building your response team and guiding them toward a successful site visit
TRANSCRIPT
Building YourResponse TeamAND GUIDING THEM TOWARD A SUCCESSFUL SITE VISIT
To get to the site visit … first comes the RFI
SelectKentucky.com
Very tight timeframes
Be organized
Be prepared
Consider this a site’s resume that you are
putting together. You want to highlight the site and your community in the best way possible.
To get to the site visit … first comes the RFI
Distances to highways, rail, airports and river ports
Utility providers, capacity and rates
Permitting process and potential restrictions
Engineering or environmental reports
Know your sites
To get to the site visit … first comes the RFI
Photos – aerial, street level
Maps – utilities, topographical, FEMA floodplain
Property plat and/or site layout
Spec building drawings
Site analysis
Documentation
To get to the site visit … first comes the RFI
Use reliable data sources
Be consistent
Be honest
Answer all the questions
Provide all requested documents
Responding to the RFI
Who Belongs On The Response Team?
Site/Building Workforce Training Education Trusted Advisors Existing Industry – your best
sales people Local Government &
Departments
Truly, any EXPERT that will be able to assist with professional information
which addresses the prospect’s concerns
and/or questions regarding the location of
their business in your community.
Consider it from a “needs assessment” point of view.
Response Team:
The group of community leaders who work together to assist their professional economic developer while working a project.
WHY?
To validate your sales pitch.
Site/Building
Engineering
Construction
Ownership
Utilities
Workforce Training
Technical College
WIB
Successful User
Josh Benton
Education
Post-Secondary
Primary
Specialized Education
Trusted Advisors
Finance/Banking
Accounting
Insurance
Attorney
Local Government
Judge Executive
Mayor
Permits/Licensing
Inspection Dept.
Existing Industry
CEO/Plant Managers
Human Resources
Suppliers
Customers
Utilities
Utility Partners need to be prepared well in advance
It is important that each provider know the location, sizes, and capacities of their facilities available for this specific site
The following items should be prepared well in advance
Map illustrating location of facilities
Letter of commitment from provider
The cost and time to serve must be included
The prospect needs will determine which utility partners will need to be present during a visit
Also note that Energy providers typically have a robust array of ED resources
Utility Provider Letter of Commitment
Water Utility Provider Example
A 12 Inch Ductile Iron Water
The water system currently has the capacity to serve the property with at least 300,000 gallons per day (gpd), with an estimated maximum of 1,000,000 gpd with no infrastructure improvements. Seneca Light and Water
no water improvements are required to serve
BEST PRACTICES:
Do the job ahead of time.
Absolutely NO first-time meetings in front of the prospect!!!!!!!!! Meet regularly with your “Response Team.” Ensure your message is consistent. Tell the Truth
… but make sure Joe from the water department doesn’t mention that one time…..
A final request from the Cabinet
If your community is hosting a site visit organized by the Cabinet, please remember that we are your partner in this opportunity. Maintain confidentiality Stick to the schedule Discuss incentives before the visit