WINNING

BUSINESS PROPOSALS
Most business proposals are dreadful — totally off target,
poorly written, amateur in appearance, and positively painful to
read. That's why those who have mastered the art of designing,
writing and presenting Winning proposals win so much more than
their fair share of the business they pursue — because their
proposals stand out from the mediocre crowd; they create
proposals their prospects and clients actually want to read.
Effectively analyze the client's requirement, construct the best
possible solution to that requirement, write it in the client's
'voice', make your proposal look better than the rest, and
present it in a professional and compelling manner — and you too
will win more than your fair share of the business you pursue.
That's what it is to write Winning business proposals.
Learn the 13 habits of highly effective proposal writers — and
make all of your business proposals Winning proposals.
"I recommend this book to everyone who craves success. Deiric
McCann is a true professional who has the knowledge and
communicating power that make reading his book an absolute MUST"
Bernard Rapoport, founder of American Income Life Insurance
Company
"No one knows more about the art of writing winning business
proposals than Deiric McCann — only one with his frontline
experience and proposal success could provide such practical
advice to anyone who must write to win"
Jim Sirbasku (CEO) & Bud Haney (President), founders of Profiles
International Inc.
ISBN (Electronic version): 978-0-615-45735-2
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Winning Business Proposals
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Winning Business Proposals
Deiric McCann
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DMC Press
3 The Mews
Corban's Lane
Naas
Co. Kildare
Ireland
+353 45 856450
proposals@deiricmccann.com
Copyright © 2011 Deiric McCann
Fourth Edition
ISBN (Electronic version): 978-0-615-45735-2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or
mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the
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obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a
retrieval system of any kind. Requests for permission should be
directed to Deiric McCann (deiric@deiricmccann.com).
Trademarks
Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than list
the names and entities that own the trademarks or insert a
trademark symbol with each mention of the trademarked name, the
publisher states that it is using the names only for editorial
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intention of infringing upon that trademark.
Warranty Disclaimer — Limit of Liability
The author and publisher of this book have used best efforts in
preparing the content. The authors
and publisher make no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy, applicability, fitness
or completeness of this work. They disclaim any express or
implied warranties, merchantability,
or fitness for any particular purpose. The author and publisher
shall in no event be held liable for
any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special,
incidental, consequential, or other
damages.
Book design and layout by Alicia McAuley Publishing Services
(www.aliciamcauley.com)
Jacket design by Helmi Riawan (miehell@yahoo.com)
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Deiric McCann is Senior Vice President for International Sales
with Profiles International Inc., and is responsible for all
country Profiles' operations in Europe and several in south-east
Asia.
McCann has 25 years' experience in large-account selling and
senior-management positions in a variety of industries. Over the
course of those years he has written many hundreds of winning
business proposals that resulted in hundreds of millions of
dollars of business worldwide.
Author of more than 500 articles on high-value sales-related
topics published in business publications worldwide, he has also
written three bestselling business books: The Customer
Continuum, Winning Business Proposals (three editions since
1994), The Business Bathroom Bible, and Leadership Charisma. He
also co-authored 40 Strategies for Winning in Business.
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This book is dedicated to the memory of Josephine, Aileen, Phil,
Pat and Josephine Duffy. Always in our thoughts.
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Contents
Preface 11
Acknowledgments 13
Chapter 1: The Business Proposal 15
Chapter 2: To Bid or Not to Bid 39
Chapter 3: The Winning Proposal Model 63
Chapter 4: Analyze the Requirement 73
Chapter 5: Now Build Your Solution 91
Chapter 6: The Pre-Proposal Review 103
Chapter 7: Select a Proposal Strategy 141
Chapter 8: Getting Your Language and Tone Right to Persuade 159
Chapter 9: Ordering Your Ideas for Clear Writing 187
Chapter 10: Getting Your Proposal Layout Right 233
Chapter 11: Presenting Your Proposal 257
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Chapter 12: Proposal Cover Letters and Letter Proposals 281
Chapter 13: Win or Lose — What Now? 297
Appendices
Appendix I: Case Study: Pharmaceutical Sales Team 313
Appendix II: Brainstorming 317
Appendix III: The Winning Proposal-Building Methodology 321
Appendix IV: Full Case-Study Executive Summary 327
Appendix V: What about Client-Specified Layouts? 333
Appendix VI: Is Your Proposal Ready for Release? 337
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Preface
The tools and techniques you will learn in this book will
dramatically improve the success of every business proposal you
write in the future. Whether you are a seasoned sales/marketing
campaigner or a graduate fresh to the business world, Winning
Business Proposals will show you how to win more of the quality
business that you really want, by greatly improving your ability
to produce high-quality proposals.
This is the fourth edition of Winning Business Proposals. This
edition is a complete rewrite that includes several new chapters
and a complete overhaul of all of the main chapters.
The world has changed considerably in the years since the first
edition made its appearance in 1995. Perhaps the most dramatic
change is the speed with which the internet has penetrated every
aspect of our businesses.
Today you face more competition for every deal you pursue than
at any time in the past. Improving communication means that
increasingly you must contend not only with local competition
with which you are familiar, but also with overseas competitors
who can now almost effortlessly invade those territories and
markets you traditionally considered your patch — courtesy of
the internet. The potential purchaser of any product or service
has more supplier options than ever before, most of them so
closely matched in terms of product/ service performance,
quality and price that it is becoming more and more difficult
for them to choose between suppliers. There are no longer any
'easy' deals.
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It is in this environment that the business proposal has become
more important than ever. In an attempt to distinguish between
closely matched suppliers, more and more purchasers are turning
to the proposal process. The proposal is still the only
objective way to measure one suppliers offering against that of
another. Good proposal-writing skills are more important than
they have ever been, and every sales-dependent organization must
have them.
The content of this book has been developed over many years of
trial and error, experimentation and hard work. In my own
proposal-writing career, application of the winning methodology
ensures that I consistently win more than 90 per cent of all
business which I take to proposal stage. In addition to the
quality of the people I have been blessed to work with, my
clients consistently cite the quality of our proposals as the
edge which wins their business.
Much of the content of this book has also built on the excellent
ideas of the very many excellent colleagues I have been blessed
to work with over the past twenty-five years. Through
observation of what worked for me, and through working closely
with, and observing, some of the worlds most successful proposal
sellers, I have been able to identify the thirteen habits that
really make a difference — leading consistently to highly
effective winning proposals.
There are no silver bullets, no magic formulae in Winning
Business Proposals — just a practical, step-by-step, common-
sense construction of these habits into a practical 'how to'
proposal-development methodology. Indeed, many of the ideas
presented here now seem so obvious that it always surprises me
that no one had previously written it down.
I wish you the same success with the content of this book as I
have enjoyed — and I would be delighted to hear about your
successes at winning@deiricmccann.com.
Deiric McCann
April 2011
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Acknowledgments
Just about everyone I know has contributed to this book in some
way or other, wittingly or unwittingly The lessons I have
learned from all of my past and present colleagues, customers
and near customers are embodied in the ideas in this book. There
are far too many of you to thank individually — so thank you all.
But there is one person to whom I would like to say a special
thank you, someone without whom the first edition this book
would never have been written, and without whose support this
radically overhauled fourth edition would never have seen light
of day: the love of my life, my constant companion and best
friend, and my greatest supporter — Marie O'Leary
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chapter one
The Business Proposal
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The Promise of Winning Proposals
Learning to write good proposals could double your hit rate on
the business you pursue, substantially increase the margin on
all the business you win, and bring existing and new clients
back to you again and again.
Winning Business Proposals will teach you how to write winning
proposals, step by step. There is no theory in this book that is
not supported by sound 'how to' techniques, which will help you
to improve the quality of your proposals right away. As you work
through the book, chapter by chapter, you will learn a set of
new, and not-so-new, hands-on skills which will ensure that
every proposal you write in the future will be a winner.
Before getting into the guts of the book, though, before getting
to these new proposal-building skills, it's important to be sure
that when we talk about proposals — who uses them, why they are
used, and how you will learn to produce 'best of class' examples
— that we are all thinking about the same thing. It's important
to be sure that there is a common understanding of what
proposals are.
The Proposal — A Definition
There are many more grandiose definitions of just what a
proposal is, but the following definition sums it up very well:
'A proposal is a selling document, a statement of your
capabilities to address a given client requirement. A proposal
says, "1 can do what you want."'
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Figure 1: Life Cycle of a Proposal (1)
Chapter 2, ‘To Bid or Not to Bid’, helps with this critical decision
Solution Mapping makes this easy -- Chapter 5
SO important -- Chapter 7 makes this easy
1. Proposal requested
2. Should we bid?
3. Analyze the requirement
4. Produce a solution
5. Run a
Pre-Proposal Review (PPR)
6. Select an appropriate proposal strategy
Use Requirement Mapping from Chapter 4 to do this accurately
Have your client ‘bless’ your proposal before you write it -- Chapter 6
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Figure 2: Life Cycle of a Proposal (2)
Learn how to analyze your readers in Chapter 8
Chapter 10 will show you how to make your design stand out
Post-proposal debriefs are critical -- ‘how to’ instructions in Chapter 13
7. Think about your tone and language BEFORE you write
8. Organize your ideas and write your proposal
9. Design a compelling layout for your proposal
10. Always present your proposal – never mail it
11. Whether you win or lose, find out why
Chapters 3 and 9 ensure you write a great proposal -- step by step
Present your proposal and have a greater impact -- Chapter 11
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A proposal is a lot like the artists sketch of a new building,
which shows the general form of the proposed structure. It's not
intended to be a detailed floor plan (a specification), or a
detailed blueprint showing electrical or plumbing arrangements
(a design), nor is it supposed to be the final product. A
proposal is designed to outline — to an extent sufficient to
sell the idea — the concept of what you are proposing to your
client.
The Winning Proposal — A Definition
A winning proposal, on the other hand, does not simply say, 'Hey
I can do that!', but rather, 'Hey I fully understand what you
are trying to do, I have a much better understanding than any of
my competitors, I have a better solution to your problems than
anyone else, I can do a better job of delivering the required
solution, and at a more attractive cost than anyone else, and
here's why...'
A winning proposal is a genuine selling document. It is winning
proposals that this book will teach you to produce.
Who Uses Proposals and Why?
There was a time, not so long ago, when the only people who used
a formal proposal process to select vendors were government
departments or agencies, or the larger commercial organizations
planning very large-scale acquisitions. No longer.
Nowadays just about every commercial organization making a
significant investment, regardless of its size, does so on the
basis of bids from multiple vendors — on the basis of proposals
(whether or not the vendors realize that they are using them).
Competition is now becoming ever keener. If everyone in your
target industry is not currently using proposal acquisition as a
matter of
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course, then you're probably lucky You're certainly trading on
borrowed time.
In any acquisition situation there are two potential
participants — the purchaser and the vendor, or bidder. The
latter usually uses proposals for no more complicated reason
than that the client asked for one. Nevertheless, it's worth
spending some time considering why the purchaser may use them.
The Purchaser
We have already acknowledged the unfortunate fact that anywhere
there is good profitable business to be transacted, there will
also be a great deal of competition.
Indeed, just about anyone with a budget is aware of the
proliferation of vendors all vying for their business, and
purchasers are looking for the best deal they can get for their
budgeted spend. This requirement to rate vendors against one
another has increased to the point where today, in most
industries, almost all purchases, however small, are being made
on the basis of analyzing multiple vendors' proposals.
Users of all sorts of products and services increasingly view
their suppliers as 'solution' vendors — and require that they
offer an overall solution to some perceived problem. So, whereas
yesterday's purchasers bought a product, today's purchasers buy
a package of products and services — a solution — to solve their
problems. This solution will frequently consist of a product or
products, and a variety of post-sales services designed to make
these products meet the client's specific requirement.
Changes in buying habits in all industries, plus consumers'
shrinking budgets and increased competition, have made the
proposal more important — and more complex — than ever before.
Having the best product no longer guarantees that you will win
the business. Winning proposers don't fundamentally have to be
selling the very best product, they simply need to have — or at
least seem to have — the best solution to the client's needs.
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Proposal-Writing Skills Are Critical — Why?
Competition
'Everybody's doing it.' Is that a good enough reason to start
developing your proposal-writing skills? Absolutely Particularly
if that 'everybody' includes your competition. Proposals are a
little like quality: in the past it was simply a value-added
feature, it was a bonus if you got it — now it's an essential
part of winning new business.
Consultants, Consultants Everywhere...
Everyone's a consultant these days. The guy who sells you your
life-insurance cover is no longer an 'Insurance Salesman', he's
a 'Personal Financial Counsellor'. Instead of trying to sell to
you with a range of glossy brochures, he will now produce for
you a 'Personal Financial Profile' — so that you can see just
where his offering fits into your life.
There are fewer Systems Analysts in the IT business nowadays —
they've all become 'Solutions Consultants' who will analyze your
requirements and recommend which of their offerings provides you
with the perfect solution.
We all expect our vendors to work a little harder for our
business now, we expect them to tailor their offerings to our
particular requirements, and we fully expect them to be able to
explain precisely why their offerings are, as they claim,
perfect for us.
Your clients expect this level of service too. If you can't work
in this consultative manner, if you can't analyze their
requirements and produce a compelling argument for your
particular merits, and those of your proposed solutions, then
your days are numbered. If you don't have proposal-writing and
proposal-building skills you will be outsold, and outlasted. It
will happen.
Outsourcing
There is a very clear trend in most industries towards
'outsourcing' — the farming out of different elements of the
organization's activities to third
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parties that can perform these activities more cost-effectively
than can the organization itself.
If the present 'downsizing' boom continues, then the typical
corporation of the future, small or large, will consist of a
small core of key permanent employees. The remaining skills and
services will be provided by individuals who will be hired for
specific assignments, and by a panel of vendors who will be
regarded as trusted 'business partners'.
These business partners will win their privileged position
within these organizations through their demonstrated knowledge
of the organization and its business, and through their proven
ability to conceive, design and deliver efficient solutions to
the organization's business problems. Already you will have seen
key clients in your industry begin to work a little closer with
the vendors whom they consider to be 'trusted business partners'.
The only objective mechanism that these organizational clients
have for assessing just whom they should work with in this way
is the humble proposal. Unless you are responding to their
proposal requests in a professional manner and with superior
solutions, you will find it difficult to unseat incumbent
competition later.
This message is getting through, and more and more selling
organizations are beginning to hone their proposal-writing and
proposal-building skills. However, the quality of many proposals
suggests that there is not a great deal of understanding of what
constitutes a good, professional proposal.
What are the Typical Mistakes Proposal Writers Make?
There are a number of common mistakes that proposal writers
make, which predispose them and their proposals to failure. If
you know what these common mistakes are, then you can more
effectively avoid them.
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Bidding for the Wrong Business
Don't expect to win business for which you are patently not
qualified.
It is extremely important to know just what business you are in
to know what business you want to pursue. When considering
preparing a proposal to attempt to win a given piece of
business, you must consider whether your organization has the
skills, expertise and experience to provide the products or
services required. Just as importantly, even if you do have an
appropriate background to equip you for this business, you will
need to consider whether or not you are confident that you will
be able to convince the client that this is the case. Deciding
which business to bid for is the subject of Chapter 2.
"I am rather like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I
ought to do, but I don't know where to begin.
- Stephen Bayne
Forgetting to Sell
Unfortunately, many of us involved in the production of these
often voluminous documents forget the simple fact that any
proposal we produce is (or should be) designed to sell. Keeping
this simple idea in mind helps to avoid the sort of document
that has given proposals a bad name amongst many clients.
A proposal should be a sales-oriented document that sells all of
the reasons why your firm can do the job for which the
prospective client has requested a proposal. However, the mere
ability to do any given job is unlikely to make you unique and
assure you of winning the business. Unless you are lucky enough
to be involved in something really specialized, it is highly
unlikely that you have no competitors — that there will not be
someone out there with qualifications just as impressive as
yours, who can do the job at least as well as you.
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If you are in the happy position of having no competitors, then
congratulations! But remember, if you're making money at what
you're doing, someone somewhere is trying to figure out a way to
nibble at the edges of your business — and unless you are
continually reminding your clients of why you are the best,
these 'nibblers' will eventually hurt you.
Poor Presentation of Ideas and Material
Having the best product, the most talented experts in the
industry and the best track record in your business will count
for nothing if you can't communicate this to your potential
client. A very large proportion of proposals fail to win their
target business simply because their presentation is poor.
Organizing your material in a way that will make sense when
presented to your clients is discussed in great detail in
Chapters 3 and 9. Improving the physical appearance and esthetic
appeal of your proposals is the focus of Chapter 10.
Problem? What Problem?
If you asked all of the prospects for whom you had ever prepared
an unsuccessful proposal to say why your effort was rejected,
what do you suppose would come top of the list? Simple: 'You
failed to address our business problem adequately.'
Impossible, you say. You would never prepare a proposal that
didn't go right to the heart of your clients problem, would you?
Or one that dwelt excessively on the various features and uses
of your wonderful products, on how wonderful your people are, on
your super track record as a supplier to your client's industry,
whilst at the same time paying scant attention to defining your
client's problem and how well your proposed solution addresses
it, would you? Of course not. Yet many proposals still come
across as little more than poorly prepared, thinly veiled
product brochures, with attached cost quotations.
Not addressing the client's problem is the most common reason
for proposal failure. Chapters 4 and 5 offer advice on avoiding
this pitfall.
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If you can learn to avoid the common pitfalls, then there are
lots of opportunities that you can exploit simply by developing
a sound set of proposal-building skills.
KEY POINT
Not addressing the client's problem is the most common reason
for proposal failure. Once you're aware of it, it simply can't
happen.
Proposals — The Opportunities
Every chance you get to prepare a proposal for business that
fits in with your organizations vision of its mission is a real
opportunity for you to expand your sphere of influence, either
into a new client account, or to a new level within an existing
account.
An Imperfect Mechanism
The proposal as a means of winning business is far from perfect,
but it's the best show in town. A good proposal will not
guarantee that you will win every single piece of business you
bid for, but a poor proposal will almost certainly ensure that
the only business you win is the business that nobody else
wants, the sort of business you should avoid at all costs.
Has it occurred to you that the fact that a patently less
qualified supplier could wrest business from you indicates the
extent of the opportunity that proposals offer? The implication
is that you too could win business from a client, even where
there are potentially better suppliers, simply by preparing
superior proposals.
The fact that modern proposals are less dependent on tangibles
such as product features, and more on intangibles such as the
'best overall
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solution', is a real opportunity. If you are a small
organization you can become a 'giant slayer' simply by producing
better proposals and communicating your superior solutions more
effectively.
When Should You Submit a Proposal?
The first and most obvious answer is: any time a client whose
business you would value at a given time requests a proposal via
a Request for Proposal (RFP). That's fine.
However, if you can prepare superior proposals that shout
'professionalism' from every page, and if you can do this in a
cost- and time-effective manner, then a proposal is the most
effective, most efficient instrument you can have for making a
first-class impression on a prospective or existing client.
If you can produce such proposals — winning proposals, that is —
then you should prepare a proposal of some kind for every single
deal you pursue.
KEY POINT
If you can prepare superior proposals that shout
'professionalism' from every page, and do this in a cost-and
time-effective manner, then a proposal becomes the most
effective, most efficient instrument you can have for making a
first-class impression on a prospective or existing client.
A good proposal will always be a powerful differentiator and
your effort in preparing a proposal will rarely be wasted — in
the sense that you will have a much greater possibility of
winning the business, and you will certainly be remembered for
the professional approach you choose to adopt to sometimes
apparently unworthy business.
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This advice must, however, be tempered by consideration of the
cost of producing a proposal (see Chapter 2). The effort you are
prepared to invest in preparing a proposal should, in most
cases, be related to your likely return should you win the
business.
There will be situations where you will be inclined to invest
more time and effort in preparation of your proposal than you
are likely to see returned from the target deal, for example:
► Is your firm new to the sector in which you are chasing this
business?
► Is this a new and strategically important account opportunity
for your firm?
► Is there little business out there and you simply must have
this deal?
► Is there some valid reason why you are prepared to expend a
disproportionate effort in winning this particular deal?
If so, then you may be prepared to go that extra mile. That's
fine, as long as you know where to draw the line (Chapter 2
deals with this area in more detail).
Perhaps you might want to prepare a proposal for every deal you
pursue, just to differentiate yourself from the morass of
organizations with which your client base finds itself doing
business over time. This is a perfectly valid strategy for
building your image within accounts for which you have long-term
strategic goals, accounts that you want to notice you.
However, there are many other good reasons to adopt this 'every
deal a proposal' approach. You can use proposals to close
business, to position yourself as a consultant, to build your
knowledge of certain accounts or industries, to get your
organization's name in the marketplace or to cultivate potential
clients.
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Have you ever had one of those prospective deals that hangs
around your prospect list forever, moving from month to month,
year to year, always just about to close, but never quite
getting there? There's usually a good reason. Sometimes there's
just no budget, the business is not real and you've done a bad
job of qualifying the opportunity — you were chasing a ghost.
Equally, however, the cause is often simple indecisiveness on
the part of a client who is not entirely convinced that what you
are trying to sell them is what they need — and is the best
possible solution to their problem.
If you've used the 'Winning Proposal-Building Methodology'
outlined in the coming chapters, then you will have built a
definition of your client's requirement with which they agree,
and developed a solution that answers their requirement to the
maximum extent possible.
Armed with such a proposal you have the basis to close the deal.
'We have a solution to your problem, which you agree addresses
all of your concerns — can we do business?'
By taking a little more time with your prospects, investigating
their needs, their problems, you can enlist their help in
developing your proposals to ensure that your ultimate
presentation is exactly what they want. This is precisely what
they would expect from a paid consultant, but not necessarily
from a supplier. Building an effective, well-aimed proposal with
the input and co-operation of your prospect or client is what
the 'Winning Proposal-Building Methodology' is all about.
The upshot of this is the lasting impression on your clients
that you have consulted with them on their requirement, and
produced a solution for them — and have been able to prove that
it was the best possible solution. For this sort of consultative
assistance clients will return again and again.
Every time you go through the process of developing a winning
proposal, you will increase the level of detailed knowledge you
have of your client, their organization, its business, and the
opportunities for your
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organization in working with them. With this base of knowledge
you will be able to identify opportunities for yourself within
the account, problems for which you can produce solutions that
will enhance your reputation as a 'business partner' — an expert
working with your client in a consultative manner.
"Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must
do a certain amount of scratching for what it gets.
- Henry Ford
Look after the little ones and the big ones will take care of
themselves. You will frequently encounter a deal that is of a
size to make you consider that it merits little more than a
brief letter confirming the clients requirement, a similarly
brief outline of your suggested solution and a quotation or
estimate of your costs for providing this suggested solution.
You will feel quite happy that your competition will do little
more than this and that you have, therefore, a reasonable chance
of winning the business. You're probably right. But why not blow
them away with the quality of your brief letter proposal? In
Chapter 12 you'll see how you can produce even one- or two-page
proposals that have all of the characteristics of a winning
proposal.
Remember that when times get hard, the first things to disappear
are the reallyjuicy deals. If you don't have a sure-fire way of
winning all of the smaller business that comes your way, then
you are unlikely to last through tougher times and be able to
celebrate your greatest successes when the big ones return (they
always return eventually). Ensure that you have the maximum
chance of winning every piece of business that you decide to
pursue — put in a proposal of some kind for every single one!
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Proposals Can Do More than Simply Win Business
Well-crafted winning proposals will certainly win you a lot more
of the sort of business you want. However, proposals can also be
invaluable tools for unseating competitors in juicy accounts,
and the practice of producing good proposals can be a stimulus
for development of valuable business skills and knowledge in
your team.
Opportunity to Unseat an Incumbent Competitor
So many of the accounts that we would really like to have on our
client lists are already dominated by our competitors, often
simply for historical reasons alone: 'We've been doing business
with Bloggs & Co. for ten years now and we see no reason to
change.' A difficult situation to combat.
The best opportunity you will ever get to penetrate such an
account is one that involves a large or complex proposal
response to a Request for Proposal (RFP). Most large
organizations have a policy that large acquisitions must go to
tender with at least three or more potential vendors. Usually,
these acquisitions are made on the basis of a proposal response
to an issued RFP document. These proposals are ultimately
reviewed by a panel consisting of more than the individuals who
have enjoyed dealing with 'Bloggs & Co.' for so many years.
"I don't meet competition, I crush it.
- Charles Revson
As this opportunity presents itself, you must be ready to
produce a proposal that sells your unique, high-quality
solutions and capabilities.
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A Stimulus for Growth in Team Skills
A consistent and intelligent effort to produce uniquely well-
constructed and well-presented proposals is one of the easiest
ways of ensuring that your organizations business capabilities
continue to grow at a rate that will allow you to continue to
compete in ever-changing business environments.
The only way in which you can consistently produce superior
solutions, presented in superior proposals, is by being fully
familiar with all happenings in your industry and those of your
clients. A further requirement in ensuring that your proposed
solutions are always of the best standard is to maintain a keen
awareness of your competitors' activities and offerings. So, a
strategy whereby you are simply doing everything you can to
ensure that your proposals are the best also has the side effect
of ensuring that your team's knowledge and capabilities continue
to grow and develop.
The upshot of this is that in times when you feel that you
simply have not got the time to concentrate on formal
development strategies for the organization and its personnel,
everything you do in the name of producing good proposals is, in
fact, also serving as the driving force behind much of the day-
to-day development necessary to ensure your success tomorrow.
Knowledge or skill gaps identified by the practical exercise of
preparing proposals point up just what areas need attention,
where training or research is required (see Chapter 2) — and
where investment in such training or research will most
immediately pay dividends.
So Why Isn't Everyone Using More Proposals?
Happily not everyone has heard the message and perceived the
opportunities that development of good proposal skills can make
available. You can still use a strong proposal skill-set as a
powerful differentiator, which will set you apart from your
competition. Unhappily there may be some people within your own
organization who still resist pursuing business using proposals.
Why?
35
Those who got off to a bad start with proposals, who had a bad
proposal experience early on in their careers, and who would now
rather walk over hot coals than work on a proposal have
developed a lengthy list of good excuses for not using proposals
as part of their selling efforts.
Let's debunk a few of these old excuses...
Proposals Are Costly
True, large proposals are very costly to produce and, as
discussed above (and in greater detail in Chapter 2), you should
consider carefully whether or not to get involved in expending
any effort on preparing a proposal.
However, where you have qualified your odds of winning the
business as acceptable, and where the return is worthwhile,
what's the difference between the cost of preparing a proposal
and the cost of trade-show appearances, advertising, mailshots
and any other forms of marketing expense?
Proposals are also unique marketing expenses in that they can
lead directly to new business, in a way that other marketing
activities cannot.
Too Much Darned Writing'
Most aversion to proposal writing stems from the 'writing' part
— a great many people simply hate to write anything at all. The
sheer enormity of the task is enough to put many people off. It
looks like too much hard work.
Writing, however, is like any other task — if you have a well-
thought-out approach to completing the task, it becomes a whole
lot easier. So, if
"The harder I work, the luckier I get.
- Samuel Goldwyn
36
you employ a step-by-step approach to considering what your
proposal must contain, and have a reliable way of organizing
your ideas in such a manner that you can plan the writing of the
proposal, a little at a time, then producing a proposal is no
big deal.
The rest of this book will take you through the 'life cycle' of
your proposal from the time you first hear of the opportunity,
through development of a solution and production of a first-
class proposal document, to development of the business you've
just won into more future business.
KEY POINT
Writing proposals is only difficult if you are not organized, if
you don't have a plan of action, a methodology to guide you
every step of the way. The 'Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology' will provide you with that plan.
Fear of Failure
A lot of the reluctance to use the proposal as a sales tool is
similar to the reluctance of certain sales/marketing people to
become involved in cold-calling — fear of failure. Most of us
have some level of reluctance to gamble, and as the proposal
process is highly competitive (there can be only one winner), it
can sometimes seem daunting.
Yet, suppose that you lose as many as one in three of the deals
for which you prepare a proposal, that's still better odds than
you could hope to achieve with almost any other form of
marketing. Certainly better odds than the lottery!
Every Deal Rigged...
It's true that many deals go to the proposal process with the
client already knowing with whom they would ideally like to
work. The
37
RFP may even be skewed to favour the products and expertise of
the preferred vendor.
However, in most cases prospective clients simply want the best
solution their money can buy and will conduct the process in a
way that reflects this — giving every bidder a largely equal
chance of winning.
Think about the cases where there is some form of 'rigging'. Why
are these deals rigged to favour certain vendors? Well, less and
less because of the 'brother-in-law factor'. More often because
that vendor has, over time, demonstrated a professionalism and a
reliability that the client finds comforting. How did they
achieve this? Most likely through long-term account development,
through presenting well-considered, professional proposals at
every opportunity — and through delivering the proposed
solutions on time and within budget.
The sooner you are involved in this sort of account-development
activity, the sooner you will find yourself in the position of
'preferred supplier' or 'business partner' — the sooner you will
start to find proposals 'rigged' in your favour.
The whole topic of unfavorably 'rigged' proposals is discussed
in greater detail in Chapter 2.
Successful, Unsuccessful and Winning Proposals
You might say that the simplest measure of the absolute success
of a proposal is whether or not it wins the business for which
it is conceived and developed. True, to a point.
What then of the proposal that is acknowledged by the client as
a first-class piece of work, which addresses all of the client's
requirements but is, say, simply too far wide of the budget
figure quoted by an equally matched competitor? Is this an
unsuccessful proposal? In one sense, yes. But in Chapter 13 we
will see how a well-constructed proposal
38
that fails to win the business for which it was developed can
actually be successful in the long run.
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.
- John Wooden, Former UCLA Basketball Coach
For the purposes of discussion, proposals can be divided into
three categories — unsuccessful, successful and winning.
The Unsuccessful Proposal
A proposal can be a loser — an unsuccessful proposal — long
before the client even reviews its content. The unsuccessful
proposal may be the proposal that fails to indicate a clear
understanding of the clients
problem and to produce a unique solution approach; or it might
even be the proposal with the best possible solution but an
ineffective underlying strategy or presentation approach.
The Successful Proposal
If you produce successful proposals, you will know that they are
successful before you even send them to your client.
The successful proposal wins because it is the end-point of a
determined,
intelligent effort to address the clients requirement with a
comprehensive solution, which is part of a persuasive, well-
thought-out campaign.
The successful proposal is also successful because it looks like
it deserves to win. In a pile of proposals, the truly successful
proposal stands out from the others even before it has been read
because it enjoys the best presentation and layout. When read,
the logic applied to development of the arguments makes it easy
to read and highly communicative.
39
The successful proposal says, 'I am unique; here's why you
should select me'.
The Winning Proposal
The winning proposal has all of the qualities enjoyed by the
successful proposal described above. The winning proposal,
however, wins the target business because it is just the 'tip of
the iceberg' — the visible one-eighth of a comprehensive sales
and proposal strategy aimed at winning the target business. This
strategy encompasses consideration of all aspects of the
proposal and its content — assembling the proposal team,
choosing a suitable 'win' strategy, building compelling
arguments and finally selling the proposal to the client.
By the end of this book you will have all of the necessary
skills to produce winning proposals consistently.
Life Cycle of a Proposal
The layout of this book tracks the life cycle of a typical
proposal from first contact — when you first become aware of the
target opportunity — through solution development and proposal
production, to winning the business and beginning to develop the
account for the next deal.
The flowcharts in Figures 1 and 2 plot the life cycle of a
typical proposal and indicate where you can find help and
assistance throughout this
book, in the form of practical tools and techniques, to guide
you through each and every step of the cycle.
How to Use This Book
Winning Business Proposals provides you with all of the
theoretical knowledge, but more importantly, all of the
practical tools, techniques and skills that you will need to
make all of your proposals winners. Every chapter has a set of
specific learning objectives, centered on hands-on skills for
building winning proposals.
40
The recommended approach is to work your way through the book,
and the proposal life cycle, step by step, at least once.
Thereafter, you can dip in and out of the various chapters as
required during the preparation of your winning proposals.
Good luck.
"I took a course in speed reading and was able to read War and
Peace in about twenty minutes. It's about Russia.
- Woody Allen
41
chapter teo
To Bid or Not to Bid
The Decision Rarely Made
A Request for Proposal (RFP) hits your desk, an opportunity for
some new business raises its head — and almost before you know
it you find yourself in the throes of preparing a proposal to
meet the stated requirement. The tough business environment, and
(of course) your excellent sales instincts, tell you to 'go for
it'. So you do — every time.
But what if the business isn't suited to the profile of your
company? What if you can't possibly win the business? Or what if
winning that business is going to have some negative knock-on
effect on an existing valued client or project? What then? Can
you really afford to blindly pursue every apparent opportunity
that comes your way? The answer is, of course, a resounding NO!
If you are to be sure that every deal you close, every winning
proposal you prepare, is for business that will be of real
ongoing value to you and your company, then you must learn to be
selective in the business you pursue. So, you must make the
decision rarely made within sales-oriented organizations — to
bid or not to bid.
'Ask Me Nicely' — RFPs, RFIs and All That
Proposals are powerful sales and marketing tools and, in
general, you should consider preparing a proposal for every deal
you pursue, whether the opportunity comes as a result of a
formal request from a client for a proposal to meet a specified
requirement, or from ongoing sales- and account-development
activity with no formal statement of requirement.
42
"Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like
what you get.
- George Bernard Shaw
A good proposal can make a more compelling sales argument than
almost anything else at those important times when you can't be
physically present with a prospect who needs to make a decision.
For the sake of focus, much of the discussion in this chapter
centers on deals based on a more formal proposal cycle, where
the client issues a formal document to request selected vendors
to submit proposals to meet a specified set of requirements.
However, whether your opportunities have come about as a result
of a formal request from a client for a proposal, or as a result
of ongoing sales- or account-development activity, the approach
to deciding which opportunities are worthy of a proposal effort
is largely the same.
In more formal business-proposal cycles two documents
predominate — the Request for Information (RFI) and the Request
for Proposal (RFP), the RFP being the more important of the two
where proposal preparation is concerned.
Request for Information
A Request for Information (RFI) is a document which generally
results from research by a client into the nature of an existing
organizational or commercial problem, and into viable ways of
addressing that problem. An RFI is generally issued to test
whether the solutions that the client is considering are
possible and practical, or simply to determine in what ways
different vendors might meet their requirement. It may often be
viewed as a 'reality test' undertaken before any decision to
purchase or invest is made. Where a potentially large investment
might be undertaken, the RFI cycle is often viewed as a means of
ensuring that there is no wasted investment in preparation of an
ill-considered RFP
43
A good RFP can take a lot of time, effort and, consequently,
money to produce, whether produced in-house or by an external
consultant.
Before making this investment, many responsible buyers
considering a larger acquisition will often go through the RFI
process.
An RFI is viewed by some potential proposers as an unpaid
consultancy exercise where they are requested to invest time and
effort, for which they would normally expect to be paid, in the
production of a response which effectively educates the client
on probable solutions to their problems. RFIs can pose problems
for proposers in deciding whether they are prepared to make this
sort of speculative investment in developing a relationship with
a client in the interest of winning business that is not yet
'real' — where there is no clear decision to purchase or invest.
However, as an RFI is often the precursor to a Request for
Proposal (RFP, discussed below), potential proposers must make
this decision carefully — non-participation in the RFI cycle
will often call into question the vendors interest in the
business, and may disqualify them altogether from the later
proposal process. As experience shows that much of the original
RFI document (particularly in relation to the client requirement
or problem) frequently survives into the RFP, participants in
the RFI cycle can often gain something of an 'inside track' when
it comes to preparing their proposals. Indeed, it is not unusual
that clients are so particularly impressed by one submitted
response to an RFI that they will skip the RFP phase altogether,
going straight into formal proposal with the favoured RFI
respondent, on a 'preferred or sole vendor' basis. So, the
decision as to whether to participate in an RFI cycle or not is
an important one which should not be undertaken without careful
consideration.
One final point: an RFI is generally considered to be non-
binding to either the issuer or the respondent.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a document that describes a
perceived client problem, and requests that selected vendors
propose
44
comprehensive solutions to that problem using a proposal as the
response mechanism. An RFP says, 'Here's my problem; how can you
solve it?'
The RFP, which in larger organizations is often prepared by an
external consultant, is generally prepared when a decision has
been made to proceed with investment in certain required
products or services. Where an RFI cycle has already been
completed, the RFP will often consist of a blend of the best and
most desirable ideas and technologies from multiple responses
submitted to the RFI.
The general purpose of an RFP is to describe the requirement in
as much detail as the client, or their consultant, is capable
of, and to generate competition for the business of meeting that
requirement. It is very much the clients view of the clients
problem, designed to allow them to solicit the best solution at
the best price possible.
It is important to note that where a vendor is to be selected on
the basis of a formal mechanism such as an RFP cycle, it is
common practice for any commitments or guarantees made in the
successful proposal to become part of the final contract for the
required products or services, particularly if nothing changes
in the stated requirement. So, responses to RFPs are often
considered to be binding to the respondent. In this sense, an
RFP requires a much more considered response than might be
required where the business has been generated on the basis of
less formal sales- and account-development activities.
Depending on the practice in your target industry or country,
RFPs may also be used in a manner not dissimilar to RFIs — to
collect information on the various ways in which vendors might
meet the issuers requirement. Where they are used in this
manner, it is often to feed an even more formal proposal-request
mechanism such as a Request for Quotation (RFQ), or an
Invitation for Bid (IFB), both of which are discussed below.
Where this is the case, an ethical buyer will indicate if
information collection is the sole purpose of the RFP, allowing
you to qualify whether or not it is worth your while responding,
in
45
much the same manner as you would with an RFI. You may even want
to consider discussing with the client whether they might
consider paying you for your proposal response — if the
information you are providing has a reasonable value to them.
Other Ways of Requesting a Proposal
Whilst the RFI and the RFP are the most relevant proposal-
request mechanisms in the context of this book, there are others
which you may also encounter, depending on your business focus,
the size of your target deals, and your country of operation.
Request for Quotation (RFQ)
An RFQ is a variety of RFP, which requests a proposal for a
solution meeting the issuers needs in a prescribed manner. The
issuers requirement is generally more structured and detailed
than those found in a conventional RFP, and the RFQ may even
detail specifically how the requirement must be met. RFQs are
similar to RFPs in that responses to them are generally
considered to be binding to the respondent, unless the
requirement specifies change.
Invitation for Bid (IFB)
Often known as a Request for Bid (RFB), an IFB is like an RFQ in
that it requests a proposal for a solution meeting the issuers
needs in a prescribed manner. It differs, however, in that it
generally also specifies a date for the successful bidder to
begin supplying the proposed products or services. These are
generally non-negotiable and considered binding to both issuer
and respondent.
The 'Bid' and Other Catch-Alls
'Bid' is a catch-all term used variously to describe any and all
of the mechanisms discussed above, and, very often, to describe
the proposal response to one of these proposal-request
mechanisms. You should always clarify exactly what your client
understands of both parties' legal responsibilities in respect
of their selected proposal-request mechanisms. Don't assume that
your client is as familiar as you with the conventional
definitions for each of the above terms. Always clarify exactly
what they
46
feel are both parties' responsibilities under the terms of their
request, whatever they may choose to call it.
For convenience, RFP is used throughout the remainder of this
book to refer to any instance where there is a formal document
requesting a proposal response. Regardless of the particular
variety your client may choose to use, the principles in this
book for preparing proposal responses remain the same.
Why Bother Making This Decision?
As a salesperson this is a question you may have a problem with
— all your business life you've been trained to 'go for it', and
now you must rein in and consider whether an opportunity is good
or bad, whether or not you really want this business.
There are a number of reasons to be discriminating in selecting
opportunities. Most of these reasons can be considered to be a
cost of one kind or another. They include the following:
Financial Cost
How long does it take you to prepare a proposal? Ten man-hours?
Twenty man-weeks? A man-year? More? How much does each of these
man-hours cost you or your company?
How much does the equipment you use in preparing your proposals
(PCs, photocopiers, binders, etc.) cost your organization per
day over its working life? How much electricity does this
equipment consume to prepare your proposal? How much does that
cost? How much paper, toner, ink do you use in preparing a
proposal? How much of this material is wasted on early drafts?
Opportunity Cost
Of the 365 days in a normal year, how many are real selling days
— those days left when you take away weekends, vacations, public
holidays, the
47
'silly season' and so on? Let's say an optimistic 220 — it's
still not many is it? So why waste any of them preparing
proposals for business that is just not right for your company?
What other business might you have won, what other commissions
might you have earned with these days if you had only thought
about it? In other words, what is the opportunity cost of
preparing inappropriate proposals?
Confidence Cost
Proposal preparation generally involves a large effort on the
part of you and your team, particularly if you adopt the good
proposal practices discussed in this book. It is very
demoralizing for all involved to put in this level of effort and
then lose. Such a loss can be costly in terms of confidence and
morale. You may even find it difficult to get the future
commitment of key support personnel within your organization if
you get a name for wasting time and effort on unsuccessful or
ill-considered business opportunities.
Qualifying your opportunities carefully will increase your hit
rate, and help build a winning mentality in the team.
"If time be of all things most precious, wasting time must be
the greatest prodigality, since lost time is never found again;
and what we call time enough always proves little enough.
- Benjamin Franklin
Profile Cost
Be aware that your profile within an account, or within your
industry, can suffer as a result of a bad decision to pursue an
opportunity that you should have known you could not possibly
win, or an opportunity that you should have realized your
organization was not adequately equipped to address. If you
don't have a reasonable chance of winning,
48
then qualify out. Similarly, if you don't have the wherewithal
to deliver the proposed solution as well as your client expects,
qualify out.
All of the costs associated with proposal preparation are
marketing costs, which are just as real as the costs associated
with advertising, PR,
brochure production, mailing and so on. Think carefully before
jumping in to prepare proposals for every opportunity you meet.
How Do You Make the Bid/No-Bid Decision?
Regardless of who makes the decision, deciding whether or not
you should bid for a given business opportunity involves
analysis of several aspects of the RFP, the target business,
your ability to win that business, your ability to deliver your
winning solution, and your confidence that the competition for
the business is sufficiently fair and unbiased.
Figure 1: Four-Step Bid/No-Bid Process
1. Qualify the opportunity using a bid/no-bid questionnaire
2. Ensure the RFP is not ‘rigged’ or a ‘decoy’
3. Confirm that you have at least one Unique Selling Proposition to offer
4. Any extraordinary reasons to bid anyway?
49
The approach to making this decision, outlined in Figure 1
above, involves a four-step analysis of the RFP.
1. Qualify the Opportunity Using the Bid/No-Bid Questionnaire
The Bid/No-Bid Questionnaire is quite simply a series of
questions to make you consider the opportunity at hand in order
to determine its fit to your commercial and strategic
objectives. You will almost certainly want to add one or two
extra questions to tailor the toolbox to suit your own company's
particular view of the world.
The Bid/No-Bid Questionnaire
► Where has the opportunity come from?
► Are we technically capable of doing the work?
► Will we need extra resources (people or equipment, etc.) to
complete this work and can we afford to cover this?
► Is this our kind of work?
► Do we particularly want this work/client?
► Who is our competition on this deal and can we beat them?
► If we do win, how will this affect current business
commitments?
► Might we lose or upset an existing valued client or some other
prospective business?
► Could we achieve a better return on our investment (of time,
effort and cost in preparing this proposal) if we focused our
energies elsewhere (on other opportunities)?
► Do we know that there is a definite budget for this project?
50
► What is the prospects payment/credit record? These questions
are examined below in some detail.
Where Has the Opportunity Come From?
Where the proposal opportunity has come about as a result of a
concerted campaign by you or your team in a target account,
chances are that you have already qualified the opportunity at
several points during the sales campaign, possibly even viewing
getting to the proposal stage as an objective in itself. In this
instance you may need no further deliberation to commit to
investment of the requisite time and effort.
However, what if the opportunity has arisen as a result of an
RFP which has landed on your desk out of the blue? Or if an
unexpected opportunity arises within a non-client account? In
either of these cases, you should use the remaining questions to
evaluate whether the opportunity merits the effort involved in
producing a proposal response.
Are We Technically Capable of Doing the Work?
Following an initial examination of the RFP, with input from any
appropriate support personnel who have also examined the RFP,
you now have a reasonably good feel for the prospects
requirement.
If you are not technically capable of meeting the requirement,
and you cannot conceive of any way in which you can quickly
achieve this competence, qualify out immediately.
Will We Need Extra Resources to Complete this Work and Can We
Afford to Cover This?
If you do not currently have the skills or resources (people or
equipment, etc.) to meet the requirement, but feel that the
opportunity is sufficiently important to merit acquiring these
skills or resources, then you must consider whether the deal
will be able to bear the cost of this acquisition. If the deal
is any way price-sensitive, then you will almost certainly have
to absorb the cost of any new skills or resources acquired. If
you do make this investment, are you likely to achieve
sufficient future return
51
on it in terms of other business, either within this account or
with other clients or prospects?
Is This Our Kind of Work?
Successful organizations continually evaluate where their
strengths are, match these with customer or client needs,
determine where their competitive advantages lie and focus all
of their resources on the greatest areas of opportunity. It's
called 'positioning'. They then work to create in the target
marketplace a strong image of what they have to offer.
Every deal you pursue must clearly be seen to fit in with this
image of the organization. This is particularly important if
your target clients are large, conservative organizations or if
your products or services are in any way intangible.
For every opportunity that comes your way, you must consider
whether this work or contract fits your positioning, whether it
is in line with your strategic objectives. Is it the kind of
work that will help your company develop in the desired
direction? Does it send the correct message about your
organization to existing and prospective clients? If not, why
are you actively considering pursuing this business?
Do We Particularly Want This Work/Client?
Is there some particular reason why you want to win this
contract or customer? Would winning this client put your company
on the map? Would winning this contract or client assure you of
a lot of future (more suitable) opportunities that you might not
otherwise have? Do these factors outweigh all other
considerations? Think about it.
Who is Our Competition on This Deal and Can We Beat Them?
Who is likely to be your competition on this deal? Are you happy
that you can beat them? Do a strengths v. weaknesses analysis of
your own and your competition's chances of winning the business.
Do you have enough to win? Can you outspecify, outservice,
outprice, outsell or outpropose them? This is one of the most
important aspects of the decision to bid or not to bid. Even if
the deal is a perfect fit in every other
52
way, if you don't feel comfortable that you can beat your
competition, can you really afford to pursue this business?
If We Do Win, How Will This Affect Current Business Commitments?
Do you have sufficient resources to meet this prospects
requirement should you win? Is there any danger that winning
this business could detrimentally affect existing commitments,
perhaps damaging relationships or even losing a valued client?
(Remember it takes 500 per cent more effort to win business from
a new client than from an existing client.) Is this a risk? If
so, is it one you are prepared to take? Why?
Might We Lose or Upset an Existing Valued Client or Some Other
Prospective Business?
Even if you do have sufficient resources to ensure that no
current business suffers, is there still a danger that winning
this business will affect your relationship with an existing
client? Or could it upset your sales activities with some other,
potentially more valuable prospect? For example, does dealing
with one client within this marketplace automatically preclude
you from doing business with other players, for competitive or
other reasons? If so, is this the particular player you want to
work with in this marketplace? Think about it.
Could We Achieve a Better Return on Our Investment if We Focused
Our Energies Elsewhere?
So you know that you have a superior offering, that you could
beat your competition easily and that the return on the deal
will be well in line with the company's objectives. Should you
go for it? Absolutely. Unless, of course, there is some other
opportunity which might offer an even better return for your
time and effort. Don't be prepared to settle for a deal that
meets your requirements if you can find one that exceeds them.
Make sure that your time is spent achieving the best possible
return for you and your company.
Do We Know that There Is a Definite Budget for This Project?
Are you convinced that this is a real project — that there is an
approved
53
budget? In choosing between two opportunities, take the one
where you're sure the money is there — every time.
What Is the Prospect's Payment/Credit Record?
The best deal in the world loses its gilt if you simply can't
get paid. What is your prospect's reputation for payment in your
industry? Have you checked their credit rating with a credit-
referral agency? Is there sufficient margin on the deal to
compensate for late payment? If the client's record is in any
way poor, do the other more positive aspects of the deal
outweigh the potential pain of trying to get paid?
KEY POINT
Be ruthless in qualifying opportunities — could you spend your
time more profitably elsewhere?
2. Ensure that the RFP Is Not 'Rigged' or a 'Decoy'
Sometimes an RFP will be presented in such a manner as to favour
a particular supplier, or be issued for a purpose other than
selecting a supplier for given products or services.
This section deals with two types of RFP to look out for:
► 'Rigged' RFPs — those where the successful supplier is already
known before the RFP is issued.
► 'Decoy' RFPs — those where the purpose of the RFP is other
than selection of a supplier for given products or services.
Rigged RFPs
Sometimes you will encounter RFPs that are constructed to favour
a given supplier. This may be because the issuer of the RFP has
a favoured supplier, an incumbent who has traditionally supplied
the required
54
product or services. Or perhaps there is a supplier who can
uniquely, as far as the client knows, supply the required
products or services. Why then would such a client go to the
trouble of inviting other vendors to bid? It may be no more
complicated than a company policy which requires that more than
one proposal is taken for contracts over a certain value. Most
salespeople have at some stage suspected that they were invited
to bid for a given deal simply to help the prospect 'make up the
numbers'.
A rigged RFP may also result from a supplier having had a large
influence on the team who developed the RFP — having been
involved in the development of the clients view of their
requirement over a long period of time, possibly even having
effectively 'created' the need within the account. In this
respect, everyone wishes to prepare proposals for rigged
competitions — competitions rigged to favour themselves, that
is. The best proposal you will ever prepare will be the one you
prepare to meet a requirement that you have helped to 'create'
by good account-development activity. You cannot, of course,
truly create a need or a requirement, but you certainly can make
the client aware of the potential benefits that might accrue to
them from the implementation of some solution or other — a
solution that you might provide.
However, if the rigging is not of your making, then you will
need to consider seriously whether you are going to be able to
bid successfully against the rigger.
Your use of the bid/no-bid questionnaire will begin this
process. In a situation where you and your competitor are
closely matched in terms of strengths and weaknesses in your
ability to meet the requirement, you may have to go as far as
analyzing yourself against the competition in the more
comprehensive manner discussed in Chapter 7.
The first step, however, is to recognize when a proposal may be
rigged.
How Do You Recognize a Rigged RFP?
It may not be too easy to spot rigging at first glance. In the
first instance
55
look for references to product features or product terms that
are unique to a competitor. The use of trade names for specific
elements of the requirement, or terms which some supplier
uniquely applies to specific techniques or procedures, should
alert you to the potential of rigging. If you know your
competition, their products and services, and the way in which
they work, then it should be quite easy to see their
'fingerprints' on an RFP
After this low-level examination, you may be happy enough to
proceed with a proposal on the basis that you have no suspicions
of rigging.
In Chapter 4 you will learn techniques to apply when examining
an RFE With more subtle rigging, you may actually have started
these exercises before you begin to suspect that the deal is
rigged for someone other than you.
If this happens, then immediately review your decision to
proceed with your proposal. Consider the outcome of your Chapter
4 and Chapter 5 analyses, and submit the RFP to scrutiny again
using the bid/no-bid questionnaire.
Don't be tempted to finish the proposal cycle simply because you
have already gone so far. As discussed above, proposals are
costly investments — investments where you must have a
reasonable level of confidence that you will achieve a return.
However, if, despite detecting that the RFP is rigged, you feel
that you can still win the business, then give it your best shot.
Can You Win with a Rigged RFP?
Absolutely. A good proposal can often overcome a rigged RFP —
particularly if your client is genuinely interested in
soliciting the best possible solution to their problems, and if
you happen to have such a solution. However, experience suggests
that unless you have something really special to offer, then you
are better to let it pass. Spend your time and energy on
opportunities where the scales are not tipped against you from
the outset — it's tough enough to win against regular odds.
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"When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask
him: 'whose?'
- Don Marquis
'Decoy' RFPs
Decoy RFPs are released for a great variety of reasons, the most
common being:
► Research/free consultation and information.
► To prepare a more comprehensive RFR
► To build a specification for an in-house project.
Research/Free Consultation and Information
However, you obviously can't refuse to deal with any consultant
who may approach you, simply on the basis of an experience like
this. What if the consultant is genuinely trying to find a
solution to a particular client problem? Well, it's a judgment
call. If the consultant is known to you personally, or if the
consultant has clearly done a lot of work in preparing a
convincing RFP or briefing document, or if you are invited to
meet the client personally, you may feel comfortable with the
situation. If, however, you have any reservations, then qualify
carefully and don't be afraid to walk away.
To Prepare a More Comprehensive RFP
To Build a Specification for an In-House Project
If you never hear of the project again, it is probably just that
they ultimately decided on an in-house implementation (and
perhaps some of the characteristics of the final solution sound
very familiar!). The type of organizations that pursue this sort
of policy are often repeat offenders. So, 'once bitten, twice
shy' is the best policy.
57
How Do You Spot a Decoy?
There is no definitive way to spot a decoy RFP, but they
generally have one or more of the following characteristics:
► The bluebird — a deal that comes 'right out of the blue',
never having appeared on any account plan or revenue
projections, only to become the year's big earner, if you're
lucky However, a decoy RFP is almost always a Bluebird. Watch
out for them.
► Non-client — decoy RFPs will frequently come from an
organization that is not currently a client, often a prospect
that you have been trying to break into for some time.
► Size — in order to cause an instant brain shutdown, to disable
your normally very sharp qualification faculties, the decoy
prospect will often be large and the opportunity substantial.
Ask yourself: 'why are they suddenly contacting me now?'
► Short timescale — this is a 'high-value and strategic
acquisition', yet the decision will be made in what seems to be
an almost impossibly short timescale, and your response is
required in a similarly unreasonably short timescale.
► Little on paper — the RFP will frequently be high level,
giving little detail on the supposed requirement. The
explanation here is usually that the timescale was so tight that
there was little time to prepare a full-blown RFP document.
► Detail — despite its own non-detailed nature, the decoy RFP
will usually require a great amount of detail on your products,
services and costs, the rationale being that this level of
detail is required to make a quick decision.
► Limited contact within the prospect company — if the
requirement is so substantial, the value so large, and the
timescale so tight, how come there are so few of the prospect's
senior managers involved in
58
the acquisition? You will often find your contacts confined to
one or two middle-level executives, whose positions are more
technical in nature.
How Do You Deal with a Decoy?
An alternative to running away is to consider suggesting to the
prospect that you will proceed with preparation of a
comprehensive proposal response to the supplied RFP, but only on
the basis that they will accept any costs associated with its
preparation. This is not at all as crazy or immediately
unacceptable as it might at first seem to be.
If you offer the client full ownership of any ideas or
suggestions you produce in the proposal, then your offer may be
quite attractive, particularly if your business is such that
your proposals go a long way towards being a full-blown
specification of the client requirement. With full ownership of
a document for which they have paid, the client can to some
extent determine what they will ultimately get from you, and
have the confidence that they can use this output to solicit
bids from other suppliers or to support an in-house development.
Your 'win' in this situation is the opportunity to show what you
are capable of, and to produce what may ultimately become the
basis of an RFP rigged in your favour — all at no real cost to
yourself.
3. Confirm that You Will Have at Least One USP
Even at this stage you should know whether or not the solution
you will likely propose has at least one Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) to offer. For those unfamiliar with the
concept, a USP is some aspect of what you are offering that is
absolutely unique to your proposal.
A USP may not be so much what you are offering as the way that
you are offering it. For example, if your supercomputer can
process a trillion pieces of information a second, great. But if
everyone's supercomputer can do the same, then it's hardly a
unique selling proposition. But if your supercomputer is 20 per
cent less expensive, or if your support is better, or if only
you can supply the expertise necessary to build the software
59
application required to meet the client requirement, then
perhaps you do have something unique, perhaps you do have a USP.
Furthermore, your USP must be relevant enough to your clients
requirement to convince you that you need little else to win the
deal. That way all other arguments in your favour are simply
'icing on the cake'. If you don't have at least one strong USP,
then save your efforts for those proposals where you do.
If you have no USP, can you realistically expect to win the
business? Think about it.
KEY POINT
Before you invest in preparing a proposal, be sure that the
opportunity is real.
4. Ensure that There Are No Extraordinary Reasons to Proceed
with a Bid
Some of the more typical reasons for making such a decision are
discussed below.
To 'Stay on the List'
Be careful, however: a poorly prepared proposal which obviously
was not submitted to win, or which does not display your
customary attention to detail, may be worse than no proposal at
all. It may be better to send a well-reasoned letter declining
the opportunity to bid on this particular project, outlining the
particular reasons why, and expressing an interest in receiving
all future RFPs.
Occasionally, if the client particularly wants you to bid, this
may influence them to change the terms of the RFP slightly, to
accommodate your reservations.
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Learning Curve
You may then consider your effort in preparing a proposal as an
investment in training, in building new skills, expertise and
experience. This is the way in which many organizations build
their knowledge of new industry sectors. In this instance, the
main consideration is whether you could achieve the same
learning value for the same investment of time and effort in
research, or in formal training.
Positioning/Profile
If you have carefully positioned yourself as the key supplier of
a particular type of product or service to organizations in the
sector where your RFP originated, then you must consider whether
being seen to decline an opportunity to bid is going to have a
more or less negative impact than bidding and losing, for
whatever reason.
"Never say no when a client asks you for something — even if it
is the moon. You can always try, and anyhow there is plenty of
time afterwards to explain that it was not possible.
- Caesar Ritz, Swiss cowherd who later created hotels bearing
his name
In Conclusion
When offered an opportunity, always proceed on the basis that it
is indeed of interest, until your analysis proves otherwise. The
ideas and techniques discussed above can be distilled to the
four questions paraphrasing the bid/no bid process in Figure 2
which you should use to test all opportunities.
Do this every time you consider an opportunity and you will be
taking conscious control of your proposal hit rate.
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Figure 2 : Four Questions to a Bid/No-Bid Decision
1. Is this opportunity real?
2. Can you win the business?
3. If you do win, will it be worthwhile?
4. If you can’t win the business, is there some other good reason to bid?
62
63
chapter three
The Winning Proposal Model
64
65
'I Hate Writing...'
Of all of the duties that fall to business people in the course
of their everyday working life, perhaps the one which most will
agree is a major pain is the requirement to produce written
documents. Very few of us feel that we are as good at writing as
we might be, and many of us carry a thought in the back of our
minds that we will do something to improve our writing skills —
tomorrow!
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a
typewriter and open a vein.
- Red Smith
Getting Started on Writing Your Proposal
The most difficult part of setting out to write a proposal — to
write anything, in fact — is getting started. The challenge is
to plan how you will organize your thoughts and ideas so that
you can start to get them down on paper. The important thing is
to get started, and that's what the Winning Proposal Model
discussed below is all about — providing an effective and
logical framework that will get every proposal you ever write
off to a flying start.
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"Rem tene; verba sequenter.
(Grasp the subject; the words will follow.)
- Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder 234-149 BC
The Winning Proposal Model
Think about your proposals. You write them to achieve one
fundamental objective — to sell the solution you have developed
to meet your clients requirement.
If, instead of writing a proposal, you were having a one-to-one
conversation with your client, the conversation would very
likely sound something like this:
'We understand your requirement inside out, and we have designed
a great solution that meets every part of that requirement.
Here's why that solution will have so much value to your
organization. We will deliver all of these benefits for a cost
of just... Oh, and by the way, I have detailed information to
prove every one of the claims I just made — here it is...'
Well that's exactly the dialog your proposal should establish
with your buyer if it is to be successful in selling your
superior solution. The Winning Proposal Model is a structure
that guides you in creating proposals that create such dialogs
with your readers.
Each element of this dialog model is discussed below in a little
more detail.
'We Understand Your Requirement Inside Out'
The first thing that you absolutely must establish for your
client is that you understand their requirement inside out; that
you have as detailed an appreciation of what they are trying to
achieve as they do
67
themselves (perhaps even better). Doing an exemplary job of
outlining the requirement in your proposals can very often be
the difference between winning and losing the target business.
For the purposes of this chapter, that section will be given the
working title 'The Requirement'. However, as we'll discuss
later, you may use whatever title makes sense in the context of
your proposal.
In Chapter 3 you will analyze the prospect's requirement in
detail using techniques called 'Pain Analysis' and 'Requirement
Mapping'.
'We Have an Excellent Solution...'
When you have successfully demonstrated your knowledge of the
clients requirement you'll have their attention. Continue your
conversation by describing the way in which you can address that
requirement — outline your solution.
This is the key section of your proposal. You are writing the
proposal to sell this solution.
In Chapter 5 you will use a technique called 'Solution Mapping'
to design a solution that fully meets all of the requirements
you have uncovered.
Then later in Chapter 6 you will learn how a Pre-Proposal Review
(PPR) will ensure that any such solution has been written with a
significant amount of input from the prospect — encouraging a
sense of ownership on their part: a feeling that your solution
is, in large part, their solution to their requirement.
We will give this section a generic working title of 'The
Proposed Solution'.
'Here's Why Our Solution Will Be So Good for You...'
If you were engaged in a one-to-one dialog with your client,
then this would be one of the more important parts of that
conversation. The
68
client would want to know just what is in your solution for
them, what benefits would accrue to them from selecting your
solution over that of your competitors.
Chapter 7 will show you how to select a proposal strategy that
will emphasize the particular strengths of your solution, and
minimize any weaknesses in your solution. At the same time, it
will also highlight any particular weaknesses which your
competitors' solutions might have, whilst minimizing the
importance of any strengths that they might be able to
demonstrate.
For discussion purposes here we will call this section,
'Benefits of the Proposed Solution'.
'We'll Deliver All of These Benefits for a Cost of Just...'
At this stage, your client is going to want to know how much
this 'best of all possible solutions' is going to cost. Indeed,
if this were a one-to-one discussion, cost would probably have
been raised long before now!
Your fourth section will detail the costs associated with your
proposed solution, and will be entitled simply, 'The Costs'.
You'll see in Chapter 9 how to present costs in the most
effective manner possible.
'I Can Prove All of the Claims We're Making...'
Up to this point you have focused on communicating just one
basic message — 'we have the best possible solution to your
requirement'. To communicate this message, you'll later be
advised that the main body of your proposal should include only
as much detail as is necessary to support the understanding of
each section.
All of the detailed technical material, such as technical
specifications, product descriptions, supporting research and so
on, should be confined to appendices at the back of your
proposal, with your main text making frequent reference to the
presence of this supporting material for every
69
aspect of your proposed solution. This strategy allows the
reader to follow a simple, logical, uncluttered argument,
without becoming bogged down in unnecessary, distracting detail.
The final section in your proposal is referred to here as
'Appendices'.
A 'Standard' Proposal Layout
By establishing this simple 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits-
Costs-Proof' dialog with your client in your proposals, you end
up with a basic framework for all of your proposals which will
contain at least five sections:
► The Requirement.
► The Proposed Solution.
► The Benefits.
► The Costs.
► Appendices.
Figure 1 illustrates this basic proposal model, which you can
now use as the basis of all of your future proposals. But Figure
2 also contains an additional section which has not yet been
discussed — the 'Executive Summary'.
The 'Executive Summary'
The 'Executive Summary' is a section providing an overview of
the total content of your proposal. It is designed to be read by
those senior executives in your client organization who do not
have time to consider any more than the highlights of your
proposal. It is also designed to be a general introduction for
other readers, orienting them on how your proposal is laid out
and preparing them for the main points to be
70
presented. For reasons explored in greater depth later in this
chapter, the Executive Summary is, arguably, the most important
section of any proposal. In Chapter 9 you'll see how you can
very quickly produce a compelling Executive Summary. For now,
however, note that the
Executive Summary completes a basic six-section proposal model
which you can use as the basis of all future proposals you write.
Figure 1: Winning Proposal Model
Section 1 Executive Summary
Section 2 The Requirement
Section 3 The Proposed Solution
Section 4 The Benefits
Section 5 Costs
Section 6 Appendices
Obviously, some of the proposals which you will prepare in the
future will not be of a size that allows them to make their case
adequately in just six sections.
Indeed, on many larger deals you will find that some of the
basic section titles discussed above will require multiple
volumes to do justice to your
71
solution. But this does not prevent you from using the basic
'Executive Summary-Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-
Appendices' structure — it simply means that your sections may
need different titles, and may not be ordered in precisely the
same way as the basic model. Regardless of the size or purpose
of the proposal, adopting the Winning Proposal Model will ensure
that your proposal will be successful in selling your ideas.
On smaller deals six separate sections may be overkill — and
each section may simply become a paragraph or two in a single
letter or brief proposal document (you'll see how to construct
such a 'letter proposal' in Chapter 12).
Whatever your specific situation at any point in time you'll
find that establishing the dialog in the manner exemplified by
the Winning Proposal Model will always make for a much more
logical presentation of your material and arguments — and will
sell much more effectively.
KEY POINT
Regardless of how large or complex your proposals always use the
'Summary-Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-Proof' model as
their basis, and you can be confident that they will sell your
solution effectively.
When You Start a New Proposal — First Step
As you start work on a new proposal get into the habit of
establishing an organized file to hold your future proposal. I
suggest a structure that has a top-level file named after the
proposal and target client — with a sub-folder for each of the
six sections of the Winning Proposal Model.
Notice in the snapshot of my file structure below that all
proposals are saved in a dedicated 'Proposals' folder — I find
this handier than saving
72
them by client as it facilitates later access should I wish to
reuse any previous work in a future proposal — once you have a
few proposals under your belt your 'Proposals' folder will
become a great resource for more quickly 'assembling' future
proposals.
Figure 2: 'Proposals' Folder
Proposals
2009
ClientCo Profile XT Proposal
1. Executive Summary
2. Requirement
3. Benefits
4. Solution
5. Costs
Appendices
Research & Misc
Notice also that I have added a further folder, 'Research &
Misc', as a repository for any other materials I collect in the
process of researching or preparing the proposal.
So now that you have made a good start on your proposal let's
begin to flesh out the individual sections a little more —
starting with the requirement. Onward to Chapter 4.
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chapter four
Analyze the Requirement
74
75
Every chapter in this book hangs on the key principle that
winning proposals are client-focused proposals — proposals that
present solutions which are carefully targeted at the clients
requirement and presented in a manner that demonstrates the care
that has been taken to achieve this focus. This section will
address one of the most important elements in the development of
a client-focused proposal — a thorough analysis of the client
requirement — to facilitate the design, explained in Chapter 5,
of a compelling solution which meets that requirement.
KEY POINT
Getting the requirement right is the most important part of the
proposal-development process. Get your definition of the
requirement wrong and your solution will miss the point
completely. Be sure that you know what the client really needs
before you even consider possible solutions.
The Requirement — Its Importance
Developing a clear, comprehensive picture of what the client is
seeking is the single most important part of your whole
proposal-preparation process — if you get the requirement wrong,
you'll get the solution wrong. If you can't make the client
believe that you understand their
76
problem, then you definitely won't convince them that your
solution is superior to those offered by all other bidders —
because it certainly won't be.
There are two ways that you are likely to have arrived at your
initial understanding of your prospect's requirement — either
through multiple meetings or discussions with the client, or
through their provision of an RFP.
Either way you face a challenge — can you be sure your
understanding of the requirement is clear enough to enable you
to write a compelling proposal?
The most natural thing in the world would be to believe that the
client-supplied RFP, or their briefings on their requirement,
are a complete statement of the requirement. After all, they are
people who should have the best possible knowledge of the
requirement, right? But what if the client does not really
understand their own needs? What if they are incapable of
defining the root causes of whatever has driven them to go to
market for a solution? Suppose that there are some aspects of
the requirement so obvious to them that they feel it unnecessary
to mention them overtly in the RFP — and what if you fail to
identify these unstated aspects?
Well, in that situation, any solution that you produce to meet
the stated requirement will not necessarily solve the client's
problems, even if it does respond well to what they've outlined
for you. You might lose the business or, perhaps even worse, you
might win the business and the client may end up with a solution
that is of little use to them in addressing their real problems.
So, defining the requirement accurately is absolutely essential
to the production of a winning proposal. 'Pain Analysis', a
process for driving a clear analysis of your client's
requirement, is a powerful technique for ensuring that your
analysis of the client's requirement achieves this necessary
level of accuracy.
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'Where Does It Hurt?'
When you have a problem with your health, when you simply don't
feel well, you visit your doctor. You will be asked where it
hurts, where the discomfort is, and how your ailment manifests
itself. The doctor doesn't necessarily expect you to know
exactly what is wrong with you, or how you might be cured. After
all, that's why you have sought the assistance of an expert —
someone who has spent many years in medical school.
So, your doctor starts by examining your symptoms, your 'pains',
if you will — and when you have given as complete a picture of
all of your pains as you are capable of providing, your doctor
has the basis to begin a diagnosis. Very often, your actual
pains won't directly suggest what is ultimately uncovered as
your ailment. Equally often, the remedy prescribed will not be
anything like what you might have expected. But you trust your
doctor who is, after all, an expert.
"I don't have any solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
- Ashleigh Brilliant
So, what of your clients and their business requirement? Surely
they come to you for help with their business 'pains' because
they view you in the same light as their doctor — an expert who
specializes in helping people of their type, to solve their
sorts of problems. It's hardly reasonable to expect them to have
fully diagnosed themselves before they turn up at your 'surgery'
with their pains in hand.
It is important to recognize that your client's pains are merely
indicators of their requirement, and that only by exhaustively
uncovering and diagnosing these pains to determine their true
root cause can you ever
78
hope to find a workable solution to that requirement. It is
equally important to recognize that your client may often be
incapable of recognizing or describing some of their pains. They
may even assume that you, being an expert, have some way of
reading their minds, some way of perceiving pains that they
don't actually tell you about. You must, therefore, be prepared
to look beyond that which your client will readily describe to
you as requirements or pains if you are to be confident that
whatever solution you ultimately propose, based on whatever
diagnosis you make, is absolutely the best possible.
Pain Analysis is a simple four-step process that will help you
to more closely define your clients requirement — before you go
about designing a solution and writing your proposal.
KEY POINT
Never fully trust your clients' perceptions of their own
problems or requirement. For a variety of reasons, they may be
less capable than you of defining their needs accurately.
Pain Mapping
There is no 'rocket science' or great complexity in Pain
Analysis — just four straightforward steps that will assure you
have a great grasp on the client's requirement.
Note: In this section we'll use the requirement outlined in the
case study in Appendix I as an example (if you have not already
reviewed the case study, you should do so before continuing with
this chapter).
79
Figure 1: Unsorted Pains
Step 1: List Those Pains of Which You Are Aware
Begin with a deck of Post It notes — 1 find the 76 mm x 76 mm (3
inch x 3 inch) size perfect for this exercise.
Assemble all of your notes on everything you know about the
requirement and start capturing all of the individual elements
of the requirement on these notes — one requirement per Post It.
Keep these descriptions to a maximum of three to six words
summarizing each element of the overall requirement (you'll
remember what your shorthand meant later). At this stage, don't
try to order the Post Its in any particular order or with any
particular logic; merely capture the elemental requirements on
the notes, sticking them to a whiteboard or a work area on your
wall as you go.
80
As you work through the requirement you will find that you build
up quite a number of these requirement 'molecules'. Draw upon
the RFP (if any), on notes from any meetings or from any
discussions with the prospect, and on any source you have on
what the client really requires.
Resist the temptation at this stage to think about how you might
address any of these requirements, or even how various
requirements relate to one another — in this step your only goal
is to end up with a wall or a whiteboard where all the elements
of the requirement are captured, albeit in a seemingly chaotic
manner.
Invite colleagues and anyone else who might have any knowledge
of the prospect or their industry to work with you and review
your major pains list to see if there is anything you are
obviously missing.
When finished you'll have something that looks like Figure 1
above.
Step 2: Look for Any Pains You or the Client May Have Missed
First, review the list of pains on your board and ask yourself:
► Is there anything new that you can conclude from these
requirements?
► Is there any unstated requirement which the client assumes
that you will discern from the RFP, but which is not overtly
stated?
► Are there any additional aspects of the requirement which you
can speculate the client must address?
Create a new Post It for each new aspect that occurs to you.
Step 3: Commercial, Technical and Personal Pains
Now think about commercial, technical and personal pains. Just
about any purchase cycle will always be driven by one, or a
combination of,
81
just three basic driving factors — commercial, technical and
personal pains.
Commercial Pains
From your knowledge of the client and their industry, what can
you speculate must be business pressures driving the client's
requirement — what are their commercial pains? Think:
► What do they wish to achieve by solving this problem?
► Why are they trying to solve it now? What benefits are there
to them if they are successful?
► What happens if it is not solved?
► Why have they invited you to solve it?
► Have their competitors solved this problem? If so, how?
Technical Pains
Technical pains are those arising from requirements specifically
related to technical devices or processes. Again, from your
knowledge of, or research into, the dynamics of your clients
industry, consider what technical pains might be driving them at
this time. Typical questions to explore technical pains might
include:
► Do they need to reduce waste in some production process?
► Do they need to increase production-line efficiency?
► Is downtime a concern?
► Are their current systems unreliable?
► Are there now better technical solutions to problems solved
some years previously?
82
► Would faster, more modern systems improve their bottom line?
► Are competitors gaining an edge through superior approaches or
systems?
Personal Pains
Try as they may your prospects will be unable to make any
acquisition process wholly and completely objective. The very
fact that your evaluators are people — people who will use their
experience and their understanding of the requirement to
evaluate your proposal, people who will judge the various
alternatives proposed to address their requirement — implies a
role for the personal preferences of the individual evaluators.
These personal preferences will, of course, not be noted openly
in the RFP.
Personal pains usually play a large part in politics and power-
play within the client organization. Depending on the client
organization, you may find that major acquisitions have the
potential to further or curtail the involved individuals'
personal objectives — to help them to achieve their personal
power or career objectives within their organization. You cannot
ignore these aspects, which will very often only manifest
themselves as very subtle factors, frequently discernible only
in face-to-face sessions (one of the many reasons for the Pre-
Proposal Review — see Chapter 6).
So think about the individuals involved in the process:
► Who stands to gain/lose if the status quo remains the same/
changes?
► In what ways?
► Who will gain or lose responsibility, prestige, or power?
► Will anyone's past performance be exposed as lacking by
improvements you might introduce?
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Anything you know of the dynamics of the politics in your
evaluator group, or in your client organization as a whole,
should be noted on a Post It as a requirement — in the sense
that these points must also be adequately addressed by your
proposal and your later presentation of its contents. These
personal factors may not be overtly stated, and you may not
overtly address them in your proposal, but you must both
recognize and take account of them in the process.
Step 4: Think about 'Ghosts'
Finally, think about 'ghosts'. If you are serious about doing
business with this client, then you will have done some research
on their industry and the various issues within that industry.
You should have formed a view of how you can position yourself
and your products and services vis-à-vis these industry issues.
You may find that your view of your client's industry is much
clearer or more objective than that of your client.
If from this understanding of the client's industry you uncover
points which you feel the client should be addressing, which you
feel are allied to this RFP, then include them on your list of
pains. These unstated requirements — these 'ghosts' — can often
be the key to creating a question in the client's mind — a
question that perhaps only your proposal will answer.
You have now completed your Pain Analysis — the major groundwork
necessary to begin building a detailed analysis of your client's
requirement, to build a 'Requirement Map'.
Build a Requirement Map
Your Requirement Map will present all aspects of your client's
complete requirement — all of the pains — in a way that is easy
to understand, facilitates team input, and automatically
provides you with the Outline Requirement Statement, which you
will require for your Pre-Proposal Review (discussed later in
Chapter 6).
Your Requirement Map is also the specification that will tell
you how to quickly and precisely write the critical
'Requirement' section of your
84
proposal when it comes to the time to start writing — this will
become the very core of your proposal.
Having completed your Pain Analysis creating the Requirement Map
is really straightforward. Here's how to do it.
Figure 2: Sorted Pains
(a) Sort Your Brainstormed Pains
Work through your field of Post Its -and sort them into related
groups.
Do your best to minimize the number of groups by keeping as many
related pains to one group as possible. Too many groups will be
cumbersome to manage later. When you have completed this grouping
85
exercise review your groups and determine whether any of them
could be logically blended together, to reduce the number of
groups overall.
You'll end with something that looks like the photo in Figure 2
above.
Figure 3: Pains Sorted in 'Running Order'
(b) Arrange Each Group's Post Its into their 'Run Order'
Work through each group of Post Its and start to organize them
in the
86
logical order in which each of these pains should be viewed or
discussed — with the first at the top of the list and the last
at the bottom. To do this imagine that you are describing the
requirement to a colleague — what point would you start with,
what would be next and how would you progress through that
description? This thinking will tell you how to order the Post
Its.
You'll end up with columns that look like those in Figure 3.
(c) Give Each Column a Logical Heading
Give each of your columns a heading that summarizes the aspect
of the requirement that they represent when viewed together.
These headings will ultimately become a key part of your Outline
Requirement Statement (used in the Pre-Proposal Review discussed
in Chapter 6), and the main headings in your proposal's section
on 'The Requirement', so choose them carefully. When you select
these headings use language that you know will be meaningful to
the client — use their language and terminology whenever
possible.
Figure 4 below is the finished Requirement Map. Now you can
transcribe all of this work into your system and your
Requirement Map will look like the one below in Figure 5. Be
sure to build in co-ordinates like those in the example (A-D on
the horizontal axis, and 1-7 on the vertical axis in the
example) — these make life very much easier when you work with
your map. So in my map 'Reports using everyday English' is
requirement C4.
A great benefit of the Requirement Map is the way in which it
speeds up your proposal-writing exercise. This is discussed in
much greater detail in Chapter 9.
However, perhaps the most important value of your completed
Requirement Map is the way in which it enables you to 'manage'
your client requirement more easily — it is a 'living'
description of the client requirement, which can be expanded and
polished as you build your
87
knowledge of the requirement through research and client
contact. And, when you are confident that your map is an
accurate description of your client's true requirement, you can
use it as the basis for the development of a solution meeting
this requirement.
Figure 4: Completed Requirement Map
88
Figure 5: Case-Study Requirement Map
Budget
restrictions
ABCD
Budget restrictions Modern platform -- minimum IT support Ease of use and implementation
Information to drive sales performance
1. No large upfront costs Entirely web-based solution Easy to set up new candidates Quick
turnaround on assessment results
2. Inexpensive to use Requires no programming or IT-department input Ongoing
monitoring to ensure system performance Identify potential top performers when hiring
3. Low-cost additional analysis and reports Highly reliable system -- 99% uptime Full
implementation support for local sales management Provide information to drive interviews
4. Affordable upgrades Secure protection of personal data Reports using everyday English
Guidance on raising game of lower performers
5. Low cost to add users in other cities Single system to support multiple sales departments
nationwide Automatic tracking of candidate completions Proven track record of raising sales in
other organizations
6. No expensive certification/training programs Ghost: availability of multiple languages to
support overseas operations Range of different reports for hiring, training, management, promotion
etc. Ghost: help retaining top performers
7. Ghost: return on investment Ghost: self-paced training for busy sales managers
89
So, when you are satisfied that your Requirement Map is as clear
a description of your client requirement as you are capable of
building right now then you are ready to move into designing a
solution to meet that requirement — in Chapter 5.
90
91
chapter five
Now Build Your Solution
92
93
One of the main advantages of faithfully following the step-by-
step methodology outlined in this book is that each step makes
the next step easier and altogether logical.
The development of a solution that fully meets your client's
requirement
is a case in point. Having completed your Requirement Map in
Chapter 4 the creation of an overview of your solution becomes
absolutely straightforward.
Now Build a Solution
The Solution-Mapping approach is so similar to the
Pains-/Requirement-Mapping process, with which you are now
familiar, that producing a solution from your Requirement Map is
quite quick and easy. Going from your Requirement Map to a full-
blown Solution Map takes just five very easy steps.
Step 1: Assign Team Responsibilities for Various Map Cells
If you're working on this proposal alone then you can skip this
step. However, as most major proposals are team efforts, let's
look at how to involve a team in the Solution-Mapping process.
Provide each team member with a copy of the Requirement Map, and
agree on team-member responsibility for investigating the best
possible solution for each of the various requirements,
according to each person's area of expertise. The grouping of
these requirements in
columns will usually facilitate the assignment of whole columns
to given
94
individuals or groups, but some requirements will cross the
boundaries of expertise. This is where your co-ordinates are
invaluable, allowing you to identify particular pains and
requirements accurately Be sure that everyone understands just
what cells they need to address. To avoid any confusion, always
confirm the assigned cell responsibilities in a memo to each of
your team members. In this memo you should also note the date
when the team will meet to discuss everyone's input on their
assigned cells.
When you convene your proposal team, the members should have
generated responses — part solutions — to each of the
requirements for which they were assigned responsibility. These
responses can then be blended into a compelling description of a
solution to the overall client requirement in the manner
discussed below.
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every
problem as a nail.
- Abraham Maslow
Step 2: Prepare Your Work Area
Your process for mapping out a solution will precisely mirror
the Requirement-Mapping process.
Select a work area in which you can create what some people like
to refer to as a 'war room' — an area that will be dedicated to
the proposal, and left otherwise undisturbed, until the proposal
is complete. If you take this approach you can walk away from
and return to the process at will.
On a whiteboard or a wall in your working area use Post Its to
create a grid with co-ordinates mirroring those in your blank
Solution Map (see Figure 1 below).
95
Figure 1: Solution Map — Working Area
Step 3: Match a Solution to Each Pain/Requirement
As you reach this step then you are either working alone or each
of your team members has had the requisite time to produce input
on the best solution that they feel you can offer to each of the
pains identified
96
in your Requirement Map, and their input can now be used to
start building a detailed Solution Map.
Begin to examine your Requirement Map, with a view to matching
the pain in each cell in that map with a response in the
corresponding cell in the empty Solution Map you have just
created in your work area. Initially, seek out requirements that
are quite simply answered by particular features or any well-
defined product or service which you are sure you are going to
offer as part of your proposal. Get these out of the way
quickly. This speeds up progress, contributing to team
enthusiasm for the process (even if you're working alone it is a
great motivator to see the solution grow quickly before your
eyes). As you address each co-ordinate in your Solution Map use
a three- to four-word Post It to hold its place in your work
area.
For each of the requirements of a more subjective or complex
nature, brainstorm with the group until you have a solution with
which you are comfortable, and put this into your map (if you're
unsure about how to run a group brainstorming session you'll
find some help in Appendix II).
Work through this exercise until you have a Post It in every co-
ordinate in the working map in your work area (see Figure 2
below).
If you reach a cell with a pain that you find you simply cannot
address despite your application of all of the techniques
discussed, and all of the best efforts of the team, then you may
have to accept this as an unavoidable fact. Assuming that you
have done your bid/no-bid analysis well (Chapter 2), then any
gap you do uncover should not be a 'show-stopper'. If such a gap
is a genuine show-stopper then stop and re-run your bid/no-bid
analysis. If what you've uncovered tells you that you cannot win
the business then make the right decision. Withdraw — quickly.
Be wary of being drawn into continuing the development of a
hopeless proposal just because of the investment of time and
effort to date — don't 'throw good money after bad'.
97
If you find gaps you simply cannot address, but that you
honestly do not think are absolute show-stoppers, then rest
assured that addressing such gaps will be an important element
of your selection of an overall strategy for your proposal — a
topic which is discussed in detail in Chapter 7.
Figure 2: All Pains with Matching Solutions
98
Step 4: Draft a Blank Solution Map Mirroring the Requirement Map
Now create a blank Solution Map on your PC — this is simply a
blank map identical to your Requirement Map. Once again, leave
the titles of each column blank initially and number the 'cells'
in your map with identical alphanumeric co-ordinates.
Thus, your Solution Map starts life as an exact replica of your
Requirement Map — with no entries (Figure 3 below).
Figure 3: Blank Solution Map
Once this is created your next task is the straightforward
transcription of the content of your work-area Solution Map into
this PC-based version.
99
Step 5: Give Logical Headings to the Solution Map's Columns
You now have a map of a solution addressing all of the
requirements identified by your Requirement-Mapping exercise
(Figure 4 below) — even if the extent to which you can address
some of the requirements is to state that you are unable to
address them!
In order to start to convert this Solution Map into the solution
that you will describe and sell in your proposal, you must give
a logical heading to each of the columns (remember you left the
first row blank for this purpose). Select a title for each
column that you feel will be recognized by your client as
addressing some particular aspect of their view of their
requirement — a heading that summarizes the main thrust of the
points in each column.
The headings do not have to be identical to those of the
Requirement Map. The headings should be selected for a
combination of the extent to which they reflect your prospects
preferred language and their effectiveness in describing the
overall thrust of the content of the column.
"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you
don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.
- Norman Vincent Peale
Using Your Solution Map
Figure 4 is the Solution Map developed to match the case-study
Requirement Map developed in Chapter 4. Notice how every pain
and requirement has suggested some part of the solution. This
solution was obviously crafted very specifically to meet the
requirements uncovered using the Pain-Mapping process.
100
Figure 4: Case-Study Solution Map
A B C D
Inexpensive to set Totally web-based Designed with Information to
up and use solution business users in drive sales
mind performance
1 Corporate site 100% web-based ‘Point and click’ POTW: instant
$X,XXX setup and solution interface–two minute results delivered
$XXX annually candidate setup online or via email
2 Meter cost just 100% solution Profiles CS monitor Profile XT ‘Top-
$XXX per new support by and report on new- Performer Success
candidate Profiles CS candidate Pattern’
Department performance
3 Once assessed Servers in Profiles CS provide PXT Placement
candidate reports Dallas, Austin and telephone, webinar Report–step-by-
are free of charge London–99% and onsite as step interview plan
uptime required
4 All upgrades free Security All reports in normal Profile XT Coaching
of charge–approx. statement business English–no and Management
4–6 per annum outlining physical jargon Report
and logical
security
5 Corporate site Corporate site POTW automatically Testimonials from
includes 15 users– provides HQ alerts when other Profiles
additional at just access to all sites assessments clients
$XX across country completed
6 POTW interprets Ghost: PXT in 50 Profile XT–nine Ghost: HBR
results–so no + languages, reports to cover statistics–job
certification supported in 108 every requirement match reduces
countries turnover
7 Ghost: detailed ROI Ghost: self-paced
analysis online training for
sales managers

101
The team that produced this Solution Map could be confident that
they had a solution which effectively addressed all of the
stated and unstated requirements of their client. All that
remained was to use this Solution Map to drive the rest of the
proposal-development process.
Just like the Requirement Map, one of the very obvious benefits
of this Solution Map is the way in which it provides a very
useful mechanism for managing discussions on the requirement
with your colleagues and with the prospect.
Do I Start Writing Now?
Having analyzed your client's requirement, and confident that
you have a solution capable of winning the business, you could
go straight to staring to write your proposal — using your
Requirement and Solution Maps. This would immediately take care
of the two sections of the Winning Proposal Model introduced in
Chapter 3, and would have your proposal well underway.
But don't rush to start writing — there are some things you can
do to 'bulletproof your proposal and greatly improve its chances
of success.
For example, what if there was a way that you could have your
client 'bless' your work to date — telling you where your work
is accurate and interesting, and pointing up where you might
make improvements? Might that improve the chance of success for
your proposal? Would you be interested? Absolutely! This is why
I strongly suggest that you consider the option of a Pre-
Proposal Review (PPR) before you go any further. The PPR could
really make your proposal stand out from all of those of your
competitors. Chapter 6 tells you all you need to know about
running a successful PPR and I strongly urge you to do so before
you begin writing.
I'd also suggest that you have a strategy at the heart of your
proposal. Spending a little time thinking about a strategy for
your proposal
102
BEFORE you begin to write is highly advisable. This makes an
enormous difference to how you pitch the main points of your
proposal — and you can find out how to select a compelling
strategy in Chapter 7, 'Select a Proposal Strategy'.
Finally do you think readers will prefer proposals that sound
like they were written by you — or by themselves? Obviously we
will all feel much more comfortable if the proposals we read
have a 'voice' that sounds similar to our own. Creating a tone
that resonates with your key readers is not too difficult to
achieve. Chapter 8, 'Getting Your Language and Tone Right to
Persuade', tells you how to use select the appropriate tone and
language for your target audience.
So, before you rush into writing why not quickly check out
Chapters 6, 7 and 8?
But if you really just want to start writing up your proposal
then hurry along to Chapter 9 — 'Ordering Your Ideas for Clear
Writing'.
103
chapter six
The Pre-Proposal Review
104
105
The initial team analysis of the client's requirement you
conducted (Chapter 4) has given you a good understanding of what
your client is trying to achieve, what their true requirement is
and, perhaps more importantly, what else you will need to know
before you can be confident that you have a good grasp on the
real requirement.
The Solution-Mapping approach described in Chapter 5 got you to
the point of outlining precisely how you could effectively
address your client's requirement — as you currently understand
it.
The only way to be sure that you really do understand the
requirement well enough, and that your initial thoughts on a
possible solution are strong enough to win the business, is to
ask the client. This is what the Pre-Proposal Review (PPR) is
all about.
Unless your client refuses you a PPR, you should not do any
further work on the construction of your proposal until the PPR
is complete.
A PPR is a formal meeting with your client, designed to ensure
that your understanding of their requirement is accurate and
that your initial thoughts on a solution are appealing — and to
attempt to sell them on the concept of a partnership approach to
producing a superior solution to their requirement (to the
exclusion of any other competitors).
When Should You Seek a PPR?
You should always seek a Pre-Proposal Review when you have had
106
the chance to review the RFP, or your understanding of the
prospect/ client's requirement, and feel you have a firm handle
on what the client is trying to achieve.
Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
- Frank Scully
Why Should You Always Look for a PPR?
Remember, it's not so much what you don't know that will hurt
you, as what you DO know that's not true. This is reason enough
to ask for a Pre-Proposal/RFP review for each and every deal you
pursue. Besides that, however, there's another fundamentally
good reason: to show that you're really interested.
'Of course I'm interested— this is my business!' Okay, but how
about showing that you're more interested and, more importantly,
more professional than any of the other bidders? You would be
surprised at the number of otherwise excellent salespeople who
will prepare a comprehensive proposal solely on the back of a
supplied RFP — and miss the point, and the business, completely.
Show that you care about turning out the best possible response
to their requirement — make them feel that you have a strict
process to ensure that you do just that, and explain that that
process includes a Pre-Proposal Review.
Even supposing that the RFP has been prepared by the individuals
who understand the requirement most clearly, and that they have
used a formal methodology to prepare the RFP, the RFP will not
necessarily have all of the information that you require to
assemble your response.
Regardless of the effort or technique that has gone into the
production of your client's RFP, and regardless of the
techniques the assessors will apply
107
in evaluating submissions, there will be aspects of their
requirement that they cannot fully define — and the best way of
all to get an insight into these aspects (which could well help
you to differentiate your offering from that of your
competitors) is to meet those for whom you will prepare your
proposal.
However, there are lots more reasons to justify taking the time
to get in front of your client/prospect in advance of preparing
your proposal:
► To collect information on the organization and its business,
to find out who they are and what their needs are. To be really
successful, you have to learn to think like your prospects
people do — get under their skins.
► To get a better insight into the individual players in any
future business. Every deal has its decision-makers,
recommenders, veto-holders and so on — get to know how all of
the players involved in this deal fit into things.
► To begin to establish rapport with the people involved in this
deal. It can't be stressed enough — people buy from people. Get
close to the people involved — let them get close to you and
your company.
► To build confidence by demonstrating your understanding of
their environment and requirement.
► To build empathy by drawing parallels between your business,
that of your existing clients, and that of the prospect.
► To build credibility by letting the responsible individuals
meet some of the key members of your team, and by describing
some of the work you have done for your existing clients.
► To build trust by beginning to make them feel comfortable that
you will deliver on your promises and that you will help to make
a success of this acquisition.
108
► To ego-boost by letting the client see that they are so
important to you that you have freed up (expensive) key members
of the team for this meeting.
► To let them know who you are and how you might help, so that
they can see that you intend to be around for the long term,
that your organization understands its business and has a good
client base to prove it.
► To outline how you like to work with your client's by
explaining the partnering approach you adopt to doing business.
► To spot other potential (future) opportunities. One deal does
not make a successful account — you will want to identify other
opportunities within the account to which you can apply yourself
now or in the future.
In Summary
The purpose of the PPR is to understand the requirement better
than any other bidder and, perhaps even more importantly, to
expose the prospect to the imaginative and exceptionally
professional methods you have developed for conducting your
business.
Get out in front of prospects at every opportunity. The
preparation of something as important to your client as a
proposal offering to solve some of their problems is about the
best chance you ever get to demonstrate your potential value to
your client/prospect.
What if the Client Refuses to Give You a Pre-Proposal Meeting?
In many very formal bid situations (government deals in most
countries are a good example) there will be a strict procedure
that precludes any one-to-one contact with suppliers. An RFP is
issued, and afterwards a public briefing is held (for all
bidders), and that's that. If that's the
109
case, then there's not a lot you can do — but still ask (your
competitors just might).
If, on the other hand, you are dealing with a client who feels
that they have done as much work as they wish to do in preparing
what they feel is a comprehensive RFP, and refuses to understand
why you might need to meet, then you have a number of options.
Qualify Out
Forget it, qualify out, and hope that your competitors do the
same. In Chapter 2 there was a clear message not to waste your
time on deals that you simply cannot win. However, remember that
someone has to take that business (if it's real). One of your
competitors — hungry enough or maybe even stupid enough — will
stick with it and take the business. Don't give up on the idea
of the PPR too easily. Try hard to sell it to your client — it
could make all the difference to your chances of taking that
business cleanly. Try some of the approaches outlined below.
Sell Your Methodology
Explain that you have a specific methodology, which you use to
take all of your proposal cycles from first contact/RFP to
delivery of the proposal. Explain that your approach is
consultative in nature and that your experience from previous
deals is that, even where the client ultimately selected another
supplier, your methodology uncovered useful aspects of their
requirement and potential solutions your client might not
previously have considered. Explain that in getting so close to
the client's requirement, the exercise can prove very valuable
to the prospect, and therefore the PPR is an indispensable part
of your methodology.
Offer to present your methodology as part of the PPR (a whole
approach to presenting this methodology, with specimen
presentation materials, is discussed later in this chapter).
Most of all, assure them that your approach is so well thought
out, so tight, that you will not waste their time — your only
objective is to do an exemplary job for them.
110
If all of that's not successful...
Use a 'Teaser'
Have a 'teaser' ready. This teaser might be some nugget of not
generally available knowledge on what their competition or their
peers are doing to solve their very similar problems.
Alternatively it may be an opportunity for your prospect to view
some similar solution you prepared for another client. There is
often no more interesting proposition for your prospect than to
view a successful solution you prepared to address a similar
problem for another (non-competing) client.
Ironically, this argument is often strengthened even further by
the stipulation that your client has agreed to your disclosing
details of their solution only on condition that all those who
are privy to this information be prepared to sign a non-
disclosure agreement.
Still no joy? How about...
'We Have a Really Different Angle'
Perhaps your technical team has come up with a really different
angle on their problem and the solutions to it, and you need the
benefit of their expertise in this area to determine whether
this approach would be feasible or acceptable — before you
develop it further. But make sure that you have something to say
that is different. Otherwise you risk the greatest crime of all
— wasting your client's time, a crime for which you will not be
forgiven.
Use your imagination — get that Pre-Proposal Review.
"You can observe a lot just by watchin'.
- Yogi Berra
111
Who from Your Team Should Attend the PPR?
Don't ever underestimate the importance or potential impact of a
PPR meeting. When you get the opportunity to predispose the
prospect to your company and your solution, use it. Use it to
showcase the best points about your company and its skills and
expertise (in the manner discussed in more detail below); but
also use it to showcase the best your company has to offer —
your team.
Ensure that you have the right people along to answer questions
on each and every possible aspect of the requirement that is
likely to be raised.
Use the PPR to showcase the sort of talent that the prospect
will work with when they begin to work with you on the proposed
solution.
Whatever else — be very well prepared.
Figure 1: Preparing for Your PPR
112
Prepare for Your PPR
Every deal will have its challenges, and just how or what you
prepare for any given PPR will be largely driven by the
particular challenges associated with that deal.
However, there are certain aspects of the PPR that can largely
be 'canned'
- aspects that can be addressed in a standard approach which you
can adapt on a deal-by-deal basis.
To prepare for any PPR meeting undertake the four actions shown
in Figure 1 above.
Action 1: Prepare Outline-Requirement-Statement and Outline-
Solution-Statement Presentations
Outline Requirement Statement
Because of the work you did in carefully reviewing the
requirement in Chapter 4, and in outlining a solution in Chapter
5, creating these vital parts of your PPR presentation is
extremely straightforward.
These statements simply consist of presentation versions of your
Requirement Map (Chapter 4 — Figure 5) and Solution Map (Chapter
5 - Figure 4).
To build the Outline Requirement Statement simply transcribe the
column headings from your Requirement Map to produce a listing
of bullet points which indicate the major aspects of the
client's requirement. Beneath each of the main headings list
each of the sub-requirements as a bullet point.
Because of the more creative nature of your examination of the
client's pains, you will have speculated on a number of aspects
of the client's requirement which may not have been overtly
stated by the client.
113
Your Outline Requirement Statement should contain all of the
points referring to those aspects of the requirement with which
you are confident the client will agree. You should also include
some of the 'ghost' requirements discussed in Chapter 4 —
requirements that the client has not overtly raised, but which
your analysis insists must be issues for them.
Be sure when you include such 'ghosts' that you are careful to
highlight the fact that these are requirements you have
speculated they may have — and be mindful that you will want
them to confirm them as valid or not.
"We have no problems, only opportunities.
- John F. Kennedy
Figures 2(a) to 2(e) show a typical Outline Requirement
Statement, developed from the case-study Requirement Map in
Chapter 4.
Figure 2(a): Slide 1
Outline Requirement Statement
Outline Requirement Statement
▪ Budget restrictions
▪ Modern platform – minimum IT support
▪ Ease of use and implementation
▪ Information to drive sales performance
114
Figure 2(b): Slide 2
Budget restrictions
▪ No large upfront costs
▪ Inexpensive to use
▪ Low cost for additional analysis and reports
▪ Affordable upgrades
▪ Low cost to add users in other cities
▪ No expensive certification/training programs
▪ Return on investment
Figure 2(c): Slide 3
Outline Requirement Statement
Modern platform – minimum IT support
▪ Entirely web-based solution
▪ Requires no programming or IT-department input
▪ Highly reliable system – 99% uptime
▪ Secure protection of personal data
▪ Single system to support multiple sales departments nationwide
▪ Multiple languages for overseas operations
115
Figure 2(d): Slide 4
Outline Requirement Statement
Ease of implementation and use
▪ Easy to set up new candidates
▪ Ongoing monitoring to ensure system performance
▪ Full implementation support for local sales management
▪ Reports using everyday English
▪ Automatic tracking of candidate completions
▪ Range of different reports for hiring, training, management, promotion etc.
▪ Self-paced training for busy sales managers
Note: If you are familiar with the conventional 'rules' for
effective PowerPoint presentations then you may find yourself
slightly uncomfortable with the number and length of the bullet-
points in your Outline Requirement Statement. For conventional
presentations limiting bullet points can be good advice — but
your PPR is not a conventional presentation. In a PPR one of
your key objectives is to convince your client of the depth of
your understanding of their requirement. Therefore, do not limit
the breadth and depth of your requirement description.
116
Figure 2(e): Slide 5
Outline Requirement Statement
Information to drive sales performance
▪ No large upfront costs
▪ Quick turnaround on assessment results
▪ Identify potential top performers when hiring
▪ Provide information to drive interviews
▪ Guidance on raising game of lower performers
▪ Proven track record of raising sales in other organizations
▪ Help retaining top performers
Notice that the bullet points in the Figure 2(e) are absolutely
faithful to the headings created in the requirement-analysis
process in Chapter 4. This is critical. Do not change these in
any way — don't be tempted to shorten or paraphrase them. Later,
in Chapter 9, you'll see that these headings become a key
element in creating your proposal's outline — the framework
which will make writing your proposal so much easier.
By using those same headings in your PPR you ensure that those
who participate in that meeting will later find the entire
structure of your proposal immediately familiar, logical and
easy to understand.
Outline Solution Statement
You can produce the Outline Solution Statement the exact same
way. Figures 3(a) to 3(e) are the Outline Solution Statement for
the case study, generated from the Solution Map in Chapter 5.
117
Figure 3(a): Slide 1
Outline Solution Statement
▪Inexpensive to set up and use
▪Totally web-based solution
▪Designed with business users in mind
▪Information to drive sales performance
Figure 3(b): Slide 2
Outline Solution Statement
Inexpensive to set up and use
▪ Corporate site $X,XXX setup and $XXX annually
▪ Meter cost just $XXX per new candidate
▪ Once assessed candidate reports free of charge
▪ Upgrades free of charge – approx. 4 per annum
▪ Corporate site includes 15 users – extras just $XX
▪ POTW interprets results – no certification required
▪ Detailed return-on-investment analysis
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Figure 3(c): Slide 3
Outline Solution Statement
Totally web-based solution
▪ 100% web-based solution
▪ 100% solution support by Profiles CS Department
▪ Servers in Dallas, Austin and London – 99% uptime
▪ Security statement outlining physical and logical security
▪ Corporate site – HQ access to all sites across country
▪ Available in 50 + languages, in 108 countries
Figure 3(d): Slide 4
Outline Solution Statement
Designed with business users in mind
▪ ‘Point and click’ design – two-minute setup
▪ Profiles CS monitor new-candidate performance
▪ Profiles CS – telephone, webinar and onsite
▪ Reports in normal business English – no jargon
▪ Automatic alerts when assessments completed
▪ Profile XT – 9 reports to cover all requirements
▪ Online user training for sales managers
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Figure 3(e): Slide 5
Outline Solution Statement
Information to drive sales performance
▪ POTW: instant results – online or via email
▪ Profile XT ‘Top-Performer Success Pattern’
▪ PXT Placement Report – step-by-step interview plan
▪ Profile XT Coaching and Management Report
▪ Testimonials from other Profiles clients
▪ HBR statistics – job match reduces turnover
Action 2: Consider the Prospect's Requirement and Your
Objectives, and Prepare a Questionnaire
When you arrive at the client site for your PPR, you will want
to take complete control of the meeting (a meeting that you
requested after all) and to demonstrate that the promise that
you made in requesting the PPR — that you would not waste their
time — is a promise upon which you can deliver.
In order to take complete, professional control, you will need
to know exactly what you wish to achieve from the meeting,
besides establishing confidence, credibility and so on, as
discussed above. What information do you want to obtain?
Remember that you are looking for anything to give your proposal
the edge, any piece of information that is not explicitly
mentioned in the RFP or previously discussed in relation to the
requirement. Every extra piece of information you can win on the
requirement, and subsequently
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address in your proposal, is a potential extra edge over your
competition, who will most likely not have gone through this
process.
Quite apart from this, you will want to get a very firm handle
on exactly how proposals will be assessed by your prospect in
this instance.
To keep you on track during the PPR, prepare an outline
questionnaire. Don't conduct the meeting like a market-research
study, working strictly from a script — but use this
questionnaire or checklist to ensure that you get everything you
came to get.
Use the following as the basis of any future questionnaires you
might produce — adding or deleting questions to suit the
particular deal.
'How Exactly Will the Bids Be Assessed?'
Is there a scoring or weighting system to be employed which
gives relative priorities to certain aspects of the proposal? Or
is the assessment going to be more subjective, with the
assessors selecting the solution that they feel best meets their
own requirement (a sort of jury system)?
This will be important to the way in which you later develop and
present your proposal.
'What Is Your Ideal Solution?'
This is a classic question for getting your clients/prospects
talking. Write every response down for later analysis. Make sure
to get input from everyone who will be involved in the
assessment process. If you can't get all of the assessors
together for your PPR, try to pose at least this question to
them at some other time, whether in person or by telephone.
This is where even a throwaway line can be the key to making an
individual assessor believe that you are viewing the requirement
from their particular perspective (one more jury member on your
side).
'What Will Win Your Business?'
A wonderful open probe. Ask it and listen. Take notes.
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'What Definitely Will Not Win Your Business?'
Listen and take notes of what they say — and what they don't.
'Should We Bid?'
Ask this one only if you suspect that the deal is 'rigged' for
someone else (see Chapter 2). Explain that you really want to
win the business and that you are prepared to invest a lot of
time and effort — but only if you have a real chance of winning
it. Handle with care, but don't be shy of asking. You are
entitled, as a potential business partner and as a professional
consultant, to know if your efforts are warranted.
'What Are the Key Problems You Are Trying to Address?'
Of all of the issues raised which are the most critical — if you
could address only three or four key aspects of the requirement
which would you focus on? What are your priorities? Keep the
client's talking. Why are they trying to solve this requirement?
Is it to give them some competitive edge? Are they trying to
reduce their costs? Is the aim to reduce production-cycle times
or throughput? Are they attempting to improve customer service?
What is the commercial reality driving this requirement?
'Is It Possible to Prioritize the Requirements?'
If you are unsure as to the priority of the many facets or sub-
requirements, then ask. Make sure that your perception of the
priorities is totally correct.
'Who Will Make the Final Decision?'
Simple, yet vital. If it makes you feel more comfortable,
explain your interest as being a desire to ensure that you keep
everyone who is key to the project in the information loop. Make
sure that you understand the relevant roles of all involved in
the assessment process.
'Who Else Will Be Involved?'
Are there any external consultants involved? Are there other
people who will help to review the proposals but who are not
really directly involved in the project?
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'Who Has a Veto?'
Who can stop this project from going ahead? Who must be
satisfied? There may be someone who is largely invisible to you
who can kill any proposal — however good. It is essential that
you know this for the most obvious of reasons.
'Have a Budget and Timescale Been Set for This Project?'
If there is no budget approved right now, what's the point in
investing your time and effort in preparing a proposal? If, on
the other hand, there is no budget at the moment, but you
believe that there may be at some point in the future, then you
have to make a judgment call — 'to bid or not to bid' (see
Chapter 2).
Don't prepare proposals for business that is not yet real any
more often than you absolutely have to — certainly, a good
proposal can 'make' business that did not previously exist. Just
ensure that you chase real business most of the time, and then
you can afford these development opportunities.
'Who Must Live with the Final Decision? Are They Involved in the
Selection Process?'
Perhaps the single most important piece of information you can
win at this PPR is 'who will carry the can' — who has to live
with the final solution? Get close to this person.
Other General Ideas on Questions or Issues to Include on Your
Questionnaire or List
► Show that you're thinking — prepare some questions not
reflecting the direct contents of the RFP, but which show that
you have an understanding of the background to the requirement.
Show that you are interested, that you care.
► Ask unexpected questions — think laterally, find the aspect(s)
of the requirement not successfully addressed by the client in
their RFP or requirement statement, and ask questions on this
(or these).
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"Smart is when you believe only half of what you hear. Brilliant
is when you know which half to believe.
- Orben's Current Comedy
► Identify the pitfalls — ask one or two questions indicating
that you have spotted any potential problems. Your prospect, if
they know their own business, will most likely already have
identified any risks but will be impressed that you are thinking
for them, If they haven't spotted the risk, then better still —
you've solved a problem before it became a problem. Impressive.
Action 3: Do Some Research on the Prospect, and on Their
Peers/Competitors
Perform some (at least basic) research to show that you know who
the players are in the prospect's industry, and to indicate that
you understand the issues in their industry.
If they are seeking to gain some competitive edge through
solving the requirement for which you will prepare your
proposal, for example, be prepared to position them against
their competitors and to explain how the approach that you are
considering will help them to do just that.
Make them feel that you understand them and their environment —
and be sure that you really do.
Action 4: Build Your PPR Presentation Around the Winning
Proposal-Building Methodology
Presented below is a well-polished formula for a PPR
presentation. Your PPR is an opportunity to get closer to your
client than you might ever have believed possible, certainly
closer than your competition will get. Your methodology will
position you as the sort of consultant whom your prospect would
normally expect to have to pay, big time — the
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sort of consultant they can allow to get close enough to their
business to help them.
"Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives,
stop thinking and go in.
- Andrew Jackson
The PPR Presentation and the Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology
A good PPR presentation includes a variety of elements, some of
them drawn from materials you will already have, such as
company-profile presentations. You will have developed other
elements as a result of your application of the techniques
outlined in Chapters 4 and 5, designed to help you to analyze
the requirement and produce a solution.
Discussed below is a specimen PPR presentation which contains
all of the elements that you should include in your own PPR
presentations. The framework for this specimen presentation has
been developed and polished over a number of years of new-
business selling to major corporations. You can use this
framework in the form described — although you should try to
fine-tune it to suit your particular way of working. Don't
change it too much, however — the format below is a highly
successful, truly compelling argument for your client to welcome
you as a partner.
Remember, too, that as very little of your PPR presentation will
change from deal to deal, it really is worth spending some time
on getting the template right the first time — you can then use
it again and again.
Figure 4 is a 'map' of the specimen presentation. Each frame in
this figure represents an element of the specimen presentation,
with some
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elements containing multiple slides. The frame sequence
indicates the order in which each of the elements should be
introduced in your PPR presentation, and the order in which each
of these elements is discussed in the pages that follow You
should consider this 'map' and the descriptions of each of the
presentation elements as a toolbox for constructing your own PPR
presentations — use what you need, producing whatever extra
elements you require to suit any given situation.
Figure 4: Specimen Presentation Map
The following is a brief description of each of the presentation
elements illustrated in Figure 4, and a guide to where to find a
more detailed description of each one:
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► Presentation title slide — a simple title slide, presented in
Figure 5.
► Agenda slide — what to include in your PPR agenda is discussed
in Figure 6 and on pages 128-133.
► Company-profile slides — these are the slides that you
conventionally use to present an overview of your company to
prospective clients. They should cover areas like corporate
history target markets, skills and expertise, key clients, and
so on. Keep it as brief as necessary to project the required
image.
► Winning Proposal-Building Methodology — this book is designed
to guide you through preparation of your proposals using the
Winning Proposal-Building Methodology, which has been created to
reflect the proposal life cycle described in Chapter 1.
► Outline Requirement Statement — the first fruit of your
analysis of the client's requirement using the
Pain-/Requirement-Mapping technique introduced in Chapter 4 was
this Outline Requirement Statement produced earlier in this
chapter.
► Questions introduction slide — you may wish to include this
simple slide as a memory aid, reminding you of the logical point
in the presentation for introduction of the questionnaire
discussed earlier in this chapter.
► Outline Solution Statement — this is the first use that you
will make of that Outline Solution Statement that you prepared
earlier in this chapter, specifically for use in the PPR.
► Closing/next steps — at the end of your PPR you will stress
the many positive benefits to your prospect of working with your
organization as an exclusive partner in the development of a
solution to meet their requirement and ask for their formal
commitment to such exclusivity. This idea is discussed later in
this chapter in more detail.
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Figure 5: Slide 1: Presentation Title Slide
Dramatically Raising Sales Performance in ClientCo
Pre-Proposal Review
January 21st 2011
Customize Your Presentation Title
Use your prospect's name, your company's name and logo (if
possible) and a tide for the requirement you are trying to
address. Show that you value the business enough to have gone to
the trouble of producing a tailored presentation (Figure 5).
Prepare a 'Suggested' Agenda
So, you're almost ready to go. It can't be emphasized too often
that it is extremely important for you to take complete control
of the PPR meeting.
The first step in taking control of the meeting is the
preparation of a good agenda. Title it a 'suggested' agenda
because it may seem a little presumptuous of you to tell the
client what they will do at the meeting — what you want them to
cover. Also, if they want to throw it out completely you are
happy to go with their agenda — as long as you can still fit in
the key points on your company, your Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology and your questions on the requirement, of course.
128
Figure 6: Slide 2: The 'Suggested' Agenda
Suggested Agenda
▪ Agenda – overview and objectives
▪ Who is Profiles International?
▪ Profiles proposal-building methodology
▪ ClientCo requirement – our understanding
▪ Your requirement – questions and clarifications
▪ One possible solution – an overview
▪ Next steps
Whilst the prospect will sometimes add, or even remove, an item
or two, they will rarely deviate far from your suggested agenda.
You have made it easy for them to be thorough.
Your agenda's skeleton will likely be much the same as the one
above, but think carefully about how to fit the one discussed to
your own style. Of course, you can use it very effectively as it
is, if you want.
The suggested agenda (Figure 6) is a logical presentation of all
of the steps you have prepared above. It should look somewhat
like Slide 2 and include at least the following:
► Agenda overview and objectives — briefly introduce the concept
of a 'suggested' agenda, invite the client to add any items they
might need to cover, and describe each item on the agenda.
Outline your objectives for the meeting. Explain that you want
briefly to introduce your company and its credentials (if they
are new to the client), to ensure that your knowledge of the
requirement is complete, to ask
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some questions on some particular aspects of the requirement
and, perhaps most importantly, to introduce the client to your
Proposal-Building Methodology
► Introduction to your organization — depending on your history
within the account, you will present a comprehensive overview of
the company, its skills and its expertise and clients; or a
briefer version; or even no company presentation at all. Be
careful not to bore them.
► Your organization's Proposal-Building Methodology — in
Appendix III there is a graphical overview of the Winning
Proposal-Building Methodology. One of the most impactful things
you can do is share just how much time, energy and commitment
you and your entire team are investing in producing their
proposal. If you explain that you treat all proposals you decide
to pursue as if they were billable consulting exercises, and
that you invest the same level of time and energy in them as you
do in billed consulting assignments, then you'll demonstrate a
commitment they will see from few other vendors. Use the
overview slides and methodology description discussed in
Appendix III (Figures 1 and 2), adjusting them to meet your
specific requirements. Make sure that you explain the
'partnering' approach and ask for their commitment in helping
you to prepare the best possible solution for them. How can they
refuse?
► Summary of your organization's understanding of the
requirement — use the Outline-Requirement-Statement slides
prepared earlier (Figures 2(a)—2(e)) to outline your
understanding of the client's requirement. If this summary was
prepared by a team, and some of the team members are present at
the PPR (as they should be), then involve them in their part of
the presentation. Highlight the team nature of your
organization, and the extent to which your entire team has
Internalized' their requirement.
Suggest that the client discuss any aspect of the requirement on
which they have particular concerns as to your understanding.
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Figure 7: Slide 3: Proposal-Building Methodology (I)
Step 1
Assemble team and assign responsibilities
Step 2
‘Requirement Mapping’ to produce ‘Outline Requirement
Statement’. Produce question/clarification list and ‘Pre-
Proposal Review’ (PPR) Outline Agenda
Step 3
Solicit inputs to ‘Solution-Mapping’ exercise to develop
‘Outline Solution Statement’
Step 4
PPR presentation:
Introduction to Proposal-Building Methodology Outline
requirement and outline solution Questions and clarification
Step 5
Post-PPR requirement update and review
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Figure 8: Slide 4: Proposal-Building Methodology (II)
Step 6
Update ‘Solution Map’, build final solution and review against requirement
Step 7
Assign proposal sections to appropriate team members
Step 8
Assemble proposal sections – edit, revise and rewrite Insert graphics; apply appropriate layout and
design
Step 9
Proofread and inspect finished proposal
Step 10
Present proposal to client and deliver thereafter
(Remember that one of your objectives is to get them talking, to
make them feel important, like authorities on their subject —
which they are, after all).
132
► Questions on the RFP/'requirement — ask the questions that you
prepared as part of Step 3 above. Don't be afraid to refer to
your questionnaire or checklist (which should be neatly typed) —
it shows that you are well prepared for the session and conveys
a general air of considered professionalism.
► Overview of a possible solution — use the Outline Solution
Statement prepared earlier (Figures 3(a)—3(e)) to present an
overview of the approach you are considering to meeting the
client's requirement. Beware the temptation to blurt out all of
the details of the solution that immediately suggested itself on
your first consideration of the RFP. You could be giving away
valuable intelligence on the elements of your solution that
separate you from your competition, which the client may well
afterward insist that your competitor include in their bid when
they present to them the day after you. Moreover, you want to
convey an air of careful consideration, to give the impression
that you are a team that produces a final solution only after it
has consulted with its client.
Perhaps the most valuable thing that you can get from this item
on your agenda is an opportunity to fish for your prospects
attitude regarding any aspect of the solution you are
considering that is in any way controversial, on anything that
you need to be sure will appeal before you build it into your
final proposal. Be wary of discussing anything that you have not
reasonably fully thought out — don't get drawn into discussion
on options that you have not worked out in advance. And never,
ever overpromise. Finally, use your own judgment — if you feel
you don't want to outline your solution, don't.
► Ask for exclusivity — at the end of every PPR always ask for
exclusivity. If you position your proposal-building methodology
strongly enough, emphasizing the time, energy and effort that
you will put into working with the client on building a much
clear understanding of the requirement and of the most desirable
solution, then you are well positioned to ask for exclusivity.
133
Ask that the client consider suspending discussions with other
vendors until you have run fully through your extensive
methodology Explain that at the end of that process they will
have a vastly clearer view of their true requirement and will be
better positioned to drive more meaningful discussions with
those alternative vendors — if they are not entirely convinced
that the solution you develop together is the best possible
solution.
Commit to making your analysis of the requirement available to
them for discussions with other vendors.
In some situations your prospect will not consider the approach,
for all of the obvious reasons — but 'nothing ventured, nothing
gained'. Ask every time and you will get some commitments to
taking this approach and, once you are working in this manner,
you can have much more scope to 'sculpt' the discussion of the
requirement and the desired solution around your particular
strengths.
Look for exclusivity every time.
► Wrap-up/next steps — summarize what has been discussed and any
follow-up actions to which you have agreed; make sure that there
is also some follow-up required of the prospect. Summarize the
benefits to them of working with you in applying your Winning
Proposal-Building Methodology, and ask for their commitment to
do so.
During the PPR — The Obligatory Section on The Art of Listening'
The whole area of listening and its importance has been done to
death in just about every sales book ever written — and yet very
few of us are as good at listening as we should be. For this
reason, let's briefly revisit the whole subject of listening as
applied specifically to the PPR. Don't skip this section:
listening is perhaps the key element in any meeting such as the
PPR.
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"If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y plus
Z. X is work, Y is play — Z is keeping your mouth shut.
- Albert Einstein
Conventional wisdom has it that those who are successful
salespeople have the 'gift of the gab'. But the truly successful
salesperson has an even more important gift: the gift of silence
— active silence, listening silence.
Listening is one of the main reasons you asked for the PPR
meeting — to listen to the client telling you what they want you
to sell them; to listen to what they truly require. If you
believe that the RFP is the whole story, then you are going to
get hurt. You will learn much more from the questions your
client asks, from the things they say, than you will ever learn
from the RFE What is not discussed or questioned by the client
should also be listened to — it's equally important.
So what's the secret to listening? How do you ensure that you
are always at your greatest listening efficiency?
Preparing to Listen
Effective, active listening takes conscious effort, particularly
if you don't already practice it on a regular basis. Listening
is a skill that must be honed, and a skill to which you must
consciously predispose yourself.
Using some conscious techniques to improve your listening
ability is by far the best way to ensure that you are at your
most effective whenever you really need to listen. Adopt the
following approaches to suit your own way of working:
► Clear your mind. On entering the PPR meeting, remind yourself
that for the period of that meeting the only important thing to
you is your
135
prospects requirement, and the objectives you have set yourself
for that meeting.
You're going to be in this meeting for as long as it takes — you
can't do anything about anything else that you might allow to
pop into your mind — so tell yourself that your sole
concentration will be on your prospect's requirement and your
efforts to meet it with a winning proposal.
► Take notes to summarize your prospect's comments. These don't
have to be comprehensive, just enough to remind you of the ideas
and the connections between them.
If you're interested in effective note-taking strategies, look
up the technique of 'mind-mapping' — it's particularly effective
for briefly capturing a large number of ideas and their
relationships (but is outside the scope of this book). Remember
that your prospect may also be flattered that you value what
they have to say highly enough to capture every detail — and, of
course, to keep you focused and In the moment' as they describe
their requirement.
► As your client speaks, stay attentive by analyzing their
statements and ideas. If you uncover any inconsistencies with
what they have said previously, take a brief note and raise them
at a later, more diplomatic time in the meeting. Do not
interrupt their flow; let them speak.
► Keep an open mind. Your job is to win this business and to
produce the best solution possible for your client's
requirement. This does not mean that you have to agree with
every opinion your prospect expresses, either on their
requirement or on anything else.
However, you should avoid the temptation to dispute unimportant
points of opinion with your prospect — the only potential losers
are you and your company. Keep your mind open, to the extent
that you don't allow yourself to be distracted into exploring
the faults in
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your prospects viewpoint, even in your head. Keep your mind on
the job in hand — to listen.
► Question points of obvious importance to the prospect, whether
you feel that you really need to or not. But be careful not to
come across as an idiot who can't retain what has already been
explained several times.
► Rephrase, reiterate, confirm ('So what you mean is...')
Demonstrate that you are listening and understanding.
► Maintain eye contact. A curious thing about our society is
that most people instinctively mistrust those who fail to make
eye contact when speaking. Be particularly sure that you
'eyeball' the key attendees when you are stressing a key point.
Just don't overdo it!
► Keep your body language open and broadly reflecting that of
your prospect. Observe your prospects demeanor and body language
and broadly echo it.
► Don't assume that you know what the client is going to say
next, and continually jump in to finish their sentences. Despite
the fact that we all indulge in it to some extent, this
aggravates most people.
► Use open probes. Avoid those questions which are closed in
that they can be answered with a 'yes' or a 'no'. Instead, use
questions that require the client to expand on a point, to talk.
And then listen.
► Get them talking — and then listen. Whilst you are running the
session, and controlling it for all of the good reasons
discussed earlier, don't feel that that means that you have to
be continually talking — quite the contrary. Make the client
talk. In general, only talk when the prospects need a nudge to
get them talking again — on the aspects of the business about
which you need most information.
And then listen, listen, listen.
137
Finally, the Formalities
Use your prospects' names when addressing them, if appropriate.
When making points addressing the particular stated concerns of
a given individual or set of individuals, refer to them by name.
Whether to use first names or surnames and titles (Ms, Mr, etc.)
is a judgment call — a decision that only you can make by
considering the cultural norms of the country, organization and
people you're meeting, and the circumstances. Evaluate each
situation on its own merits. You're trying to show deference to
your client's and at the same time to present yourself on as
close to a peer level as possible — as a 'partner'.
A simple rule of thumb — if in doubt err on the side of being
more formal than informal.
Above all, as your PPR is a real opportunity to pre-sell your
solution, be sure at all times to be the consummate professional
in all that you do. Be polite to a fault.
"One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the
wrong thing.
- Frank Sheed
After the PPR
Follow Up Immediately
Your PPR will have made a very strong impression on your
prospect, an impression that your organization is consummately
professional — that you really know what you are about. Copper-
fasten that impression.
As soon as you return to the office, summarize everything
discussed (particularly any points that appear to be of
importance to any of the
138
individuals involved in the assessment process, regardless of
how minor they might seem) as well as any agreed follow-up
actions, with responsibilities and timescales. Be explicit as to
when you expect to be in touch again.
Get a follow-up letter out that evening. Do not put it off until
tomorrow or later'.
Revisit and Update the Requirement and Solution Maps
You now have a wealth of additional information on the client's
true requirement.
Much of the additional information you will have uncovered will
refer to specific aspects of the requirement, specific pains
which you can easily fit into your existing Requirement Map.
If any of the new requirements do not fit comfortably into one
of the existing columns, then add new columns and new headings
to accommodate them. Consider your previous Requirement Map in
the light of your new insight:
► Are the headings on your columns still appropriate?
► Should any of the columns be dropped altogether?
► Which of the columns represent the most significant aspects of
the requirement?
► Are any of the unstated requirements you inferred way off
course?
► Have you taken account of those items which the client has
made clear are mandatory in the solution? In the proposal?
When you have finished with your updating of the Requirement Map
make sure that you have built in consideration of all of the new
intelligence gathered at the PPR, and that the whole team is
comfortable
139
that your map now reflects as complete a representation of the
client requirement as possible.
Now that you have much greater clarity on what your prospect
client requires, you should return to the Solution Map and it
update it accordingly Use the same process, outlined in Chapter
5, that you used to produce the first outline solution — simply
map solution points onto each of your requirement points until
you have built up a compelling solution outline.
Next Steps
Now you deserve to feel much more comfortable in your
understanding of the client's requirement, and much more
confident of the solution you have just updated to meet that
requirement.
KEY POINT
The really nice thing about the approach to the PPR discussed
above (besides the fact that it works) is that the materials you
produce for your first ever PPR can be recycled again and again
and again, for every deal you will ever work on.
Take heart that most of your competition will not have taken the
critical step of conducting a PPR — so the first time the client
will hear of their
solutions will be when they deliver or present their completed
proposals. You have a vital edge.
To retain that edge be sure you have reviewed Chapter 7 and
selected an appropriate strategy for your proposal. Be sure also
that you review Chapter 8 before going any further: now that you
know who will review
140
your proposal and make the final decision you will want to
ensure you adopt a tone, and use language, that will engage them
from the outset. If you've done this and you're finally ready to
write your proposal then head to Chapter 9 — 'Ordering Your
Ideas for Clear Writing'.
141
chapter seven
Select a Proposal Strategy
142
143
The Importance of Strategy
The Collins English Dictionary describes strategy as 'the art or
science of the planning and conduct of a war'. In the sense that
you will normally have stiff competition for any interesting
business you pursue, and given that both you and your
competitors will use coordinated campaigns to maximize your
chances of winning that business, every deal situation is
analogous to a war. You will want to ensure that you plan the
use of your available resources, and the conduct of your
campaign, in such a way that you maximize your chances of
winning. In short, you will need a good Proposal Strategy.
"Drive thy business, let it not drive thee.
- Benjamin Franklin
A Good Strategy Is the Core of a Winning Proposal
If you recall the definition of a winning proposal as discussed
in Chapter 1, a winning proposal is one that does not simply
say, 'Hey, I can do that!', but, 'Hey, I fully understand what
you are trying to do; I have a much better understanding than
any of my competitors. I have a better solution to your problems
than anyone else; I can do a better of job of delivering the
required solution, and at a more attractive cost than anyone
else; and here's why...', then it becomes clear that you must
have a strategy that allows you to plan in advance how you will
present and prove the uniqueness
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of your proposal. You will do this by considering all aspects of
your client's needs, your offerings strengths and weaknesses,
the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and any other
elements that may have an impact on your client's ultimate
decision.
Selecting a suitable strategy to achieve this will be the focus
of this chapter.
What Is Meant by Strategy in Relation to Proposals?
For salespeople (and in the sense that we must all play some
part in a sales cycle in order for our organizations to prosper,
we are all salespeople) the idea of Strategic Marketing —
planning and marshalling resources and efforts to achieve
maximum marketing impact — is a familiar one. Most people are
also quite familiar with the idea of the development of a
Strategic Sales Campaign to crack particular industry sectors,
or even given accounts. What most forget is that proposals are a
combined sales/marketing exercise, no less deserving of some
clear thinking and strategic planning in order to ensure
success. It is essential that you think about how you will
design your proposal to get your message across most effectively
— it is essential that you have a Proposal Strategy.
The Assessment Criteria/Proposal Strategy Link
If you accept that you must have a strategy that is designed to
win the business for you then you will agree that a very large
input into the selection of such a strategy must be
consideration of the criteria that your client/prospect will use
to evaluate the bids.
If the client decides that proposals that are not presented on
green paper will not be acceptable, even your superior solution,
at your infinitely superior cost, will not be acceptable if it
is produced on anything but
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green paper. So, one of the facets of your strategy for winning
in such a situation would clearly be to produce your finished
proposal on green paper.
Just as understanding the assessment process to be employed in
every deal is a key part of winning the business, so is knowing
the secret of what solution wins every deal, every time.
What Solution Wins Every Time?
The solution that will win every time is the solution that the
client thinks meets their requirement most fully, from the
supplier the client believes is the best or the company the
client prefers, at a cost they find acceptable and presented by
a proposal they like best.
'Thinks', 'believes', 'prefers', 'likes' — where is the science
in that? There is none — the best solution is the solution that
the client wants, the one that meets their perceived needs
(whether they are their real needs or not).
KEY POINT
The solution that will win every time is the solution that the
client thinks meets their requirement most fully, from the
supplier the client believes is the best or the company the
client prefers, at a cost they find acceptable, and presented by
a proposal they like best.
So just how do you cope with this? By giving them what they
want, of course. And if what they want is, in your more expert
opinion, not necessarily what they really need, you present your
solution so that it fits what they want — but still delivers
what they need.
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Generic Strategies
Think about some past deals you may have pursued, particularly
those where you ultimately won the business on the basis of a
proposal, and consider why you won that business. If you have no
previous proposal or deal experience, simply try to consider the
acquisition from the client's point of view. Why might they wish
to buy from one supplier rather than another? Most decisions
reflect the purchasers concerns at the time the decision is
made, and most can be traced back to one, or a combination, of
the following concerns:
Cost
In this instance the dominant decision-making criteria were
finance based, perhaps because the Head of Finance was the lead
decisionmaker, or because the lead decision-maker had an
accountancy background. You might well have won the business for
one of the following reasons:
► Lowest price, or
► Best price/performance, or
► Return on investment (ROI).
Technical Aspects
What about those deals where the technical aspects of your
solution won the day for you? In this instance the lead
decision-maker was most likely a senior technical officer in the
client organization. You will likely have won because of:
► Superior specifications, or
► Program/solution design, or
► Better technical personnel.
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Quality
A quality orientation can manifest itself in either of two ways:
► 'Snob' value, or
► Proven high quality/reliability.
Competitiveness
There are two ways in which you may have found your proposals
were successful on the basis of competitiveness:
► The extent to which you proved that your solution was vastly
superior to that of any of your competition, or
► The extent to which you convinced your client that your
solution would afford them some significant competitive edge
over their own competition — an edge which would not be afforded
them by any other vendors proposed offering.
Presentation
If you are already producing reasonably attractive proposals you
will probably find that many of your client's cite the quality
and clarity of your presentation as a (or the) prime factor in
selecting you as their preferred vendor. Presentation is covered
in greater detail in Chapter 11.
Credibility
Whether the lead decision-maker is technically, financially or
administratively oriented, the credibility of your organization
can be a compelling argument for or against your proposal. You
could have been selected because of:
► Who your organization is, or
► Your team members, or
► Client industry experience.
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Is That It?
There are of course many other reasons why you might previously
have won business, but you will find that most of these can be
slotted in under one or other of the headings above. Similarly
it is unlikely that you have ever won any business on the basis
of just one of these factors. It is much more likely that you
won new business on the basis of a combination of these and
perhaps other factors.
However, there is always one dominant reason for winning the
business. Devising a Proposal Strategy is all about recognizing
what the dominant decision criteria will be (what represents the
dominant orientation in your decision-making group) and what
other decision criteria will be important, and constructing and
presenting your proposal to demonstrate and prove your
superiority in these terms.
"There is no such thing as 'soft sell' and 'hard sell'. There is
only 'smart sell' and 'stupid sell'.
- Charles Brower
Selecting a Strategy
If it is possible to identify and categorize general
orientations in proposal evaluation, then the most effective
strategy for winning any given piece of business will be one
whereby you design your proposal around those criteria which
intelligent reasoning tells you your client will use to decide
which proposal best meets their requirement.
The important thing is to match your Proposal Strategy to your
client's orientation, as much as to your own. If costs are not
an issue, then a cost-based strategy is not the best way to
succeed. Similarly, if costs are the key issue, then even the
best technical solution with the wrong price tag will fail.
Likewise, a non-technical accountant is unlikely to
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be bowled over by a proposal that dwells excessively on the
technical details of your proposed solution.
KEY POINT
Always think in terms of selecting one single, key strategy
which you believe will make your proposal appeal to your
decision-making group. Build all other aspects of your proposal
around this strategy.
The Winning Strategy Mix
The strategy underpinning a winning proposal is always based on
a mixture of:
► Your client's perception of their needs and the decision
criteria that are important to them.
► Consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of your
solution, and your organization, in the light of the client's
perception of their requirement.
► Consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of your
competitors' solutions, and organizations, in the light of the
client's perception of their requirement and their likely
decision criteria.
A good strategy will allow you to build a proposal that will:
► Prove that you understand and can effectively address the
client's requirement.
► Make the client feel that your orientation — whatever it may
be — is in tune with their own.
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► Emphasize the strengths of your organization and your proposed
solution.
► Minimize the impact of any of your organizational or solution
weaknesses.
► Minimize the particular strengths of your competitors'
organizations and proposed solutions.
► Emphasize and capitalize upon any likely weaknesses in your
competitors' offerings.
► Stress your Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) — anything that
you have to offer that none of your competitors can.
"A message for businessmen: 'Whatever happens, never happens by
itself.
- Sally Rand
So, Where to Start?
You can reduce the whole process of selecting a winning Proposal
Strategy to a simple procedure. However, selection of a Proposal
Strategy requires a large amount of input from you (and your
team).
The step-by-step guide discussed below will ensure that you
consider all of the relevant input before settling on a suitable
strategy. But the decision will, at the end of the day, rest
with you and your team. A good Proposal Strategy is extremely
important, so don't rush the process. Only select an appropriate
strategy when you have worked through the following methodology
and after careful consideration of all of the areas examined.
Get the team involved.
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Figure 1: Proposal-Strategy Selection Procedure
1. What did you learn about decision-makers’ orientation in PPR?
Identify all orientations – cost, technical, quality, etc.
2. Create a ‘Client Profile Chart’ – a column for each possible Strategy
Brainstorm all of your organization’s and solution’s strengths under one or other of these columns
3. Select the strongest column as your initial strategy
Look for the best combination of decision-maker orientation with your particular strengths
4. Make a blank copy of your ‘Client Profile Chart’
Brainstorm all of your organization’s and solution’s weaknesses under one or other of these columns
5. Review this chart – need to reconsider initial strategy?
If no then go to next step; if yes then return to Step 3
6. Chart competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in same manner
Need to reconsider strategy? If no, next step; if yes, return to Step 3
7. Consider secondary and tertiary strategies
Select strongest strategy – but identify close second and third
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Figure 1 graphically outlines the recommended approach to
selecting an appropriate Proposal Strategy. This simple four-
step procedure is discussed in more detail below.
1. Your Pre-Proposal Review (PPR) and Your Decision-Makers
In Chapter 6 the concept of the PPR was introduced, and an
integral part of this PPR was a series of questions which were
designed to equip you with the knowledge you would later need to
select a winning Proposal Strategy. Now is the time to use those
answers, that knowledge.
On considering your client's responses to these questions,
decide what the orientation of the lead decision-maker will be
in selecting a vendor. Consider also who else will have an input
into the decision — what sort of orientation will they have? Try
to prioritize these orientations to reflect what you believe are
the power dynamics of the decision group.
Figure 2: Client Profile Chart
Create a large chart on a flipchart page, with a column for each
of the orientations you have identified in your decision group.
Reflect
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the priority of the orientations by placing the most important
in the column furthest to the left of the chart. In the example
illustrated in Figure 2, the PPR indicated that the primary
consideration — the primary orientation of the client decision-
makers — was one of cost. The PPR also indicated the importance
of technical, quality and presentation factors (in descending
order of importance — from left to right). From here on, this
chart will be referred to as the Client Profile Chart. Try not
to have more than three or four columns on this chart, otherwise
the process can become unwieldy.
You will use this chart, and copies of it, to facilitate the
next steps in this process.
2. Consider Your Strengths/Weaknesses
(a) Brainstorm Your Strengths
Working with the Client Profile Chart you developed above, use
the brainstorming techniques discussed in Appendix II to analyze
your strengths under each of the headings on the chart. Work
through your Solution Map (developed in Chapter 4), drawing red
boxes around those areas/requirements where you are sure that
you will be superior. When you have examined the whole Solution
Map, note the points in the red boxes onto your Client Profile
Chart, in whichever column each fits most readily.
Be careful, however, to expand your thinking beyond the solution
and Solution Map to cover all other strengths you have that
might predispose the client's decision-makers more towards you
than your competition.
(b) Select the Strongest Column
When you set up the Client Profile Chart, you recognized the
pecking order within the decision group by placing what you felt
would be the dominant orientation in the column furthest to the
left on your chart, and the remaining orientations in descending
order of importance from left to right.
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Now that you have brainstormed all of your strengths onto the
Client Profile Chart, examine it and select the strongest, left-
most column. Unfortunately, you may occasionally find that those
areas in which you are strongest are to the right of the chart,
or that there is a weak left, weak right and strong middle to
your chart — in other words, that no strategy orientation
screams at you from the chart. This is where you will need to
make a team decision on which column offers the best combination
of left/right positioning (match to your client's orientation)
and weight (match to your strengths). The column which you
decide offers the best combination of these factors will
determine your Proposal Strategy — unless some other factors,
like your weaknesses or your competitors' strengths, militate
against this.
(c) Brainstorm Your Weaknesses
Create a blank copy of the Client Profile Chart and use it to
map your weaknesses in the same way as you did your strengths.
Once again, your Solution Map can be of great help here. Unless
you are lucky enough to have the perfect solution for each and
every deal, you will sometimes find yourself with gaps in the
Solution Map — aspects of the requirement which you cannot
directly address. Most of your competitors will have similar
gaps — although they will most likely be in different areas of
the requirement. Record each of these gaps as a weakness under
the appropriate column on your chart.
(d) Any Problems?
Examining your weaknesses in this manner is a useful exercise
insofar as it will allow you to double-check your selected
strategy in order to ensure that there are no particular
weaknesses in the profile of your organization or your proposed
solution, which would later render the selected strategy
ineffective. Pay particular attention to those weaknesses which
show up in the column that represents your selected dominant
strategy.
Are there any show-stoppers? Are there any points that will
render the selected strategy ineffective? If so, then reconsider
your decision on strategy, reverting back to point 'b' above. If
not, then continue.
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3. Think about Your Competitors
(a) Brainstorm Their Strengths/Weaknesses
Create yet another two copies of your Client Profile Chart and
brainstorm firstly your competitors' strengths, and then your
competitors' weaknesses, onto them. Do this by using your
Solution Map to identify Competitor Pains.
"It is not enough to succeed: others must fail.
- Gore Vidal
(b) Adding In Responses to Competitor Pains
Competitor Pains are aspects of the requirement which (from your
knowledge of your competition) you can speculate your competitor
will address more effectively than you.
Work through the Solution Map, drawing black boxes around points
where the competition will be superior. When you have completed
this exercise, transfer all of the points in the black boxes to
appropriate columns on your Competitor Strengths Client Profile
Chart.
(c) Sources of Information
One of the keys to winning any business is to have a continually
developing knowledge of your likely competitors, their product
and service offerings and their strengths and weaknesses, so
that you can realistically speculate on what they will propose
in any given situation.
You can build this knowledge through prolonged contact with
these competitors, deal after deal, by exhaustive debriefing
with client's whose business you lose to these competitors (see
Chapter f 3) or by good old-fashioned research. God bless the
World Wide Web. However you
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do it, get your hands on everything possible about anyone whom
you perceive may be a competitor on this or any future deal.
Acquire product brochures, price lists, product and service
reviews, press comments and articles, client comments — anything
that might help you to assess what you are up against.
"The secret of business is to know something that nobody else
knows.
- Aristotle Onassis
If you haven't already done so, establish a database on each of
your major competitors and keep all of this information and
material up to date. Then, when your next proposal comes around,
use this information as a valuable input into the Proposal-
Strategy selection process.
(d) Is There Any Impact on Your Selected Strategy?
It is important that you examine your selected strategy again —
this time in the light of your competitors' strengths and
weaknesses. Examine particularly those competitors' strengths in
the column representing your selected strategy.
Is there anything there that weakens your case sufficiently for
you to consider a change of strategy? Discuss this with the
team. Then consider competitive weaknesses under all of the
columns. Sometimes you will identify in key columns, where you
had previously felt your case to be less strong, weaknesses
pronounced enough to prompt you to reconsider what at first had
seemed to be a less desirable strategy option.
Has an examination of your competitors' strengths or weaknesses
uncovered sufficient reason to warrant re-examination of your
initially
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selected strategy? If so, then return to Step 2(b) above and
reconsider your strategy.
KEY POINT
Be careful not to fall into the trap of basing your selected
Proposal Strategy solely on your assessment of your own
strengths and weaknesses. Think about your likely competition.
4. Think about Other 'Sub-Strategies'
In selecting the dominant column from your Client Profile Chart
above, you selected what you and the team felt should be the
core strategy for your proposal.
However, pay attention to those columns — those strategies —
that came in close seconds or thirds. These sub-strategies
clearly spell out for you the order in which your benefits
should be presented in the 'Benefits of the Proposed Solution'
section of your proposal (see Chapter 9). They also indicate
what general themes you will need to address in your 'Executive
Summary' in order to get the attention of those senior personnel
who will read only this summary of your proposal and not its
entirety.
Always, but Always, a Strategy...
A coherent, well-thought-out strategy is key to the consistent
production of winning proposals. Never be tempted to go entirely
on your hunch as to what will work. Always formally discuss and
select the best possible Proposal Strategy given your knowledge
of your client, your solution and your competition.
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Next Steps
Having completed your analysis and selected the best possible
proposal strategy you can now begin to consider what language
and tone you should employ in your proposal before you begin to
write. That topic is explored next in Chapter 8.
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chapter eight
Getting Your Language and Tone Right to Persuade
160
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Choose Your Words Carefully...
You'll often have been advised when dealing with someone or
other that you should 'choose your words' carefully The advice
is normally given of someone who is temperamental, fiery or
likely to misconstrue your meaning.
Well, that advice is excellent advice for every proposal you
will ever write — unless you choose your words very carefully
you could very easily alienate a reader, ending any opportunity
you had of winning the business.
We are all different — the things that turn one person on will
turn another off — so it is critical to choose your words
carefully to ensure you open communication with your reader.
KEY POINT
Unless you choose your words carefully you could very easily
alienate a reader — ending any opportunity you had of winning
the business.
The way we behave, what turns us on or off, how we react to
events in the world around us is what, collectively, is
experienced by others and often described as our 'personalities'.
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Our personalities determine what we like/dislike, what we find
exciting/ boring, how we like to be treated, the way we
communicate and how we like others to communicate with us, and
just about everything else to do with the way in which we
interact with the world around us.
One personality may like you to be direct and to the point when
you've bad news to deliver, while another would prefer that you
couch your comments in a way that makes them easier to take.
The bottom line is that we are always much more open to messages
and communication that fit in with our personalities — so
proposal writers ignore the choice of words and mode of
communication at their peril.
If we had a way of comprehensively and completely measuring and
understanding the personalities of all of the people we ever
address in a proposal then we could determine the best choice of
words and writing tone to communicate with them more effectively
— and ultimately to persuade them. We would communicate with
every reader perfectly — every time.
In reality, our personalities are complex mechanisms and are
pretty much impossible to measure with total accuracy. So what
psychologists do is observe behaviors — the ways in which we
respond to specific outside stimuli — and map these into groups
that they call 'behavioral traits'. These traits describe how an
individual tends to react when confronted with a variety of
situations, and they are key to understanding how to work with
people effectively.
Well, here's the good news — everyone tells you everything you
need to know to sell to them, service them, live with them, or
simply just get through to them. They are communicating this
valuable information to us all the time — but most of us just
don't speak the language they use to communicate this wealth of
information.
By the time you finish reading this chapter you will not only
have mastered the basics of an approach that will allow you to
communicate
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with everyone you meet in the future much more successfully but
you will also know how to present them with proposals that they
find much more acceptable. Just as importantly you will also
have analyzed yourself using a behavioral tool that gives you a
clearer understanding of those things that make you uniquely
you. A critical element in understanding how to communicate with
others is understanding ourselves first.
KEY POINT
Clients and prospects are communicating information on how best
to sell them all of the time — but most of us just don't speak
the language they use to transmit this wealth of information.
Who Are You?
Take out a pen and let's now look at you and the way you are
likely to be perceived by those around you. Figure 1 has two
ranges, running from Outgoing to Reserved and from People-
Oriented to Task-Oriented. In practice most people are a complex
mixture of these attributes.
Outgoing or Reserved?
First consider where you fall on the first range that runs from
Outgoing to Reserved. The person with more of the Outgoing
attribute in them tends to relish the idea of entering a room
full of strangers, viewing it as an opportunity to meet more new
people — something that they love. They find it easier than most
to walk straight up to new people, introduce themselves quickly
and integrate into an already established huddle. When they
express their opinions they are forthright and stubborn —
holding their views strongly and refusing to back down — even at
times when they know they are wrong.
At the other end of the spectrum is the person for whom a room
full of strangers holds no attraction. If it's his/her job to
meet the people in that
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room then, of course, they'll get stuck in. But it's not what
they would do given the choice. These people subscribe to the
view that everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if they
differ from their own — and feel no need to have the last word
in driving home their particular viewpoint.
Figure 1
Here's a good test — on vacation, do you go out of your way to
meet new people or do you prefer to stick with your own circle?
The more you enjoy meeting new people the closer you are to the
Outgoing end of the spectrum.
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Figure 2
Now, you're probably thinking that on some days you are more
towards one end or another, and on others you behave differently
But which end are you closer to? The scale runs from 0 to 10.
Draw a band ten units wide that you feel represents the balance
of these two traits in your own behavior. In Figure 2 you can
see that my band runs from about 7 on the Outgoing end of the
scale to 3 on the Reserved end — I'm generally about twice as
outgoing as reserved.
Cool or Warm?
Now, do the same for the range that runs from Cool to Warm.
Those at the
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Warm end of the range are those people who upon first meeting
appear particularly open and friendly — it's obvious to all
around them that they place great emphasis on the value of
relationships. If they manage people then they get their results
by building compelling relationships that make those people want
to do what's needed of them. They will also tend to be impulsive
by nature — if you were the first in your circle of friends to
buy the latest new gadget first time you came across it in a
store, for example, even though you knew you really couldn't
afford it, you are likely closer to the more impulsive right-
hand (Warm) side.
Those at the Cool end of the range take a little bit longer to
get to know you; they need time to build up trust and are not
easily impressed by glib personalities. They are generally more
controlled than impulsive and like to take a careful systematic
approach to getting things done. They also tend to have good
systems that govern the way in which everything is done — and it
is through applying these systems that they achieve their
results.
Which end is more typical of you? Again, map yourself on the
grid in Figure 1. In Figure 2 you can see that I am typically
more impulsive than controlled, and that a systematic approach
to things is less characteristic of me.
KEY POINT
19,000 different possible combinations of these behaviors ensure
that it is unlikely that any two people you ever send a proposal
to will expect exactly the same language and tone from your
proposal.
When you've mapped yourself on these two ranges then draw a
square around the boundaries of your bands — in the way I did in
Figure 3. Anyone else doing this exercise would also have a
square the same size
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as yours — but there are about 19,000 different possible
combinations of these attributes that ensure that it is unlikely
that any two people you know will fall in exactly the same place
on the map. And it is the placement on the map that can tell you
so much about your own behavioral traits — about what others
observe as your 'personality'.
Figure 3
You're a Square!
Notice that your square, like mine shown in Figure 4, consists
of four smaller rectangles that are bordered by the four
possible combinations
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of the Outgoing, Reserved, Cool and Warm attributes. Each of
these rectangles represents a key behavioral trait that
determines the way in which you interact with those around you.
Some of these rectangles are bigger than others, so that these
traits govern more of your day-to-day behavior, more of your
preferences and normal behaviors — what others experience as
your personality.
Figure 4
Look at the relative size of the four rectangles that make up
your square. The bigger the area covered by a rectangle the
larger the impact on your
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day-to-day behavior. The largest one tends to have most impact
on the way you relate to those around you, while the smallest
has least impact. Which is largest/smallest in your map?
Although we are all a complex mixture of all four of these
traits (and then some) the one which will tend to have most
impact on our day-today communication and business dealings will
be the larger one — and that's why we will focus upon that one
most when we talk about using this information in crafting
winning proposals.
Let's look at these four traits in more detail:
Dominance (D)
Look at the rectangle bordered by the Assertive and Task-
Oriented attributes. This trait is frequently referred to as
Dominance and it is a measure of how you react to problems or
challenges. Those whose largest rectangle is in the Dominance
area tend to take a very direct, assertive, results-oriented
approach to meeting challenges and achieving results. Very high
Dominance scores can often be seen as having a Machiavellian
'end justifies the means' attitude to getting results —
disregarding the impact of their actions on anyone or anything
around them. People with a high D score love a fast pace and
make quick decisions.
What You'll LOVE about 'High Ds'
High Ds are generally good at directing others, at taking charge
and at getting results. They relish difficult assignments and
challenges that those with less of a D nature may find
overwhelming. They are fearless negotiators, strong leaders and
indefatigably positive in their outlook. When you work with or
for a High D you may not always like them, but it's usually hard
not to respect their particular strengths.
KEY POINT
High D: 'I want it all — and I want it now.'
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What You'll HATE about High Ds
In most interpersonal situations what others perceive as
weaknesses of character or personality are generally just
overused strengths. So, those qualities that make High Ds
valuable can also sometimes make them irksome. When they bring
too much of their D character to bear they can be perceived as
intimidating, tactless, impatient and poor listeners. Their
tendency to action means that they often talk or take action
before thinking things out thoroughly. Because they relish a
challenge they can be reckless risk-takers who take on too much
with too little thought for how they'll practically handle the
workload.
Dealing with a High D
To get your point across to a High-D person you must be brief
and to the point. They prefer logical, non-emotional approaches
to problem solving and they value brevity. When you set out to
sell them something you bore them with detail at your peril. Cut
out the chit-chat, unnecessary data and all excessive facts, and
give them the highlights. These are 'now' people. They want
action. Remember former US President Ronald Reagan? He was a
classic High-D personality — he insisted that all of his
briefings, on however complex an issue, be no more than half a
page in length. To convince a High D you must behave in a manner
that makes them comfortable — you must assimilate some of their
High-D behavior. Be brief, direct and focus on results.
Influence (I)
Look where this attribute comes from — it is the combination of
an Outgoing/Assertive nature with a Warm, People-Oriented
approach. This Influence attribute is what most people associate
with salespeople (what people mean when they talk about a 'sales
personality'). The 'High I' is a socially comfortable lover of
people, who relishes the opportunity to interact with people.
They tend to be motivating speakers, whose enthusiasm for
anything and everything they talk about is easily communicated
to those around them. Look at anyone you know that speaks
quickly and loudly and makes excessive use of their hands to get
their points across — chances are they are a High I. They like
people — and, just as importantly, they like people to like
them. Three High Is
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and a six-pack and you have a party. These people are like their
High-D cousins — they also love a fast pace and quick decisions
— but they like
to become everyone's best friend along the way (psychologists
often refer to the extreme versions of this as a 'puppy-dog
personality').
KEY POINT
High I: 'I like you and I want you to like me too.'
What You'll LOVE about High Is
High Is love everyone — and they let them know it. They are
great at pulling a team together and motivating them to a common
cause. Because they have greater people-orientation than their D
cousins they bring people along with them rather than using
command and control systems to make them do what they want them
to. Their optimism is what disposes them to occupations like
sales, where they will often have to suffer what lower I scorers
would find as impossible levels of rejection or negativity —
High Is bounce back in such situations. They are also
characteristically extremely trusting — sometimes to the point
of naivety.
What You'll HATE about High Is
Again the things that make High Is great also give them feet of
clay. To those with a smaller I element in their behavior the
larger-than-life approach of the High I can come across as
shallow, false, or glib. Their high optimism can lead them to
place excess trust in the motives of others — and they can end
up burnt as a result. Remember the UFO poster with the headline
'I want to believe'l Definitely designed by a High I. They often
talk before thinking and rely upon their verbal powers too much
to get things done.
Dealing with a High I
To reach a High I become a High I. Unlike the High D they like
some small talk and social chit-chat before getting down to
business — so build
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in time for this when you arrange to meet them. Ask for their
opinions; involve them in the creative process. High Is are
tactile people, so watch out for this. A touch to the forearm or
back can often communicate more to a High I than strings of
language. Appeal to their sense of image — sell them on how what
you're proposing will make them look an awful lot better, will
enhance their image and will make them more of a success with
their colleagues. Be friendly, positive and enthusiastic.
Steadiness (S)
The name says it all — this attribute is born from a combination
of the People-Orientation of the High I with a much less
assertive nature. This combination makes these folk unique.
What You'll LOVE about 'High Ss'
Your High-S friends will tend to be loyal and dependable, always
willing to lend a hand. Their care for people coupled with the
lower assertiveness makes them great listeners — High-S folk
tend to find that their colleagues and friends bring their
troubles to them because they know they'll get a sympathetic
ear. As great team players they bring people together, being a
great force for harmony in a team environment — applying
themselves tirelessly working out disagreements. They don't have
the same need for stimulation as the Ds and Is so they tend to
prefer environments where there is respect for the status quo;
they particularly dislike change for change sake — If it works,
why fix it?'
KEY POINT
High S: 'People are the most important thing in business — and
we shouldn't rush them into anything they are not comfortable
with.'
What You'll HATE about High Ss
The love of the status quo can often make it difficult to
motivate High-S
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folk to make necessary changes to the way they do things. They
can often cling to the 'old ways' too long, placing too great a
value on tradition, 'the proven way' and 'the way we do things'.
Their patience means that they'll often put up with unacceptable
situations for too long — leaving it too late to take required
action. Their default is to eschew risk and resist change. Also,
their tendency towards clinging to the status quo means that
although High-S folk tend to be slow to fall out with others,
once they have done so they are particularly capable of holding
a grudge; they may appear overly possessive in both personal and
business situations.
Dealing with a High S
Be like a chameleon — assimilate the High-S approach. When you
want to sell a High S on a product, service or idea allow lots
of time for patient, deliberate discussion. Don't expect them to
'throw out the baby with the bathwater' — because they won't.
Show them the benefits of any proposed changes, show them how
you will help them to avoid the risk inherent in any change and
allow them as much time as possible to come to terms with
proposed change. Be logical in presenting facts and be sure to
solicit their ideas and take account of them in your planning.
Be patient and deliberate and you'll bring the High S around to
your way of thinking. High Ss have a similar interest in people
to their High-I cousins — but they prefer a more deliberate pace
that allows them time to think through all possible issues
before they make any decision.
Compliance (C)
These are the systems people, the people who have a place for
everything and want everything in its place. Their natures are
driven by their more reserved, non-people-oriented attributes.
Compliance is all about respect for authority, rules and
procedures. These High-C people favour a pace similar to their
High-S compatriots — after all, it takes time to review all
possible details before making a decision. However, these people
are not weighted down by consideration of others' feelings —
they stick to the facts and make their decisions on the basis of
those facts alone — and not on whether they like or dislike you.
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KEY POINT
High C: 'Give me a much detail as possible and lots of time to
work through it.'
What You'll LOVE about High Cs
The High C insists upon adherence to the rules. They are detail-
oriented people who analyze everything in the finest detail.
Give them a specification or a job description and they'll
deliver upon it precisely. Their approach is one that insists
that 'the devil is in the detail' and they are valued for their
precision. They are perfectionists with a great quality
orientation who take to complex or challenging projects with a
systematic, step-by-step approach that ensures that they get
results — however long it takes. High Cs keep us all focused on
doing things absolutely perfectly — they are our quality
consciences.
What You'll HATE about High Cs
Look at where the High C comes from — a blend of task-
orientation with a reserved nature. High Cs can often come
across as cold and impersonal, subscribing to the view that
feelings or emotions have no place whatever in business
dealings. Their insistence upon doing things well can make them
appear overcritical and demanding to those with less of a C
orientation; similarly their insistence upon getting things done
well as opposed to quickly can frustrate those with a greater
results orientation (the High Ds among us). They are often seen
as overcautious and slow to act, and as requiring too much
information and data before going for results. High Cs are often
the classic demonstration of the manner in which overused
strengths can become weaknesses. Cs will drive those with little
C orientation absolutely crazy with the detailed approach they
take to everything.
Dealing with a High C
It's easy to deal with a High C — simply emphasize logic, detail
and quality. Never make statements without backing them up with
sufficient
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data to ensure that they are credible. Don't bother with small
talk or socializing — they're just not interested. Where
possible stick to tried and tested approaches to solving
problems — they don't value 'the latest approach' unless it has
been categorically proven to work as well, or even better than,
more traditional approaches. It doesn't matter how much data or
proof material you pile upon a High C you won't bore them. They
want all of the information that they see as necessary to make a
'correct' decision. They'll never want to run with a gut feeling
so don't expect them to do what you want to do unless the case
for it is watertight. Stick to the plain facts, provide lots of
detail, keep the pace deliberate and don't try to mix business
with pleasure — they just don't buy it.
So How Do I Apply This to My Writing?
Now that you've got a language that helps you to accurately
describe how all around you behave, what turns them on and off,
and what effectively predicts how they will behave in given
situations, how do you use this valuable tool in writing more
effective proposals?
First, Look to Yourself
You've just analyzed yourself using this simple tool.
Look at where your own scores fall and be very aware that your
personality, the behaviors you have identified in yourself, will
find their
expression in the way you react to just about every situation,
in how you deal with situations and handle problems, and in how
you communicate through the spoken or written word. Don't doubt
this.
Look at any previous proposal you've ever written or any
presentation you have ever prepared — look at the tone, word
choice and expressions used.
For example, if you're a High D then you'll see that your
language in general tends to be very action-oriented, result-
driven, low on
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'unnecessary detail', direct and to the point. Your whole tone
will communicate the need for action — now! Your focus is always
on outcomes and results.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this — if you're
communicating with someone who is just like you, a similarly
high D.
KEY POINT
First analyze yourself. Who you are is completely visible in the
way you speak and write every word you use — until you have
identified your default communication style you cannot adapt it
to communicate more effectively.
But what if your target reader is a High C? That person will
want you to lay out all of what you think of as 'unnecessary
detail' in excruciating intricacy, and will resent your attempt
to move things at a pace that is any faster than that which
allows for examination of all aspects of the proposed solution
in great detail.
Let's take another example. Imagine you're a High I and you are
writing your proposal for a High-S prospect. You both share an
interest in people — but you tend to be much more sociable, much
more open and a lot more demonstrative in your attention to
others. To the High S you could come across as glib, 'flash' and
insincere. Add to that the difference in pace — you like to move
things along quickly, whilst the High S likes lots of time to
think about decisions and will never allow themselves to be
rushed — and you can see how there is great potential for
miscommunication in this situation too.
Write all of your proposals with your 'voice', pace, tone and
normal word selection and it is obvious that you will always
miscommunicate to some extent when the people you are writing
for are not exactly like you.
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So a style of proposal that would impress someone just like you
would alienate someone quite different — your strengths suddenly
become weaknesses.
So How Do I Analyze My Readers?
What's clear is that, if we wish to communicate effectively in
our proposals, we must, before we begin writing our proposals,
consider our key audiences and adapt our language, word choice,
tone and pace to suit those audiences — otherwise we will write
proposals that appeal only to others just like us.
In an ideal world all of our potential readers would wear badges
that identify their behavioral preferences. Dream on!
Unfortunately, in the absence of such convenience we must fall
back on observation.
Every time you meet those for whom you are preparing your
proposal, and every time you talk with them, become alert to the
clues that they give off about what type of people they are.
Using the tool you just used to analyze yourself continually ask
yourself where they fall on those two axes — are they more
Outgoing/Assertive or more Reserved? Are they more Warm/People
Oriented or Cool/Task Oriented!
Listen to the language they use; look at their body language;
assess their written communications — you'll find that their
personalities, like yours, are written in large print just
waiting for you to read. Compare your observations with those of
your colleagues who have also met these people.
Then go through the same exercise with the grids for those
contacts as you did for yourself — map them out and look at what
that analysis tells you about your target audience.
Will you be perfectly accurate? Probably not — but you will be
more attuned to your target readers than before you did the
exercise, and
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it will make you think more carefully as you write your proposal
and choose your words, expressions, suggestions and pace.
KEY POINT
DO NOT begin to write until you know what sort of tone, pace and
language will make your readers feel comfortable — analyze your
readers first.
How to Write for Each Type
In this section you'll see that for each of the four personality
types there is a brief 'If This Is You' introduction. This brief
paragraph details the general approach and tone you will, by
default, bring to your proposals. If the target reader is just
like you — then life is easy; write in the manner you feel most
comfortable. However, if the target reader is not like you then
you'd do well to take the advice in the 'When You Write for
These People' section — and when you do be sure to use words and
phrases like those outlined under each 'Good Words and Phrases
for...' headings.
If you adapt your language in this manner then you give your
proposal a decided edge — your reader is going to find the
content more agreeable and interesting than if you write it for
your own consumption.
The High-D Reader
If This Is You...
Then you can accurately be described as goal oriented, driven,
competitive and assertive.
But be aware that others who are not may interpret you as
impatient, tactless, insensitive, a poor listener, demanding,
blunt, forceful and 'bossy'.
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When You Write for These People...
► Keep your text direct, as brief as possible and stick to the
point.
► Write positively and confidently
► Emphasize clearly quantified business results.
► Use logical arguments — forget sentiment or emotional appeals.
► Emphasize win-win approaches.
► Demonstrate your expertise.
► Do not overuse data — skip the deep detail.
► Be respectful and not too familiar — respect and defer to
their authority.
► Look for and emphasize any 'prestige' dimension in your
proposed solution.
► Leave out the small talk.
Good Words and Phrases for High-D Proposals
► Powerful ► Fast ► Ground-breaking
► New ► Latest ► Aggressive
► Fastest ► Challenging ► Most efficient
► Return on ► Decisive ► Independent investment
► Take action ► Strong-willed ► Respect
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► Immediate ► Direct ► Latest research
► New technology ► Instant ► 'Ahead of the wave'
► Leading-edge ► Assertive ► Now
► Firm ► First ► Win/Win-win
► The best ► Ambitious ► Results
► Vision ► Positive ► Outcome(s)
The High-I Reader
If This Is You...
High Is will like to think of themselves as persuasive,
enthusiastic, creative and well liked. Through the eyes of
others who don't share their personality, however, they can
sometimes come across as vague, disorganized, over-optimistic,
poor time managers, glib, over-familiar and poor finishers.
When You Write for These People...
► Adopt a friendly, optimistic and less formal tone.
► Use lots of examples, illustrations, analogies.
► Share the opinions of other opinion leaders — use testimonials
and references.
► Stress any potential for recognition.
► Share details of your other high-profile clients.
► Quote their words back to them, showing respect for their
ideas.
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► Keep the detail to the minimum necessary to make your point.
► Avoid technical talk.
Good Words and Phrases for High-I Proposals
► Reputation ► Attractive ► Admirable
► Positive ► People-oriented ► Energetic
► Enthusiastic ► Friendly ► Sociable
► Exciting ► Persuasive ► Humorous
► Vision ► (Public) Image ► Likeable
► Brand name ► Impressive ► Impactful
► Expressive ► Successful ► High-profile
► Enjoyable ► Sociable ► Admired
The High-S Reader If This Is You...
Your greatest strengths are your loyalty your tendency to be a
team player, your sensitivity and the extent to which you really
care about people.
However, others who do not share your disposition could
interpret these strengths differently and see you as being
ambiguous, resistant to positive change, afraid of risk and too
slow to act.
When You Write for These People...
► Emphasize security — tried-and-tested solutions.
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► Provide adequate time for implementation — and for making a
decision.
► Adopt a sincere and agreeable tone.
► Show interest in them as people.
► Be sure that any changes are presented non-threateningly —
minimize risk.
► Assure them of your ongoing support.
► Clearly define roles — yours and theirs — in any project.
► Emphasize stability and predictability.
► Protect desirable aspects of the status quo — make change
appear gradual.
Good Words and Phrases for High-S Proposals
► Predictable ► Secure ► Diplomatic
► Sensitive ► People-oriented ► Co-operative
► Sympathetic ► Consistent ► Respectful
► Conservative ► Supportive ► Agreeable
► Safe ► Established ► Loyal
► Team ► Paced ► Considerate
► People ► Step-by-step ► Team-oriented
► Accommodating ► Respect ► Feelings
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► Empathetic ► Sympathetic
The High-C Reader If This Is You...
You are rightfully respectful of your own abilities in
organization, attention to detail and quality orientation.
To others who are not as strong in these areas be aware that you
could potentially come across as overly critical, overly
cautious, obsessive with 'unnecessary' detail, 'cold' and
inexpressive.
When You Write for These People...
► Be thorough — detail everything.
► Use graphs and accurate data.
► Ensure any proposed change is gradual and has been carefully
planned.
► Show appropriate respect for the status quo.
► Stress your high standards.
► Reassure them of collective responsibility for outcomes.
► Emphasize project control and risk management.
► Do not flatter or patronize.
► Defer to their expertise.
► Do not be overly familiar — keep it formal.
► Provide step-by-step details for achieving goals.
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Good Words and Phrases for High-C Proposals
► Analysis ► Ordered ► Accurate
► Quality ► Systematic ► Statistics
► Figures ► Process ► Concise
► Planned ► Detailed ► Specification
► Standards ► Step-by-step ► Proven
► Tested ► Researched ► Objective
► Exact ► Precise ► Measurable
What if You Have Multiple-Type Readers?
Chances are that, in most situations where your proposal has any
significant value at all, you'll be selling to multiple people —
and have more than one reader type.
In the case study outlined in Appendix I you wouldn't be
surprised to find that the Head of Sales of the organization is
a High D, that most of his salespeople are a combination of High
I and High S, and that their systems person is a High C. So how
do you accommodate such a mixed readership?
Satisfy High Ds and High Cs Every Time — Easily
There is a simple strategy for ensuring that you keep your High
D readership happy — write the Executive Summary specifically
for them.
Look at the guidelines above and write the Executive Summary to
be as direct and to the point as possible. Emphasize results and
focus
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upon what can be achieved. Use only language like that suggested
for High Ds above.
There is a similarly effective strategy for meeting the
requirements of your High-C readership (if in doubt always
assume that you do have a High C reader — and prepare to meet
their requirements of the document).
In Chapter 9 you'll also find a discussion of the Appendices
section for your proposal. Be sure that in this section you
provide all technical detail, research, specifications and other
in-depth information that a High C would demand. By using this
section as a repository for detail you can keep the main body of
the proposal light enough to appeal to High-D and High-I readers
-just provide lots of references in your text that tell the High
C where they can find the detail they crave in your Appendices.
What about High-I and High-S Readers?
If your major decision-making readers are High I or High S then
you can adapt the language in the Executive Summary to reflect
this fact — for both Is and Ss include more references to the
people aspects of the solution; emphasize the human elements, be
sensitive to the needs and concerns of other parties who will be
affected by the implementation of your solution.
The S reader can be made comfortable by use of a tone in the
Executive Summary and throughout the main sections of the
proposal that suggests that the proposal is not advocating any
unseemly rush — but rather that the proposed approach has built
in an approach that ensures that things move at a palatable
pace, with no one left behind in the implementation.
The Executive Summary and content can be similarly adapted for
the High I reader by emphasizing some of the 'profile' benefits
of implementing the proposed solution — how it will be seen by
others, how it will enhance his/her reputation, why it will be
well liked.
186
KEY POINT
If you succeed in reflecting the preferred pace, tone and
language of your readership even slightly better than your
competition then you have won a critical edge over your
competitors.
In Closing
First, know yourself. Become aware that you will always tend to
write in your default style — as if all others were just like
you. They are not.
Accept that such a 'one-size-fits-all' approach is bound to
alienate some reader at some time, and make the decision that
you will adapt the tone, language and pace of your proposals to
match those that will resonate best with your target readers.
The critical point of this chapter is to point up that the more
you know about your readers, and the more you adapt your
language and tone to reflect that knowledge, the better your
proposals will be received.
You will not always have a perfect snapshot of all of your
readers' personalities and what they demand in the proposal —
but if you have managed to reflect the specific requirements of
your readership even slightly better than your competition then
you have won yourself a critical edge — and even that single
edge could be the difference between winning and losing the
business.
So, now you know for whom you are writing your proposal you are
ready to start writing — Chapter 9 will show you how to
construct and write your proposal in the most compelling and
efficient manner possible.
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chapter nine
Ordering Your Ideas for Clear Writing
188
189
So you're ready to start writing your proposal?
If that's the case then I'm assuming that you've already read
Chapter 3 on the Winning Proposal Model and have worked your way
through Chapters 4 and 5 to analyze your client's requirement
and develop a compelling solution to meet that requirement. Nice
going!
However, if you've come straight here from Chapter 5 without
trying to get a Pre-Proposal Review with your prospect then I'd
like once again to strongly advise that you review that chapter
and try to get this done — it will make your understanding of
their requirement immeasurably better and ensure that your
solution is altogether tighter.
You should also have taken time to review Chapter 7 to identify
a strategy for your proposal — a key thrust for all of the
messages you will now write into your proposal. Finally you
should take a moment to review Chapter 8 so that you'll be more
mindful of how you could adapt your language and tone so that
your readers will feel more at home with your proposal.
If you've done all this then you're ready to start writing.
This chapter is laid out to reflect the three main stages in
taking your
proposal from the initial planning stage right through to the
point where you are happy that your proposal is ready to be
presented to your client.
Figure 1 illustrates these stages.
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Figure 1: Preparing Your Proposal
• Outline Your Proposa
Develop an outline -- a structured framework that plans the content, organization and flow of the
information in your proposal
• Write Your Proposal
Only when you have developed a compelling plan for your proposal can you begin to write the sections
’content
Read, Re-read, Revise and Edit
The best writing is rewriting -- revise and edit your text until you are confident your ideas flow and
read well
Stage 1: Outline Your Proposal
'Outlining' is a critical skill for business-proposal writers —
it will make your writing faster and much more effective.
Figure 2 is an extract from a proposal where the proposal has
been 'collapsed' so that you can no longer see the body text of
the proposal. Instead, all that is visible are the headings —
this is an outline.
It is clear that there are six sections in this proposal. Look
particularly at Section 2, where the various headings and sub-
headings haven't been collapsed. Isn't it interesting that even
in the absence of body text, even
191
though all you can see is effectively the 'bones' of this
proposal, you can still get a good feel for the messages it is
designed to communicate?
Figure 2: Proposal — One Level Collapsed
Proposal by Profiles International to ClientCo
Section 1: Executive Summary
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirements – an Overview
The Challenge to clientCo
Uneven Sales Performance across the Sales Team
Budget Restrictions
No large upfront costs
Inexpensive to use
Low cost for additional analysis and exports
Low cost to add users in other cities
No expensive training/certification programs
Ghost: ROI
Modern Platform Requiring Minimum IT Input
Entirely web-based solution
Require no programming or IT department support
Highly reliable system – 99% uptime
Secure – protection of personal data
Single system to multiple independent support sales departments
across the country
Ghost: Availability to multiple languages to support overseas
operations
Ease of Implementation and Use
Easy to set up new candidates
Ongoing monitoring of results to ensure system performing
Full implementation support for local sales managers
Reports using everyday business English
Automatic tracing of candidate completions
Range of different reports for different requirements – hiring,
training, managing, promotion etc
Ghost: Self-paced training options for sales managers
Section 3: Profiles’ Solution
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
Section 5: Costs
Section 6: Appendices
In Figure 3 the proposal has been collapsed even further so that
some of the lower-level headings have disappeared. Yet Section 2
still has
192
enough information in the top-level headings alone for you to
get a general feel for the content of that section.
Figure 3: Proposal — Two Levels Collapsed
Proposal by Profiles International to ClientCo
Section 1: Executive Summary
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirements – An Overview
The Challenge to ClientCo
Uneven Sales Performance across the Sales Team
Budget Restrictions
Modern Platform Requiring Minimum It Input
Ease of Implementation and use
Section 3: Profiles’ Solution
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
Section 5: Costs
Section 6: Appendices
In Figure 4 I have collapsed the proposal even further, so that
all you can see is the title of the proposal and the names of
the six sections of the proposal — we are back to the very basic
framework of the proposal that was introduced in Chapter 3. If I
collapsed it one more time then all you'd see, logically, would
be the title of the proposal.
Figure 4: Proposal — Three Levels Collapsed
Proposal by Profiles International to ClientCo
Section 1: Executive Summary
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirements – An Overview
Section 3: Profiles’ Solution
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
Section 5: Costs
Section 6: Appendices
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What you've just done is traveled back in time to see how this
proposal was designed and written.
Starting with nothing but the title, the author decided first
upon how many sections were required — and slotted those in
under her title (Figure 4). To get her off to a quick start she
used the winning proposal structure discussed in Chapter 3. Then
she took Section 2 of her proposal and worked out what main
ideas she wanted to communicate in that section — and slotted in
a heading for each of those main ideas (Figure 3). After that
she developed each of the main ideas in Section 2 a little
further and inserted a series of sub-headings under each of the
main headings. She would then have started to flesh out each of
these sub-headings with body text that explained it a little
more. Finally she would have repeated that process for all other
sections.
By the time she got to the point of writing that body text she'd
have been so entirely clear on what she wanted to say that
actually writing her proposal would have taken relatively little
time.
What she did was 'outline' her proposal. Outlining is a skill
which is absolutely indispensable to business-proposal writers.
Indeed, master outlining as a skill and you'll find that you can
write anything — this book started as nothing more than a title;
then it grew some chapters; the chapters grew some major ideas I
wanted to cover in each, and so on.
Proposals have a way of always running to such tight deadlines
that you will often find yourself with a battle to complete on
time. So the most natural thing in the world to do when faced
with the challenge of writing a time-sensitive proposal is to
rush in and start writing. But when you do that you'll find that
you'll later have to rewrite large tracts of your text to make
it fit with later ideas — and you may even end up throwing away
hours of wasted writing work. Outlining saves you that time,
energy and hassle and makes your proposal writing altogether
faster and more efficient.
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It is well worth the investment of time and effort required to
learn outlining skills — they will allow you to produce more
accurate and higher-quality written work, in less time than you
ever thought possible.
"Seeing consists of the grasping of structural features rather
than the indiscriminate recording of detail.
- Rudolph Arnheim
Outline View in Word for Windows
I build all of my proposals using Microsoft Word for Windows as
Microsoft have made doing so extremely easy — by building a
powerful outlining tool into Word for Windows. If you've never
used it then start
now and see how it changes the way you write forever —
especially when you write complex documents like proposals.
One of the really great things about using the outlining feature
in Word is that you can throw in your headings and ideas as they
occur to you, and in pretty much any order that you like —
because the outliner provides features that allow you to later
move headings, sub-headings and whole sections of your proposal
around from place to place very easily until the outline makes
complete sense.
DO take the time to learn how to use this feature — it will make
your proposal-writing life very much easier.
Outlining Your Proposal
If you've worked through the process in Chapters 3-5 then the
good news is that you have already started upon the development
of your outline, without even realizing it.
To illustrate the outlining process, the case study in Appendix
I will be used. This is the same case study that was used to
illustrate many of
195
the techniques discussed in Chapters 3, 4 and 5. If it is some
time since you have reviewed the case study, then it would be
advisable to review it now before continuing to read this
section.
KEY POINT
Outlining is an essential tool for accurate and efficient
writing. Learn how to outline effectively and outline all of
your written work before starting to write.
If you apply the principles of the Winning Proposal Model
(described in Chapter 3) to the case study, and convert your
workings into an outline form, you will end up with an initial
outline similar to that in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Case Study — The Outline So Far
Proposal by Profiles International to ClientCo
Section 1: Executive Summary
Section 2: clientCo’s Requirements – An Overview
Section 3: Profiles’ Solution
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
Section 5: Costs
Section 6: Appendices
This is a classic top-level proposal outline — the title of the
proposal sits at the top of the outline, with the various
section names for the proposal arranged beneath it.
In reality this very top level of the outline is slightly
different to the lower levels. Because of the earlier
recommendation that each of the sections
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of your proposal be separate documents, the outline at this
highest level should really be represented by the folder
structure you set up for your new proposal in Chapter 3 (Figure
6 below).
For every new proposal you should create a file structure like
this one the moment you decide to write a new proposal — it will
not only give you a first-level outline to start working with,
but will also help you to begin to unconsciously organize your
thoughts on the proposal. It ensures that you immediately begin
to organize all of your materials and notes associated with the
relevant section of your proposal into a logical structure.
It is then time to develop this outline further, building up the
outlines for each of the individual sections. As discussed
earlier, the client requirement is absolutely at the core of
every winning proposal — so this is the section we'll outline
first.
Figure 6: Case Study — Top-Level Outline File Structure
Proposals
2009
ClientCo Profile XT Proposal
1. Executive Summary
2. Requirement
3. Benefits
4. Solution
5. Costs
Appendics
Research & Misc
Developing Your Outline to the Next Level
In Chapter 4 you used Requirement Mapping to develop a
comprehensive understanding of all aspects of your client's
requirement.
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If you went through a Pre-Proposal Review (PPR) then you will
have updated your Requirement Map with anything new you learned
in that session.
You can transcribe the content of your Requirement Map (Figure
6, Chapter 4) straight into the outline for the Requirement
section of your proposal. The column headings will then become
headings under the section title and each bullet point in your
map will find its place as a sub-heading under those four
headings.
Added to this sections outline, and to all subsequent sections'
outlines, is an additional bullet point for the introduction to
the section. Your introduction should be a brief overview of the
layout of the section and a summary of the main points in the
Requirement section. This introduction should also refer briefly
to any input by the client which helped build the sections
content.
Figure 7 is the expanded outline for the Requirement section.
Note how the Word for Windows outlining tool uses a combination
of tabbing and different heading formats to make the
hierarchical structure of the outline entirely clear.
Once you have expanded your requirement outline like this you
will be able to flesh out the introduction to this section (we
will take a look at writing the main body of each section later
in this chapter). You'll find that writing section introductions
early in the process is a great way of organizing your thoughts
for the later process of writing the section body itself.
In doing so notice that the name of the introduction has changed
in Figure 7. Where possible, try to use a title for your
introduction which is relevant to the message you are trying to
convey with that section. For example, the introduction to this
section might be as simple as 'Profiles' Understanding of
ClientCo's Requirement' or 'The Challenge to ClientCo' as it is
in Figure 7.
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Figure 7: Case Study — 'The Requirement' Outline
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirements – An Overview
The Challenge to ClientCo
Uneven Sales Performance across the Sales Team
Budget Restrictions
No Large upfront cost
Inexpensive to use
Low cost for additional analysis and reports
Low cost to add users in other cities
No expensive training/certification programs
Ghost: ROI
Modern Platform Requiring Minimum IT Input
Entirely web-based solution
Require no programming or IT-department support
Highly reliable system – 99% uptime
Secure – protection of personal data
Single system to multiple independent support sales departments
across the Country
Ghost: Availability of multiple languages to support overseas
operations
Ease of Implementation and Use
Easy to set up new candidates
Ongoing monitoring of results to ensure system performing
Full implementation support for local sales managers
Report using everyday business English
Automatic tracking of candidate completions
Range of different reports for different requirements – hiring,
training, managing, promotion etc
Ghost: Self-paced training options for sales managers
Information to Drive Sales Performance
Quick turnaround on assessment results
Help identify potential top performers when hiring
Provide information to drive interviews
Guidance on how to raise the game of current low performers
Proven track record in raising sales in other organizations
Ghost: help retaining top performers
Open your introduction with a statement on the importance that
your organization placed on understanding your client's
requirement inside out before attempting to formulate a solution
to this requirement, for example:
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This project has such potential for a huge bottom-line impact on
ClientCo's sales performance that it was clear that a
comprehensive understanding of the requirement would be critical
to the design of any solution that ClientCo could be confident
would help them achieve their objectives in terms of
dramatically raising the performance of their sales team.
The introduction should go on to describe the purpose of the
Requirement section and acknowledge client sources for
requirement information:
ClientCo's sales team has 45 sales professionals — all hired for
a specific combination of education, skills and experience that
they share in common, which should assure that all are highly
successful in their positions. However, sales performance across
this team varies widely — from the highest performers who
deliver a performance against quota of as much as 139% (the top
ten range from lll%to 139% with an average performance of 125%),
to the lower performers who deliver as little as 82% against
quota (the bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an average
performance of just 92%). It is this gap of 57% between the
highest and lowest performers that rightly concerns ClientCo.
Profiles International are thankful to Joe Blayne, Michelle
Franks and Martin O'Sullivan, who provided a lot of input into
the requirement-development exercise that produced the following
comprehensive understanding of ClientCo's requirement. Through
several discussions and a detailed 'Pre-Proposal Review' we are
confident that the following is a comprehensive description of
the requirement that must be addressed by any solution ClientCo
will select to meet this requirement.
It would then summarize the content, referring to the
requirement:
The following checklist describes the ClientCo requirement under
five headings:
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► Uneven sales performance across the team.
► Budget restrictions.
► Modern platform requiring minimum IT input.
► Ease of implementation and use.
► Information to drive sales performance.
The solution proposed in detail in Section 3 of this document
was designed specifically to meet this requirement so carefully
set out by the ClientCo team.
We are certain that, having put so much effort into producing
this section, the ClientCo team will find this section of
assistance in assessing not just the this solution but any
solution proposed to meet their requirement.
KEY POINT
Your sections' introductions set the tone for the content of
your sections, and alert the reader to what they can expect to
find in any given section. Spend time on the development of a
good introduction for all of your proposal's sections.
In short, your introduction to the Requirement section should
explain the purpose of the section, summarize its content and
remind the client that it was their supplied information that
helped you to define their requirement.
This outline will be further developed later in this chapter.
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Outlining the Solution Section
The procedure for developing your outline for this section is
precisely the same as the one you used for the Requirement
section. Your Solution-Mapping exercise in Chapter 5 resulted in
your Solution Map (Figure 4, Chapter 5) and, if you undertook a
PPR you'll likely have updated this since it was first finished.
Again you can build your outline for the Solution section simply
by transcribing the content of your Solution Map directly into
your outline as you did for the Requirement section — the case-
study outline ends up as Figure 8 below.
Notice that the introduction now has a much more meaningful
title, 'Cost effective solution driving extraordinary sales
increase' — again drawing the reader in. For this section open
up your introduction with a line referring to the comprehensive
nature of your solution, for example:
ClientCo has the potential to increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent — if they can determine what
it is that makes their top performers so much more productive
than their average and bottom performers, and if they can use
that information to raise the performance of every member of
their sales team to the level of their top performers.
Thanks to the extensive level of information and access afforded
by the ClientCo acquisition team, and through extensive
consultation with Gerry Mason and his team in ClientCo's IT
department, we have designed a solution that meets all of the
requirements outlined above — and on a budget which we believe
will be even more attractive than that to which ClientCo had
originally aspired.
Using the same sort of approach as discussed in relation to the
introduction in the Requirement section, summarize the content
by referring to the headings under which you have discussed the
solution.
Point out that these headings have been designed so that they
correspond closely to those in the Requirement section, allowing
readers to cross-
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reference their individual requirements against the way in which
you have solved each of them in this Solution section.
Figure 8: Case Study — 'The Solution' Outline
Section 3: Profiles’ Solution
Cost-Effective Solution Driving Extraordinary Sales Increase
Inexpensive to Set Up and Use
Corporate site $X,XXX to set up & $XXX annually
Meter cost just $XXX per new candidate
Once assessed candidate reports are free of charge
Users get all upgrades free of charge (approx four releases p.a.)
Corporate site includes 15 site users – additional sites just $XX
As POTW Interprets reports no certification training is required
to use the system
GHOTS: Detailed ROI analysis
Totally Web-Based Solution
100% web-based solution
Solution is supported 100% by Profiles CS
Servers in Dallas, Austin and London – 99% uptime
Security statement outlining physical security provisions
Corporate site provides HQ access to all sub sites across the
country
Ghost: PXT is available in 50+languages –support in 108 countries
Designed with Business Users in Mind
POTW has an intuitive ‘point & click’ interface – 2 minutes to
set up new candidates
Profiles Client Service take responsibility for monitoring
performance of new candidates and reporting back
Profiles Client Service provide telephone, webinar and onsite
support as required
Al reports in normal business English – no jargon
POTW monitors all assessments and alerts the administrator every
time an assessment is complete
Profile XT – nine reports to cover every requirement
Ghost: As sales managers are hard to pin down we provide self-
paced online user training
Specifically Designed to Drive Sales Performance
POTW: Instant results delivered automatically via email or online
Profile XT “Top-Performer Success Pettern’
Profile XT Placement Report with step-by-step interview plan
Profile XT Coaching and Management Reports
Testimonials from other Profiles clients
Ghost: HBR statistics – job match reduces turnover
Implementation
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We have summarized the solution below under the following four
main headings:
► Inexpensive and easy to use.
► Totally web-based solution.
► Designed with business users in mind.
► Specifically designed to drive sales performance.
When reading this section you will find that each main heading
in this section maps directly onto similarly placed headings in
the Section 2 — 'The Requirement' — making it easy to match
elements of the solution to elements of the requirement as
described by ClientCo's acquisition team.
You should also include an implementation timetable or a project
plan for every proposal, particularly where early implementation
is stated as a client requirement. Inclusion of a timetable
shows that you have considered the logistics of the proposed
solution and that you are already thinking about how best to
meet the client's target implementation dates. Such a plan can
be reassuring for a client who is under deadline pressure and
can make the key difference to an evaluator trying to
distinguish between otherwise equally qualified suppliers.
Preparing such a plan is not always easy at this early stage,
given your likely dependence on input from your client's
personnel and on a host of other factors not always directly
within your control. If necessary, the project plan or
implementation timetable can be accompanied by an outline of any
'assumptions' or 'dependencies' — a discussion of those factors
which are outside your control and which will affect the
project-plan deadlines proposed. In many cases, you will not be
expected to adhere rigorously to this early draft of a project
plan, especially if it was prepared in the absence of critical
information. However, you should
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still avoid making impossible promises in terms of
implementation. You may find yourself having to live up to those
promises later and suffer a hit on your credibility.
We have also included an Implementation Plan and schedule that
shows that the entire system could be implemented within six
weeks, by July 1st, if a go-ahead were given by end of week
commencing May 11th.
Finally always attempt, where possible, to inject some urgency
into the decision-making process — by referencing their
expressed preferences in terms of timescales. This is a
particularly good strategy if you are aware that your
competitors' timescales for implementation will not be as
attractive as yours. Set yours out so that competitors are
compared against them:
Such a start would ensure that the first results of the
implementation would be ready for presentation at the ClientCo
Annual Conference in Q4.
The key message of your introduction to this section should be
that you have built the solution they are about to review on the
basis of the comprehensive understanding of the requirement
which they helped you to build, and with their input into the
whole solution-development process — and that you stand ready to
implement this solution on their preferred timescales.
KEY POINT
Remind the client of the substantial input they provided in the
form of participation in your Pre-Proposal-Review session. Where
appropriate, acknowledge by name any input by client personnel
into the solution-development process. This is their solution to
their requirement.
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Outlining the Benefits Section
Building up the outline of your Benefits section is almost as
straightforward a procedure as the one you followed for the
Requirement and Solution sections above.
In Chapter 7 you used Client Profile Charts to analyze the
relative strengths and weaknesses of both your solution and
those of your competitors.
Your strengths will form the first entries in your Benefits
section outline. Be sure to include any aspects of your proposed
solution which are absolutely unique, and be sure to refer
clearly to this uniqueness. Any weakness which you perceive in
likely competitors' solutions should appear in your Benefits
section expressed only in terms of your 'uniques' and strengths.
In Chapter 7 you also identified what you perceived would be
particular strengths in competitors' solution offerings. The
Benefits section does not give you an obvious opportunity to
minimize the impact of these strengths. All you can do is
produce a compelling description of your own organization's and
solution's strengths, so that, on balance, your solution comes
across as much stronger than your competition's. However, be
sure you are familiar enough with your competitors' strengths
that none of your benefits statements highlight similar
strengths in your competition. For example, if you are the
newcomer to the client's industry, and your major competitor has
over 20 years' experience in that marketplace, then be wary of
making any 'track-record' benefits statement.
Figure 9 shows the Benefits section outline, which includes all
of the major positive points about the proposed solution,
arranged in an order of priority reflecting the proposal
strategy selected (Chapter 6). From the outline it is clear that
the primary strategy was one of 'Cost', and so all of the cost-
related benefits are to the fore, followed by benefits based
upon 'Fast Implementation', 'Countrywide Support' and the fact
that the solution is 'Inexpensive to Take Worldwide'.
206
Figure 9: Case Study — 'The Benefits' Outline
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
Solution will Directly Impact ClientCo Bottom Line
Exceptional return on Investment
Extremely Low Entry Costs
‘Pay-As-You-Use’ Model
Proven Track Record with similar Organizations
Fast Implementation – No Special Training or Certification
Required
Countrywide Support
Ghost: Inexpensive to Take Worldwide
KEY POINT
Be sure that your Benefits section highlights the strengths of
your proposed solution, while at the same time discreetly
emphasizing the weaknesses of your competitors' solutions. Build
a Benefits section which sets a tough standard for your
competitors to follow.
The introduction to this section offers you a unique opportunity
to 'showcase' the proposal strategy which you have decided to
adopt (Chapter 6). So, your introduction will contain some
reference to the nature of your proposal's strategy It should
begin with a strong statement like:
Profiles have been privileged to work with many of the world's
major organizations, and with several of ClientCo's peers in the
pharmaceuticals industry.
However, early on the discussions with ClientCo's team it became
clear that the requirements outlined by ClientCo's team were a
perfect match for the solutions for which Profiles International
is particularly well known.
207
The solution proposed in Section 3 meets or exceeds all of
ClientCo's stated requirements and will provide ClientCo with
some significant commercial benefits once implemented, namely:
► Exceptional return on investment.
Primary strategy
► Extremely low entry costs.
► 'Pay-as-you-use' model.
► Proven track record with similar organizations.
Secondary strategy
► Fast implementation — no special training or certification
required.
► Countrywide support.
► Ghost: Inexpensive to take worldwide.
Before closing the introduction you should refer to one or two
benefits of your solution which you are certain that no
competitor can offer, stressing them as essential aspects of a
successful solution and encouraging the assessor to be mindful
of these benefits when assessing other vendors' proposals.
Each of these benefits is outlined in greater detail below — of
particular note are the items on 'Extremely Low Entry Costs' and
'Exceptional Return on Investment', which demonstrate how the
proposed solution, despite providing a solution which comes in
under what the ClientCo acquisition team had anticipated would
have been the minimum cost of any suitable solution, will have
paid for itself several times over before the first reports on
the system are presented at the ClientCo Annual Conference in Q4.
The Benefits section should then proceed to introduce each of
the individual benefits of your solution, with a line or two
explaining
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how the client will profit materially from each of the benefits
you have noted.
Be sure that your Benefits section highlights the strengths of
your proposed solution, while at the same time discreetly
emphasizing the weaknesses of your competitors' solutions. Build
a Benefits section which sets a tough standard for your
competitors to follow.
Outlining the Costs Section
The most important point about your Costs section is that it
must contain costs for absolutely every element of your proposed
solution. Omitted costs are an extreme irritation to an assessor
trying to compare proposals one against another.
The way in which you present your costs will usually vary from
deal to deal, as you work to find a formula which will appeal to
the client reviewing any given proposal. However, the following
is a useful checklist for ensuring that you have included all
necessary items in your Costs section:
► All equipment or license costs.
► Currency-conversion rates used, if appropriate, and an
indication as to whether currency-rate fluctuations will affect
the quoted costs.
► All services, development, education or any other man-hours or
man-day-based effort costs.
► Product and manpower availability — possible delivery/start
dates.
► Payment terms.
► Standard terms and conditions.
► An indication of any applicable taxes which have/have not been
included in the quoted costs.
209
In some organizations, it is practice to use standard, published
price-list, availability and terms-and-conditions materials as
inserts to proposals. In most situations reproducing these
materials in a manner which gives the impression of a custom-
produced Costs section is more likely to appeal to the client.
As stated above, the content and presentation of your costs will
very often be a judgment call, made on a deal-by-deal basis.
However, be sure to:
► Include all costs.
► Make the presentation clear and accessible.
► State costs in the smallest unit possible, i.e. monthly as
opposed to annual costs, 'per-copy' costs as opposed to total
costs, etc. If you include only gross totals a casual reader
could inadvertently compare your gross figure with a 'per-item'
figure in a competitors costs section — eliminating your
proposal from consideration.
Figure 10: Case Study — 'The Costs' Outline
Section 5: Costs
Low Entry and Usage Costs
Web-based assessment centre
Implementation, setup and training
Per-candidate cost
Annual hosting
Figure 10 is the outline of the Costs section for the case study.
The introduction to this section should do little more than
explain how you have organized the presentation of your costs,
providing the reader with an insight into the logic of your
layout.
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Note how the introduction section has been renamed to 'Low Entry
and Usage Costs' in the finished proposal — always strive to
make every section reflect as much as possible of the
requirement discussions with the client team.
The introduction is short and to the point:
Very early in the requirement-analysis process ClientCo outlined
clearly that any proposed solution must meet the current
budgetary constraints, require no significant upfront investment
and, ideally, be based on a 'pay-as-you-use' model.
Profiles have been very mindful in proposing an approach that
exceeds ClientCo's specification in terms of cost, allowing
initial implementation of the system at less than $X,XXX, and
providing the facility to assess candidates on a 'pay-as-you-go'
basis for just $XX — and to add additional ClientCo branches
nation- or worldwide for just $XX.
Those costs are detailed below under four main headings:
► Web-based assessment center.
► Implementation, setup and training.
► Per-candidate cost.
► Annual hosting.
After the initial implementation ClientCo's day-to-day running
costs will be very low compared to any other solution we
uncovered in our research.
Other Cost Considerations
If your costs are based to any extent on costs from other
parties, or on foreign-currency costs from overseas suppliers —
either of which might
211
vary — then you should note the extent to which they might vary
If your costs are only valid for a specified period from time of
quotation, then note this also. Otherwise your costs, and their
layout, should be clear enough that they require little more
explanation.
Outlining Your Appendices Section
Any detail which is not absolutely necessary to carry the sales
argument of your section should be considered to be 'proof
detail, and should be saved for the Appendices. 'Proof material
is the sort of very detailed material that technically oriented
people like to get their teeth into — it could include material
like product specifications which 'prove' that your product or
services are capable of what you claimed in your section on The
Solution'. Or it may be a comprehensive client list which
details the many client's for whom your Benefits section
indicated you had developed similar solutions successfully.
Your appendices should typically include:
► A detailed company profile.
► Any client references or case studies that you feel might help
to build your credibility.
► Detailed technical product or service specifications.
► Brochure material on proposed products or services.
► Sample contracts.
► Copies of articles on your organization, products, services or
clients.
► Supporting research.
► Any other material which answers questions of detail which
your proposal's main sections are likely to raise in your
readers' minds.
212
Figure 11 is the outline developed for the case-study Appendices.
Figure 11: Case Study — 'The Appendices' Outline
Section 6: appendices
The Profile XT – In Detail
Profiles on the Web – An Overview
Profile XT – Technical Manual: Executive Summary
Profiles on the Web: Security Statement
Profiles on the Web: Physical Security
Profiles International: Company Background
The introduction to the Appendices should be a simple statement
as to the purpose of their contents. For example:
This section contains detailed materials designed to provide
further information on Profiles, and on any product or service
referred to in the main body of this proposal. There are
frequent references throughout the proposal text to the
locations of more detailed material in this section.
There are six appendices in this section:
► Appendix I: The Profile XT (PXT) — In Detail.
► Appendix II: Profiles on the Web — An Overview.
► Appendix III: PXT — Technical Manual: Executive Summary.
► Appendix IV: Profiles on the Web: Security Statement.
► Appendix V: Profiles on the Web: Physical Security.
► Appendix VI: Profiles International: Company Background.
213
Resist the temptation to throw 'the kitchen sink' in here — if
you dump every brochure, specification and article you have on
file into this section your document will become unwieldy and
intimidating. Confine the appendices to the sort of detailed
information necessary to support your key points and arguments
in the main body of the proposal. If there's no reference to it
in the main body then it does not need to be in the appendices,
no matter how interesting and compelling you think the
information might be.
What about Outlining the Executive-Summary Section?
The Executive-Summary section should always be completed after
the rest of your proposal has been written and polished, and you
are absolutely clear on the messages that you wish to
communicate to your client with the proposal. Its outlining will
not be considered further until the rest of the proposal is
complete and polished.
"Clear writers assume, with pessimism born of experience, that
whatever isn't plainly stated the reader will invariably
misconstrue.
- John R. Trimble
Is Your Outline Detailed Enough?
When you have your outline to the stage shown in Figures 7-11,
you need to consider whether you are ready to write the main
body of your proposal, or whether any of the lowest-level points
in your outline need to be broken down further. For the simple
case-study outlines above there is no requirement to go to a
lower level of detail, as the points noted in the outline can be
readily described with just four or five simple sentences. When
considering whether or not you should develop your outline
further, consider whether each point in the outline represents a
single idea which can be described in a few sentences. If so,
then you have enough detail. If not — if any of your points
require
214
explanation of multiple ideas — then consider breaking those
points down into finer sub-points. Continue this exercise until
your outline is at a stage where each point is a single, easily
described idea.
Does Your Outline Flow Smoothly?
When you have developed your outline to this level of detail,
then consider the order in which each of your points is being
presented. When you think down through the outline, can you
perceive a logical development of the message that you wish to
convey? Will the order in which you are presenting the points
and sub-points draw the reader through your section, towards
your desired conclusion? If the flow of ideas is not smooth and
logical then consider the following:
► Is it because you need some further ideas or points built into
your outline? If so, then build in these new points and sub-
points.
► Is it because the order in which you are presenting the points
and sub-points is not optimal? If you suspect this, then try
changing the order in which they are presented. Make sure that
you feel comfortable that the points and sub-points are
presented in an order that will promote easy understanding of
the sections message.
► Could it be because you have too much detail — are you seeking
to make too many points? If you suspect this, then remodel your
outline, leaving out any points that you think are superfluous
or confusing.
When you are confident that your outline represents a flow of
ideas that will be easily accessible to the reader, then you are
ready to proceed to Stage 2.
Stage 2: Write Your Proposal
Having developed an outline for your proposal, you now have a
clear plan of its content and layout. You are at the second
stage of the development
215
of a proposal which you can be confident is ready for
presentation to your client (see Figure 1 earlier). Follow the
four-step procedure below to complete the writing of your
proposal text around your outline.
Step 1: Expand on Your Outline Points
Take your section outlines, one section at a time, and begin to
expand on the lowest-level points in your outline, assigning a
few sentences beneath each of these outline points to explain
them. As you complete each lowest-level point, work your way
through that 'thread' to the next level up, again writing a few
explanatory sentences to explain the point as required. At these
early stages, don't be too concerned about knitting these
separate points together.
Continue to work your way up through the outline until
eventually you have written explanatory notes on every point and
sub-point in your outline. As you proceed through this exercise,
consider whether your message might be made any clearer by the
use of supporting graphics. Make notes to yourself, in the
outline, to indicate where you feel that illustrations or
graphics of any kind would make the point clearer. You can
return to build these graphics into your proposal later.
"I can go on forever. For me one thought becomes five hundred
sentences.
- Alice K. Dormann
When you have completed this initial part of the writing
exercise, you will have a mass of disjointed text, possibly
under an unfeasibly large number of point headings. Your next
challenge will be to address the flow of the section's content,
knitting the text together into a coherent message, under a
smaller number of suitable summary headings to guide the reader
through the logic of the proposal. The first step is to reduce
the number of headings. Continue to Step 2.
216
Step 2: Revise Your Heading Titles, Reduce Their Number
Take each of your highest-level points, one at a time, and
consider whether each point is currently expressed in a form of
wording with which you are confident the client will identify,
and which effectively summarizes the points that you will make
below If this is not the case, then change the heading to a
better form of wording.
Work down from this point to the next-lowest level. Does this
sub-point actually need to appear in your section as a heading
unto itself? A simple rule of thumb: if removing the heading
would not interfere with the readers understanding of the main
point that you are making, then remove it, leaving its
explanatory text in place as a separate paragraph. Too many
unnecessary headings may be irritating and distracting for your
readers.
Figure 12 shows the 'Budget Restrictions' requirement from
Section 2 partway through the process of having its sub-points
fleshed out with descriptive text.
Continue to work your way down through all of the points and
sub-points in your sections outline. Your aim should be to
reduce the number of headings and sub-headings in your section
to the minimum necessary to ensure that your section effectively
communicates its message to your reader.
Having completed Step 2, you will have developed your section to
the stage where you are confident that you have included all of
the necessary points to carry the message you want your section
to convey. You have laid these points and arguments out in a run
order which you are confident will logically guide your reader
through what you wish to say. You have also built in some
summary headings which will help to keep your readers on track
as they read through the section. All that remains is to ensure
that each of the separate points you make under each heading
flows easily into the next one, guiding the reader effortlessly
through the section. You do this by using transitions. Continue
to Step 3.
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Figure 12: Budget Restrictions — from Section 2 Developed
Budget Restrictions
Having already expended a great deal of the sales-development
budget for the current year, the successful solution must also:
▪ Entail no Large Upfront Costs
• There is no scope for a solution that requires any capital
substantial investment (e.g. in hardware or software) for
initial implementation.
▪ Be Inexpensive to Use
• Neither are high ‘pay-as-you-go’ per-candidate charges
acceptable.
▪ Low Cost for Additional Analysis and Reports
• In their investigation of assessment solutions the clientCo
team noted that they were aware of the established practice of
some vendors of charging for each additional analysis and report
– such an approach would be unacceptable in the current fiscal
environment in ClientCo.
▪ Low Cost to Add users in Other Cities
• This initial pilot program will be confined to the home city
of clientCo, but it is hoped that a solution, once proven
successful, can be extended to cover all cities nationwide –
without excessive cost.
▪ No expensive Training/Certification Programs
• ClientCo have no wish to invest in any solution that requires
that their executives be certified in the interpretation or
analysis of psychometric assessments – previous experience has
shown that over-dependence on a few who have completed expensive
certification training stunts the usefulness of any assessment
system. The successful solution will be one that does not
require any certification to be used successfully – the solution
should provide ‘field-ready’ reports that can quickly be used by
any business-management professional.
▪ Return on Investment
• Although not specifically noted as a requirement by the
clientCo team, it is assumed that any solution that has a robust
analysis that shows the potential for a good return on
investment will be of more interest that a solution which cannot
do so.
Step 3: Build In Transitions
Transitions are words or phrases used to smooth the borders
between one idea and another, one statement and another, one
section and another. They include words and phrases like
'therefore', 'happily', 'consequently', 'however', 'yet',
'nevertheless', etc., or can be questions like 'But how is this
achieved?' or 'Why is this?' Every idea or point that you
present should lead readers towards the next point; it should
encourage them to continue to read and follow the line of your
argument.
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KEY POINT
Transitions are an essential element in making your proposal
easy to read. Ensure that every idea, point and section in your
proposal orients the readers towards the next logical idea,
point or section that you want them to consider.
Quite apart from saving them effort, good transitions also
ensure that readers do not make the wrong connection between the
various points that you are presenting.
Begin to read through your sections. Consider how easily you are
drawn from idea to idea, how each idea fits under its heading.
You will find many ideas which present themselves as isolated
paragraphs nestling under your remaining headings. Consider the
message which the heading suggests this section will convey and
begin to build transitions between each of the separate ideas
reflecting this message.
When you are finished under one heading, be sure that the
closing sentence in that sub-section points the reader towards
the next section, effectively introducing the next set of ideas
that you will present in support of the points that you are
trying to make. Ensure that the various points are in an order
which flows logically from one point to the next and that every
point that you make, every sentence that you write, makes some
sense in the context of the preceding and following sentences
and sections. Create a coherent narrative — a good 'story'.
Step 4: Create and Integrate Any Required Graphics
Many of your readers will find clear illustrations and graphics
much more communicative than vast tracts of text, so look for
opportunities to use graphics to support your writing visually.
The best time to consider the use of graphics and illustrations
is at this early stage, when you are outlining your proposal. By
considering your use of graphics at this
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early planning stage, you can design your proposal's layout and
content to allow you to make better use of the communicative
strength of your graphics. Return to those points in your
outline where you noted that a graphic might aid understanding,
and begin to create and integrate these required graphics.
In general, you should adopt the same attitude to graphics in
your proposal as you do to text — if the graphic is not
absolutely necessary to carry the main message of the section,
leave it out. Don't use graphics simply because you have 'some
nice illustrations' available.
Avoid using very complex, technical diagrams in the main body of
your proposal — these will confuse the average reader. If your
graphic is targeted at a more technical reader, or if the
graphic material is more
'proof detail, then confine it to the Appendices section.
Graphics should be clear and easily understood by the 'lowest-
level' reader you expect will review your proposal.
The points that you are making in your text will largely
determine the sort of graphics that will be most effective in
any given situation.
► Tables: Use tables where you must handle and display large
volumes of quantitative data, with multiple variables. Tables
can help greatly in clarifying numeric relationships.
► Text charts: Use text charts to summarize and introduce
multiple topics. The Requirement Maps and Solution Maps of
Chapters 4 and 5 are examples of text charts.
► Graphs: Different graphs can be used to serve different
purposes. Bar charts or pie charts are generally used to
demonstrate relative quantities very effectively. Research shows
that most readers find bar charts much easier to understand than
pie charts.
► Product line drawings and photos: Straightforward pictures of
products or objects should be used only where they will make the
argument
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of the section more compelling. Otherwise they can distract from
the purpose of the section.
► Flowcharts: Flowcharts are extremely effective in illustrating
processes and methodologies, and can be a great aid in keeping
your readers mind focused, particularly if the description is
any way lengthy. Flowcharts generally use multiple boxes to
illustrate progress through a given process over time. For
examples of good flowchart use refer to Figures 1 and 2 in
Chapter 1.
KEY POINT
Use graphics as often as you feel they will positively aid
communication and understanding of the points that you are
trying to make. Avoid using graphics for their own sake.
The following are some general guidelines for graphics use:
► Always introduce your diagrams in the text before the reader
is presented with them, and try to keep diagrams as close as
possible to their reference in the text.
► Use sequential numbering for your diagrams.
► Use clear communicative descriptions of your figures. Where
possible use 'active' descriptions of figures, e.g. 'Figure 1:
Profiles International's performance is demonstrably better than
the market average'.
► Make sure that every element of your graphic or illustration
is labeled clearly, and ensure that the size of your graphics is
adequate to accommodate the level of detail.
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With the advent of inexpensive and easy-to-use graphics software
packages, anyone can now produce attractive high-quality
illustrations and graphs (even more popular and widely used
applications like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint can now produce
very attractive graphics). The upshot is that most of your
competitors will already be producing proposals taking advantage
of these capabilities. If you wish to compete you should
consider developing a graphics-production skill-set in house.
"I do fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov
Now Prepare Your Executive Summary
With your main proposal sections completely written, now is the
time to begin writing your Executive Summary.
The Executive Summary is, as discussed earlier, one of the most
important sections of your proposal. It serves two main
purposes, namely:
► To provide an overview for senior-management readers.
► To provide a summary and proposal 'road-map' orienting all
readers.
An Overview for Senior Management Readers
Not everyone in the client organization who will have an input
into the proposal-assessment process will have the time to read
your proposal in great detail. Many of the more senior members
of the proposal-assessment team will want only the briefest
synopsis of the main points made in each proposal they read,
leaving verification of detail to other members of the
assessment team.
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On reading your Executive Summary, therefore, it should be
possible to get an overview of all of the reasons why your
proposal should win the target business. If there are questions,
they should be merely on matters of detail and proof, which can
be addressed by delving deeper into your proposal, by reading
the detail in the various sections or in the appendices, or by
discussing more detailed points with other members of the
assessment team.
A Summary for All Readers
However, despite its name, the Executive Summary is not aimed
simply at the senior executives on your assessment team. It also
serves as a useful introduction for all readers of your
proposal. It orients your readers, preparing them to read your
proposal, pointing out to them what points to look out for in
later sections, and summarizing very clearly all of the main
reasons why you deserve to win the client's business.
To meet the objectives discussed above, you should base your
Executive Summary on a two-part model which includes:
► An introduction.
► A paragraph or two on each of the proposal's sections.
A Few Paragraphs for Each Main Proposal Section
Your overall proposal is based on the 'Requirement-Solution-
Benefits-Costs-Proof' model discussed as the winning proposal in
Chapter 3. The Executive Summary is simply a more condensed
version of the proposal, an abstract. So, if you simply
summarize the main points made in the 'Requirement-Solution-
Benefits' part of your proposal's model, then you will achieve
all of the objectives you have set for the Executive Summary.
How Long Should It Be?
Devote a few paragraphs to presenting the main points in each of
these sections in as brief a format as possible. Use only as
many words as
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you need to summarize the main points — be careful not to repeat
too large a percentage of the content of these sections. The
Executive Summary should be quick to read. Be careful, however,
not to follow the conventional 'one or two pages' wisdom on
executive summaries so closely that you sacrifice impact or
coherence. Keep the Executive Summary as short as you can,
without compromising its purpose. You should be confident that
your Executive Summary could largely sell your solution all on
its own, if the rest of your proposal were to be lost.
To achieve this level of summary use your Outline Requirement
Statement, Your Outline Solution Statement and your outline for
the Benefits section as start points.
The Full Executive Summary for the Case Study
The entire Executive Summary for the proposal produced to meet
the case-study requirement has been laid out in Appendix IV
The next few sections walk through the creation of that
Executive-Summary section — as you read the final parts of this
chapter you should refer back to the reproduction of the
Executive Summary in Appendix IV
Title and Introduction
The Executive Summary is the first section of your proposal that
you present to your reader, and the introduction to that section
contains the first words of your proposal that the reader will
read. Therefore, the introduction must make a very strong
impression, setting the tone for the rest of the proposal. It
should attempt to summarize the whole proposal down into a few
well-chosen sentences or paragraphs that deliver the whole
message from the proposal.
In essence, what the Executive Summary must say is:
'We understand your requirement; we have worked with you to
prepare the best possible solution to that requirement; and we
have the necessary skills,
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experience and expertise to implement that solution on time and
within budget. This proposal tells you how we will do this.'
The introduction should be as short as possible; the following
paragraphs should pick up the main points of the introduction in
more detail.
Notice too that, in keeping with the pattern in previous
sections, the case-study Executive Summary (Appendix IV) has
been given a title that has a more narrative quality that
reflects the client's language — 'Raising ClientCo's Sales by XX
%'.
Let's look at the introduction:
Raising ClientCo's Sales by XX%
ClientCo's sales team has 45 sales professionals — all hired for
a specific combination of education, skills and experience that
they share in common, which should assure that all are highly
successful in their positions. However, sales performance across
this team varies widely — from the highest performers who
deliver a performance against quota of as much as 139% (the top
ten range from lll%to 139% with an average performance of 125%),
to the lower performers who deliver as little as 82% against
quota (the bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an average
performance of just 92%). It is this gap of 57% between the
highest and lowest performers that rightly concerns ClientCo.
ClientCo has the potential to increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent — if they can determine what
it is that makes their top performers so much more productive
than their average and bottom performers, and if they can use
that information to raise the performance of every member of
their sales team to the level of their top performers.
Such an increase in sales would come with no increase in numbers
of sales personnel, so all such revenue increases would directly
impact the bottom line.
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Summarizing the Requirement
Base your Executive Summary's synopsis of the requirement
directly on the Outline Requirement Statement, expanding each
set of related points into as few sentences as are necessary to
cover all of these points in your synopsis.
Thus, the total requirement can almost always be summarized from
the Outline Requirement Statement in less than a page. If you
wanted to shorten this synopsis further, you could simply stress
the most important aspects of the requirement in your synopsis,
referring to the more detailed discussion to be found in the
Requirement section itself.
Here you'll find a very much synopsized version of the
requirement from the case-study Executive Summary — although
shortened it nonetheless manages to stress very strongly those
aspects that we can address particularly well — whilst also
encouraging client 'ownership' of the entire proposal and its
content.
Refer to the Outline Requirement Statement for the case study as
presented in Figures 2(a)—2(e) in Chapter 6 and consider the
following requirement synopsis developed for the case study's
Executive Summary:
In many ways Profiles cannot claim credit for the solution
proposed here as much of it arose directly from the input of
ClientCo's own acquisition team and their clear understanding of
the organization's challenges and requirements. Our complete
understanding of ClientCo's requirement, and the subsequent
solution, were developed through extremely close co-operation
with ClientCo's acquisition team of Joe Blayne, Michelle Franks
and Martin O'Sullivan over a series of meetings, discussions and
a comprehensive 'Pre-Proposal Review', where ClientCo and
Profiles International teams submitted the proposed solution to
a ruthless examination to ensure that it met or exceeded all of
ClientCo's requirements — before it was committed to this formal
document. The comprehensive understanding of those
226
requirements, which developed from this close working
relationship, is detailed in Section 2 of this proposal, 'The
Requirement'.
It was clear that any proposed solution would have to fully
address the business challenge outlined above in the first three
paragraphs of this section. However, ClientCo were also clear in
specifying some critical attributes that they would require in
any successful solution. All of these aspects of the requirement
are addressed in detail in Section 2, but two of them deserve to
be specifically highlighted here.
ClientCo's challenge is one that is faced by the sales
management of the organization on a day-to-day basis, and that
challenge will only be met and addressed effectively by that
same team working on it on a day-to-day basis. The acquisition
team were very clear that any solution proposed must be entirely
usable by all members of the sales-management team — there
should be no requirement for any sort of specialized
certification or training in order to make use of the solution.
A range of reports are required to meet various aspects of the
challenge (hiring, development, management, succession and
career planning etc.) and these reports must be presented in
clear, everyday sales language — and require no interpretative
input from psychologists or specially trained individuals.
Furthermore, as the initiative to identify and acquire a
solution to this challenge is not one that formed part of
ClientCo's IT-department planning at the outset of this year, no
IT resources have been allocated to support the initiative. The
successful solution must be entirely web based (so that it
requires no specialized hardware or software requiring IT
support) and it must require no programming or ongoing support
whatever.
Summarizing the Proposed Solution
Use exactly the same approach to summarizing the proposed
solution, using the Outline Solution Statement to build your
synopsis. Refer to the Outline Solution Statement for the case
study in Figures 3(a)—3(e)
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in Chapter 6, and consider the approach taken to summarizing the
solution.
In the Case-Study Executive Summary (Appendix IV) the solution
is referenced separately in two separate places as follows:
The solution presented in this proposal will help ClientCo to
achieve this goal. In Section 3 Profiles International offer a
solution that will not only provide ClientCo with a
comprehensive understanding of the particular attributes that
make their top-performing salespeople so successful, but will
also provide ClientCo with a detailed profile, a 'Success
Pattern', that can be used to hire more people like their top
performers, raise the performance of their middle and bottom
performers to top performance level through more imaginative
management and more directed training /coaching, and ensure that
ClientCo retain their top performers.
And:
The solution in Section 3 of this proposal meets all, and
exceeds most, of ClientCo's stated requirements in respect of
the desired solution.
This approach of using your Outline Solution Statement in
summarizing your proposed solution allows you to achieve a
description of your solution which can address all aspects of
the required solution quite succinctly or can allow you to pick
those more important aspects, if you wish to shorten your
synopsis. With larger proposals you will have to be more
selective in the aspects of your solution stressed in the
Executive Summary. With our case-study Executive Summary
covering every point in the Outline Solution Statement, it still
required little more than a page to complete — with absolutely
no sacrifice of meaning.
Summarizing the Benefits of Your Proposal
So far, your Executive Summary has successfully summarized the
Requirement and Solution sections, proving that you understand
the
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clients requirement, and that you have a considered solution to
it. The summary of the Benefits section in your Executive
Summary should touch upon some of the more significant benefits
which will accrue to the client from the implementation of your
proposed solution.
In the Benefits section itself you will have detailed every
possible benefit that the client can hope to achieve by choosing
your solution. In the Executive Summary you should stress only
the major benefits. Concentrate mainly but not exclusively on
those benefits which your contact with the client has told you
are most important to them.
As a guide, you should consider three elements when building the
summary of your Benefits section:
► Your Selected Proposal Strategy
Your Proposal Strategy was based largely on what you analyzed as
the main orientation of your client assessment; and on an
analysis of your strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis those of
your likely competitors. In the case study, a cost-based
Proposal Strategy was selected, and so the cost-based benefits
will dominate the summary of the benefits in the Executive
Summary. Your benefits summary in the Executive Summary should
always clearly reflect your chosen strategy.
► Your 'Uniques' or Particular Strengths
Besides emphasizing those benefits which are at the core of your
proposal strategy, and consequently of greatest importance to
your target audience, you should also emphasize any elements of
your proposed solution which are absolutely unique. By doing
this, you are encouraging your client to look for these
particular elements when reviewing any subsequent proposals —
and you know that they won't be there.
► Your Competitor's Particular Weaknesses
Avoid direct reference to any weaknesses that you know your
competitors' solutions will contain. If, however, there is any
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important facet of the client requirement which you feel sure
that your competitors cannot address, be sure to include some
reference to it in this part of your Executive Summary Do this
by emphasizing the way in which your solution addresses that
particular area, and by emphasizing how critical it is that this
particular aspect of the requirement be comprehensively
addressed. This approach focuses your reader's attention on that
area, predisposing them to expect a solution to it in any
subsequent proposals they evaluate.
Devote a few lines to each of the points which suggest
themselves when you review your proposal in light of the three
guidelines above. Once again, be careful not to allow your
summary of the Benefits section to become as expansive as the
Benefits section itself.
In the case-study example the Benefits are referred to in the
two separate paragraphs below (one of which has been highlighted
in bold case as it goes right to the heart of our cost/ROI
strategy — if readers read and remember nothing else I'd like
them to remember this key point):
Furthermore, this proposal presents a detailed return-on-
investment analysis that shows that the return on the modest
investment required to implement the proposed solution will be a
minimum of XXX% — with a possible maximum of an almost
unbelievable XXX%. This solution will have paid for itself many
times over by the end of the current year.
Any solution that meets all stated requirements and offers a
return on the required initial investment within months is one
which any reviewer will take seriously. However, there are
several other commercial benefits that ClientCo will achieve
through the implementation of this solution, and they are
detailed in Section 4.
Summarizing your Costs — Should You?
There is a perennial debate amongst proposal writers as to
whether one should include a summary of costs in this key
section.
230
The answer is sometimes. If your costs are one of your
particular strengths, one which you feel will position you
strongly against your competitors, then you absolutely must
include a summary of this always-contentious section. If you
feel that your costs will put you at a particular disadvantage
then you should devote your Executive Summary to those areas
where your solution is going to come across as clearly superior
to any competitor — and avoid a costs discussion altogether
until later in the proposal.
My advice: if in doubt leave a costs summary out of the
Executive Summary.
In the case-study example Profiles International have a very
distinct cost advantage over their competitors — so there is a
brief costs discussion. This puts costs right to the forefront
of the minds of readers — and may encourage them to look for
similar information upfront in competitive bids.
Under Costs (Section 5) you will see that the proposed Profiles
solution has no significant upfront cost, and is provided to
ClientCo on a 'pay-as-you-use' basis — making it entirely
compatible with ClientCo's current cost-limitation program. The
entire cost of the implementation is significantly below even
the lowest levels that the ClientCo team had anticipated was
possible. The total initial implementation costs just $X,XXX.
Perhaps as importantly, expansion of the system either nation-
or worldwide will cost just $XX for every new branch added to
the system, with Profiles International providing all of the
proposed products in 50 + languages and offering direct support
in 108 countries.
Congratulations! Your First Draft is Complete!
With the completion of your Executive Summary the first draft of
your proposal is now complete. Having created, revised and
polished your outline, and having fleshed it out, building in
any required graphics, you can now continue on to the final
stage, Stage 3 (see Figure 4), in the writing of your proposal.
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Stage 3: Read, Revise, Edit Your Proposal
Your proposal's first draft is complete. You are now at Stage 3
in the three-stage process of preparing your proposal. Now you
can begin to polish this draft into a form which you will feel
comfortable releasing to your client.
Research shows that good writers spend about 40 per cent of
their total production time on pre-writing, outlining and
drafting their work, and the remaining 60 per cent on revising,
editing and polishing it.
Revise and edit as many times as you can, until you feel
entirely confident that the arguments in each of the sections of
your proposal flow smoothly and logically. Achieve this by
continually revising your outline until you are satisfied that
you have this smooth flow of ideas.
Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Think about the
competence level of your readers and, bearing this in mind,
check your proposal for readability. Keep revising and editing
until you are entirely satisfied that the proposal reads as well
as it possibly can.
"I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one
way.
- Mark Twain
Where to Now?
Your proposal is now written to a standard which you feel
comfortable is capable of winning the target business, and is
polished to the extent that you feel comfortable with the idea
of releasing it to be read by your client.
232
The next step to consider before releasing your proposal is the
physical presentation of the proposal — laying out your proposal
so that it is easy to read, and its appearance conveys to your
target readers an air of professionalism. This is the subject of
Chapter 10, 'Getting Your Proposal Layout Right'.
233
chapter ten
Getting Your Proposal
Layout Right
234
235
In Chapter 9 we spoke about engaging your proposal readers by
first grabbing their attention with a strong Executive-Summary
section — which was a brief overview of the key points from the
entire proposal designed to whet the readers' appetite and
stimulate interest in reading the other sections of the proposal
for more detail.
You then started each section with a strong introduction to
stimulate interest in that particular section and draw readers
in even more; thereafter you navigated them from heading to
heading, idea to idea, through the use of good links and
transitions.
Your proposal was designed so that the readers were conveyed
from the opening words right through the entire proposal — as if
on a 'written conveyor belt' that took them smoothly, point by
point, through the key arguments for your proposed solution.
So, if you do your job right then you should hold your readers'
attention throughout your entire proposal from the moment they
pick it up.
But what if they never pick up your proposal? Well, in that
instance all of the careful work you've done in creating this
written 'conveyor belt' will have been for nothing.
If your proposal has been written to win some business that is
not subject to a formal proposal process — i.e. if you have
prepared your proposal in response to a sales meeting or a
conversation with a client on some discussed requirement — then
there is always a possibility that your proposal could go
unread, especially if the physical presentation
236
of the finished document is not professional and attractive
enough to grab a readers attention.
In a more formal proposal process where the readers are required
to review every proposal submitted the possibility that your
proposal might go unread becomes remote. But what if there is
something about your proposal's layout that ensures that readers
take it up to read with all of the enthusiasm of a busy teacher
correcting the exam results of the worst writer in their class?
Might it adversely affect the outcome? Absolutely.
First impressions undoubtedly last — and you have a fantastic
opportunity to make the first impression your readers get of
your proposals so impactful that, even as they begin to read,
you can have them in a more positive frame of mind than they
will bring to reading another proposal with a less attractive,
less professional appearance.
Good layout is critical.
Before You Start — Is the Layout Already Mandated?
If your proposal is being written in response to a Request for
Proposal (RFP) then the layout may be mandated. If the client
has requested a particular layout then respect this request —
unless you have prior permission to depart from their mandate
(see Appendix I: 'What about Client-Specified Layouts?').
The purpose of mandating the layout is generally to make it
easier for a client to compare proposals, feature for feature,
line by line, alongside one another.
In reality, by mandating the proposal layout, many client's
cheat themselves out of the creativity that many of their
vendors would otherwise bring to bear in their proposals — but
the fact still remains that mandated layouts are not going to go
away anytime soon.
237
A mandated layout compromises your ability further to
differentiate yourself on the basis of a superior layout — but
it equally compromises all of your competitors. In such a
situation your use of the winning proposal process to produce
the proposal content itself will ensure that your content will
be superior to other proposals anyway So don't be too concerned.
However, be sure that you take advantage of what few
differentiation possibilities do exist with mandated layouts.
Ensure that all other physical aspects of your proposal are
superior: use high-quality paper, good-quality color printing,
lots of illustrations, quality covers and binding etc. Many
vendors will not pay attention to these apparently minor factors
— and they can make a big difference to the impression you make
on your reader.
However, if there is no layout mandated then you have a
wonderful opportunity to make the layout and design of your
proposal a serious point of differentiation — setting you apart
from all competitors.
Purposes of Your Layout
When designing your layout you are striving to make your document
maximally professional and attractive — and to make it as easy
as possible to locate and read required content.
Where there is no specified mandate you have carte blanche to
select whatever typefaces, design, styles, footers/headings,
margins etc. you wish.
What Parts of Your Proposal Need Design Attention?
The winning proposal introduced in Chapter 3 suggests the design
elements you are going to have to consider when you begin the
work
238
of creating an attractive presentational layout for your
proposal. You'll be designing:
► A title page for your proposal.
► Table of contents.
► A title page for each section and for each appendix in your
proposal.
► Fonts for all of these title pages.
► Fonts and styles for the different headings within your
proposal.
► Fonts for the body text of each section.
► A style for the headers and footers.
Let's take each of these elements and examine the best way to
handle them — starting with the first part of your proposal the
reader sees: the title page.
The Title Page
Your title page should communicate a few basic facts:
► The client name (logo optional).
► The proposal title.
► Name of your company or your name.
► Date.
► Corporate address information.
► Contact name and details.
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Figure 1: Title Page
Dramatically Raising Sales in ClientCo
A proposal by Profiles International
Profiles International Inc
5202 Lake Shore Drive
Waco, Texas 76710
+1254 7519363
Presented by: Deiric McCann
deiric@deiricmccann.com
Figure 1 above is the cover page from the template developed to
illustrate this chapter. You can see the effect that good design
can have
240
on the visual impact of your proposals. Note the use of the
graphic to make the design a little more impactful. For your
business you'd need to have your designer select an image that
makes sense in the context of your business. You might even
choose to change the image to suit each individual proposal.
That way all of your proposals will make use of the investment
you made in your template — but no two will look exactly the
same.
When you set out to design a good title page you obviously have
to look at the layout of the various elements you will display
on the page (title, subtitle, address information etc.) but you
will also at this early stage have to consider what typeface to
use. Your decision on typefaces will have an impact on all
aspects of your proposal — not just its readability. They will
also affect the look and feel' of your proposals — the first and
last impressions they make.
Typefaces and Typography
Typography is the design of the individual characters that make
up your text; and a 'font' is a set of characters sharing a
common set of design characteristics that have been defined in
advance. By the way, although the two words 'typeface' and
'font' do not mean precisely the same thing you will quite
frequently see the terms used interchangeably. For our purposes
in this book, any time the word 'typeface' or 'font' is used I
will be referring to the choice of typeface used in any given
situation.
As there are literally tens of thousands of typefaces already in
existence you do not have to become a typography expert to
create readable proposals. However, you do need to understand
one or two key principles in order to be able to make the best
decisions when it comes to selecting the fonts you will use in
your proposal.
Typefaces and First Impressions
The typeface you select conveys a very strong message to your
reader as to how you regard your content.
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Look at the typefaces below — in this example all are used to
present the
same message, but each typeface ensures that there is some
considerable variation in the way that message is conveyed:
► I want to talk to you about something very serious (Times New
Roman).
► I want to talk to you about something very serious (Arial).
► I want to talk to you about something very serious (Alba
Matter).
► I want to talk to you about something very serious (Brush
Script MT).
► I want to talk to you about something very serious (Jokewood).
The first two typefaces that are presented above (Times New
Roman and Arial) are very widely available, tend to be standard
inclusions in pretty much every word-processing program, and are
classic business typefaces.
The last three suggest varying degrees of informality, and even
fun, and would be appropriate in many social or personal
situations — but almost never in proposals (unless, that is, fun
and informality are a key part of your message).
As most of what the majority of us will write in proposals is
likely to be serious, and is likely to be presented in a
somewhat formal manner — then the fonts you select are critical
and your choices will either support an appropriately serious
tone or defy it.
Take no risks in your font selection. Always err on the side of
being conservative and, if you are in doubt about a font, do not
use it.
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If you are without any other options the two classics above are
always acceptable and will convey the sort of impression you are
striving for.
Serif and Sans-Serif Typefaces
All typefaces can be split into two main classes — 'serif and
'sans serif.
Serif typefaces tend to have small 'feet' at the base of letters
like 'T' and 'I', and to have 'curly parts' at the top and
bottom of other characters like the 'y' and 'j' (look at the
Times New Roman sample above).
Sans-serif typefaces have no such ornamentation — look at the
Arial sample above.
When to Use Serif vs Sans Serif
For printed documents like proposals readers find serif fonts
easier to read — the additional features on each character make
them a little easier to recognize and read. So, serif fonts are
recommended for the body text of your written documents.
Sans-serif typefaces make excellently clear and legible headings
and are strongly recommended any time you want to make any
element of your proposal stand out from the body text — title
pages, headings, captions, headers and footers, etc. Their
differing lines will stand out from your serif body text.
If you spend much time on the internet you will likely observe
that much of the body text in web-based documents is presented
in sans-serif fonts. This practice has emerged because the
resolution on many screens is much lower than in print — so the
additional ornamentation on serif fonts can often be 'fuzzy',
and can therefore sometimes interfere with legibility. However
you present your documents online, do not be tempted to abandon
serif typefaces in printed proposals — they will always enhance
readability and convey a slightly more formal air.
In the cover page presented in Figure 1 the title and subtitle
are both in Calibri (sans serif) and the address information is
in Constantia
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(serif). The overall effect is one of formal and serious
clarity, quality and legibility
Mixing Typefaces and Color
Your requirements for most proposals will be perfectly well met
by a combination of a single sans-serif font for titles etc. and
a serif font for body text. Unless there is a compelling reason
to do so you should avoid introducing any more typefaces into
your proposal and, in any situation, 3-4 is the absolute maximum
you should mix in any document. Any more and your proposal could
begin to look more like a ransom note!
Using color can be extremely useful in establishing
relationships between headings and in introducing a more
attractive and 'designed' feel to your proposal. However, the
advice for use of color in your headings is similar to that for
mixing fonts: use these combinations carefully — do not confuse
your reader with too many colors in headings.
In Figure 1 the use of blue for the main title and gray for the
subtitle serves well in drawing the readers eye through the
elements on the page in the order you would want them to read
them.
Introducing even one more color into such a proposal could make
the overall effect garish and confusing. Use colored headings
sensibly.
Headings
In Chapter 9 you learned how to outline the messages in the
various sections of your proposal so that the reader was drawn
through your 'story' — from idea to idea. They would start
reading at the uppermost level of the title of your section, and
be drawn deeper into your discussion of the section, idea by
idea, level by level.
The physical layout of your proposal will need to reflect the
relationships between the various ideas in your proposal's
sections. To establish those
relationships visually you will use a series of headings that
have a visually
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hierarchical relationship that reflects the hierarchical
relationships of your ideas — going from major ideas down to
minor detail.
Figure 2: Heading Designs
Proposal Title
A proposal by Profiles International
Section 1: Table of contents
Section 1
Section title
▪ Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
▪ Heading 4
Body text
Figure 2 shows you how the various headings in your proposal
layout should be related. When the reader sees any one of the
headings above it should be very easy to establish the
relationship between the information it presents and the
information presented under all other headings.
These headings should be defined in advance and saved as a part
of your proposal template. Later in this chapter there is some
advice on how to create your own template — but electing to use
a commercially available 'off-the-shelf template or to have a
designer create a template specifically for you saves you all of
this work.
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Once you have selected your fonts and designed your heading
levels, formatting the rest of your proposal becomes very easy.
Figure 3: Simple Table of Contents
Contents
Section 1: Executive Summary 8
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirement – An Overview. 16
Section 3: The Proposed Profiles Solution. 24
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed solution. 30
Section 5: Costs 35
Section 6: Appendices 40
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Table of Contents
All proposals should have a table of contents to help orient
readers on where to find key information.
Figure 3 shows a simple table of contents for a smaller proposal
— and it includes the very minimum information you include in
your table.
The larger and more detailed your proposal, the more difficult
it will be for readers to find required information — and
therefore the more detail you'll need to include in your table
of contents.
The minimum level of detail for the table of contents in any
proposal is top-level section-title headings — and you should
expand your table of contents to include as many levels of sub-
headings as you feel are necessary to make your proposal easy
for the reader to navigate.
Figure 4 shows an example of the same table of contents fleshed
out with one further level of headings for Section 2.
You should build in as many levels of headings as you feel you
need to guide the reader through the proposal.
Again depending on the size and nature of your proposal you may
also want to include a separate table of figures — a table
showing where to find all illustrations and figures. This is a
particularly useful feature to add if your proposal is technical
in nature and much of the 'story' is told through the medium of
a large number of figures and illustrations. The layout and
formatting for a table of figures should be the same as for your
table of contents.
Automating Table-of-Contents/Table-of-Figures Production
Almost every word-processing program has a feature for
automatically generating tables of contents and tables of
figures. In the case of the table of contents the software
simply searches your document for any text that is formatted as
a heading — and builds up a table from the headings by listing
them in order of occurrence in your document, formatting
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them automatically (with most word-processing programs you can
even specify the number of levels you want in your table).
Figure 4: More Detailed Table of Contents
Section 1: Executive Summary 8
Section 2: ClientCo’s Requirement – An Overview. 16
The challenge to ClientCo 16
Uneven Sales Performance across the Team 18
Budget Restrictions 19
Modern Platform Requiring No. IT Input 21
Ease of Implementation and Use 22
Section 3: The Proposed Profile Solution. 24
Section 4: Benefits of the Proposed Solution 30
Section 5: Costs 35
Section 6: Appendices 4
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To produce a table of figures your program searches for any text
that has been formatted as a caption for a figure or
illustration and builds up the table from these captions, again
listing them in their order of occurrence in your proposal.
You should check the documentation or 'Help' section of your
word-processing program for details of these useful features.
Title Page for Each Section
Including a title page for each section gives your proposal a
much more organized and professional appearance.
Figure 5 is the section-title page from the template developed
to illustrate this chapter. Keep the section titles as clear and
legible as this example. On a point of design: notice how the
simple blue line used in the section heading ties in with the
blue proposal title you saw earlier, and with the blue motif
used in the content pages you'll see later.
Proposal Content Pages
Earlier in this chapter you saw how to select different format
styles for the various elements of your proposal. It is in the
content pages of your proposal that the wisdom (or folly) of
your selections will become apparent.
In Figure 6 you can see how contrasting the sans-serif font of
the headings with the serif font used for the body text results
in a very legible document.
Body text for proposals should typically be 10-12 pt in size. I
favour 12 pt for clarity and legibility.
Note how the different heading styles make the relationships
between the various sections on the page very clear indeed. The
additional use of the indent on the second-level headings
enhances this effect. Finally, note how a very simple motif (the
small blue square) gives the document a professional finish and
a certain flair. These are elements that a designer
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will naturally bring to a template — another argument for the
modest investment required to have a professional produce a
unique template.
Figure 5: Section-Title Page
Section 1
Executive Summary
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Figure 6: Content page
▪ Modern Platform Requiring Minimum IT Input
ClientCo’s IT team specified that a solution would be acceptable
only if it exhibited the following characteristics:
▪ Entirely Web-Based Solution
Any proposed solution must be 100% web based, as it is
clientCo’s policy to take many of their support systems online
from this point forward.
▪ Require No Programming or It-Department Support
This project was not foreseen by the IT department as a support
requirement for this year; accordingly no resources will be
available to support its implementation – other than input to
the solution-evaluation process. The successful solution to
ClientCo’s requirement wills require little or no inpur from
client Co’s It department.
▪ Highly reliable system – 99% Uptime
Should the initial implementation be successful, ClientCo have
declared their intention to roll out the successful solution
nationwide. The new solution would then become core to
ClientCo’s business and they would therefore expect that it
exhibit the same high level of uptime that their other core
systems deliver.
▪ Secure – protection of personal Data
ClientCo have a tight policy on protecting privacy and personal
data and are anxious to be complaint with all data-protection
legislation. Any successful solution must provide total
protection of personal data.
▪ Single System to Multiple Independent Support Sales
Departments across the Country
Should the solution go nationwide ClientCo management will want
a single system that provides access to all candidate data
across the country – to facilitate analysis later on a branch-,
state- or nationwide basis as required. Within that system each
individual clientCo office should have access only to their own
candidate and position data.
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Paragraphs and Alignment
In Figure 6 note the use of justified' alignment — i.e. the left
and right margins are even and not uneven or 'ragged'. This
simple formatting choice makes for an overall impression of very
neat and tidy presentation of your content.
Margins
Vast tracts of text can be intimidating to a reader and so you
will find that most well-designed templates will include a lot
of 'white space' — afforded by the margins of the document on
the left/right and top/ bottom. White space makes a document
appear more inviting and easier to read.
In general you should ensure your margins are no less than 0.5
inch or 1.25 cm — and a little more can dramatically improve the
attractiveness of your document.
If you are printing on a single side of the page only
(recommended) then it is a good idea to allow a little extra
space in the left margin to allow for the space your binding
will take from your pages.
Headers and Footers
There are two other elements obvious on the content page in
Figure 6: the headers and footers — the two lines at the top and
bottom of the page which effectively frame the page.
The footer is the ideal place to put page numbers, which will
make navigation a lot easier, and the header can be used to give
the proposal a more 'published' feel — with the addition of
information like the title of the proposal and the name of the
proposing organization (as in Figure 6).
Managing headers and footers is very easy with most word-
processing programs — and all will have a feature that allows
you to skip headers and footers on your title pages. Many even
have features that allow you to have differing headers and
footers on opposite pages — so you can
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have the proposal title in one header and the section title in
the header opposite, for example.
Note that with some word-processing systems you can get this
flexibility with your headers and footers only if you create
each section of your proposal as a separate document — as
suggested in Figure 2 in Chapter 3. Anyway, creating the
proposal in separate sections is a great way of ensuring you
have maximum flexibility in terms of reusing any or all of the
content of your proposal sections in future proposals. After you
have created several proposals in this manner you'll have a
library of 'modules' that you can potentially use 'as is' or
with some adaptation to the requirement in hand.
I also frequently create the title page, section-title pages and
table of contents as a file separate to the rest of the proposal
— making it easy to reuse these elements, which will be common
to most proposals you will ever write. Together these elements
are like an empty proposal 'container' — saving you a lot of
layout and formatting work in the future.
Make Sure Your Content-Page Styles Work
The content pages are where your readers will spend most of
their time when reviewing your proposals. So, when you have
settled on a set of styles for the various elements of these key
pages be sure that the overall effect is one that encourages you
to read the proposal. I would strongly recommend that you have
some colleagues or client's review your layout and provide
feedback on any aspect of it that they find less than clear or
friendly (again, having a designer produce a template for you
makes all of this process very easy indeed).
Design Your Layout Yourself?
Your proposals do not need to represent cutting-edge design.
Turning out professional-looking proposals using applications
like Word for Windows is really quite easy — especially when you
take advantage
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of the many additional templates that are available for download
at www.microsoft.com.
However, if you want to make your proposal more distinctive and
give it more of a professionally designed feel then you have two
options: use one of the many commercially available templates
marketed on the internet — or have a designer design a template
especially for you.
Neither of these options is terribly expensive and both will
provide you with a layout design that could make your proposal
look dramatically different to all others your readers review.
To find commercially available templates simply Google the
phrase 'proposal template' or 'business-proposal template' and
you'll find lots of inexpensive options.
Alternatively, if you wish to invest a little more you'll find
lots of designers who are happy to bid for designing your
template on sites like www.elance.com, www.guru.com and
www.99designs.com.
Buying a professionally designed 'off-the-shelf template, or
having one
designed especially for you, is a genuine investment — as any
template you purchase or have designed will be reusable in all
your future proposals.
For the purposes of illustration in this chapter I have used a
template that was designed especially for this book. You can
access a free copy of that template, and details of how you can
contact its designer, at www.write-a-business-
proposal.com/template.
Creating Your Own Templates
Once you have settled upon suitable styles for each of the
elements discussed above you are in a position to create your
own proposal template should you wish to do so.
If you do decide to create your own template then there are
three options at your disposal:
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► From a Blank Document
This is the most time-consuming approach — you start with a
totally new document and begin, one by one, to create and save
all of the style elements for your proposal template.
► From an Existing Document
If you have a proposal with styles that you have found effective
then you can create a template from that document with a few
simple clicks of your mouse.
► From an Existing Template
Most word-processing programs already come with a selection of
templates built for different purposes — but most do not include
a template made specifically for proposals. If you have a
template that simply needs a little update and adjustment to
turn it into a proposal template then this is a very
straightforward process. For example, you could take the copy of
the template used to illustrate this chapter, which I have
provided free of charge for readers at www.write-a-business-
proposal.com/template, and adapt that to your particular
requirement.
The instructions below show how to create templates using all
three of these methods. In these instructions I use Word for
Windows 2007 for demonstration purposes. The approach for other
versions of Word or for other word-processing programs will be
similar (if you do not use Word, or if you want more detailed
instructions, you should consult your programs documentation or
'Help' section).
Creating a template from a blank document:
1. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'New'.
2. Click 'Blank Document', and then click 'Create'.
3. Make the changes that you want to the margin settings, page
size and orientation, styles, and other formats.
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4. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'Save As'.
5. In the 'Save As' dialog box, click 'Trusted Templates'.
6. Choose your file name, select 'Word Template' in the 'Save As
Type' list, and then click 'Save'.
Creating a template from an existing document:
1. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'Open'.
2. Open the document that you want.
3. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'Save As'.
4. Make the changes that you want to appear in all new documents
that you base on the template.
5. In the 'Save As' dialog box, click 'Trusted Templates'.
6. Give the new template a file name, select 'Word Template' in
the 'Save As Type' list, and then click 'Save'.
Creating a template from an existing template:
1. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'New'.
2. Under 'Templates', click 'New from Existing'.
3. Click a template that is similar to the one that you want to
create, and then click 'Create New'.
4. Make the changes you want to the margin settings, page size
and orientation, styles, and other formats.
5. Click the Microsoft Office button, and then click 'Save As'.
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6. In the 'Save As' dialog box, click 'Trusted Templates'.
7. Name the template, click 'Word Template' in the 'Save As
Type' box, and then click 'Save'.
A Good Layout Is Essential
There is an old saying: 'Clothes maketh the man.' How your
proposals look and feel, how easy they are to read and the
extent to which they look like some effort was invested in
turning out a quality product all give you an additional edge
over your competitors.
Do not cheat yourself out of more proposal successes than you
deserve by skimping on the time, effort or money necessary to
clothe all of your winning proposals in the finest design and
layout you possibly can.
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chapter eleven
Presenting Your Proposal
258
259
Having completed the whole proposal-development and production
cycle, producing a proposal which offers the client the best of
all possible solutions, most proposal writers will put their
masterpiece into an envelope and dispatch it by post or courier.
But formally presenting the finished proposal can often be the
difference between success and failure.
Why Bother to Present Your Proposal?
What if the client doesn't take the time to read your first-
class winning proposal? What if they miss those important
aspects of it which make it so unique? Chances are that much of
your hard work could go unnoticed. Some less deserving proposal
might even win the business.
The best way to avoid this possibility is to insist upon taking
your finished proposal to your client personally, offering to
present to them an overview of its main points. A good proposal
presentation can give you a significant competitive edge.
Furthermore, research has shown that, with effective
communication, 55 per cent of the message is communicated by
visual cues, 38 per cent by vocal cues, and only 7 per cent by
verbal (word-choice) cues! Table 1 shows how, of all of the
typical elements which can assist communication effectiveness,
only two are deliverable by the written word.
The conclusion is simple: the best way for you to ensure your
message gets across to your client's is to get in front of them
and present it.
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Table 1: The Good Communications Mix
Written Word Telephone One to One
Frame of Reference
Words Used
Tone of Voice
Question/Answer
Verbal Prompts
Graphics Used
Physical Surroundings
Eye Contact
Body Language
Facial Communication
Some client's may not want one-to-one presentations, however,
preferring instead to select vendors on the basis of submitted
proposals alone. In this instance, don't be too concerned — as
long as no one else gets to present their proposal in person,
you are no worse off than anyone else, and your winning proposal
will maximize your chances of success.
Where you do get the opportunity though, be sure that you take
advantage of it. Be prepared: develop your proposal presentation
well in advance.
KEY POINT
Research shows that in effective communication 55 per cent of
the message is communicated by visual cues, 38 per cent by vocal
cues and only 7 per cent by verbal (word-choice) cues — so
present your proposals in person every chance you get!
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Your Proposal Presentation
You can prepare a successful proposal presentation in the five
logical steps illustrated in Figure 1. Each step is discussed in
detail below.
Step 1: Select a Presenter
A good presenter can make a mediocre presentation great, whilst
a poor presenter can make a great presentation a disaster.
Selecting a presenter is one of the most important parts of the
proposal-presentation cycle.
Whoever you feel is the best communicator on the team should
present the proposal. This does not always mean the salesperson,
or the most senior person, or the team member with the best
knowledge of the products/services, but the one you feel is
capable of holding an audiences attention and putting the
proposal points across in an interesting and believable way.
"Why doesn't the fellow who says, 'I'm no speech-maker' let it
go at that instead of giving a demonstration?
- Kin Hubbard
Step 2: Prepare the Presentation Body
Having selected who will present your proposal, you must now
develop the presentations content. Figure 2 is a model of the
content of a typical proposal presentation.
Successful presenters prepare for a presentation on the
assumption that their target audience has no knowledge of their
proposal, the problem they are setting out to solve, or the
solution they are offering.
The first element of the proposal presentation to prepare is the
Presentation Opening.
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Figure 1: Develop and Deliver Your Proposal Presentation
Step 1
Select a presenter
Step 2
Prepare the presentation body
Step 3
Anticipate objections and prepare responses
Step 4
Script and rehearse the presentation
Step 5
Deliver the presentation and handle objections
Part 1: Presentation Opening
As with all interpersonal communications, the first few minutes
of a presentation often make or break the presentation — they
set the tone for all of what follows.
Introduction. Your initial words in opening your presentation
should be to thank your audience for the opportunity to present
your proposal to them. The case-study opening lines would be
along the lines of:
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Before we begin, I would like to thank you all for taking the
time from what I know are busy schedules, to discuss how
Profiles can help ClientCo increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent, by end of the current year,
using the approach outlined in our proposal.
Continue by introducing any other members of your presentation
team, with a brief sentence or two on their backgrounds and the
reasons why they are valuable additions to the presentation team.
Keep this element brief and to the point.
Agreement of Objectives — The Objectives Statement
The next thing that you must do is agree with your audience the
objectives you share for this proposal presentation. The best
way to do this is by summarizing the client's requirement in a
form with which your client is likely to feel comfortable, and
agreeing with them that you are there to present and discuss a
solution which will meet this requirement.
At this stage you should refer to the nature of your solution
only briefly, in the knowledge that you will discuss it in
greater detail later. This brief agreement of objectives should
be summarized in an Objectives Statement.
Be sure that your Objectives Statement reflects your client's
view of their problem. Consider the proposal strategy which you
formulated in Chapter 7 and phrase your Objectives Statement to
emphasize the client's particular sensitivities and concerns.
Think about what you learnt in your PPR session (Chapter 6).
Always try to reflect in your Objectives Statement any concerns
previously expressed by key client personnel.
In no more than a minute or two, you should set the scene for
your presentation, reminding your audience as to why you are all
there, and leading them smoothly into your suggested agenda for
the presentation.
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Figure 2: Proposal-Presentation Content
Part 1
Presentation Opening
Part 1
Presentation Opening
Part 3
Company Profile
Part 4
Requirement
Part 5
Proposed Solution
Part 6
Benefits of the Proposed
Solution
Part 7
Costs
Part 8
The Close
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Part 2: 'Suggested' Agenda
Introduce your 'suggested' agenda, asking your audience to add
any topics which they feel should be included. Getting their
approval on your agenda gets them accustomed to working with you
to meet common objectives; it can also uncover any issues which
you may not have come across up to this point. In most cases,
however, you will find your audience happy to proceed on the
basis of your 'suggested' agenda.
Your agenda is to your presentation very much what your
Executive Summary is to your proposal — an overview. Figure 3 is
the 'suggested' agenda for the case-study presentation.
Figure 3: Case-Study 'Suggested' Agenda
Suggested Agenda
▪ Agenda: overview and objectives
▪ Who are Profiles International?
▪ Profiles proposal-building methodology
▪ ClientCo requirement: our understanding
▪ Your requirement: questions and clarifications
▪ One possible solution: an overview
▪ Next steps
The key thing to emphasize in using your agenda to explain the
structure of your presentation is that the core of the
presentation is based on the 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits'
model — because of your
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stated objective of helping the client in developing a solution
to their requirement. Everything else is secondary.
At this point your client has agreed the objectives for the
presentation, and has agreed on an agenda which will help you to
meet those objectives together. Your next challenge is to
establish your credibility as a potential partner in meeting the
client's requirement. Do this by profiling your organization,
its skills and experience, and its client base.
Part 3: Company Profile
There are three basic elements you should address in the
Company-Profile part of your presentation.
History of the Company
Your client will want to feel that whomever they give their
business to will be around to provide them with ongoing support
in the future. So, if your company has been in business for a
very long time, you should be at pains to stress this point.
Similarly, if your organization has been in business just a
relatively short time, but has enjoyed success which suggests
that it will certainly be around in the long term, you should
stress this success. If, however, you are a start-up or if this
client would effectively be your 'pioneer' client, then you
might do better to address the history in just one or two bullet
points, focusing your credibility pitch on your skills and
experience.
Skills and Experience
It is important that you outline all of the previous projects
you have undertaken which have provided you with experience that
will be valuable in the delivery of this proposed solution. A
bullet point on each aspect of your skills and experience is
sufficient — but elaborate on each bullet during your
presentation. Where you have any particularly well-known or
well-regarded team members, or where individuals on your team
have experience that is particularly relevant to the client's
requirement, or skills not readily available elsewhere, be sure
to mention this fact in your presentation.
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KEY POINT
To convince your client that you are capable of accurately
analyzing their requirement, and producing a suitable solution
to that requirement, you must first establish your credibility.
Always have a strong profile of your organization, its skills
and experience and its premier client's ready to present.
Client References
Client references are perhaps the most compelling credibility-
builder you can put in front of your prospective client. Select
one or two of your current clients, ones with whom you feel the
client will readily identify (ideally someone in a similar
industry or one sharing a similar requirement that you
successfully addressed) and profile in light detail — not too
much length — how you successfully met their requirements. Also
make reference to any other client's of whom your audience will
be aware, even if the solutions provided to them are not similar
to the one you are proposing here. The more successful projects
you can point to in organizations similar to your clients, the
easier it will be to be taken as an authority in the client's
industry and business area.
Part 4: Client's Requirement and Objectives
If you have worked through the Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology outlined throughout the rest of this book, then you
will be able to speak about the client's business as
authoritatively as any of your client audience.
Before proceeding with a detailed discussion of the requirement
itself, you should outline how you developed this comprehensive
understanding of the requirement. Refer to your previous
contacts with the company, to the RFP document, to conversations
and meetings with various individuals within the client account
(name them), to your Pre-Proposal-Review (PPR) session (Chapter
6) and so on. Make
268
it clear to the audience that you have gone far beyond what one
would normally expect, to develop a truly accurate understanding
of their requirement.
KEY POINT
Always make a point of reminding the audience of the large part
they themselves had in helping you to define their requirement
accurately — if they helped, then your analysis must be correct!
The Requirement Itself
You will now use the Outline Requirement Statement that you
developed in Chapter 6 as the basis of your discussion of your
client requirement. Revisit these slides, ensuring that they
make all of the points you wish to make on your understanding of
the requirement.
Step through this bullet-point summary of the requirement, point
by point, but before you do so, summarize the main thrust of the
client requirement in one or two sentences. As with the opening,
these words will be based very closely upon what you wrote in
your Executive Summary. You have already effectively scripted
yourself in the production of your proposal -just follow that
script. For example, the introductory lines to the case study
might be:
ClientCo's sales team has 45 sales experienced sales
professionals — all with excellent backgrounds and experience in
the industry However, sales performance across this team varies
widely — from the highest performers, who deliver a performance
against quota of as much as 139% (the top ten range from 111% to
139% with an average performance of 125%), to the lower
performers, who deliver as little as 82% against quota (the
bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an average performance
of just 92%). It is this
269
gap of 57% between the highest and lowest performers that
rightly concerns ClientCo.
If ClientCo can determine what it is that makes their top
performers so much more productive than their average and bottom
performers, and if they can use that information to raise the
performance of every member of their sales team to the level of
their top performers, then they can achieve the several-hundred-
percent increase in sales performance mentioned earlier.
Summarizing the requirement in this way allows any of the
audience who have a different view of any aspect of the
requirement to let you know now, before you begin to discuss
your proposed solution in detail.
Part 5: The Proposed Solution
The presentation material for your Outline Solution Statement
(Chapter 6) can be used largely as is, with only as much
cosmetic work as is necessary to tie it into the look and feel'
of the rest of your presentation.
Before you talk your audience through your solution, explain to
them the way in which it was developed. Briefly describe the
Requirement-Mapping and Solution-Mapping processes. Explain that
you will describe your solution in exactly the same format as
you did their requirement, so that they can see how each of
their individual requirements has been addressed in your
solution. Then summarize the main thrust of the solution in a
few sentences.
Having worked through your proposed solution in this manner,
your client will have a good understanding of it, and of the
manner in which it is described in your proposal. Their
immediate concern now will be, 'What's in this solution for us
(or even me)?'
Part 6: Benefits of the Proposed Solution
In Chapter 9, you developed a Benefits section for your
proposal. At the outlining stage, you produced a bullet-point
listing of all of the
270
benefits which your client could expect to accrue from
implementation of your proposed solution. Use these bullet
points now to present the benefits in an order which represents
what you feel are your client's key concerns. Leave nothing out.
At the same time, don't make unrealistic or unbelievable
promises — this will only devalue your other genuine positive
benefits.
"The show-off is always shown up in a showdown.
- Fortune cookie
As you present this discussion, be mindful of the analysis you
did on your competitors and the Proposal Strategy you adopted
(Chapter 6). If a given benefit is absolutely unique, then go to
great pains to position it as an absolute 'must have' for any
successful solution, proposed by anyone, to meet the client's
requirement.
Finally, if you are presenting a benefit which you feel may be
found lacking when compared to a competitor's likely solution,
then discuss it only in as much detail as is necessary to
explain that you have addressed this area. When you are
preparing for objections, you will prepare responses to
questions on such weak points.
One of the areas where you are most likely to encounter
objections, regardless of how well you are positioned against
your competitors, is on costs.
Part 7: Costs
In any presentation where you present costs, be sure to
introduce them only after the 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits'
part of the presentation — otherwise your costs could simply
turn the client off before you get to make the key points in
favour of your proposal. Regardless of how strong your proposed
solution is no client really wants to have to pay for it!
271
KEY POINT
When you decide to include a costs discussion, be sure to
address this element only after you have covered the detail of
your proposed solution and the benefits associated with it.
In general, if costs are higher than expected, or higher than
any competitive alternatives, and tend to put you at a
competitive disadvantage, then you would be well advised to
conduct a detailed return-on-investment (ROI) analysis in
advance of the presentation, and be well prepared to demonstrate
that the costs are relatively low when compared to the superior
bottom-line contribution your solution will make to the client.
Be sure that there are no hidden costs and that you point this
fact out. Have a clear, detailed understanding of how the
project is costed. Any uncertainty on your part may come across
as an attempt to hide some less attractive aspect of your costs
structure. Project an attitude that says that you do the best
job in the industry, and that this cannot be done at a lower
cost. Focus on value, not cost.
The cost discussion will complete the part of your presentation
focusing specifically on the content of your proposal, and bring
you to one of the most important parts of your proposal
presentation — The Close.
Part 8: The Close
A successful proposal presentation will move you substantially
closer to doing business with your target client and may even
allow you to 'close' the deal there and then.
Ask for the Business
Whether you believe it realistic to expect to close the deal
there and then or not, you should always ask for the business.
Think of it as a
272
'trial close', designed to determine how near you are to being
able to close. A negative answer gives you opportunities to
uncover previously unrecognized objections, which you will have
to address before you go for a real close.
Next Steps
The final thing you will do before you conclude the presentation
session is to agree with your client what the next steps are to
be. If you have noted issues or questions, then you will
reiterate these to the client, committing as to when and how you
intend to address them. If you haven't yet secured the business,
you will want to find out from the client how they will proceed
from that point in making the decision.
KEY POINT
Use audio-visual presentation aids to enhance the communication
of your message. But be careful not to overdo the use of such
aids and let your media become more interesting than your
message.
With a good reason to maintain regular contact with the client,
you can uncover and address any objections arising after the
presentation. So, when you are preparing and scripting your
presentation, think about what next steps will give you this
reason to stay in touch.
With the body of your proposal presentation complete and a good
idea of how you will deliver your main messages, you must now
consider any objections you are likely to encounter, developing
positive responses to these objections.
Step 3: Anticipate Objections and Prepare Responses
Regardless of how strong your proposal is, you will always
encounter some objections from your audience. The best way to
address objections
273
is by anticipating them in advance and preparing responses prior
to the presentation.
When you are preparing, reviewing or rehearsing your
presentation take note of any point at all to which your client
could possibly raise any sort of objection. Be sure that you
have included every objection you can conceive of. Don't just
rely on your own judgment in this: ask other members of the team
to identify any points upon which they feel the client might
base an objection.
When you have what you feel to be a comprehensive list of likely
objections, develop positive responses to them. If any of the
objections are technical in nature, either be sure that you
assimilate sufficient knowledge to be able to handle the
objections yourself, or plan to invite one of your more
technical colleagues who will support you at the presentation to
address those objections.
Be sure before you proceed with your presentation that you have
identified all likely objections and have prepared responses and
tactics for handling them. You will see how to use these
responses later in this chapter.
KEY POINT
You will always encounter some objections to your proposed
solutions, however well considered and presented they may be.
The key to countering these objections successfully is to have
anticipated them in sufficient time to allow you to prepare
adequate responses.
Step 4: Script and Rehearse the Presentation
With the presentation content developed, and responses to likely
objections prepared, the best way to ensure success now is to
script the entire presentation and practice, practice, practice.
Proper rehearsals
274
ensure that your message is clear and easy to follow. Rehearsal
also allows you to spot any gaps in your presentations arguments
before you go in front of your client.
Scripting Your Presentation
Although it may seem unnecessary the most constructive thing you
can do to ensure the success of your presentation is to script
it. Write it down — all of it. You will find that even the
simple exercise of scripting your presentation will identify
gaps in your arguments, and help you to identify likely
questions or objections which you can later address, in the
manner discussed below.
By preparing a script for your presentation, you can ensure that
you effectively 'control' the flow and direction of the
presentation, even if there are many interruptions.
"It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good
impromptu speech.
- Mark Twain
Rehearsing Your Presentation
Use the script to practice your delivery of the presentation,
right down to the gestures and movements you will use during it.
Rehearse until you feel absolutely confident. When you're
comfortable that you have achieved the requisite combination of
content, tone, pace and animation, then present to your
colleagues. Ask for frank feedback on any aspect of your
'performance' which they feel simply doesn't work. Accept any
positive criticisms and modify your presentation until you are
happy that it does work.
Step 5: Deliver the Presentation and Handle Objections
It is important for anyone in your organization who has any
involvement
275
with proposal presentations to polish their presentation skills
continually. This can best be done by attendance at any of the
many courses available on good presentation, or by reference to
the many fine books concentrating on the subject. Of course, you
may well be an experienced and accomplished presenter, but you
can always improve. A regular course on presentation skills can
keep your skills fresh and effective.
Your manner must suggest that you yourself are impressed and
enthused by what you are presenting. If you can't muster this
enthusiasm, then simply don't do the presentation. Get someone
else to present for you.
KEY POINT
Enthusiasm is contagious and compelling. If you can't generate a
high level of enthusiasm for your presentation material, then
leave the presentation to someone who can.
Handling Objections
Don't force your audience to wait until the end of your
presentation before you answer their questions — don't let
doubts or concerns fester. At the outset, offer to answer
questions throughout. If, however, you receive a question which
is logically answered later in the presentation, and you
perceive no great downside to postponing addressing it, then say
so. Note the question, and when you reach that point in the
presentation refer back to the questioner to ensure that they
are satisfied that you have addressed their concern.
If you have prepared adequately, you will be ready to address
the majority of objections raised. So, when they are raised,
follow the five-step approach outlined below.
276
1. Do and say nothing (for a moment) — this indicates that you
are truly thinking about the objection, that your response is
not just one of a set of glib, rehearsed responses. Also, it
will often prompt the questioner, or another audience member, to
expand upon their objection, even to the extent of suggesting
what they think your response should be.
2. Confirm your understanding of the objection — objections can
very often arise from misunderstandings on the part of the
client. So, never attempt to address an objection until you have
qualified it as valid. In paraphrasing the objection, you also
have the opportunity to present it back to the client with an
angle which better suits your planned response.
3. Respond to the objection confidently and authoritatively —
this is where your preparation for objections is so valuable. If
the objection was one which you had not anticipated, then either
formulate a reasonable response or offer to research the
objection later and to return to them with a response.
4. Confirm that your response has satisfactorily addressed the
objection — if not, then return to Step 2 and restate the
objection, or a new
definition of the particular aspect of the objection which you
have failed to address.
5. Return to where you were in your presentation — when you have
addressed an objection, return to the point you had reached,
briefly summarizing the ground covered up to that point.
Key Points in Objection Handling
► View every objection positively: they are all opportunities to
drive home the more positive benefits of your proposal.
► Be very careful not to be seen to be defensive in responding
to objections.
277
► Be enthusiastic about your company, and its products and
services — regardless of what objections are raised. If you are
not confident enough of yourself to keep your head high, then
the client will not be able to be positive about you either.
► Don't lie or exaggerate.
► The client is always right — even when they're wrong.
► Don't ever give up. Stay in the game to the end.
KEY POINT
Don't take offense at, or be frightened by, objections. Learn to
view them positively. Every one is an opportunity to move
yourself closer to doing business with your audience.
With all of the above preparation complete, it only remains to
deliver your presentation. With the preparation time you have
invested, you will find this a relatively easy task. One of the
most important aspects of your proposal's presentation is the
handling of audience objections. Having prepared for these
objections in advance, your presentation should go a long way
towards moving your client towards a position where they feel
comfortable with the idea of doing business with you.
"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the
fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
278
After the Presentation — Follow Up
As soon as you return to your office, you should write and
despatch a letter to all of the attendees by way of follow-up on
your presentation. In that note you should:
► Thank them for the time they took to meet with you to discuss
how you might 'work together in implementing a successful
solution to their requirement'.
► Summarize the main points raised, and any particularly
important conclusions reached or views accepted.
► Clarify any points which the presentation revealed your client
might find unclear in the proposal document itself.
► Summarize the next steps you agreed, noting any timescales
decided upon.
KEY POINT
Get your follow-up note back to your audience as soon after the
presentation as possible. Besides impressing them with your
interest in winning their business, you have a much better
opportunity of driving home important points while the
presentation is still fresh in their minds.
► Outline as many reasons as you possibly can for maintaining
ongoing contact with anyone involved in the assessment cycle.
► Put yourself 'at their disposal' for any problems they have
with, or questions they have on, your proposal.
279
Complete this note on the same day as the presentation, or as
soon after as you possibly can. Don't trust it to the postal
service — have it delivered by courier.
In the days and/or weeks that follow the presentation, and until
a decision is announced, maintain as close contact as possible
with the client decision-makers.
What Next?
Having done a great of presenting your proposal and ensuring
that every aspect of it is well understood by your prospect you
will now formally deliver the proposal to them. Your proposal
should always be accompanied by a cover letter and, for reasons
discussed in Chapter 12, that cover letter must be as compelling
as the proposal itself in presenting your business case. Chapter
12 takes you through a step-by-step process to create a winning
cover letter.
280
281
chapter twelve
Proposal Cover Letters and Letter Proposals
282
283
Proposal Cover Letters
In Chapter 111 suggested that you NEVER deliver your proposal in
any manner other than in person — and that chapter took you step
by step through the process of creating a compelling and
impactful proposal presentation.
However, even in situations where you get to present your
presentation you will want the proposal to be accompanied by a
cover letter that introduces it briefly.
Sadly there will be occasions when your client will not allow
you to personally present your proposal and will insist that all
proposals be delivered by courier or mail in the first instance.
For both of these situations you will need a proposal cover
letter.
The purpose of the cover letter is to entice the recipient to
read the proposal — or at least to read the Executive Summary
and, if they fail to do so, to provide enough information to
position yours as a strong solution to their requirement.
In turn, the purpose of the Executive Summary is really to
entice the reader to read the other sections of your proposal so
that they can see all of the detailed reasons why your solution
to their requirement is superior to all others — and, again, if
they don't read the entire proposal, to position yours as a
strong solution to their requirement.
284
Finally, you could also say that the purpose of the main
sections of the proposal are to direct to the Appendices section
those readers who must have 'proof that all you say in support
of your proposed solution is true.
That being the case you can see that there must be a clear
relationship between the messages in the proposal cover letter,
Executive Summary, the main proposal sections, and the 'proof
material in the Appendices section — they are all connected by a
common thread: the 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-Proof
Winning Proposal Model (Chapter 3).
Each of these four elements must contain essentially the same
message — with the only difference between them being the level
of detail you must include in each.
Figure 1: Proposal Element Relationships
285
Figure 1 graphically illustrates the relationship between these
key proposal elements — at each level the relevant document must
be written using the Winning Proposal Model so that the same
selling-oriented dialog is established with readers regardless
of little or much they read. The message at each level is
precisely the same — but as you travel from the cover letter
down through the Executive Summary and onwards through the
proposal body you get that message in greater detail. The result
is a coherent selling dialog with all readers — regardless how
much or little they read of your overall proposal 'package'.
The reality is that there is the distinct possibility that some
readers will only ever read the cover letter accompanying your
proposal; others will read the cover letter and be drawn into
the Executive Summary; still others will be enticed into the
greater detail of the main sections of the proposal; and finally
a small number of others, likely your more technical readers,
will dip into the Appendices.
What is clear is that the cover letter, Executive Summary, main
proposal sections and Appendices must all be capable of selling
the greater merits of your proposed solution — and the only
difference between these elements of your proposal will be the
level of detail you can provide in the space available to you.
Producing Your Cover Letter from Your Proposal
Given the relationship between the cover letter and the
Executive Summary it is logical that the cover letter will
simply be a vastly stripped-down version of your Executive
Summary — one that presents only the really key points you'd
like to make under each of the headings of 'Requirement-
Solution-Benefits-Costs-Proof' model.
In cover letters I strongly suggest that you stay away from
'costs' and 'proof content and focus exclusively on the
requirement, solution and benefit aspects of your proposal.
However, I repeat my earlier advice given when you were
constructing your Executive Summary — if your costs give you
such an extraordinary advantage over all other likely proposers
that they could make the difference between winning and
286
losing, then by all means include them in your cover letter. Use
your judgment — but if in doubt leave them out.
Figure 2(a): Case-Study Proposal Cover Letter — Page 1
Deiric McCann
Profiles International
5205 Lake Shore Drive
Waco, Texas 76710
Joseph Blayne
CEO
ClientCo Industries
ClientCo Street
ClientCo City
ClientCo State & Zip
Dear Joseph,
Profiles international is delighted to have the opportunity to
respond to your requirement for a solution that will
dramatically increase your sales volume over as short a period
as possible.
The accompanying proposal provides an extremely comprehensive
response to all of the requirements outlined by the clineCo team
in discussion over the last several weeks.
Until we meet on Wednesday and I present the main points of the
proposal to you in person, here is a quick overview of the
proposal’s content.
CLIENTCO’S CHALLENGE
ClientCo’s sales team has 45 sales professionals – all hired for
a specific combination of education, skills and experience that
they share in common, which should assure that all are highly
successful in their position. However, sales performance across
this team varies widely-from the highest performers, who deliver
a performance against quota of a much as 139% (the top ten range
from 111% to 139% with an average performance of 125%), to the
lower performers, who deliver as little as 82% against quota
(the bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an average
performance of just 92%). It is this gap of 57% between the
highest and lowest performers that rightly concerns ClientCo.
ClientCo has the potential to increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent – if they can determine what
it is that makes their top performers so much more productive
than their average and bottom performers, and if they can use
that information to raise the performance of every member of
their sales team to the level of their top performers.
PROFILES’S COLUTION
As discussed, Profiles will establish a customized online
Assessment Center (‘Profiles on the Web’) to enable Clientco to
comprehensively assess their sales team. Using the Profile XT we
will assess your entire team and use our unique ‘Success-
Pettern’ technology to identify the
287
Figure 2(b): Case-Study Proposal Cover Letter — Page 2
Particular combination of attributes that make your top-
performing salespeople so successful. By analyzing the top
performers we will identify the particular combination of
learning abilitites, behavioral/personality characteristics and
work interests/motivations that makes these people capable of
performance at such a higher level than their peers.
As you saw, the proposed Profiles on the Web (POTW) system
provides a wide range of ‘plain-English’ reports that will allow
you and your managers to manage every people decision you ever
have to make – but will most particularly help you to:
• Identify candidates with the same unique combination of
success characteristics as your current top performers.
• Provide detailed information to sales management on precisely
what combination of coaching, training and management is
required to raise the game of each of your average or below-
average performers to the performance level of your top people.
• Use the success pattern and candidate information you build on
your POTW system to more effectively manage succession and
career-planning activities.
BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
1. Exceptional return on investment.
2. Extremely low entry costs.
3. ‘Pay-as-you-use’ model.
4. Proven track record with similar organizations.
5. Fast implementation – no special training or certification
required.
6. Countrywide support.
7. Inexpensive to take nationwide – and global.
All at Profiles International are completely committed to
dramatically increasing he sales results in ClientCo by several
hundred percent in a matter of a few months.
Assuming ClientCo make a decision to proceed with implementation
by May 11th the solution can be fully implemented by July 1st,
with the first concrete results ready to report well in advance
of the ClientCo annual Conference planned for Q4.
Many thanks for the opportunity to work with you on what we are
certain will be a conspicuously successful partnership.
Sincerely,
Deiric McCann
To begin constructing your cover letter think:
288
'... if I got an opportunity to meet the prime decision maker on
this project and had time enough to make just one or brief
points on the requirement, solution and benefits aspects of my
proposal, what would I say?'
This will tell you what you should draw from your Executive
Summary to form your proposal cover letter.
Figures 2(a) and 2(b) present the cover letter produced to
accompany the case-study proposal (the proposal you wrote in
Chapter 9). In Chapter 9 the entire content of your proposal was
telescoped down into a compelling Executive Summary Your cover
letter has telescoped the Executive Summary even further down.
Observe how the cover letter sets your readers up to understand
the Executive Summary; the Executive Summary sets them up to
understand your main proposal sections; and your main proposal
sections make sense of the more detailed 'proof material in the
Appendices section.
That's the relationship your cover letters should always have to
your proposals. Keep the Winning Proposal Model in mind at all
times and you'll maintain this strong thread, this powerful
selling dialog, through all of your proposal correspondence.
Letter Proposals
'I Don't Need Such Large Formal Proposals'
Much of the discussion to this point has focused upon the
production of larger, more formal, multi-section business
proposals.
But what if your business is one where the value, or simplicity,
of what you're selling is such that more formal, multi-section
proposals like those discussed so far are not entirely necessary?
If that's the case then don't put yourself to the extra effort
of producing something too elaborate — indeed, never be more
elaborate than you
289
need to be to get your message across. Do not have your reader
feel that they are working any harder to understand your
proposals than those of your competitors.
If you can get by with what I'll call a 'letter proposal' — a
proposal where the entire content is summarized in a single
letter response — then that's what you should produce.
Figure 3: The Letter Proposal in Context
However, you can still make yourself stand out from your
competition, and win more business, by using the Winning
Proposal Model of 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-Proof' to
create your letter proposal.
The key point is that, whether you're addressing a requirement
that requires a large detailed multi-section proposal or a
simpler letter
290
proposal, you should be sure to employ the proven Winning
Proposal Model to maximize the impact.
So where does the letter proposal fit in the hierarchy presented
in Figure 2? As the level of detail will not be as low as the
cover letter or as high as the Executive Summary for a larger
proposal you can see that it logically sits somewhere in between
these two levels.
That being the case you'll have already realized that your
letter proposal can also be produced by the process used to
produce the Executive Summary for a larger proposal in Chapter 9
— but with the content of each section consigned to one or two
brief paragraphs.
Take a look at the letter proposal below (Figures 4(a)—4(e)). It
was written to address precisely the same case-study requirement
as the larger, more elaborate, multi-section proposal written in
Chapter 9 — the only difference is that the entire content is
built into a single letter.
This is essentially a letter version of the Executive Summary
produced in Chapter 9.
The thinking is the same, the process of developing the proposal
is the same (just smaller scale), and the impact upon the client
is the same — this 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-Proof'
response to your client's requirement will always impress with
its businesslike, consultative, solution-oriented approach.
Never Forget...
In all proposal exercises you have just one ultimate goal — to
sell. Be sure not to confine your solution-oriented thinking to
the proposal document itself. Every time you must produce any
sort of correspondence or support material to accompany or
support your proposal be sure to enhance the messages in your
proposal by employing the Winning Proposal Model to create a
selling dialog with your client's and prospects.
291
Figure 4(a): Case-Study Letter Proposal — Page 1
Deiric McCann
Profiles International
520 Lake Shore Drive
Waco, Texas 76710
Joseph Blayne
CEO
ClientCo Industries
Clientco Street
Clientco City
Clientco State & Zip
Dear Joseph,
It was a pleasure to meet with you again yesterday to talk about
how we could work with Clientco on the development of a solution
that would have such a dramatic impact on the performance of
your sales organization.
Further to your request when we met I have kept this proposal to
the ‘bare bones’ necessary to outline our understanding of the
requirement and how Profiles would work with you to address it.
Should you require any further information I would be delighted
to provide it.
CLIENTCO’S CHALLENGE
Clientco’s sales team has 45 sales professionals – all hired for
a specific combination of education, skills and experience that
they share in common, which should assure that all are highly
successful in their positions. However, sales performance across
this team varies widely – from the highest performers, who
deliver a performance against quota of as much as 139% (the top
ten range from 111% to 139% with an average performance of
125%), to the lower performers, who deliver as little as 82%
against quota (the bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an
average performance of just 92%). It is this gap of 57% between
the highest and lowest performers that rightly concerns Clientco.
Clientco has the potential to increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent – if they can determine what
it is that makes their top performers so much more productive
than their average and bottom performers, and if they can use
that information to raise the performance of every member of
their sales team to the level of their top performers.
Such an increase in sales would come with no increase in numbers
of sales personnel, so all such revenue increases would directly
impact the bottom line – with an upside potential as much as
several hundred percent of current sales performance.

292
Figure 4(b): Case-Study Letter Proposal — Page 2
PROFILES’ SOLUTION
As discussed, Profile will establish a customized Online
Assessment Center to enable ClientCo to comprehensively assess
their sales team. Using the Profile XT we will assess your
entire team and use our unique “Success-Pattern’ technology to
indentify the particular combination of attributes that make
your top-performing sales people so successful. By analysing the
top performers we will identify the particular combination of
learning abilities, behavioral/personality characteristics and
work interests/motivations that make these people capable of
performance at such a higher level than their peers.
ClientCo’s challenge is one that is faced by the sales
management of the organization on a day-to-day basis, and that
challenge will only be met and addressed effectively by that
same team working upon it on a day-to-day basis. It is clear
that any solution proposed must be entirely usable by all
members of the sales-management team – there should be no
requirement for any sort of specialized certification or
training in order to make use of the solution. A range of
reports are required to meet various aspects of the challenge
(hiring, development, management, succession and career planning
etc.) and these reports must be presented in clear, everyday
sales language – and require no interpretative input from
psychologists or specially trained individuals.
As you saw, the proposed ‘Profiles on the Web’ (POTW) system
provides a wide range of ‘plain-English’ reports that will allow
you and your managers to manage every people decision you ever
have to make – but will most particularly help you to:
• Identify candidates with the same unique combination of
success characteristics as your current top performers – so that
every time you hire you’ll have the ability to more quickly and
effectively identify the candidates who are capable of similar
performance – and screen out those who are not.
• Provide detailed information to sales management on precisely
what combination of coaching, training and management is
required to raise the game of each of your average or below-
average performers to the performance level of your top people.
Using this information your management will be able to raise the
performance of each member of their sales teams step by step.
• Use the success pattern and candidate information you build on
your POTW system to more effectively manage the succession and
career-planning activities that you correctly identified are so
critical to ‘locking in’ your best people and reducing costly
turnover of top performers.
It was clear in our meeting that, as the initiative to identify
and acquire a solution to this challenge is not one that formed
part of the ClientCo’s IT-department planning at the outset of
this year, no IT resources have been allocated to support the
initiative. For this reason we are delighted to be able to
propose a solution that is entirely web based – requiring no
specialized hardware or software, and no programming or ongoing
support from your IT department whatever.
293
Figure 4(c): Case-Study Letter Proposal — Page 3
BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
1. Exceptional Return on Investment. The accompanying return-
on-investment analysis clearly demonstrates that the system
will have completely paid for itself by end of the current
year, and will provide a return of investment in excess of
200% over the year to end 20XX.
2. Extremely low entry costs. The entire POTW solution – from
start to finish – will cost ClientCo just $X,XXX. This is
possible because ClientCo’s customized Online Assessment
Center will be provided at a one-off cost of just $XXX (with
an annual hosting charge of just $XX).ClientCo will have an
entire online system for about the same cost as a single
licence for the office-suite software used in ClientCo
offices.
3. ‘Pay-as-you-use’ model. The only time ClientCo will have
any additional cost is when you wish to assess a new candidate
for the first time – at which point the cost per candidate is
just $XX – and, as explained below, once a candidate is in the
POTW ClientCo may run any additional analysis, and produce any
additional reports they require at no further cost.
4. Proven track record with similar organizations.Profiles
have been privileged to work with many of clientCo’s peers in
the pharmaceutical industry; I have attached case studies and
testimonials outlining the success of implementations similar
to that proposed to ClientCo.
5. Fast implementation – no special training or certification
required. As discussed, busy sales manager do not have time to
become assessment experts. Managers will learn how to
effectively use the system in just one half day training
 session – this is uniquely possible with Profiles’ offerings
as all of the results interpretation is undertaken by the
expert software at the heart of POTW – producing manager
usable reports presented in ‘real English’.
6. Countrywide support. Profiles International supports a
network of 700 Strategic Business partners nationwide, and a
centralized telephone- and online-support team, that can
provide Clientco managers with support anywhere they require
it – and at any time.
7. Inexpensive to take nationwide – and global. The POTW
system provides ClientCo with 15 ‘sub-sites;’ at the outset.
Each of these sub-sites will meet the needs of a ClientCo
branch nationwide. After that initial 15 sites have been used
clientCo can add additional sites for a one-off cost of just
$XX – and there is no limit on the number of additional sites
clientCo can add to their system.
This will make expanding this system nationwide extremely
inexpensive – it will also make expansion of the system to
meet global requirements similarly inexpensive. Coupled with
Profiles’ support for 50 + languages in 106 countries this
initial implementation will be extremely strategically
significant for clientCo.
COSTS
Mindful of your explanation of the current budget situation we
are proposing an initial implementation of the system at less
than $X,XXX, and providing the facility to assess
294
Figure 4(d): Case-Study Letter Proposal — Page 4
Candidates on an ongoing basis for just $XX – and to add
additional ClientCo branches nation- or worldwide for just $XX.
As discussed, there are three cost elements in the
implementation:
1. Web-based Assessment Center. As discussed, we will set up a
private Online Assessment Center (POTW) that will allow
ClientCo to fully administer all aspects of candidate
assessment completely independently. Setup and hosting of the
assessment center costs an annual $X,XXX. Your assessment
center will provide you with the ability to score candidates’
results, archive these results in a database, create job
profiles, and produce the reports for hiring, retention,
coaching and raining and career/succession planning. This
software will allow you to derive benefit from the information
gathered in candidate assessments ad infinitum.
2. Implementation, Setup and Training. This costs a once-off
$XXX (one day in total). Profiles will train an administrator
(half-day), co-ordinate the assessment of the initial
candidates and produce the required profiles from their
 results. We will also oversee production of a full range of
useful reports to ensure that you derive immediate benefit
from the initial assessments used to establish the first
benchmarks. Once the profiles have been established we will
spend one half day training sales management in how to make
best use of the reports from the system. When this phase is
complete the system will be completed implemented, with all of
your team’s results on the system, all of your benchmarks
developed, and your entire organization ready to use the
system effectively.
3. Per-Candidate Cost. Every time a candidate is entered into
the system for the first time, the software levies a nominal
charge for scoring their results. Once their results are in
the system there are no further costs associated with
producing any of the system’s reports on this candidate into
the future. So, once you have assessed any individual for a
project you will be able to use the system to assess their
future suitability for other project into the future – at no
additional cost.
The cost per candidate is on a sliding scale based on the
quantity purchased at any one time.
• 1—10 $XXX
• 11-24 $XXX
• 25-49 $XXX
• 50-99 $XXX
• 100+
Therefore the total cost of a project that profiled XX people
would be:
• Assessment Center Website $XXX
• Implementation/Training $XXX
• 45 x profile Assessments @ $X,XXX
Total: $X,XXx*
* Please not that the price breaks above would make it more
economical for you to purchase 100 assessments for $XX,XXX.
295
Figure 4(e): Case-Study Letter Proposal — Page 5
Profiles are completely committed to dramatically increasing the
sales results in the ClientCo team by several hundred percent in
a matter of a few months.
Assuming ClientCo make a decision to proceed by May 11th the
solution can be fully implemented by July 1st, with the first
concrete results ready to report well in advance of the ClientCo
annual Conference planned for Q4.
Thank you again for the opportunity to work with you on what we
are certain will be conspicuously successful partnership.
Sincerely,
Deiric McCann
And Now, the Hardest Part...
Whether you created a full-blown multi-section or letter
proposal you have given the business your best shot and should
now simply be finding as many solid reasons as possible for
staying in touch with the proposal assessors — maintaining
communications so that you can identify and address any
potential stumbling blocks that arise in the assessment process.
Much of the time all you really can do is wait.
When the decision is announced and you know whether you have
been successful or not, Chapter 13, Win or Lose — What Now?',
will prove very useful.
296
297
chapter thirteen
Win or Lose — What Now?
298
299
You'll Win More, Lose Fewer
The promise of this book is that you will significantly increase
your hit rate with proposals if you assimilate the tools and
techniques described for building winning proposals, and build
them into the way in which you do business. The simple fact is
that focused, client-centered proposals are far more effective
than almost anything else in helping you to win business, and
designing and delivering this sort of proposal is what this book
is all about.
So, you can expect to win a lot more business as you start to
design all of your proposals to be winning proposals. However,
when your proposal does win that business for you, the real job
begins — you need to be sure that you never, ever have to work
quite as hard to win business from that same client again. Your
next proposal to that client should be much more informed, and
should be much better received by that client — if you have done
a good job for them first time around. So, one of the purposes
of this chapter is to remind you of the sorts of things you
should be doing once you land that business (besides
celebrating!)
On the flip side, however, regardless of how well you conduct
your business, how good your proposals are, and regardless of
the superior quality of your products and services, you will
sometimes find yourself losing business. This can be quite a
blow, particularly when you feel that you are doing things so
well. But losing a deal can often give you very valuable
feedback on how to improve your way of doing business in the
future — if you know how to go about soliciting this sort of
feedback from the client whose business you have just lost.
Without some tried-
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and-tested approach for broaching the subject with the client in
this situation, it can sometimes seem too much trouble, or too
awkward, to bother with. This chapter gives you that tried-and-
tested approach.
You Won, Well Done — What Now?
The sale is closed, you won the business. What you do now is
much more important than anything you have done so far. This is
when the work really begins, when your client gets to see what
you're really made of. If you do a good job now, then you have a
client who will not need as much (if indeed any) selling to get
them to want to do business with you again in the future. Even
if the formal proposal cycle must be observed on future deals,
if you deliver what you promised, you will have a client to whom
you will never have to resell by any other means than
continually delivering on what you promise. Customer loyalty is
built through what happens after the sale is made, and is,
perhaps, the most valuable asset you, or your business, can have.
So, when you win the business, try to deliver more than you
promised. Begin to implement early, if this is of value to the
client. Complete earlier. Ensure that you will certainly deliver
what you promised absolutely on time. And then, work a little
harder. Be seen to over-perform.
Make sure that the client is happy that they elected to work
with you and not with one of your competitors.
Don't confine this 'feel-good factor' to your client, though. Be
sure that your own team is happy that they decided to give you
all of the help and that you needed to win the business. Make
sure that they get the recognition they deserve.
Don't Forget Who Really Won
If you've won using the approaches promoted in this book, then
it wasn't you alone who won the business — it was the team. Make
sure that everyone inside and outside your organization is aware
of that fact.
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Remember that, depending on the nature of your business, it may
be that some of the proposal-team members — perhaps your
technical-support people — are going to have more contact with
the client over the period of the sold projects implementation.
So, make sure that the client is also sure of the high esteem in
which you hold these people, of the contribution that you feel
they made to formulating a winning solution to the client's
problems.
Find Out Why You Won
Apart from giving credit where it's due, be sure that you
understand precisely why you won the business in the first place.
In the next section you will read about 'debriefing', a
technique for ensuring that all losses yield the sort of
valuable information that makes it less likely that you will
lose next time. When you have familiarized yourself with the
technique, then begin to apply it to all of your deals, even
those which you win.
For every successful deal ensure that you understand fully why
you won the business, what made the difference, what you did
right. Also, find out what you did wrong, what might have lost
you the business, and take steps to ensure that it doesn't
happen next time around.
Find out what your main competitors did right, and what they did
wrong. Understand what might have won the business for them, and
add this intelligence to your competitive database. Remember, if
your competitors didn't get it right at least some of the time,
they could not be in business. If you can uncover even one new,
good idea which your competitors are using to positive effect,
then the whole exercise is worthwhile. Always maintain a healthy
enough respect for your competitors to want to know how to deal
with them in the future.
A successful project will give you momentum in a client account
which you cannot win any other way. Use every successful project
to consolidate and expand your business relationship within the
client account.
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The potential that opens up to you when you win is limited only
by your imagination, and is probably easy and pleasant enough to
consider. But what about when you lose?
Thinking the Unthinkable
Face it. On one of these fine deals the unthinkable is going to
happen. You're going to prepare the best proposal of your life,
proposing the best solution possible to your client's
requirement, at an extraordinarily good price. You're going to
run the deal according to all of the books, from start to finish
— and you're still going to lose. It happens. In a way it has to
— a win is not half as satisfying and compelling if you don't
understand what it is to lose.
Don't let losing frighten you, though. Fear of losing is even
more damaging than losing itself- it numbs you, saps your
spirit, stops you from going after other deals.
What's the only way to overcome fear of losing? By losing a deal
every now and then, unfortunately. But more particularly, by
dealing with these losses in a positive fashion. Welcome the
occasional loss as a real learning opportunity, because that's
just what losses are — the best learning opportunities of your
career.
"When things go wrong, don't go with them.
- Anonymous
If you could achieve a consistent 70-per-cent hit rate with your
business proposals, you would probably be quite happy with
yourself and your performance. Yet a 70-per-cent hit rate means
losing almost as many as you win.
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If you're not losing too many deals, then perhaps you're not
chasing quite as many opportunities as you should, and
consequently not winning as many as you could either. It's a
numbers game. The trick is to make these 'occasional' losses as
occasional as possible — which has been the focus of this book
so far. However, you are still left with the challenge of
dealing with the occasional losses.
Losing and Failing
The real danger of not taking this broader view is the potential
to take every loss as a confidence-damaging failure.
Losing is, however, not necessarily failing. A lost deal is a
fact, one with which you must learn to cope. A failure, on the
other hand, is largely a state of mind, an attitude to loss —
and a potentially dangerous attitude. If every lost deal makes
you feel like a failure, then you will, ultimately, convince
yourself that you are indeed a failure — particularly when you
go through those dry periods that we all suffer from time to
time.
If, however, you develop a positive mental attitude towards
losing the odd deal, and if you can find some positive way to
wring some good from a loss situation, then every deal — lose or
win — will be a success of one kind or another.
With lost deals you have three challenges:
► Learning to cope with them — developing a healthy attitude to
losses.
► Figuring out how to benefit immediately in some way from these
losses.
► Working out how you will turn these short-term failures into
longer-term successes.
If you can achieve this, then you will begin to view your losses
as no more than a consequence of doing business, a consequence
which does
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nothing to deflect you from your ultimate aim of winning an ever
greater share of the business you pursue.
"I have made mistakes, but have never made the mistake of
claiming I never made one.
- James G. Bennet
Coping with Losing
So, just how do you cope with a loss? Well, certainly not by
running away from it, by pretending it didn't happen. You cope
with it by having a healthy enough attitude to losses that you
can face them, exorcise them, get them out of your system, and
ultimately learn something useful from them.
Perhaps it is a little hasty to say that you should never run
away. In the immediate aftermath of a loss, often one of the
most comforting places to run to is a prospect list with a
number of other deals which just might go your way. Never leave
yourself exposed to a situation where any given proposal,
however good it may seem, is the only deal you have on the go.
Gather your list of prospects around you and take comfort from
it.
However, it's still essential that you find out what (if
anything) went wrong with the lost deal and learn whatever
lessons you can from it. Exorcise it.
So, how do you go about exorcising a loss? What needs to be
exorcised anyway? We'll examine the second question first.
Salespeople are a breed unto themselves, a breed with often
larger than average, and almost always very fragile, egos. We
have an inclination to take a loss personally and to assume that
it has happened as a result of some shortcoming in ourselves.
Maybe it was your fault, but before you get
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into self-flagellation, be sure. How can you be sure? By asking
the only reliable source on this one — the client.
And how do you ask? By requesting a debrief meeting.
The Debrief Meeting
The debrief is perhaps the most useful meeting you will ever
have with a client, at least with a client whose business you
have just lost. A debrief is a meeting, common in most
industries, that is given to you as a matter of courtesy to give
you some insight into why you were unsuccessful in winning that
client's business.
It is an opportunity to learn the real reasons why you lost the
business. The debrief puts you and your client at a table to
discuss the reasons for your loss, arming you with the knowledge
you need to avoid any shortcomings next time round.
"Good judgment comes from experience; and experience, well, that
comes from bad judgment.
- Anonymous
When the concept of a debrief is suggested to salespeople who
have never participated in one, many question whether they are
really entitled to a debrief- that is, whether they are really
entitled to know the reasons why the client failed to select
their proposed solution. Of course you are entitled. How much
work and time did you put into trying to solve that prospects
problem? How much did it cost you to pursue their business? In
light of the ultimate negative outcome, you could be forgiven
for thinking that perhaps you might have made better use of your
time and money (however, when you later consider some of the
potential positive outcomes of a loss, you may not be quite so
sure).
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Always remember that you are just as valuable to your
organization as any of your client's personnel are to theirs,
and your time is just as valuable as that of any client you will
ever encounter. Ask for that debrief.
The advantages of a debrief include the following.
Personal Contact
A debrief session often allows you a level of contact within the
prospect account which you may not have enjoyed during the sales
cycle, and, given that you may want to do business with this
account again, this personal contact can be very valuable.
Opportunity to Prove Your Professionalism
At various points throughout this book proposals are discussed
as opportunities to prove your professionalism. What better way
to strengthen this message than by showing just how professional
you can be, even in the face of a loss? Such professionalism is
never forgotten. Next time you go to do business with that
account, your professionalism will be remembered, particularly
if it is obvious that you have benefited in some way from the
outcome of the debrief.
Find Out What You Did Wrong
A further, and perhaps obvious, benefit of the debrief is that
it actually should give you some insight into what you did wrong
(if, indeed, you did anything wrong — prospects do occasionally
make wrong decisions!)
Knowing exactly why your client or prospect felt that they could
not give you their business, and deciding on a course of action
to avoid this problem recurring in future deals, has the dual
effect of allowing you off your own personal hook, exorcising
any nagging self-doubt, and giving you the input you need to
learn from the loss.
So, debriefs have a lot going for them. Never, ever lose a deal
without seeking a debrief.
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Preparing for a Debrief
As with any other meeting, preparation is absolutely vital.
Perhaps the most important question you need to ask yourself in
preparing for a debrief is, 'What do I want to achieve?'
Remember that the purpose of a debrief is to learn just why you
were unsuccessful in winning your prospects business. It is not
to remonstrate with them for a wrong decision. It is not to
point out their mistakes or misunderstandings. It is not to try
to turn their decision around (it is assumed that you have
already tried to do this). And it is definitely not to let you
tell the prospect what you think of them and their dreadfully
silly decision.
Keep your debrief short, focused, to the point and professional.
Have a number of questions ready and be prepared to take copious
notes (and to be seen to do so). At a minimum include the
following questions:
► Can you detail the particular factors that prompted you to
select the successful bidder, particularly when compared to our
proposal?
► Would you be prepared to give us copies of non-proprietary
parts of the successful vendors proposal to allow us to analyze
more closely why their bid was more successful, and to allow us
to address any shortcomings in our approach to winning future
business with your organization? (Don't be shy of asking for
this sort of material — many client's will provide this valuable
input to your competitive analysis, which is discussed in
Chapter 7.)
► If these factors had been present in our proposal, would you
have been prepared to do business with us? If not, why not?
► How would you suggest that we might have improved our chances
of winning your business?
► Are you prepared to consider us for any future business that
might arise? (And if not, why not?)
308
► Are there any other current requirements that we might be able
to meet?
► Can we stay in touch on a regular basis to keep you informed
of developments in any of the areas that you found lacking in
our proposal?
It is not terribly important to have a wide range of questions
covering all aspects of the deal. You will find that even the
general questions above should steer the meeting sufficiently to
allow you to build a good understanding of why you were
unsuccessful on this occasion.
Your Attitude During a Debrief
Your specific objective is to get greater insight into just why
you lost the prospects business. An equally important objective
is to demonstrate your professionalism and to position yourself
for doing business with that client in the future.
To achieve this, ensure that your attitude and behavior during
the debrief are exemplary. Use the following guidelines:
► Be pleasant.
► Hold your head high.
► Be consummately professional.
► Have an agenda, share it, stick to it and leave when it's been
completed.
► Be seen to 'run' the debrief.
► Be careful not to come across in any way aggressive or bitter
(disappointed is okay).
► Don't pout or be long faced.
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► Be careful not to wallow in your loss too much — be seen to
accept it. Lose well, but don't be a good loser.
► Don't be afraid to pursue issues pertinent to the reasons for
your loss until you have a satisfactory understanding of them.
► Be positive, particularly in your objective that you would
like to do business with the prospect on another occasion.
► Don't be argumentative, stay away from unnecessary detail of
the prospect's handling of the evaluation process.
► Don't be over-friendly; don't simper; don't crawl.
► Don't allow the conversation to move away from the job at hand
to general chit-chat until you have the answer you came for.
"Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always
like it the least.
- Earl of Chesterfield
If your feelings about the client's decision, or the way in
which it was made, are such that you feel that you will have any
difficulty in following these simple guidelines, in remaining
absolutely professional, then forget about a debrief session —
you may do yourself more harm than good. Instead have another
member of the team undertake the debrief — on the basis of their
Impartiality'.
Learning from a Lost Deal
Your debrief will usually give you some useful insight into the
reasons why you failed to win your prospect's business. You may
even be starting to feel a little bit better about yourself and
your efforts. But
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how do you use what you were told at the debrief? If there were
ways in which you mishandled the deal, if there are some
shortcomings in your organization in general, how do you go
about correcting them? Simple, have a 'post-mortem', a 'wake' if
you like, and then bury the loss.
In-House Post-Mortem
An in-house post-mortem is by far the best way to use the
information you have gleaned from your debrief session. In order
to ensure that you don't lose business for the same reasons
again, you must:
► Share these results with anyone who had input into the
unsuccessful proposal and with anyone who may have input into
any future proposals, particularly proposals to the same account.
► Brainstorm on how best to address these shortcomings in the
future. The outcome of this session should help you to form a
series of objectives that concentrate on correcting any problems
in the way you go about your business.
► Put a plan in place to address any identified shortcomings.
And, when this plan is in place and you are happy that it will
produce the desired results, forget about the loss and get on
with your business. You can then be happy that your loss was not
a complete loss — you did learn something from it which will be
valuable in the future.
"Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.
(Perhaps some day it will be pleasant to remember these things.)
- Virgil, Aeneid
This post-mortem process can be positive, revealing and very
helpful. However, the process can also be uncomfortable, even a
little painful
311
for your team members. Be sure that you point out to your team
at the outset of the exercise that the objective of the session
is not to identify scapegoats or to assign blame. If you fail to
do this, you will find it impossible to get good input from the
team — and this is an exercise which only works if you and your
team are prepared to be absolutely honest, if there is a real
determination that the outcome of the process will be
improvement.
KEY POINT
When you do lose a deal, always ensure that you use a debrief
meeting and an in-house post-mortem session to ensure that you
turn the loss into a more positive experience.
Stay in Touch with the Account
If you perceive that there may be future potential for doing
business with this account, and if your debrief session
indicated that they would be happy to consider you for any
future business, then you will be thinking about how you will
develop this account in the future. At the core of such an
account-development plan will be a program of ongoing account
contact, designed to build your relationship with key personnel
within the organization, and to develop a profile of your
organization and its offerings within the account.
One of the most immediate opportunities for again contacting
those key people within the account is the presentation of the
results of their input during the debrief session.
If the debrief session was such an eye-opener that it causes you
to institute a program which has been responsible for great
positive changes in the way you do business, then let the
prospect know this. Drop them a note thanking them for their
valuable input, and explaining
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how you ultimately used this insight to achieve improvements in
your products, services or the way in which you do business.
In Summary
Occasional lost deals are an inevitable consequence of doing
business, regardless of how good you, your products or your
services may be. It is important to put lost deals in their
proper perspective — to avoid allowing them to shake your
confidence and that of your team. Develop an attitude that
allows you to forgive yourself for your losses — an attitude
whereby you recognise the important contribution a few lost
deals can make to the way you do business.
More importantly, however, ensure that you get some return on
your significant investment of time and effort into business
that you do not ultimately win. Do this by getting a debrief
meeting for each and every deal you lose, and by using the
output of this debrief meeting to fuel your in-house post-mortem
session. If you do this, then your hit rate will continually
improve, and the need to deal with losses will become a less
important feature of your daily business life.
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Appendix I
Case Study: Pharmaceutical Sales Team
The following pages detail a case study based on a real-life
proposal-development cycle. For the sake of brevity and
simplicity much relatively unimportant detail has been
eliminated from the discussion of the client requirement.
However, there is sufficient detail to make the case study very
valuable in illustrating some of the techniques and concepts
covered in Chapters 4-9. A familiarity with this case study is
particularly useful in aiding understanding of the Requirement-
Mapping and Solution-Mapping techniques discussed in Chapters 4
and 5.
The Client
Management of a large sales team from the city office of a
multinational pharmaceutical sales organization with a strong
presence in all major cities worldwide.
The Requirement
This office of ClientCo runs a sales team consisting of 45
salespeople. All of these salespeople sell the same range of
products to the same
314
target market, with each salesperson carrying a sales quota that
has been carefully set to reflect the opportunities in his/her
particular geographical segment.
All earn the same basic salary and enjoy the same
commission/bonus structure — so that their basic cost to the
organization is the same in all cases.
All these salespeople were selected for their positions for the
combination of education and experience that ClientCo's
management have determined is the ideal for sales
representatives selling their products.
However, when they analyzed the sales performance of the team
they found that, despite their efforts in selecting salespeople
for the best possible experience and qualification, not all
members of the team were performing at the same high level.
In fact, when they analyzed the sales performance of the team
for the previous three years they found that:
► The top-performing ten salespeople were achieving an average
of 125% against sales quota — with individual performance
ranging from 111% to 139%.
► The bottom-performing seven salespeople achieved an average
performance of just 92% against quota -with individual
performance ranging from 82% to 99% of quota.
So, among 45 people doing the same job for the same
remuneration, and at the same base cost to the organization,
there was a gap of 57% between the best performer and the worst.
ClientCo have determined that if they can determine how to raise
all of their team members' performance to the level of the top
performers then they would increase the team's sales performance
by several hundred percent — at no additional cost to the
organization.
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However, despite working over a period of three years in fine-
tuning their recruitment, management and training processes,
ClientCo have been unable to break this pattern of uneven
performance across their sales team.
Other Requirement Information
It was at this point that Profiles International first met this
client, and began to discuss the possibility of implementing a
system that would profile the particular combination of
attributes that made their top performers so successful — so
that this profile could be used to recruit more people like
their top performers, and to train/manage their existing average
and bottom performers so that they could achieve results like
their top-performing peers.
It is the development of a proposal to meet this requirement
that is used to illustrate the various techniques and tools
employed throughout this book.
In initial meetings with Profiles International ClientCo also
set out the following additional information on other aspects of
their requirement:
► Budgets had already been set for the year, so any proposal
solution would need to be extremely cost effective, and would
ideally be provided on a 'pay-as-you-use' basis.
► It was deemed likely that a successful solution would be
rolled out to all other ClientCo offices across the country, and
perhaps even globally. Accordingly, any proposed solution should
be expandable on an office-by-office basis without excessive
cost.
► The proposed solution must be easily usable by sales managers
— requiring no special qualifications or training to implement.
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► The proposed solution must provide support for existing sales
recruitment and training initiatives (interview support,
training-plan support etc.)
► As this project had not been foreseen at the start of the year
ClientCos IT department had not budgeted time or resources to
help with the implementation or ongoing support of any new
systems. For this reason any proposed solution must require no
input whatever from ClientCos IT department.
► Any system-handling data related to ClientCos people must be
proven to be entirely secure and compliant with all personal-
privacy legislation.
► With the key role that the sales department plays in the
success of ClientCo it was made clear that any solution proposed
would need to be proven to be extremely reliable.
► The proposed solution must be proven successful in similar
applications elsewhere.
In subsequent conversations with members of the ClientCo
acquisition team the requirement was fleshed out even more — and
you will see how this requirement was expanded upon as you read
through the book — especially Chapter 4.
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Appendix II
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the title given to a collection of simple
techniques designed to facilitate better group problem-solving.
These techniques can be used for a variety of purposes, such as
to define a problem or to define a solution for a problem
previously defined.
Brainstorming is mentioned in Chapters 4 and 5 as an integral
part of the Requirement-/Solution-Mapping process. The following
discussion on the basics of the technique is sufficiently
detailed to facilitate the processes discussed in Chapters 4 and
5. Readers interested in the broader uses of brainstorming can
find a lot more detail on its many variants in the large number
of books available on problem-solving.
The basic brainstorming technique includes three stages of
activity:
► Idea generation, where the group contributes ideas on every
possible aspect of the topic being considered, with no critical
evaluation by other group members.
► Idea incubation, where the group takes a break from the idea-
generation phase, leaving the brainstormed list of ideas to
develop in their subconscious.
► Weeding, where the group takes the list of brainstormed ideas
and evaluates their validity in light of the goals of the
session.
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When Is Brainstorming Effective?
Brainstorming is most effective when the following conditions
exist in the group planning to use the technique:
► Common interest — brainstorming is most effective when the
group is working on solving a problem that is important to all
members of the group, or when the problem is important to at
least some members of the group, and the remaining participants
join the session with the attitude that they will work
positively together to get the best possible outcome. Even where
there is common interest, however, brainstorming is rarely
effective where there are personality clashes between key
members of the group.
► Confidence that the problem is realistically soluble — there
must be confidence on the part of the group and group leader
that the problem at the center of the session is actually
soluble.
► Informality — brainstorming is an informal technique and is
best suited to situations where informality is the order of the
day. It does not lend itself well to formal meeting situations,
or to use by groups where differences in status are likely to
compromise informality.
► Good leadership — the freewheeling informality of a
brainstorming session can often intimidate less experienced
brainstormers into silence. A good session leader can overcome
this problem. A good leader acts as a facilitator, capable of
listening carefully and encouraging contributions from all
members of the group, noting all of them in a positive form. If
a leader demonstrates that all contributions can be used
positively, the group will open up to the process much more.
How Is a Brainstorm Session Run?
The following are the three basics steps involved in running a
successful brainstorming session:
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1. Generate as Many Ideas as Possible
The first stage of a brainstorming session involves the
generation of as many ideas as possible for solutions to the
target problem.
The problem, or problems, to be addressed should be noted on a
flipchart sheet and pinned up in clear sight of all participants
in the session. Participants are invited by the session leader
to contribute any, and all, ideas (however apparently crazy)
they might have for solutions to the target problem. As ideas
are introduced, they should all be noted.
There are variations on the brainstorming theme, but most share
the following common rules (which should be noted to all
participants at the outset, and also pinned up in clear sight of
all participants).
Rules of Brainstorming
► If you have an idea, contribute it. If it's worth thinking,
it's worth saying; if it's worth saying, it's worth noting.
► Don't criticise or analyze ideas as they are introduced in the
brainstorming session — suspend all judgment of ideas for the
period of the session.
► Avoid discussion. If you have input on someone else's idea,
formulate it as further input of your own.
► If someone says something that you find yourself evaluating,
bite your tongue. Even apparently crazy ideas will likely have
some small percentage of merit. Build positively on this small
percentage.
► If you come up with an idea, but someone's already talking,
write your idea down and get it in ASAE
► Generate as many ideas as possible.
► Allow the session to 'freewheel'.
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2. 'Incubate' the List of Ideas
One of the things that you must achieve to ensure successful
brainstorming sessions is an open, non-judgmental, uncritical
frame of mind. This is perfect where you wish to generate as
many ideas as possible on as many facets of the problem in hand
as possible. This frame of mind is not, however, ideal for the
later 'weeding' of the list of generated ideas — where you want
to restore your critical faculties and unmercifully eliminate
any brainstormed ideas or solutions that are impractical or
inappropriate.
For this reason, the 'weeding' session should always be preceded
by an 'incubation' session. This break has the merit of allowing
the session's participants to muse subconsciously on the
brainstormed ideas, and to allow them to get into the frame of
mind necessary for this phase of the brainstorming exercise. The
incubation period also has the merit of reducing the
sensitivities which some people can feel when their ideas are
culled in the interest of identifying the best possible
solutions. The length of this break can vary — it should be a
couple of hours at the very least.
3. 'Weed' the List of Ideas
Having generated a large number of possible solutions to the
problem which the session was designed to solve, and having
allowed a suitable incubation period in between, the final step
is the 'weeding' of the list to eliminate impractical or
inappropriate ideas. Each idea should be considered against the
problem whose solution was the goal of the brainstorming
session. This 'weeding' process should be ruthless — only the
best possible solutions should survive.
Brainstorming and Winning Proposals
Brainstorming is simple to learn and remarkably effective in
practice. As an integral part of the Requirement-/Solution-
Mapping process of Chapters 4 and 5, it is essential that you
and your team become fully familiar with the technique, and
comfortable in its use.
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Appendix III
The Winning Proposal-Building Methodology
In the discussion of the Pre-Proposal Review (PPR) presentation
in Chapter 6 I suggest that you should present an overview of
the Winning Proposal-Building Methodology — with a view to
selling the client on granting you an exclusive opportunity to
work with them on the development of a solution to their
requirement.
In order to keep that chapter flowing I have extracted the more
detailed discussion of the winning methodology to this appendix.
The Winning Proposal-Building Methodology
Figures 1 and 2 and the accompanying notes below present a more
client-oriented overview of the Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology designed to highlight the benefits to the client of
working with you in applying this methodology to developing a
solution.
The first five steps of the Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology are presented in Figure 1.
Step 1: Assemble the Team and Assign Responsibilities
Depending on the size of your organization and available
resources, you may need to book these people early. Explain to
your client that
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your proposal teams are always assembled to include the specific
skills demanded by any given client requirement.
Step 2: Requirement Mapping and PPR Agenda
Once the team has been assigned the most pressing need is a
detailed analysis of the client's requirement. Using the
Requirement-Mapping process described in detail in Chapter 4,
and the steps in Chapter 6, you will produce an Outline
Requirement Statement that describes the client's requirement in
detail (Chapter 6, Figures 2(a)—2(e)).
At the same time you will undoubtedly uncover aspects of the
requirement upon which you need further clarification — at this
stage you simply compile all such questions in the knowledge
that you will later address them with your client in the Pre-
Proposal Review (PPR).
Figure 6 in Chapter 6 provides a structure that you can use as a
start point for developing your own outline agenda for the PPR.
Step 3: Initial Solution-Building Exercise Initial Input from
Team Members
Explain the Solution-Mapping technique that you used to produce
the Outline Solution Statement. Explain that the major benefit
of this technique is the extent to which the outline solution is
based on the outline requirement. The solution produced is truly
tailored to the client's requirement.
Outline Solution Statement
All that you require for this part of the exercise is the
Outline Solution Statement that you prepared using the approach
described in Chapter 6 (Figures 3(a) — 3(e)). Remember, your
purpose in this part of the PPR is to demonstrate to the client
that you have already spent some considerable time and effort
thinking about their requirement. By presenting an outline
solution in this manner, you provide an opportunity for the
client to discuss with you in greater detail exactly what will
be required of the successful solution.
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Figure 1: The Winning Proposal-Building Methodology (1)
Step 1
Assemble team and assign responsibilities
Step 2
‘Requirement Mapping’ to produce ‘Outline Requirement Statement’. Produce question/clarification list
and ‘Pre-Proposal Review’ (PPR) Outline Agenda
Step 3
Solicit inputs to ‘Solution-Mapping’ exercise to develop ‘Outline Solution Statement’
Step 4
PPR Presentation: Introduction to proposal methodology Outline requirement and outline solution
Questions and clarification
Step 5
Post-PPR requirement update and review
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Figure 2: The Winning Proposal-Building Methodology (2)
Step 6
Update ‘Solution Map’, build final solution and review against requirement
Step 7
Assign proposal sections to appropriate team members
Step 8
Assemble proposal sections – edit, revise and rewrite Insert graphics; apply appropriate layout and
design
Step 9
Proofread and inspect finished proposal
Step 10
Present proposal to client and deliver thereafter
Step 4: The Pre-Proposal Review
Here is your opportunity to explain how this PPR process fits
into your methodology By the time you have finished reading
Chapter 6, you will be an expert on the PPR process, and will be
more than capable
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of describing its importance to your client. Drive home the
point that the PPR is part of the consultative process which
helps you to produce first-class solutions every time.
Step 5: Post-PPR Requirement Update and Review
Explain that you blend your initial knowledge of the requirement
with the newly acquired depth of understanding of the
requirement that the PPR has given you, to produce a categorical
statement of exactly what the client requires — in great detail.
Explain that you use this Final Requirement Statement to fuel a
further Solution-Mapping exercise, which produces the solution
which you will posit in the final proposal.
Step 6: The Final Solution Build
Now that you have revised your understanding of the client
requirement, you must revise the initial solution you had
designed to meet that requirement — taking account of all of the
new input you got during the PPR. Stress that the final solution
is produced not as a result of a simple sales effort, but from
the application of a proven business-analysis process, which
draws on all of the expertise in your team.
Step 7: Assign Proposal Sections to Team
The task of fleshing out the new solution in detail will be
undertaken by those members of your team most expert in the
various aspects of the requirement. Explain that the client will
have the benefit of your entire team working to produce the best
possible solution to their requirement.
Step 8: Proposal Preparation and Assembly
All of the issues associated with the final blending of your
team's input into a compelling selling proposal are addressed in
Chapters 9 and 10. The main point to emphasize to your client is
the very large part that the quality of the content and of the
presentation plays in the finished product.
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Step 9: Proofreading and Inspection
Explain to your client that you take great pains to ensure that
your proposals are produced to the very highest standards, and
describe briefly the Proposal-Inspection process detailed in
Appendix VI.
Step 10: Client Presentation
This is not just an opportunity to sell the benefits and
differentiating elements of your solution, but a further
opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism, your attention
to detail.
In presenting an outline of your Winning Proposal-Building
Methodology at the PPR it is absolutely essential that you get
the prospects commitment to allow you the time to come back and
present the main points of your proposal, when the finished
proposal is ready for submission. Don't be afraid to ask for
this courtesy. You will have earned it.
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Appendix IV
Full Case-Study Executive Summary
The Complete Case-Study Executive Summary
Here is the entire Executive Summary for the case study. Notice
that while all of the elements of the Winning Proposal Model are
well represented, the run order is slightly different. As with
all writing, get all of your most important points as close to
the front of your piece as possible. Note how the particular
strengths of the solution come out so strongly in this specimen,
and how the tone of the cost strategy focus permeates the entire
section.
Raising ClientCo's sales by XX%
ClientCo's sales team has 45 sales professionals — all hired for
a specific combination of education, skills and experience that
they share in common, which should assure that all are highly
successful in their positions. However, sales performance across
this team varies widely — from the highest performers, who
deliver a performance against quota of as much as 139% (the top
ten range from 111% to 139% with an average performance of
125%), to the lower performers, who deliver as little as 82%
against quota (the bottom seven range from 82% to 99% with an
average performance of just 92%). It is this gap of 57% between
the highest and lowest performers that rightly concerns ClientCo.
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ClientCo has the potential to increase their sales output by a
factor of several hundred percent — if they can determine what
it is that makes their top performers so much more productive
than their average and bottom performers, and if they can use
that information to raise the performance of every member of
their sales team to the level of their top performers.
Such an increase in sales would come with no increase in numbers
of sales personnel, so all such revenue increases would directly
impact the bottom line.
The solution presented in this proposal will help ClientCo to
achieve this goal. In Section 3 Profiles International offer a
solution that will not only provide ClientCo with a
comprehensive understanding of the particular attributes that
make their top-performing salespeople so successful, but will
also provide ClientCo with a detailed profile, a 'Success
Pattern', that can be used to hire more people like their top
performers, raise the performance of their middle and bottom
performers to top performance level through more imaginative
management and more directed training/coaching, and ensure that
ClientCo retain their top performers.
In many ways Profiles cannot claim credit for the solution
proposed here as much of it arose directly from the input of
ClientCo's own acquisition team and their clear understanding of
the organization's challenges and requirements. Our complete
understanding of ClientCo's requirement, and the subsequent
solution, were developed through extremely close co-operation
with ClientCo's acquisition team of Joe Blain, Michelle Franks
and Martin O'Sullivan over a series of meetings, discussions and
a comprehensive 'Pre-Proposal Review', where ClientCo and
Profiles International teams submitted the proposed solution to
a ruthless examination to ensure that it met or exceeded all of
ClientCo's requirements — before it was committed to this formal
document. The comprehensive understanding of those requirements,
which developed from this close working relationship, is
detailed in Section 2 of this proposal, 'The Requirement'.
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It was clear that any proposed solution would have to fully
address the business challenge outlined above in the first three
paragraphs of this section. However, ClientCo were also clear in
specifying some critical attributes they would require in any
successful solution. All of these aspects of the requirement are
addressed in detail in Section 2, but two deserve to be
specifically highlighted here.
ClientCo's challenge is one that is faced by the sales
management of the organization on a day-to-day basis, and that
challenge will only be met and addressed effectively by that
same team working on it on a day-to-day basis. The acquisition
team were very clear that any solution proposed must be entirely
usable by all members of the sales-management team — there
should be no requirement for any sort of specialised
certification or training in order to make use of the solution.
A range of reports are required to meet various aspects of the
challenge (hiring, development, management, succession and
career planning etc.) and these reports must be presented in
clear, everyday sales language — and require no interpretative
input from psychologists or specially trained individuals.
Furthermore, as the initiative to identify and acquire a
solution to this challenge is not one that formed part of the
ClientCo's IT-department planning at the outset of this year, no
IT resources have been allocated to support the initiative. The
successful solution must be entirely web based (so that it
requires no specialised hardware or software requiring IT
support) and it must require no programming or ongoing support
whatever.
The solution in Section 3 of this proposal meets all, and
exceeds most, of ClientCo's stated requirements in respect of
the desired solution.
Any solution that meets all stated requirements and offers a
return on the required initial investment within months is one
which any reviewer will take seriously. However, there are
several other commercial benefits that ClientCo will achieve
through
330
the implementation of this solution, and they are detailed in
Section 4.
Under 'Costs' (Section 5) you will see that proposed Profiles
solution has no significant upfront cost, and is provided to
ClientCo on a 'pay-as-you-use' basis — making it entirely
compatible with Client Co's current cost-limitation program. The
entire cost of the implementation is significantly below even
the lowest levels that the ClientCo team had anticipated were
possible. The total initial implementation costs just $X,XXX.
Perhaps just as importantly, expansion of the system either
nation- or worldwide will cost just $XX for every new branch
added to the system, with Profiles International providing all
of the proposed products in 50 + languages and offering direct
support in 108 countries.
Furthermore, this proposal shows presents a detailed return-on-
investment analysis that shows that the return on the modest
investment required to implement the proposed solution will be a
minimum of XXX% — with a possible maximum of an almost
unbelievable XXX%. This solution will have paid for itself many
times over by the end of the current year.
Assuming ClientCo make a decision to proceed by May 11th the
implementation timetable proposed in Section 3 of this proposal
shows how the solution can be fully implemented by July 1st,
with the first concrete results ready to report well in advance
of the ClientCo Annual Conference planned for Q4.
Profiles are completely committed to dramatically increasing the
sales results in the ClientCo team by a significant percentage
in a matter of a few months. We are also committed to ensuring
that implementation will be on time, that we will deliver all of
the other results and benefits to ClientCo that have been
described in this proposal, that the project will be come in
completely on budget, and that ClientCo will be seeing
measurable results on their bottom line in this calendar year.
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Profiles International offer ClientCo published details of our
successes in client's like X, Y, and Z as evidence of our track
record in making similar projects similarly successful (Appendix
VI).
We thank ClientCo for the opportunity to work with them on what
we are certain will be a conspicuously successful partnership.
332
333
Appendix V
What about Client-Specified Layouts?
Depending on the nature of the client and the opportunity, you
may find that the RFP specifies a particular layout which must
be adopted by all bidders for the target business. Obviously in
this situation, the worst thing that you could do is to produce
your proposal in a layout other than that prescribed, without
prior consultation.
This is not to say that you should not question your client on
the reasoning behind the mandated format. In many cases they
will be prepared to accept the logic of a 'Requirement-Solution-
Benefits-Costs-Proof' format as the best means of communicating
your proposed solution.
If your client is not prepared to allow your response to depart
from the mandated format always try, at the very least, to
include a section proving your understanding of the client
requirement, and a section outlining the particular benefits of
your proposed solution — even if this is in a separate
accompanying letter or document.
In situations where there is a mandated format that does not
allow you to create the 'Requirement-Solution-Benefits-Costs-
Proof' dialog with your readers the proposal cover letter
becomes even more important. Review the advice in Chapter 12 on
creating a proposal cover letter that will make your proposal
stand out from all others.
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Figure 1: Typical Compliance/Requirement Matrix
RFP
Reference Requirement Description Proposal Location
Page Section Heading
2.1 (1) Ease of use 22 The Solution Easy to Use
2.1 (2) Candidates tracked automatically 23 The Solution
– – – – –
– – – – –
3.0 (1) Web based 42 The Solution Fully Web Based
3.0 (2) Expandability 45 The Solution Adding New Branches
3.0 (3) Quick roll-out 47The Solution Implementation Plan
– – – – –
– – – – –
4.0 (1) Initial fees 65 Costs Setup Cost
4.0 (2) Cost per candidate 66 Costs Assessment Cost
Compliance/Requirement Matrix
Where your client has mandated a particular format for responses
to their RFP or RFI, this will usually be to ease later
comparison of the extent to which the various submitted
proposals have addressed their requirement. Usually the RFP will
have some sort of numbering system which respondents are
encouraged to use in formatting their proposals.
335
If your assessment suggests that the mandated format will not
allow you to sell your particular solutions benefits adequately
you should try to get your client to accept your proposal in the
winning form discussed above. Extra work for the client, who
would have to trawl through 'non-standard' proposals, issue by
issue, can be avoided if you include a Compliance Matrix or a
Requirement Matrix.
Compliance or Requirement Matrices are simply tables for cross-
referencing your responses to the various client requirements,
using the particular numbering or titling convention used in the
RFP. See Figure 1 below for an example.
You should consider including such a matrix in each and every
proposal you prepare, whether or not you are departing from a
mandated format. Your client will very often appreciate this
extra effort to make their assessment task a little easier.
336
337
Appendix VI
Is Your Proposal Ready for Release?
This chapter outlines one of the most useful techniques you will
find: Proposal Inspection, an easy-to-use technique which
fosters a more scientific approach to ensuring that a completed
proposal meets its objectives in all respects.
This technique is particularly useful for larger multi-volume
proposals that have been prepared by teams of people working
separately on their individual inputs to the proposal.
"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
- Mark Twain
Proposal Inspection
Proposal Inspection is a technique meant to ensure your finished
proposal is capable of meeting all of the objectives it was
designed to meet.
The conventional approach to reviewing a completed proposal
prior to release is simply to enlist a number of individuals —
some from
338
the proposal team — who will read through it. There are some
major drawbacks to this approach, including the following:
► Using members of the proposal team to review the finished
product is often ineffective, as their closeness to the proposal
and its reasoning can blind them to any of its shortcomings.
► Most objective reviewers will not have the expertise to review
all sections of the proposal equally well, and misunderstanding
can
often result in wasting the time both of the reviewer and the
proposal team.
► Requesting anyone to review a proposal without specific
guidelines on how to review can result in a lot of wide-ranging,
subjective and often inappropriate feedback, which can be
confusing and demoralizing for the proposal team.
► The task for each reviewer is so relatively large that
feedback is usually slow and often superficial.
► The review process does not usually produce any feedback which
can be used to improve the proposal process in the future.
Proposal Inspection addresses all of these problems.
The Process
Proposal Inspection is based on three main principles:
1. Because proposals are such multi-faceted documents, reviewers
will do a more effective job if they are given very specific
facets to review and specific guidelines on how to go about
their review.
2. The more reviewers you have, and the more varied their
backgrounds, the more effectively your proposal will be reviewed.
3. Experience gained from problems or shortcomings identified in
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any given Proposal-Inspection cycle can, and should, be used to
improve both the proposal development process and the speed and
effectiveness of the inspection process for future proposals.
Proposal Inspection is a relatively straightforward procedure
which can be completed in six simple steps.
Step 1
Table 1 is a typical list of the sort of aspects of your
proposal which must be reviewed or inspected if you are to be
confident that your proposal will meet its objectives.
Table 1:Proposal Facets
1. Accurate definition of the client requirement
2. Match of the proposed solution to the client requirement
3. Identification and communication of key benefits of the
proposed solution
4. Accurate and effective presentation of costs
5. Completeness of 'proof material in the Appendices
6. Effectiveness of the Executive Summary
7. Good English usage — grammar, spelling, readability etc.
8. Good presentation style
This is only intended to be a guide to the sort of aspects which
your Proposal-Inspection process should address. Adapt this list
to your specific requirements, adding any other aspects which
your own environment suggests that you will need to consider
when reviewing your proposals.
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Step 2
Enlist the co-operation of as many of your colleagues as you can
to assist in the Proposal-Inspection process.
Assign each of these reviewers or inspectors one of the facets
of your proposal for them to concentrate on. Select your
reviewers on the basis of their backgrounds.
If you must use members of the proposal team to achieve the
necessary inspection coverage, then assign them to parts of the
proposal where they had no direct production responsibility
where they are less likely to have any 'proprietary' interest.
Step 3
Provide each reviewer with some guidelines on how to inspect the
proposal for their particular facet of the inspection process. A
number of suggestions for the content of such guidelines are
included in the notes below.
Step 4
When you receive comments back from the reviewers, review them
with appropriate members of the team. If the comments are valid,
then take them on board. Make a note of any comments which
resulted in a corrective or modifying action.
Step 5
When the process is complete, review the list of comments which
resulted in corrective or modifying action. Are any of these
comments generic enough that alerting future reviewers to them
might speed the inspection process next time around? If so, then
update the notes or guidelines which you provide to reviewers to
include these points.
Also consider whether any of the comments indicate ways in which
your proposal-development process could be improved to ensure
that the requirement for these corrections or modifications does
not arise in future proposals.
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KEY POINT
Be sure to use the documented out put from your Proposal
Inspections to modify the proposal-development and proposal-
production cycle so that each proposal you produce avoids
previously detected problems.
Step 6
When the process is complete, thank all of the reviewers
involved in the process for their valuable input. If
appropriate, also write to their department heads, commending
their contribution. The process of Proposal Inspection will
become much more effective over time if you can build up a panel
of experienced inspectors/reviewers willing to assist in future
Proposal-Inspection exercises. When a proposal is successful, be
sure to include your inspectors when the plaudits are going
around.
Examples of Typical Proposal-Inspection Guidelines
The following pages contain examples of the sort of notes you
would typically supply to your reviewers working with you in the
Proposal-Inspection process. Sample guidelines are included for
each of the proposal facets in Table 1. You should adapt these
guidelines to suit your own particular requirements.
1. Accurate Definition of the Client Requirement
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. Copy of any RFP-/RFI-type documents supplied by the client.
b. Copies of any correspondence on the requirement.
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c. Any PPR notes held on file.
d. The Requirement Map for this proposal.
e. The Outline Requirement Statement.
f. The completed Requirement section of the proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect all client-supplied documentation dealing with
their requirement to determine the accuracy of our analysis of
the client's requirement as indicated by items (d), (e) and (0
above.
2. Please pay particular attention to [this is where the points
reflecting the results of any previous inspections can be used
to prime the reviewer more effectively]...
3. Please note any concerns and return these notes to [name] by
[date].
4. Please do not consciously review the proposal section for
anything
other than [the particular task of this reviewer]. However,
please note any other anomalies you may come across in your
inspection.
2. Match of the Proposed Solution to the Client Requirement
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. The Outline Requirement Statement.
b. The completed Requirement section of the proposal.
c. The Solution Map for this proposal.
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d. The Outline Solution Statement.
e. The completed Solution section of the proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect the proposed solution as described in items
(c), (d) and (e) to ensure that it is as full a match as
possible to the requirement as outlined in items (a) and (b)
above.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the section above.]
3. Identification and Communication of Key Benefits of the
Proposed Solution
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. The completed Requirement section of the proposal.
b. The completed Solution section of the proposal.
c. The Client Profile Chart used to select a proposal strategy.
d. The completed Benefits section of the proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect the proposed solution as described in item (b)
above and ensure that the benefit statements outlined in item
(d) are accurate and well documented, and that no benefits have
been omitted.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
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4. Accurate and Effective Presentation of Costs
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. The completed Solution section of the proposal.
b. The completed Costs section of the proposal.
c. Price lists as appropriate.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect the Costs section (item (b) above) and ensure
that all costs associated with the proposed solution have been
included and are accurate. Please also ensure that all tots are
accurate and that the section is clear and easy to understand.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
5. Completeness of'Proof Material in the Appendices
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. The completed Solution section of the proposal.
b. The completed Appendices section of the proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect the Solution and Appendices sections (items
(a) and (b) above) and ensure that included in the Appendices
section there is detailed support material for every product and
service proposed, and that any other suitable 'proof material
available has been included.
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[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
6. Effectiveness of the Executive Summary Documents/Information
Supplied:
a. A full copy of the completed proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect the content of the Executive-Summary section
of the supplied proposal to ensure that it is successful in
summarizing the main points made in the Requirement, Solution
and Benefits sections. Please bear in mind that the Executive
Summary is intended to be both an introduction to the proposal,
and a senior-management-style synopsis of all of the main points
made in the proposal.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
7. Good English Usage Documents/Information Supplied:
a. A full copy of the completed proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect all sections of the proposal for correctness
of grammar, spelling, readability, etc. Do not focus too much on
the informational content, but confine yourself to ensuring that
it is being communicated in an effective manner which adheres to
basic rules of good English. Focus on issues such as spelling,
grammar,
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use of jargon and its effect on readability, consistency of
tenses, punctuation etc.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
8. Good Presentation Style
Documents/Information Supplied:
a. A full copy of the completed proposal.
Instructions:
1. Please inspect all sections of the proposal for adherence to
a good style of presentation. You should inspect for consistency
in the use of: indentations, spacing, centering, graphics,
alignment, white space, captions, numbers and headings. You
should note any areas where the presentation style detracts from
the effectiveness of the piece in communicating the message.
Every chapters headings, captions and body-text styles should
conform to one of the standard templates used for proposal pre-
sentation. Please inspect for adherence to this templates
heading, caption and body-text rules.
[Instructions 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those numbered 2, 3 and
4 for the sections above.]
"God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat
our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.
- Anonymous
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Everything OK? Ready for Release?
Once the Proposal-Inspection exercise is complete, and any
necessary modifications made, you will feel a lot more confident
in releasing your proposal to your client. Conventionally, you
might now place your completed proposal into an envelope and
send it to your client by courier, or even by mail. However,
before you do so consider the advice in Chapter 11 which
suggests that this is not the most effective way to deliver your
proposal. It is always much more effective to present the
proposal to your client in person, whilst at the same time
providing them with an overview presentation of its content.