Research, Sourcing, Ross, Advisors, Report, Service, Prospects

New Ross Research report describes how to be shortlisted by sourcing advisors

02 Sep 2003 | (Survey)

The world’s most highly respected sourcing advisors agree that many outsourcing service providers ignore prospects’ needs and, instead, try to force-feed their typical offerings; propose service level agreements that fall short of buyers’ requirements; and work against, rather than with, the sourcing advisors hired by their prospects. According to a new research report from Ross Research, these types of practices run counter to the vendors’ marketing and sales efforts, resulting in reputation and new business loss.

Ross Research’s new, 100+ page research report titled, “Influencing the Outsourcing Influencers: Who They Are and How Service Providers Can ‘Wow’ Them,” provides outsourcing service providers with detailed, action-oriented recommendations to win the confidence of – and thus more easily get on the short list of suppliers recommended by – the highly influential sourcing advisors hired by their prospects.

For this first-of-its-kind research study, Ross Research interviewed 19 major sourcing advisory, research, legal and consulting firms in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific region. The report contains the verbatim responses from these influencers and Ross Research about how information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) service providers can increase their visibility, improve their business development efforts, and achieve positive relationships with their prospects and influencers. In the highly competitive worldwide sourcing supplier environment, information such as this is critical to outsourcers’ success. (All 19 participating sourcing advisory firms are listed at the end of this press release.)

Said Lisa Maio Ross, principal of Ross Research, “Sourcing advisors have significant influence over companies’ selections of appropriate service providers worldwide. Although outsourcing vendors invest heavily in influencer marketing initiatives, our research has shown that many of them fail to ‘make the grade.’ Today’s IT and BPO vendors must rethink, refine, and rebuild to compete and win new business. This comprehensive report offers a myriad of actionable recommendations from Ross Research and the world’s most respected sourcing advisors.”

According to the report, the top five attributes outsourcing suppliers must possess to win confidence from their prospects and sourcing influencers are:

- Communication – creating and maintaining open, honest, candid and regular communications with prospects and their advisors

- Flexibility – pricing scenarios; working with other vendors in multi-sourced transactions; working constructively with the advisors; sensitivity to the client’s needs and culture; and willingness to make contract adjustments when necessary

- Client Focus – always keeping the client’s best interests in mind to ensure a win-win situation in which the client is the central figure

- Partnership and Teamwork – treating the advisor as a partner, rather than a barrier or foe, as the relationship between the influencer and the vendor directly impacts the health and success of the final transaction

- Quality – making sure that the best qualified staff is on the team at all times; writing an RFP that addresses client concerns; and using technology and tools to achieve greater efficiencies

Each main section in the report includes specific comments from each type of influencer firm that participated in the study, plus actionable recommendations from Ross Research. Main report sections include:

- How to Keep the Influencers Informed
- How to Interact and Work Better with Prospects and Advisors
- How to Get R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Admiration
- Who are the Most Amenable Outsourcers?
- Who are the Least Amenable Outsourcers?
- Getting the Influencers to Recommend You
- Influence the Outsourcing Influencers

The report’s Appendix contains detailed profiles of the 19 influencer firms that Ross Research interviewed for this project. Each profile includes the following sections: Company Overview; Service Offerings Portfolio; Outsourcing-Specific Offerings; Target Market; Marketing and Sales Strategies; Company Differentiation; and Contact Information.

“While we wrote this report to assist outsourcing vendors with increasing their success rates and win ratios, the Most and Least Amenable Outsourcers sections, as well as the profiles of the 19 influencers, will also be highly valuable to sourcing buyers,” commented Ross. Ross noted that comparative influencer information, plus a comprehensive examination of the worldwide sourcing advisory services landscape, will be presented in two soon-to-be-released Ross Research reports titled, “Sourcing Advisory Services: A Global Market Overview and Service Provider Analysis, 2002,” and “Outsourcing Consultants & Legal Firms: Who’s Who, What’s What and How do You Choose?”

The 11 niche/boutique sourcing consulting firms that participated in this research initiative are: Clearview Management Consultants, Everest Group, Gartner Consulting, META Group Consulting, neoIT, Oust Consulting, PA Consulting Group, Technology & Business Integrators (TBI), The Outsourcing Institute, TPI Inc., and Transition Partners Co. The eight legal sourcing advisory firms that participated in the study include: Alston & Bird LLP, Bierce & Kenerson P.C., Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP, Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP and Shaw Pittman Global Sourcing.

Related Content: