How To Win More Business » Proposal Writing

WWP#34 : Developing your Proposal Response Strategy – Messages and Questions

Michel Theriault — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:54:06 +0000

This is a continuation of the previous podcasts on developing a strategy. In this podcast, I’m focusing on Messages and Questions you should ask yourself.

Messages

Your proposal response strategy should include key messages that gain support from reviewers, points in the evaluation, and win the proposal.

These messages are not the same as themes, although themes should also be delivering a message. While the theme is something you can reuse throughout the entire proposal response, a message is often a specific, important item that addresses the requirements. Messages are dealt with in specific sections or as answers to specific questions. Messages present or position your company’s offerings. They are also different from hot buttons, which are typically high profile items that have a big impact on the client.

Messages may include things the client doesn’t even realize are important, but most often they’re geared to the evaluation scoring and your competitive advantages.

These messages may include the following:

The level of skills and experience of your staff.
How you bring improvement to clients.
The benefits of your product or service.
How a transition to your company will be seamless.
Your advantages over the competition.
Your knowledge and understanding of the client’s requirements.
Your success in achieving the performance requirements or service levels the client is expecting.

These are only examples, of course. You develop your messages during the planning and strategy session based on the client’s needs and your solution. During this process, you identify things that matter to the client. Develop these into a consistent yet concise message that is crafted to get the attention of the evaluators and get the most evaluation points.

Key attributes of your message should be:

Impact
Relevance
Support for your proposal

Each of your messages has to be supported with facts and information and cannot just be presented as typical marketing and sales language. Some of the techniques are discussed in in previous podcasts.

Asking Yourself Questions

Part of a successful strategy, in addition to the items already discussed, is asking yourself questions about the client and the proposal.

Yes, asking yourself questions is a common theme in some of my podcasts and here is another application. Why is this important? Because it ensures you have the answers you need and don’t simply assume. Asking questions is always an easy way to gather information, since the questions force you to examine issues and information.

The answers will guide you in your strategy and, most importantly, in determining what details and information to include in the proposal response.

Don’t just ask one set of questions, however. After the first answer, ask more questions until you have good, quality information you can use in the proposal. At the least, you will know what answers you still don’t have and need to investigate.

Some of the questions you should ask include the following:

Why are they issuing an RFP now?
Who will be reviewing?
What is the selection process?
What do they need?
Who is doing the work now?
Do they want change?
How are they organized?
Who will manage the contract?
Who are their clients/customers?
What is their core business?

Depending on the proposal and your situation, there may be additional questions you should be asking.

Once you’ve answered this first set of questions, ask more questions about the answer. For instance, after answering “Who will be reviewing?” you should ask “What are their interests?” Once you answer that, you should ask yourself “How can I incorporate that into the response?”

WWP#34 : Developing your Proposal Response Strategy – Messages and Questions is a post from: How To Win More Business

Our Book "Win More Business - Write Better Proposals". is now available at Amazon in many countries, including the USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Germany and France. You can also order it directly from the author on this website

WWP#33 : Developing your Proposal Response Strategy – Wants, Themes & Hot Buttons

Michel Theriault — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:52:03 +0000

This is a continuation of the previous podcasts on developing a strategy. In this podcast, I’m focusing on Themes, Hot Buttons and what the Client really wants.

Developing a strategy for your response is one of the most important things you’ll do. Simply putting words on paper won’t get the attention you need to win proposals.

In this episode, I’m covering three of the things you need to do to develop a winning proposal strategy – Wants, Themes & Hot Buttons

What does the client want?

It isn’t always what it seems. What the client says in the proposal and what they may have said in public statements may be somewhat different from what they really want from the RFP. You need to read between the lines and use other sources to find out exactly what’s important to them client. For instance, the client frequently states that price is not necessarily the deciding factor. You can be assured, however, that price will be a key factor and will almost always influence the decision.

With this in mind, for instance, you can structure your proposal with optional services and alternative pricing structures to meet the client’s needs. Other information you find about the client and what they really want or need can be used in your proposal to develop a response that is more effective than the competition’s.

What are the critical Themes?

The purpose of establishing themes is to ensure your message is delivered within each question you’re responding to in the RFP.

Themes are compelling messages you want to continually put in front of the client while they’re reading the proposal. It’s like running repetitive advertisements to get better exposure for your product or service. The real strategy is to ensure the client remembers the messages when they’re scoring your proposal.

Themes also help anyone writing material for you, whether they’re staff or subcontractors, to understand what your main message is and hopefully see ways to incorporate it into their contribution, making the overall process easier for you while also strengthening the proposal.

Themes are things that provide support to your overall proposal, show your benefit or competitive advantage, or are important to the client. They demonstrate why the client should select you, and should be directly related to client issues, needs or expectations.

The themes should be woven throughout your entire proposal. Depending on what they are, you can simply write them into the text, or add a separate heading within each section or question to focus on that theme.

Your theme is a consistent message about what the client cares about:

If, for example, Information Technology, data and reporting are important to the client and your strategy is to demonstrate it, add a heading in each section to explain how your solution deals with the topic and benefits the client. Use the same approach for anything else that is key to winning your bid

Develop your themes during your strategic planning and strategy sessions. The information in the RFP documents and what the client has told you are only two sources for effective themes. You must look at the client’s business, the history of the current service contract, news releases, annual reports, industry issues and your competitors. Get insight from your staff and, where possible, contacts who used to work for the client or even the incumbent, if possible.

What are their Hot Buttons?

Hot buttons are the most pressing and important issues facing the client. You may not be able to identify them from reading the RFP or from listening to what the client tells you. Like themes, identifying hot buttons requires research.

Hot buttons are different than themes. While themes are overall issues you typically repeat throughout your proposal, hot buttons are usually single-issue items that are dealt with in specific parts of the proposal response.

You will win more business by showing you understand the client’s key issues and by demonstrating how you support the client’s issues or can mitigate them with your service or product solution

The hot buttons aren’t always directly related to the requirements of the RFP. They may be something else you’ve learned about the client that really matters to them. If so, you can discuss that in your proposal, demonstrating your understanding of the client and the advantages you can provide.

You need to understand your specific client’s hot buttons. For instance, If accountability legislation for public companies is a hot button for the client and they must adhere to it, you should clearly identify what you’re doing within your organization that will support the client’s requirements, or show that you’re in compliance with the same requirement.

A hot button can be either something the client wants or needs and is interested in, or something the client badly wants to avoid.

General industry hot buttons are also important For instance, environmental issues are one of the timely hot buttons of interest to many clients. Clients may be fighting negative press about their environmental record, or striving to lead the industry with green initiatives. Either way, if you can emphasize how you can help, you will be hitting the client’s hot button.

Once you’ve identified the hot buttons and how you plan to address them within your proposal response, list them on a checklist to make sure you address all of them.

Similar to other important information within your RFP document, make sure that when you’re addressing a hot button issue, it’s clear within your proposal response. Don’t bury it with other material or hide it in long paragraphs. Use a heading, breakout box or other technique to direct the client’s attention towards it. Use the techniques discussed in Part 7 to highlight how you address hot button issues.

In the next podcast, I’ll discuss more strategies you should develop before you start writing a proposal. Don’t make the mistake of writing backwards – know your strategy first, then write, not the other way around.

WWP#33 : Developing your Proposal Response Strategy – Wants, Themes & Hot Buttons is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#32 : Winning Proposals is about more than just the price and the writing – You need a strategy

Michel Theriault — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:44:48 +0000

In my seminars and workshops, I always stress strategy as the most important element of a proposal. While there are many things that matter, a strategy can strengthen everything else. Instead of worrying about the weak link in your proposal, strengthen all the links.

Successfully responding to a proposal is about more than just writing material. A common error is to simply start writing based on the response requirements of the RFP. You need a real strategy to be successful, a strategy based on many factors, not just what is written in the RFP or based on informal discussions.Letting your subject matter experts, or even worse, professional writers or marketing staff, simply put words on paper without a strategy to guide them, is a recipe for failure.

Before anybody starts writing, you need to establish a strategic approach to the proposal response. This will include the key messages that you want to put forward. The strategy will be developed and the messages identified based on careful analysis and research. Whether you dig deeply or not, this approach to winning proposals will give you the advantage over your competition.

A proposal is not a simple piece of writing. It must follow the client’s format and structure, answer specific questions, match evaluation criteria requirements, provide details so the client can understand your value and benefits, convince the client you’re better than your competition, and keep the evaluator’s attention, all at the same time.

Your proposal requires thoughtful strategy with respect to the pricing and the written submission. Preparation of the overall proposal often involves a wide variety of contributors, yet the end result must appear cohesive.

Writing a winning proposal requires the following elements:

A strategy for winning.
A plan for developing the proposal.
A message that’s backed up with good content and evidence.
A way to deliver the message that makes it easy to evaluate.

As I say, “Communicating without a strategy is like throwing darts blindfolded, just less likely to hurt your audience.”

So, proposal writing is not a tactical activity where you simply package information in response to an RFP. Writing a winning proposal is a strategic activity where the writing is a relatively small part of the successful proposal.

The difference between being strategic or tactical is what differentiates a successful proposal from an unsuccessful one. Many organizations respond to proposals with a very mechanical process, which is often designed to minimize effort and work with the available resources, skills and experience. These proposals are a compilation of boilerplate material and cut-and-paste from various sources, and not enough attention is paid to the response.

Successful proposals begin with a strategic approach to winning the business, and the proposal itself simply executes that strategy.

In future podcasts, I’ll discuss some specific elements of strategy that you need to develop before you start writing a proposal. Don’t make the mistake of writing backwards – know your strategy first, then write, not the other way around.

WWP#32 : Winning Proposals is about more than just the price and the writing – You need a strategy is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#31 : What Makes A Losing Proposal? Part 2

Michel Theriault — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:02:45 +0000

In this episode, which is part two of a 2 part series, I’m listing the last three of six key reasons your proposals may be losing.

These are things I’ve seen done by companies in proposals I’ve helped evaluate for buyers or common problems I see when I start to help a company improve their bids.

Why am I focusing on what loses proposals? It’s sometimes easier to see what you are doing wrong and fix them first before you start implementing other techniques.

4. Failure to respond to client needs

Not responding to client requirements as they’re stated in the RFP, or as they appear based on your own research of the underlying requirements, is a sure recipe for failure.

The client has asked for proposals specifically to address their needs. If you don’t describe how your solution, expertise and experience will address the client’s needs, you have not met the basic requirement for the proposal.

Here is an example of why a proposal by an otherwise well qualified company lost:

Simply put, The proposal failed to respond to the client’s needs because it was too inward-looking, focusing more on the attributes of the supplier’s company. It didn’t relate the supplier’s abilities to the client’s needs. Instead, it included a typical boilerplate solution and material that was not customized to the client’s specific situation. It was simply too generic.

The lesson is that If you don’t specifically address and discuss client needs, and how your solution dovetails into their requirements by mirroring back the client’s own language, expectations, terminology and problems you’re solving, somebody else will.

5. Hard to understand, evaluate

Many people write to impress rather than to communicate. They use long, complex sentences, and words that most of us have to look up in the dictionary. While this may work well in a thesis or scientific paper, it doesn’t work in the business world, and it certainly doesn’t work in proposals.

The only reason to write a proposal is to communicate your ideas and your solutions so the client can tie them back to their own requirements and choose you over somebody else.

Unless you make your ideas and solutions easy to see, evaluators will miss them. Evaluators have to review large amounts of text, remember what they read, and link that with a scoring system that helps them choose a supplier. If you make evaluators search for information, or skim over important information because the text is difficult to read, they won’t be able to find the information they need to score you properly.

6. Inconsistent response

Your proposal response will reflect on your organization. If you’re inconsistent in your answers or in how you represent your company, products, services or solutions, the client is likely to notice.

In particular, if your proposal has different sections written by various internal staff or subcontractors, and these sections are inconsistent in terminology, approach, look and feel, then the client will see that you’re not providing a single cohesive service, and question your ability to integrate and manage various resources.

In addition, if you provide information that conflicts with information in the proposal itself, or with other published information, such as your website or annual report, you risk having the client recognize the inconsistency and questioning your credibility.

The proposal is an opportunity for you to demonstrate how easy it will be to work with you. Even if you have different subcontractors, suppliers and service providers as part of your team, or if various individuals write your proposal, you need to consolidate and edit the material to maintain a consistent, unified look and feel.

So there are the second three things that help you lose proposals. Check out the previous podcast for the first three. By understanding what loses proposals, you are more likely to avoid these problems.

WWP#31 : What Makes A Losing Proposal? Part 2 is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#30 : What Makes A Losing Proposal? Part 1

Michel Theriault — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:24:10 +0000

In this episode, I’m listing the first three of six key reasons your proposals may be losing. The next episode will cover the second three reasons.

These are things I’ve seen companies do in proposals I’ve helped evaluate for buyers or common problems I see when I start to help a company improve their bids.

Why am I focusing on what loses proposals? It’s sometimes easier to see what you are doing wrong and fix them first before you start implementing other techniques.

Too often, we focus so much on what wins proposals that we seldom try to understand why we lose them. Lessons from losses will always have more impact on future success than lessons from winning, so always spend some time thinking about what didn’t work, and do it differently in the next proposal.

Here are the first three things that will help you lose business:

1.Show little understanding of the client’s problem

When you ignore what the client has told you either verbally or in the formal RFP documents, and you simply put forward a proposal and a solution that doesn’t specifically and concretely address their needs and concerns, then you’ll be relegated to the bottom of the pile and somebody else will win the proposal.

The only reason the client is asking for a proposal is to solve a problem or address a need. You may think you understand the client’s problem and are solving their needs, but it’s more important than that. You have to make it clear within your proposal that you understand the client’s needs and how you’re solving their problem.

One way to do this is to mirror back the client’s problems and what they’ve said in the RFP, thereby acknowledging you’ve understood their problem and are addressing it. Don’t overdo this, since the client won’t appreciate whole paragraphs that look like they were lifted from the RFP documents. Keep it short, paraphrase the client, and position to acknowledge the client’s issues and present your solutions.

2. Superficial research

It’s obvious when a proposal response uses superficial or generic information as part of its solution and technical response.

You need to demonstrate a unique solution that’s better than your competitor’s, and is designed specifically for the client. This means including details that show you understand the client’s needs, and have done your research and gathered background information.

What may appear to be unimportant information can help support your proposal. When the client reads it, your proposal will seem much more personal.

This could include incorporating the proper name of the system the client currently uses, and using specific titles, names and other information to show you understand the client. Use key phrases and terminology that the client uses within annual reports, news releases and other documentation.

Here’s an example of why good research matters:

For a proposal that included a 1-800 number to receive requests for a specific service, research showed that the client already had their own internal process for receiving requests and it would still be used by the client. Knowing this enabled the bidder to integrate this information in the proposal text and in a flowchart, demonstrating that the bidder understood how the client was organized and could design a process to fit within their existing workflow.

3. Insufficient expertise or experience

Not demonstrating the expertise and experience the client expects from you is a sure way to lose a proposal.

Simply put, the client is looking for a solution to a problem. If you don’t have the experience necessary to provide those solutions with little or no risk to the client, they’ll likely consider somebody else.

The question is whether you actually lack experience and expertise, or are simply not able to demonstrate it. If you dig deeply within your organization and your company’s past experience, you may find expertise within your existing resources, including staff and subcontractors, or within current projects or products that parallel the experience needed for this particular proposal.

Here is one way a lack of experience was dealt with:

While the company had sufficient experience and expertise in the required service, they hadn’t served the specific business segment yet.

A review of internal resumes found an existing employee who had experience in that business segment, and that person was added to the transition team. In addition, experience in other business segments was examined to see what characteristics were shared with the new business segment. Experience with these common characteristics was emphasized in the proposal response using a table that compared their experiences with the needs of the client.

So, by finding those nuggets of experience and expertise, and clearly describing how they support your current solution with little or no risk to the client, you’ll be in a better position to win the RFP.

You can also partner with another company that has the skills and experience you lack. This way, you can emphasize the benefits of both companies. You may need to clearly identify the partnership or subcontractor relationship in your proposal, but when writing the response, make sure you come across as a single, cohesive service provider. If there are different sections or questions related to the various organization’s expertise, they must be written so they have the same approach, look and feel. If they’re disjointed, you’ll lose points with the evaluators.

So there’s another tip that will help you win more business. I’ll cover the next 3 key reasons proposals lose in the next episode.

WWP#30 : What Makes A Losing Proposal? Part 1 is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#29 : What Skills Do You Need to Write A Winning Proposal?

Michel Theriault — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:10:26 +0000

In this episode, I’m covering some of the key skills required for a successful proposal. These aren’t all the skills needed and you don’t have to have them yourself, but they are the fundamental ones you must included in your team.

Subject Matter Expert

To write an effective proposal response, you need qualified subject matter experts (SME) who contribute to or write key elements of the technical portion of the proposal. Using writers from the business development or sales team or even hiring external writers is tempting, however you’ll end up with generalities and something that looks and feels more like a sales pitch rather than solid quantifiable details and information that evaluators need in order to give you a good score.

There’s no substitute for someone who understands the business and knows how it works in practice. The other benefit of having that expertise is that SMEs can draw on their past. They can bring forward issues that may be important to the client, but which a non-technical writer simply won’t be able to include.

Subject matter experts include individuals within your organization who are highly experienced in a particular area, such as quality assurance, human resources, Information Technology (IT), logistics, product development or direct service delivery. Subject matter experts can also be subcontractors who provide a particular part of the overall service.

Even the best subject matter experts, however, may not write well or be able to focus their knowledge and expertise into strategic messages directed at proposal evaluators. In this case, use the SME’s knowledge and expertise, and support them with someone who can do the writing.

Marketing and sales skills

While the technical subject matter expert is important, the ability to sell is equally important. Be careful however – your proposal can’t simply be a marketing and sales pitch.

You need to be able to combine your technical and service expertise with client requirements, deliver on hot buttons, themes and messages, and talk about the technical subject matter in a way that gets the client’s attention and speaks directly to the evaluator in a concise, well-structured response that results in a high evaluation score.

The necessary skills go beyond general marketing and sales and delve into specifics related to your particular service and how to best represent your capabilities so they match client expectations, evaluation criteria and the RFP questions and structure.

Effective selling involves being able to look at your service, solution, background and expertise, and identify ways to take the facts and turn them into compelling reasons for the client to favor your proposal over the competition’s.

Creative skills

Writing a proposal is not a mechanical process. It requires creativity in addressing issues, dealing with negative concerns, putting forward your advantages, and convincing the client you have the best proposal.

Creativity doesn’t mean using a template document, boilerplate material and cut-and-paste response. Creativity enables you to uniquely address the requirements of the proposal by using base material, but not simply by reusing old material. Every proposal should be customized for the client, but that doesn’t mean just doing a ‘search and replace’ on the client’s name.

To some extent, creativity also involves the ability to look at what you’ve got, compare it to what’s expected, and match up those results in a creative way, especially when there’s a gap.

When there’s an area in which you don’t have direct experience or background, being creative will help you find ways to address the problem effectively, and meet requirements as closely as possible.

How you present information, including diagrams, lists, tables and photos, also benefits from creativity. Since the only reason for including information of any kind is to influence the evaluator to give you the highest evaluation score possible, you need to be creative in your presentation. Resist the temptation to use information in its original form, and understand why you’re presenting it. Then modify your presentation to get the point across.

Writing

Good writing skills go well beyond grammar and punctuation. In fact, good writers can write bad proposals.

The writing skills you need include the ability to get the message across in a concise targeted fashion with simple, well-crafted writing that’s not pretentious or arrogant. This sometimes means ignoring rules you learned in English 101. Communicating effectively is more important, because the message needs to be easily read and understood by the evaluator.

Filling pages with colorful prose, complex vocabulary, and complicated but correct grammatical structure that impresses rather than communicates won’t help you win proposals. At the same time, filling your proposal with poorly written, highly-technical and unfocused writing is also sure to fail.

The gap between what you write and how the client interprets your writing is a hurdle you need to overcome and with these skills and the right techniques, you will be able to bridge that gap easily.

WWP#29 : What Skills Do You Need to Write A Winning Proposal? is a post from: How To Win More Business

Proposal Tips on Video with Michel Theriault

Michel Theriault — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:33:25 +0000

When I delivered my proposal writing seminar at an industry conference recently, the association who organized the conference videotaped me delivering some tips. They will be distributing it to their members later this year.

I thought I’d try creating similar videos with a proposal writing tip in each one, in addition to my podcasts. Here are the first two. Eventually, I’ll make a special page for videos. In the mean time, let me know what you think.

Video #1

Here is the first one, called “Don’t Write Backwards!”, a problem I see many companies do when they start writing their proposals.

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Video # 2

The second one is titled “How Do You Look To Your Client?” and has nothing to do with your hair cut. It’s about the impression your writing can give your client and focuses on a key issue.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Are you struggling with proposals? Having a hard time getting them out the door on time and in good shape, not sure whether you are hitting the mark? Are you losing proposals and don’t know why?

You can get the book and learn some valuable tips and strategies or have us help you with the strategy, positioning and the process of writing your next proposal.

Yes, writing proposals is hard and it can be a chore, but I’ll bet you can write better ones if you go through my tips and then use a strategic process for the next one you write instead of just starting to write. I can even conduct a workshop for you and others in your organization.

For more information, download the brochures below and visit my Helping You Win page.

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Proposal Tips on Video with Michel Theriault is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#28 : Traps to Avoid When Writing Your RFP Proposal Response

Michel Theriault — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:56:33 +0000

In this episode, I’m listing 15 real-life mistakes others have made writing their RFP proposals. This comes from proposals that I’ve personally reviewed, either for a buyer or as part of my proposal support to bidders and are all traps you should avoid.

These are the things you should avoid:

The proposal still has the term ‘NTD’ in the final submission. (The NTD means ‘Note to Draft’ and should be eliminated before finalizing the document.)
The beginning of many responses takes up the first full line of text with the name of the bidding company and their partners, including acronyms.
The following fluff was written in a proposal: “actively engage with Client’s vision to create a central organizational hub that allows Client to draw on its interdisciplinary strengths in order to pursue a client-centered philosophy within an improved and healthy physical setting.”
This phrase from a proposal is not action-oriented: “technology is the cornerstone of our service delivery”. It should be written along the lines of: “We use technology to get results.” And then give concrete examples.
A bidder didn’t refer to the specification requirements anywhere in the answer. They could have described how they will do what they’re asked. Instead, they talked in general terms that were very generic and boilerplate.
The word ‘philosophy’ was used too much in a proposal. For instance, instead of “Good Customer Service,” they used “Good Customer Service Philosophy.” A philosophy doesn’t automatically translate into results.
A bidder used too much qualifying language, such as “… efforts to ensure that the requirements of the specifications are met.” It tells the evaluator that they will try their best, but they aren’t very confident in succeeding.
In one proposal a bidder didn’t seem to consider what might be important to the client – they simply pounded their chests about what they could do and how good they were.
A large proposal described part of the service delivery in a way that didn’t match with actual site conditions. It seemed as if they didn’t read the scope and simply used boilerplate material.
One company used the name of their computer system in their description of process without first explaining it. They presumed the evaluators were familiar with the specific application. They weren’t, and had a hard time following the document.
The full question, which had two parts, was not answered. The bidder did the right thing and repeated the question as a header, but it was only the first part of the question. They missed the second part of the question, possibly because the writer didn’t have the full question in front of them.
There were too many cross-references to other sections in one bid. Since sections were evaluated independently by different subject matter experts, and the document was actually split up, the cross-references made it much more difficult for the evaluators, even if they had bothered to follow the references.
This phrase was used in a proposal: “innovative education and awareness programs proven successful for other clients could be leveraged for your requirements,” but it doesn’t say anything. The evaluator would have to take it at face value, except that they don’t have facts and evidence to support the statement.
Sometimes bidders say that their approach or solution is ‘unique’ in the industry, as one recent proposal response did, yet the evaluators knew for a fact that it wasn’t unique and had become common practice. This hurt the bidder’s credibility.
Claiming ‘unique expertise’ when you’re clearly not the only one with that experience or expertise can look like an inflated claim and hurts your overall credibility.

WWP#28 : Traps to Avoid When Writing Your RFP Proposal Response is a post from: How To Win More Business

Visual Style : Your RFP Proposal Response

Michel Theriault — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:49:49 +0000

Do you submit nice looking proposals?

While it’s true, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, it’s a pretty good starting point and it will have an overall impression on the evaluators. Perception, after all, is everything.

A professional bid response suggests professional services/products.

However, like your written submission, it should be client focused. In this context, I mean it has to match their expectations and culture. A poorly presented proposal stuck in a binder with a non-professional cover, poorly laid out text, hard to read fonts and headings, etc. will look unprofessional to almost everyone, but a slick, glossy production that is more sales than substance may turn off some evaluators. So, you need to strike the right balance.I’ve been on the receiving end of both, for the same bid. Neither won. While it wasn’t the look of the proposals that lost them the bid, the tone the look set was actually carried through the written proposal. The unprofessional looking proposal was unprofessionally written and the slick bid was more of a sales pitch than a proposal response. Sort of along the lines of the owner looking like their dog.

So, while the presentation of your proposal has to be good, it’s the contents that really matter. Here are some tips for you to consider:

It has to be professional. The paper you use, quality of printing, binding method, packaging, tabs, label and everything should look like you are professional. With modern in-house technology, inexpensive supplies and even printing services, there is simply no excuse. And if the project will include delivery of written material, reports, etc., this is especially important.
It has to be Client focused. and essentially meet customer expectations. that includes length, details and possibly even style. For instance, if you spend lots of $ on the look and feel of your submission, it had better match your client – a high end client will appreciate it, a budget client may wonder if they are paying for your fancy stuff in the pricing.
It has to be readable. Style for style sake doesn’t cut it, but good style will be more readable. There are lots of techniques honed over the years that improve readability, including font, colors, white space and more. More readable means the evaluators will have an easier time finding the things that match their evaluation criteria.
It has to be logical. In addition to professional and readable, your structure, layout, headings, subheads and other elements have to make sense and lead the evaluator through the various parts of the proposal easily. Don’t make them hunt for things. Follow the RFP structure (especially questions) so they can easily find things. Include a small evaluation grid when you can to tell them the criteria you’ve covered. Use bookends, sidebars, etc. Don’t put the good stuff in an appendix, at least summarize the selling points in the main text. Etc.

Remember, everything you do should be designed to get a higher evaluation score. That’s what matters.

Visual Style : Your RFP Proposal Response is a post from: How To Win More Business

WWP#27 : Key Questions to Ask Yourself While You Write Your Proposal Response

Michel Theriault — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:06:17 +0000

In this episode, I’m switching from a focus on the client to focusing on you, with critical questions you need to ask yourself while you write your proposal.

Very often, proposal writers are often so focused on the mechanics of responding to the proposal, assembling all the information, getting agreements and ensuring they’re compliant with the RFP, that they fail to ask the following key questions:Question # 1 : Does my proposal solve the client’s problem?

Clients ask for proposals because they have a problem that needs to be solved. The problems may not be apparent, but at the root of every proposal there’s a problem that needs to be solved. You must think about the proposal in terms of the problem, and respond to it as a solution.

You need to know what the problem is, yet the client may not position the RFP as a problem, or even see it in those terms. The proposal response is your opportunity to demonstrate how you can solve the client’s problem anyway.

So always frame the RFP in terms of a problem and develop your response so that it describes the problem and provides your solution. If you’re certain about the problem being solved, you can state it up-front in the introduction. If you’re not certain about what the client sees as the problem, or it may be a sensitive issue, leave it silent and deal with the issue discretely within your proposal response.

Question # 2: Have I differentiated myself from my competitors?

RFPs are essentially a contest between you and your competition. Even if the process generally assesses each proposal separately on its own merits against a defined set of criteria, the comparisons between the separate proposals will always play a part in the evaluation – after all, evaluators are human.

While it’s important to focus on the evaluation criteria and demonstrate that you meet or exceed it, you should write the proposal to encourage a favorable comparison with your competition. There are subtle ways to differentiate yourself from your competition. Your analysis about the client will identify issues that need to be addressed, and how to differentiate yourself by addressing those items.

When trying to differentiate yourself from your competition, don’t make it obvious. Say just enough to enable the client to figure it out, by using language that makes the client think about the differences, and connect the dots between your benefits and strengths relative to your competition. To do this, you can use the Ghosting technique I discussed in Podcast # 26.

Question # 3: If I were the client, why would I select my proposal over other proposals?

While you’re working on your proposal, constantly ask ‘why us?’ If you continually ask this question, you’ll start to see the material you’ve written or the material contributed by others in a completely new light.

Thinking about that question will help you eliminate fluff and generalities and help you focus on details and solid information that the client wants to see.

If you can’t easily answer this question for each section or each RFP question you answer, rethink your strategy and what you’ve written.

The only way to win is to give the client reasons to choose you. If you haven’t built a compelling case, your competition probably has.

WWP#27 : Key Questions to Ask Yourself While You Write Your Proposal Response is a post from: How To Win More Business