When it comes to the capture planning phase of a target pursuit—especially in a strong market, it’s more important than ever to raise the bar and differentiate amongst competitors well before the RFP advertises.
Addressing Owner's Concerns: Start-up and Commissioning
On a large-scale greenfield water treatment plant CMAR opportunity we were chasing in the West, our capture plan team recognized one of the Owner’s main concerns was regarding start-up & commissioning as their plant operator of 25 years had recently retired. Although they had hired his replacement, this individual was new to operating a water treatment plant. Therefore, the Owner required a contractor who employed a team that could assist and mentor the Owner’s plant staff during turnover of the water treatment facility, training, and long-term maintenance.
Our team brought a unique, value-added solution to the table with the inclusion of Jefferson Lewis, a seasoned water treatment plant operator who had previously operated plants in Colorado. With his expertise, his role was to bridge the gap between Garney and the Owner’s plant staff, making sure their needs and preferences were heard and ultimately implemented successfully.
Capture Planning Phase: Site Tour and Operator Testimonial Video Demonstrates Start-up and Commissioning Expertise
Given the significance of successful start-up & commissioning for the Owner, we organized a tour for the selection committee members on a local, recent greenfield water treatment plant we built, which was almost identical to their project. To raise the bar even higher, we interviewed several plant operators (including on the plant we toured) and other recent water treatment plants that Garney built in Colorado where these plant operators had each worked closely with Jefferson Lewis during start-up.
Once the interviews were complete, our creative team combined the interviews into one client testimonial video which we then presented to the Owner as a video card at the conclusion of the site tour. Not only was this an added benefit showing proof of where Garney and Jefferson Lewis had implemented successful start-up & commissioning, training, and turnover of plants before, but this video lives on to be used in other pursuit stages for Owners with this same concern.
For example, the client testimonial video was recently used in a QR code on a pursuit cover letter (shown on the right).
