Posted by BJ on 31 July, 2006 under Processes & best practice | 
This entry again comes from a response to a question from a colleague, this time regarding e-procurement and whether or not additional information – such as an executive summary, cover letter, solution details not specifically requested, etc. – should be included.
I stated in my response:
This is a wide open debate (probably because it’s a relatively new process)…and there’s much to consider.
Your observation that it shouldn’t be included ‘if it’s expressly prohibited’ is correct (Amazingly, I have been in situations where I’ve had to debate this with a subject matter expert who felt information should be included – against the customer explicit statement not to do so.)
The decision becomes tougher when isn’t clear how the inclusion of additional information will be received.
The answer here, as with most things related to proposals, is, Proposal Rule # 1 – ‘Know thy customer.’
Even on e-procurements (or more correctly perhaps especially in such cases!) it’s critical to have done as much pre-planning as possible. As you’re NOT going to have as much opportunity, if any, to provide information outside of the specific request, it is critical to ensure the customer understands your position and ‘why they should select your offering’ – BEFORE they even issue the e-procurement.
With that said – I would, in most instances – as in those where it is NOT expressly prohibited – be lobbying for the inclusion of executive summary and other information appropriate for that specific opportunity. This of course needs to be – as with everything within a ‘first class proposal -strategically focused, customer oriented and supporting the customer’s ability to make a fully informed selection.
Posted by Jon on 27 July, 2006 under Processes & best practice |
It’s ten years to the day since The Spice Girls hit the top of the music charts in the UK with their debut single “Wannabe”. Its chorus? “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.”
If your document is going to prove truly compelling for the customer, you need to get under the skin of the buyers’ real needs. As those of you who’ve heard us speak at conferences will probably recall, we’re therefore great believers in what we term “The Spice Girls’ Theory of Proposal Strategy”:
“Tell me what they want, what they really, really want.”
A great proposal doesn’t just answer the very logical questions in the RFP: it has to hit the right notes for the buyers at an emotional level.
Posted by BJ on 24 July, 2006 under Processes & best practice |
I recently responded to post on the Pragmatech “Listserv” (for those of you who may not be aware of this forum, it is a great ‘meeting place’, useful for exchanging ideas with fellow proposal professionals and highly recommended).
The question I responded to was ‘How do I find time to develop content for the knowledge when can’t even keep up with the RFPs I’m working on already?’
As I stated in my response to this person’s question, ‘As an old hand at the game of proposals I felt compelled to write. And I’d like to address your question a bit more broadly rather than strictly as an RFP machine question. (And I apologize in advance for what may become a somewhat long response).’
Dear ‘Buried’,
In my opinion, your question deals with symptoms rather than the core/real problem. That is, it seems to me that the real problem here is your not having a clear definition of the available capacity (what the group – in this case just you – can do each day, week, month, year). The second component of the problem, and I’m making an assumption here, is not knowing or having a view to the demand (what is required). Then add to this the need for other projects’ such as knowledge base development, etc. and very quickly you are, to use your term, ‘buried’.
What is needed here is for you to clearly define (and understand) what can be done with the current (finite) resources available. The equation for this is relatively simple as you say you ARE the proposal group (the same considerations apply to a group with more than one person).
How many hours are available? (And you need to be realistic/honest here. How many hours do you have available?) Take total hours you are contracted to work (typically between 40-50), subtract sick time, vacation time, training time, meeting time, other projects time (if any) etc. Typically, this will work out to around – 20-30 hours a week and between 44-48 weeks a year or approx. 1380 total hours available (if we use 30 hours X 46 weeks.)
Yep – that’s right. It’s MUCH less than 52 X 40 or 2080 as some less informed managers tend to think. Important to note. This is based on working a full week, but NOT defining a plan that calls for overly long hours, working weekends, etc. As many have heard me state time and time again, “It amazes me that proposal people seem to think the only way to do proposals is in crisis mode and working to unreasonable/unpredictable schedules. This just IS NOT true and should NOT be part of your plan.”
Next step – How long does the typical proposal effort take? Here too, be honest. Base this number on what you SHOULD be doing, not what you do when you ‘rush one out the door’. Figure in time for pre-proposal work, qualification, planning, strategy development, content design and development, document management, reviews and approvals, production and post-proposal activities (learning reviews, etc.) So, as an example, let’s say an effort takes 10 hours. Well, based on the calculation above, you should be able to produce 138 proposals.
This then defines your ‘Capacity’. You then need to look at demand. How many proposals does the company expect/need to submit? Here too – a simple equation. Total quota divided by $ value of typical ‘win’. Calculated against ‘Win Rate’. So, if you need to make $500K, and each deal is worth $50k, you need to win 10 deals. If your win rate is 1 in 5, you need to submit 50 proposals.
That will give you a ‘realistic’ view of what you can and can’t do. And REAL important to bear in mind here – this is strictly the time required for developing proposals. It doesn’t include time for ‘projects’ such as developing or maintaining a knowledge base, developing processes, training, etc.
So, there you have it. Hope that helps and please feel free to call my way if/as you wish to discuss this further (I’m always happy to discuss ‘all things proposals’ as most any within the proposal community can tell you.)’
Posted by Jon on 20 July, 2006 under Musings |
An interesting quote popped up a few days ago on the often-thought-provoking Quotes of the Day site, attributed to John Ruskin in the nineteenth century:
There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man’s lawful prey.
That’s a useful philosophy to bear in mind the next time you know your proposal won’t be the cheapest. “It’s late, it doesn’t work, the service is atrocious and our users hate me,” is unlikely to be a successful recipe for getting the buyer their next promotion.
Posted by Jon on 17 July, 2006 under Musings |
Ever worked on a proposal that felt like this…?
Posted by BJ on 16 July, 2006 under Musings |
I really liked Jon’s jigsaw analogy yesterday. Perhaps I can add my two cents to the blog based on our subsequent discussion of this.
That is – actually, I see it as worse than just not having the box top to guide you. It’s not having any idea whatsoever what the resulting picture is supposed to be. Is it an Impressionist painting? A safari scene? A quiet harbor at dawn? Then compound the difficulty with the distinct possibility that the pieces of several jigsaw puzzles have been mixed together as well (as happens when approaches and concepts from various knowledge experts differ).
Daunting? I say it’s close to or even impossible. (Of course, there are those who, when confronted with pieces that don’t fit together as they should, resort to cutting the pieces up and/or pounding on them with a hammer….and I’ve seen a few proposals in my time that appear to have undergone this process!)
Posted by Jon on 15 July, 2006 under Musings |
Chatting with a client the other day, I hit upon the following analogy:
Writing proposal content without a clear storyboard is like completing a jigsaw without its box. A clear picture might emerge over time if you’re lucky, but it’s going to be a daunting and often frustrating task.
Might be one to keep in mind when trying to convince the account manager and content contributors of the need for a content design session.
