • How to frame strategy as choosing what NOT to do

  • The mistake in trying to create strategy that serves everyone

  • How to create strategy that aligns with your values

  • Gina’s advice on creating a filter for the decision-maker

  • Why implementation is more important than perfect strategy

 

GET TO KNOW THIS WEEK'S GUEST

 

BINGE ON ALL THINGS RFP

Previous
Previous

EP019: Making the RFP Process Easier & More Efficient – with Josie Fey of RFPIO

Next
Next

EP017: Navigating Conflict with Your Partners in the RFP Process – with Lesli Pintor