Posted by BJ on 9 July, 2008 under Word play & writing | 
While reading an article recently in a very respectable, big city newspaper I came across the word “therefore” spelled as “there-for”. Yep, as the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up folks.Now, as many of you will be aware, I don’t tend to worry too much about spelling. I’m usually of the “it’s a simple mind that can only come up with one way to spell a word. How-ever (intentional, of course), this all but stopped me in my tracks. Not sure why. Perhaps it is just too much of a corruption? Too far from what I expected?
Whatever the reason, this all but stopped me in my tracks. Try as I might to read on, I kept reflecting on it…and was ultimately unable to finish the article (which up until that point, had held my interest.
Seen a really inventive way to spell (ok, present might be a better term here) a word? Do let us know. And also let us know your reaction.
Posted by Jon on 7 July, 2008 under Musings |
On a recent visit to museum, I was handed an access card displaying a bar code that would allow me admission to the galleries for which I’d paid the entrance fee. I was impressed – it’s great to see museums moving away from their old-fashioned, stuffy image and adopting new technologies.The only problem? The bar code readers at the entrance to each gallery didn’t work. Visitors looked at one another bemused, waving their cards at the barriers in ever-more intricate dances in a vain attempt to persuade the gates to open.
Some proposals I see are beautifully designed, wonderfully illustrated, printed on the finest paper, cleverly bound. And it’s really important that your documents look great and create a powerful impression, re-enforcing and setting the tone for the story your book wants to tell.
Yet without the substance to back it up – if all of the investment has gone into the look and feel, and none into (say) the strategy process or professional proposal writing support – then you might as well not have bothered. Your readers will be left feeling let down, short-changed, frustrated by a document that’s elegant yet insubstantial.
Posted by BJ on 2 July, 2008 under Processes & best practice |
I had a mail recently requesting information as to what percentage of “blind” RFP’s win.I replied,
“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while but that’s not an appropriate basis for a (successful) business model.”
Said differently, my professional opinion is that the percentage of responses which win a competitive opportunity in which there was no previous contact is below 1%….and I suspect is closer to 0% than to 1%.
I’ve stated in the past,
“If you haven’t been involved throughout the customer’s RFP process, ideally from conception, and/or don’t immediately recognize the opportunity as one for which you are uniquely positioned or in a position to effectively compete, throw the RFP away or use it to line your birdcage.”
And I stand by it.
Posted by Jon on 1 July, 2008 under Musings, Processes & best practice |
You know an organisation’s struggling when you circulate a document that mentions that proposal submission is followed by a “Negotiate and Close” phase, and the query comes back:
“Is this internal or external negotiation?”
Now, as a proposal professional, the post-submission negotiation process falls outside my remit. That said, it’s frustrating if you do ever find yourself looking on as a team which you’ve coaxed so carefully and professionally through the proposal phase disintegrates as the deal moves closer to signature. You probably know the signs:
- Externally, the customer appears to have the team on the run. Hastily-convened, late night meetings (because “they need a reply by the morning”) seem to redesign the carefully-thought-through offer on the fly, offering more and more in return for less and less.
- Internally: remember those folks who assured you that this could be done? Who promised they’d provide the necessary resources and support? You know: those folks who no longer return the team’s calls, and seem to have buried their heads in the sand? ‘Cos we’re not actually going to *win* this and be expected to *deliver* it, are we?
Recognise the symptoms, anyone? And guess which one’s the more painful?
Always remember: the enemy lies within. (Or alternatively you could go and engage one of the negotiation skills experts out there, and sort out your approvals processes! But a bid wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t painful, would it?!)
