Posted by BJ under Musings | 
For a proposal team to be successful, the proposal manager needs to understand the level of commitment from each of the individuals involved.
To highlight the difference between those contributing to a proposal effort and those who are committed to it, I’ve used the analogy of pigs and chickens and their respective involvement in a breakfast of ham and eggs. I probably heard this for the first time in the early 80’s (when Jon was about 12 or so) and have used it to help proposal team members understand what is required and to discover what level of commitment I could except from a person.
It gave me a big smile to see Scott Adams present this within a Dilbert comic strip:
Unlike Mr. Pointy Hair, I never thought I was terribly clever for offering this analogy and I always prefaced it with “This has been around for a long time (I know Jon, just like me, right?) and I suspect many of you will have heard this before.”
Like many of you I imagine, I have had a few people on my team that worked like dead pigs.
Posted by Jon under APMP & accreditation |
Tan Parmar of design agency Redwood was another of the presenters at last month’s UKAPMP conference. I enjoyed his comments on designing magazine covers: the parallels to proposals are evident. “Covers are really important,” Tan explained. “A good cover should encapsulate the mood and tone of the magazine.”
His design checklist for a good magazine cover? Simplicity, clean typography, and visual impact. Not many of the proposal covers I see – often cluttered and uninspiring – would pass the test.
Tan also outlined one of the benefits of good design: “when you’re skimming through the magazine, you can access information really, really quickly.” Again, that’s so similar to our world, where evaluators need to be able to navigate our documents quickly and easily, whilst absorbing our key messages.
Posted by BJ under Word play & writing |
I know that many of our readers, like Jon and I, are avid readers. I also suspect many of you, like us, when lacking for something that we want or need to read, will read whatever happens to be within reach.
I recently found myself reading a local entertainment guide, for lack of anything else to read while eating lunch. I’m sure most of you are familiar with such a guide. They contained a few restaurant reviews, a couple of articles on various community events and a couple of pages of clubs and music venues. And most such guides it seems also have a personals section at the back, as this one did.
Within a few minutes I had read all the articles, skimmed through the listings and found myself reading the personal ads (purely out of having nothing else to read I assure you.)
Under “couples for couples”, I came across an ad that made me laugh out loud and which clearly demonstrates the need for the services of someone with the right skills set, in this case an editor.
This personal ad read,
“Married couple seeks same. Woman must be pretty, sexy and sensual. Man must be muscular, handsome and well in doubt.”
Either this couple is seeking an insecure guy or, as this is a great example of the often humorous affects of the misuse of words.
Posted by Jon under APMP & accreditation, Purchasing insights |
The recent UKAPMP conference was a triumph for the organisers: an excellent programme, extremely well-attended, in a high-quality venue. (My congratulations to Richard Jenkins, Frances Campbell and the rest of the organising team, as well as to Pat Thomas as UKAPMP CEO for overseeing the chapter’s success).
I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Jack Paine, Director of Procurement at the Department for Transport. He emphasised that whilst his team has an obligation to seek the most advantageous economic solution, “that does not mean that the cheapest price wins”.
He went on to explain that:
“We start with deliverability, then we look at price… It is no good me buying something on behalf of the taxpayer that is not fit for purpose.”
Great ammunition, this, for those working with sales colleagues who dismiss the importance of strategy and value, in favour of “it’s all about price.”
I also loved Jack’s anecdote of the worse line he’s seen opening an Executive Summary:
“Inn every aspect of our business, we seek ultimate quality.”
Yes. “Inn”.
Posted by BJ under Word play & writing |
I was listening recently to Gary Mule Deer, a brilliant comedian. In his routine he presents things he’s read, in this particular case, from a church bulletin.
As is immediately apparent upon hearing the items read, it’s important to consider the impact when presenting two items close together.
The following are two items I recall Gary presenting (I’m sure these aren’t verbatim -my apologies Gary).
The first two items -
“Experience Hell”
“Join us for a special presentation by our choir.”
And the second two -
“Weight Watchers Meeting – Tues. at 7:30pm”
“Please enter through large double doors on side of building.”
I recall Jon telling me about a proposal he reviewed that contained information that had him laughing due to the unintended impact. To a question regarding training for customer service, the response listed various training courses the CSR’s (customer service representatives) would attend.
At the top of the list was, “Dealing with unreasonable clients.”
Posted by Jon under Purchasing insights |
Our dear friend Sheilagh Douglas-Hamilton is one of those rare folks whose career has straddled senior roles in both purchasing and proposals, with great success. She’s been back in the world of procurement for the past few years, but we still end up debating proposal issues together on a regular basis.
One recent discussion concerned the role of the Executive Summary. Sheilagh fired the following across to me the following day by email, and was happy for me to share it here:
The purpose of an Exec Summary? To blow me away so I can say, “Yes! Yes! Yes! They really do understand my business and what I want!”
A good Exec Summary “shows that not only do you understand my requirements, but why you are the one to deliver them.” It should provide “a clear, concise summary telling me at a glance, in easy to understand language, why your offering is the best.”
And here are Sheilagh’s views on the characteristics of a successful Executive Summary:
1. Beautifully written
2. Nice language – no mistakes please
3. Clear concise and compelling
4. Tells a story
5. Is short and punchy
6. Makes no more than three pitches
7. Makes me want to read the rest of the document to find out more
8. Doesn’t contradict the main body of the text!
I always find this sort of input from an experienced evaluator’s perspective really useful. How does the Exec Summary of your most recent proposal fare against her criteria
Posted by BJ under Musings |
I recently heard the song “The Walk of Life” by Dire Straits. This song has, in my opinion, a wonderful intro. And as I listened to this intro, I started thinking about intros within proposals – both as part of an executive summary, to individual sections and within responses to specific questions.
The intro to this song, like any great musical intro, does several things: It introduces the key signature (E Major), the chord progression (in this case E A B A B E if I have it right. [No doubt Jeff E, Robin or another of our readers who happens to be an accomplished musician will let me know if I have this wrong.]) and the chorus. And it repeats all of these several times.
In this case, the intro truly made me eager to hear more (this might have been influenced by my knowing the song!*)
Overall, the intro gives the listener a taste of what is to come and makes them want to hear more.
And isn’t this what the introduction to an Executive Summary should do? Set the tone, give a flavor of how the information will be presented and make the reader want to continue reading?
Give a “listen” to the intro to your Executive Summary and see if it “catches your ear”.
*I think familiarity plays are a big part in proposals as well. Clients who know you well and to whom you’ve previously presented proposals will have an expectation as to what they will “hear” from you.
