Table of contents

        We have divided the book into four broad sections by matters that we believe are important in winning large deals, the four phases of deal making generally:

        Creating the foundation for winning deals -> Finding deals ->
Doing deals -> Managing deals

        Then we formulate chapters within each section extolling the value of our experience, lessons learned, and words of wisdom from other experts in the field.

        Section One: Creating the Foundation for Winning Deals - An organization serious about winning Big Deals needs first to create the foundation to win those deals.

        Chapter One: “What’s the Big Deal? A Primer on Strategic Deals” - An introduction to Big Deals in the context of outsourcing. We explore the market outlook on Big Deals. The goal is for you to understand why Big Deals are important and what you need to do in order to pursue them. This chapter also touches on an omnipresent element of every deal maker’s toolkit: effectively managing politics to get things done.

        Chapter Two: “Getting the Right People Ready to Win Large Deals: Introducing Some Essential Concepts of the Human Element of Management” - Acknowledges the fact that once the basics have been understood comes the most important aspect: people. The brightest and savviest of deal makers often fail to win deals because the rest of the organization is pulling them down. Deals cannot be won just by ramping up the deals team with good people. The whole organization needs to be in sync. Hiring for roles is not good enough anymore. Organizations need to view their HR portfolio like a financial portfolio, with varied skills and personalities that complement one another. This chapter explores how organization hiring needs to be done in order to win Big Deals.

        Section Two: Finding Deals - Building the foundation is a start. But to win deals, one needs to find them. Section Two is all about finding and creating deals.

        Chapter Three: “Finding Big Deals: Strategies to Discover High-Value Deals” - Explores the most common question asked by sellers: “Where do I find Big Deals?” This chapter promotes two main ways of finding them: growing within established accounts, and finding deals through new business development activities. The organization and individual best practices that are needed to excel in this category are highlighted here. This chapter also focuses on sales leadership because most growth agendas require sales excellence.

        Chapter Four: “Winning Deals Through Third Party Advisors: The Art of People Doing Business with People” - All about third party advisors. TPAs are an integral part of the deals ecosystem. Customers rely on them to select providers. How does one court TPAs, and what should one not do? How do TPAs decide to whom to award the deals? Answers to these questions and others are explored.

        Section Three: Doing Deals - The crux of the book. Once deals are identified, how does an organization close them?

        Chapter Five: “Leading from the Rear: Influence Events and Lead the Deal” - Deal makers need to become experts at leading from the background. They must be experts in managing organization politics, aligning or severing ties (if need be) with business-unit leaders by being nonconfrontational, and most important be able to make key game-changing decisions that make or break Big Deals. The hardest part is that they almost always have to work without enjoying the limelight. Specific traits for leading from the rear are described here.

        Chapter Six: “Structuring Deals Right: The Art of Pricing” - The territory of Big Deal engagement models and pricing. This is the most important chapter from the point of view of a service provider’s CFO office. How should I price this deal? What’s the best way this deal can be structured so that I will get my desired profitability? How can I be creative in these deals so I can beat my competitors? Pricing strategies appropriate for winning Big Deals are discussed, along with a synopsis of the whole pricing process.

        Chapter Seven: “Advanced Deal Structuring: Creating Innovative Engagement Models and Being Customer Financiers” - Advanced deal structuring. Today, we are in a unique situation. Many technology providers have a strong balance sheet whereas their largest customers are more likely than not going bankrupt. Think of Bear Stearns, AIG, and others. But this situation also opened up a great opportunity for service providers. Customers need to do Big Deals so they can transform themselves to stay competitive. Providers need to behave like investment banks and fund customers to do deals. This chapter discusses advanced deal structuring, where old rules are broken and new structures are essential.

        Chapter Eight: “Doing Contracts Right: Creating the Foundation of a Successful Marriage” - May not sound exciting, but contracts are the factor that really counts most, at least in the eyes of the law. Commitments, outcomes, and expectations are defined in the contract phase and put on paper. This is where the dotted line is signed on. Here, we go through common contract terms such as MSA and LSA, and what needs be in every document (the dos and don’ts of commercial contracts). We also explore how you, as a service provider, can not only assure customers of saving their intellectual property (IP) but can bargain for a piece of it as well.

        Chapter Nine: “Closing Big Deals: It’s Commercial Negotiation, Baby!” - Goes hand in hand with the preceding chapter. Providers spend a significant amount of time negotiating with the customer line item by line item. Here, we discuss the emotional elements of closing the deal, which are as important as the elements actually written into contracts. Deal makers need to excel in negotiations as part of closing deals.

        Chapter Ten: “Case Study: A Real-Life Example of a Service Provider Pursuing Strategic Deals” - A step-by-step case study on how a real-life service delivery provider pursues Big Deals. The goal here is for deal makers working for different service providers to get some ideas on creating a Big Deals pursuit process, and their own processes for their organization if need be.

        Section Four: Managing Deals - It is a myth that you walk away when the deal is won. The reality is that major revenue usually is recognized only in year two or three of the deal’s lifetime. This section contains two important postdeal-closing chapters that are an integral part of achieving your desired profitability.

        Chapter Eleven: “Managing Transitions and Change: The Stepping Stones for Delivering Service” - Talks about change and transition. The Big Deals always have one very important element baked into them as a criterion for success. This is transition, where work is transferred from a customer to a provider, or in many cases from a provider to another provider. A bad transition can absolutely kill a provider in terms of P&L efficiency and customer satisfaction. This chapter describes best practices in transitions.

        Chapter Twelve: “Managing Integrated Programs: A Practical Take on Service Delivery Governance” - The overarching chapter on governance. We view governance as the ability to keep tabs on every aspect of the deal. We show proven tools and strategies for assessing customer needs and creating a simple yet powerful governance framework. We also focus on how program managers should operate if they want to manage a Big Deal successfully.