I recently overheard someone use the expression, “it’s a work in process”. Huh? Work in process?  The expression is, “a work in progress,” isn’t it?

I had just enough doubt about whether I had it right to do a search. Turns out WIP is in fact used for “work in process” as well as for the, I assume, more commonly known “work in progress.”

The interesting part of my search was learning that, according to the site I was using, WIP also stands for a great many other things. (See list below. You might notice that the items in number 18, 23, 24 and 26 are all related to our work.)

1. War-Fighting Improvement Plan
2. Warden Intercommunication Point
3. Warfighter Involvement Process (Department of Defense)
4. Wartime Intelligence Plan
5. Wash-In-Place
6. Water Injection Pump
7. Weapon Impact Point
8. Weapons Installation Plan
9. Web Impact Factor
10. Web Interoperability Pledge
11. Weight Improvement Program
12. Westchester Insurance Professionals
13. Western Independence Party (Canada)
14. Wholesalers Insurance Plan
15. Wireless Internet Protocol
16. Women in Philanthropy
17. Women in Prison (movie genre)
18. Women in Publishing
19. Women Inventors Project (Canada)
20. Work Improvement Program
21. Work In Place
22. Work in Process
23. Workforce Investment Program
24. World Institute of Pain
25. World Internet Project
26. Write in Peace
27. Wireless Industry Partnership
28. Wireless IP

Next up in our series of interviews with folks involved in the proposal profession around the world is Martin Smith, a Director of Bid Solutions - Europe’s leading recruitment consultancy for bid and proposal people. Martin also serves on the UKAPMP sub-committee reviewing membership services.

How did you first get involved in sales proposals?

Honest answer… it was the best-paid job after graduating from my MBA Programme! It was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, jack-of-all-trades bid management role for a global IT organisation. I earned all the usual badges: 37 hour sleep deprivation badge; late night printer engineer badge; impoverished social life badge. You know the deal!

To offer a slightly less materialistic perspective I’ll share my reasons for continuing in the profession for a further 12 years following that initial decision. I firmly believe bid and proposal management has huge potential to grow in to a trusted, proven and respected discipline, across all industries and on a global scale. The pace and credibility with which the Accreditation Programme has been both implemented and adopted is testament to this. I believe as a discipline, bid and proposal management offers professional people an unparalleled, immediate and real exposure to all key business functions.

Every proposal professional has a favourite horror story of the proposal that nearly (or actually) went wrong. What’s yours?

We worked on an all night bid, eventually finishing at 9am the following morning. The deadline for delivery was 10am.The location was just two miles from our location in Central London. We ordered a bike to ensure timely delivery. Very pleased with our achievements we headed off for a celebratory breakfast at Simpsons-on-the-Strand.

Unbeknown to us, the courier company sent a car as all the bikes were in use. If only the congestion charge had been introduced several years earlier the average speed of the car might have exceeded the two miles per hour required to get it there on time…! Deadline missed and lesson learnt the hard way.

What’s the single most successful thing you’ve done to improve your organisation’s proposals?

In my previous role, as head of opportunity management for a major company, I introduced a resource model that linked the size of my team to reflect not only the total number of proposals worked, but also proposal quality. It sounds very straight forward and simple (which really it was) however, the key to success was having total buy-in to the model from the Financial Director.

In real terms, it ensured that must-win deals weren’t compromised by a lack of resource availability whilst providing immediate transparency to those deals in which we were clearly making up the numbers - if a deal landed that pushed team utilisation from 100% to 140%, it quickly became an extremely effective qualification tool if sales people knew they had to pick up the phone and ask the FD to fund a 40% increased resource requirement.

How do you respond to those who claim that, “It’s all about price”?

I don’t believe that price is necessarily a flawed strategy. To not pay full attention to the customer’s requirements because you are relying on price is however, unforgivable.

In a commoditised market, differentiation is not always sufficiently tangible to generate long-term customer loyalty. In such markets (and in my experience) price is often the key driver, albeit not in the complete absence of product / service quality considerations.

In the consumer market, price driven strategies are paving the way for success for many organisations. Websites such as ‘Go Compare’ for Insurance or ‘Kelkoo’ for Electronic purchases often remove the customer-loyalty element from the consumers buying decision. Whether such platforms could replace corporate strategic purchasing decisions remains a topic of great debate. To rule it out completely would be arrogant in a digital age.

Any advice for proposal people needing to get greater sponsorship from senior colleagues within the business?

In my experience, far too many bid and proposal teams fail to link the team’s objectives with those of the business. As a result, Senior Execs often view the bid and proposal team as a tactical sales support function rather than a strategic asset. Declaring win-rate aspirations or total revenue won is simply not sufficient. To truly build bridges (and influence) and engender sponsorship from the places that matter, I believe the objectives of the proposal team (and each and every one of its members) should be implicitly tied to those of the business. Only then can you truly influence and ‘manage up’ the chain of command.

For example, whilst most executives are focussed on a specific business unit or sector, bid and proposal teams are generally in the privileged (?!) position of having deal visibility across all sectors.  By proactively, objectively and rigorously assessing the sales pipeline and win-rate data - something I believe many senior sales managers fail to do well - bid teams can (and should) be first to flag potential gains, issues, and shortfalls in the business plan. Clearly, flagging them to senior management is really only the first step to improved relations, providing implementable recommendations is the real aim and ultimately the ‘holy grail’ to building bridges and increased sponsorship.

A word of caution…this is fundamentally different to the reactive approach of informing management that there are too many deals on the pipeline and you need more resource!

Thanks for that, Martin - some great advice, mixed with some good and challenging ideas.

I recently heard a piece on the radio entitled, “I’m Still Amazed That…”

This got me thinking as to what still (after more than 25 years at it) amazes me about proposals.

So here’s my list…

I’m still amazed that…

• So many sales people don’t understand the value of a proposal within the selling cycle.
• More often than not, the emphasis is more on getting the document completed on time than on quality.
• So many people working within proposal support aren’t even aware of, let alone are a member of, APMP.*
• We’re still printing SO documents as hard copies. (In my nightmares, when I reach the gates, there’s a Tree in charge asking me to account for my actions.)
• The cost of proposals is often seen as, “Well, let’s see. There’s the paper we used, the toner. And oh yeah, we bought some pizzas, didn’t we?”
• Jay Herther knows as much about proposals as he does. If you haven’t seen Jay present or read one of his books, do check out his books or catch him when he comes to a conference near you!)
• With more than 2 million air miles under my belt, I’ve only had my luggage “go missing” (I can’t help but think that the recently late and in my opinion incredibly great [dare I use profound?] George Carlin would have had a field day with that expression!) twice and never had a bag not found and promptly delivered to me the same or next day.
• People say such nice things about the presentations Jon and I deliver.
• I get to do what I consider to be “Fun” for a living. (And yes, I do know I’m a lucky man!)

*I’d like to think I wouldn’t have to tell a reader here that APMP stands for, but just in case…it’s the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.

Our next panel topic - where we challenge our friendly team of proposal professionals from around the world - asked what value (if any) they derived from APMP - the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.

For Robin, APMP was instrumental in moving her organisation from perceiving proposals as a “clerical” role.

My first APMP conference in 2003 changed my whole perspective. I walked away with the understanding that this is a “profession” - a bonafide career choice (albeit crazy)… I had a renewed sense of purpose, confidence and drive to establish a top-notch proposals unit inside my organization.

Knowing that there were people out there that spoke the same language, were experiencing the same pains and had ideas I hadn’t even thought of, was encouraging. I felt like I had a team behind me supporting my theories, thoughts and the direction I was about to head in.

[At APMP’s annual conference] I learn so much about what others are doing and then adopt, tweak and implement similar processes in my own organization. Today, I have grown to a team to 10 people. Our processes work, they are successful and the team is highly respected as value drivers within the organization.

Through the APMP and the contacts I have made through its annual conference, I have grown by leaps and bounds in this profession. Each year I give at least one proposal developer the opportunity to attend the conference and I routinely see significant improvement in their performance post-conference. I couldn’t ask for more than that!

Lesa, too, sees real benefits from her participation in the association:

I find my membership in APMP to be very useful primarily for networking and continuing education. It is nice to know there is a whole association of folks worldwide who are involved in the same processes that I am.

Not quite “misery loves company” (although that is the case sometimes), but through the APMP I know at any time I can get in touch with someone who’s gone/is going/or will go through what I am. I know it’s a buzz word, but sharing best practices is great…just picking each others’ brains whether in person at the conferences or via phone/email is an awesome resource.

I’ve attended five or six of the last annual conferences and I’ve always found a wide range of relevant topics at each one…not to mention broadened my network of colleagues and even made a new friend here and there. I’ve been able to bring back what I’ve learned at the conferences to share with my team, as well as other business partners at my company - even Sales!)

For Barbara,

“my original reason for joining was to receive the APMP journal. I figured the publication alone was worth the annual dues. I rarely save magazines, but I just looked in my office magazine bin, which I regularly cull, and found issues dating back to 2003 with articles I still found relevant enough to keep.”

Aside from the Journal, she

“didn’t originally think that I would find the APMP that useful, as there wasn’t a local chapter in my area at the time”.

But…

I have found the APMP more useful than I ever expected over the years.

Just as with the quality of the journal articles, I am always impressed with the quality of the speakers at the national and chapter conferences. This is a profession where quality is extremely important and I feel APMP is very much a reflection of that. They also continue to evolve and add value with the BD-KnowledgeBase and their professional accreditation program.

If I were evaluating several candidates for a position, the one with APMP accreditation would be first on my list, and if I were one of those candidates, I would be expecting a higher salary.”

Roisin found APMP to be “a revelation”. As a lone proposal professional in her organisation,

“I lacked guidance, and more importantly, support. Arriving to sit my Foundation exam, I was terrified that I would be shown up to be a novice, someone who was making it up as I went along. I was relieved, however, to be introduced to a group of people who were just like me.

And that’s how it continues. For me, the APMP provides a network of informed individuals who are working on the same basic principles. Yes, we all have different interpretations of those principles based upon our organisations and working environments, but it is a real gift to have that network of people at the end of a phone or an email, when I need advice, or simply a second opinion.

Sitting my APMP exam also increased my credibility in the working environment. Finally - I have a piece of paper that proves that what I do is a bona fide profession, and not simply ‘spellchecking’, as it was once described to me. It has also given me faith in my work - I am now a fierce advocate of best practice, and have the confidence to implement it.

More to follow on the panel members’ views as to how they’d like to see APMP evolve.

No doubt all of us have had someone at some point say, “Have a nice day.” I know many people find this to be overly used, tired and assume the person making the suggestion to be somewhat (ok, quite a bit!) less than sincere. I’m okay with the expression myself.Some people don’t think others should be telling them what kind of day they should have. A case in point. My good friend and fellow consultant Izzy Gesell, obviously feels this way as his phone message concludes with, “Have any kind of day you’d like to have.”

I’m prompted to write this entry by hearing Rita Rudner, the brilliant stand-up comic, author, actress, etc.) finish a show with, “Have an even greater one.”, which is obviously taking the expression, “Have a good one.” to the next level.

I’m not comfortable with the expression, “Have a good one.” It never fails to prompt me to consider the question, “A good what?”

In the past I’ve responded with, “Thanks. I already do.” or “Actually, I have two good ones, thanks.” (If you find either of these offensive, I’d suggest that the statement itself isn’t offensive but that the offense comes from whatever you’ve decided the “good” object to be.)

Why bring this up here and how is it relevant to proposals?

We’re at risk of causing a similar reaction in those who review and evaluate the proposals we submit. We need to careful consider how what we present might be taken in order not to offend or annoy. As with many aspects of proposal development and as has oft been stated, “A bit of paranoia is a good thing when working on proposals.”

From “The Oyster House Siege”, an entertaining thriller by Jay Rayner (the Observer’s restaurant critic), comes the secret for preparing a good Bearnaise sauce:

“white wine vinegar, egg yolks, a little butter, and the confidence not to let it know you’re afraid”

There’s something in that advice. The proposal manager’s outlook and disposition has a huge impact on those working on the opportunity: your professionalism and positivity breed professionalism and positivity from those you’re leading.

A fellow APMP member and reader of the blog came across a video online and had the bright idea of sending me the link. Normally, I don’t care for receiving links to “silly” videos but this one is relevant to proposal work and very well done. I’m sure many of you will greatly enjoy it.

Check it out when you’ve got a minute (actually 3 minutes) to spare. Thanks for sending this our way Barbara. B.

I’ve been working recently in an office that displays a notice prominently in the restrooms, stating:

Please leave these toilets as you would wish to find them.

Every time I go in, I wish I’d remembered to bring a pot of paint, some nice fluffy towels and a bottle of Molton Brown handwash.

So, I wondered: what’s the equivalent irritating phrase in the world of proposals? For me, it has to be the RFP instruction that runs something like:

Please submit 4 (four) copies of your proposal.

‘Cos I didn’t realise that “4″ meant “four”, you know… Procurement folk so often seem to get hide behind pseudo-legalese, thinking it makes them sound clever - when in fact it merely serves to underline how little training they have in developing effective RFPs that entice their prospective vendors to submit the best possible proposals.

I heard yet another new term recently. The term was, “Coopertition”. In case it’s not immediately clear to you, this is, I assume, a combination of cooperation and competition.Perhaps this has been around a while and I just haven’t come across it before (I’d be interested in hearing from readers who have heard this term previously.).

Normally I don’t care for such terms, considering them to be “corruptions”. However, I can see the usefulness of such a term given how many companies both cooperate and compete with other companies. On one occasion you’re bidding against them, the next minute your company is a sub to them or vise versa.

What do you think? Should this be a term we propagate?*

*I ask because I believe that we have the power to influence the usage of words. After all, if the term is used in multiple documents by several different companies, pretty soon it will be accepted.

Killing time as I wandered along the street, early, towards one of my new favourite restaurants - Antony Worrall Thompson’s Windsor Grill - my eye was caught by the menu of the China Town Takeaway. (See, I was hungry!)It proudly proclaimed:

We specialise in Cantonese, Pekinese, Szechaun & Thai cuisine.

Now, I don’t know what that says to you, but to me it gives out quite the opposite message to the one they intended. I can’t believe that they can ’specialise’ in so many different cuisines, from locations so distant from each other. And so I end up not believing that they specialise in anything much at all.

And, of course, some proposals are like that: the bidders claim to be so perfect, expert in so many things, that the reader’s credulity is stretched beyond breaking point. Evaluators deduce that your story is all spin and no substance, and pass over your offer for something more believable.