Untangle the Red Tape
Posted on April 09, 2025 by Michael Shew, LIFA, MBA, CFBA, One of Thousands of ADD ADHD Coaches on Noomii.
Before crafting your outreach plan, you must know precisely who you're targeting and what red tape might prevent you from reaching them.
Here are four key areas to master:
1. Responsibilities: Learn who has purchasing power, influences decisions, signs contracts, and, importantly, has the authority to say no. Mapping out the internal decision-makers will save you time and frustration.
2. Get on Their List: Figure out how to get on their vendor list—and aim to be at the top. The more categories you’re listed under, the better your chances of getting noticed. Ask about their procurement process and what’s required for approval.
3. Learn Their Lingo: Every company has its own language. Please get familiar with their buzzwords, acronyms, internal job titles, and reporting formats. The better you speak their language, the more quickly you’ll be accepted as a trusted resource.
4. Understand Their Fiscal Calendar Timing: is everything. Know when your fish plans its budget and allocates spending. Aligning your proposals with their planning cycle significantly increases your chance of success.
Now, Let’s Talk Red Tape Bureaucracy—often called “red tape”—is frustrating, but it’s also predictable. And if you understand it well enough, you can use it to your advantage. Here’s how:
Here are the final two key areas to master:
• Analyze Their Activity Watch how the company operates. Look for patterns in approvals, purchasing behavior, and communication. These clues can help you navigate the process more efficiently.
• Review Their Correspondence Emails, RFPs, and internal memos (if you’re privy to them) reveal a lot. The more you align your messaging with their internal tone and priorities, the better your chances of getting a “yes.”
Being on the outside looking in is an advantage. If the red tape frustrates you, imagine how their employees feel. This is your opportunity to be the hero:
• Offer to run the numbers for them.
• Deliver information in a clean, easy-to-digest format.
• Anticipate their roadblocks—and remove them.
The six areas we’ve discussed will fine-tune your approach and set you up for more tremendous success and profitability. If you’re serious about growth and want help cutting through the red tape, I’m just a call or email away.
