In case it helps others, let’s go back to basics. Your organisation has a sales relationship with a current or prospective client. At some point, your salesperson will identify an opportunity to capture a piece of business at some point in the future. You’ll need to carry out a range of bid activities if you’re to win this contract or project – meeting the client, conducting proofs of concept, arranging reference site visits, negotiating… as part of which, you’ll doubtless submit a written proposal.

Our experience suggests that many of the problems experienced on larger deals result from confusion between the bid and proposal roles. Particularly, companies assume that their bid managers – client-facing, expert in bringing together the best technical and commercial resources to define a robust solution – are equally adept at articulating their story through the written word. And, frankly, that’s rarely the case – even were the bid manager to have the necessary time available to devote to the proposal effort.

Likewise, danger lurks whenever a proposal professional lays claim to expertise outside their scope of expertise. Ask me to coach a team through the negotiation phase? Not my skill – but I know the best people to do so. Get me to review the terms and conditions, design the offer, build the pricing model – I could probably muddle through (in some market sectors), but it’s not what I’m best at, what I’m paid for, or where I should be spending my time. And bidding is no place for enthusiastic amateurism.

APMP doesn’t always help matters: in its drive to grow its membership base over the years (and, perhaps, to reflect the commercial aspirations of some of its sponsoring companies), it’s diluted its focus away from proposal management (the clue’s in the name, folks) to discuss capture planning, business development and the like. You know: if I wanted an expert in business development, I’d turn to one of the many excellent sales consultancies or forums out there (such as Huthwaite or SAMA), rather than rely on a group of proposal folks seeking to broaden their horizons.

Cost of sale does play a factor, of course. I fully recognise that some organisations can’t afford to engage both a bid manager and a proposal manager on a deal – just as many can’t justify specialist writing, graphics or document management resource within their proposal centre. I’m nothing if not a pragmatist. But if there’s no separate bid manager, I’d advocate reallocating most of their responsibilities into the sales and technical teams, rather than inevitably compromising the quality of that so-important proposal. And the fact remains that those organisations which maximise their win rates do, by and large, clearly understand the difference between the bid and proposal, and resource their efforts accordingly.

We typically hear such things as, “I now understand the roles and responsibilities of the various individuals involved and why it is critical that we all understand and respect our respective roles and responsibilities.” Or “I have a much greater appreciation for the importance of an Executive summary and the role it plays in influencing the person review my proposal.”

On a recent workshop, when I asked if someone had a significant learning that they wished to share, a young man excitedly raised his hand and waved it to get my attention. I asked him to share what he had learned he said, “The coolest thing. I found out that you don’t have to drag the cursor over a word or sentence to highlight it, you can just click on it and it automatically highlights the word or sentence. That is SO much easier and it’s going to save me tons of time.”

Just goes to show that there are a great many levels of expertise with the tools we all rely upon on a daily basis (and varying levels as to what will get any one person excited.)

When the movie came out, I’d read a glowing review of it in The New Yorker – the sort of exceptional commendation from that publication that makes something a must-see or must-read. (’Gilead‘, Marilynn Robinson’s Pulitzer-winning novel was another such New Yorker recommendation that undoubtedly lived up to its compelling review).

I finally got to watch the movie last week on DVD, and been incredibly impressed. So much so, in fact, that I’d sworn to my wife that it was a certain bet to sweep the board at the Oscars.

She, being a rational sort, pointed out that I couldn’t be sure of the result, since I’d not seen the other contenders – the highly fancied Avatar, in particular. Yet I’d spent the past few days telling anyone who would listen of the film’s brilliance, and its inevitable forthcoming success.

The parallels to proposals? First, think back to that New Yorker review. If the client’s been successfully ‘warmed up’ before your document arrives, they’ll doubtless approach it in a far more positive and receptive frame of mind: “I want to read this one: I’ve heard it’s going to be great.”

And then my certainty that the movie would win, even without seeing the rest of the field. True, too, for proposals – when sometimes the evaluators read a document that is so impressive that nothing else stands a chance. No matter how good the competitors’ proposals, will the reader always default back to yours as ‘the one that I want’, looking for any reason not to choose the others?

So, what awards will your next proposal win? Best document, for sure. Best original story? Best design? Best writing? Best direction, for your work leading and inspiring the team?

In a recent AP article on the Westminster Dog Show being held this week in New York (at Madison Square Garden, should you care to know or go.) I spotted this delightful typo:

She is a hot dog, this little Sadie. Tongue out, and wagging tail up, the perky, 4-year old Scottish terrier has won more than 100 Best-in-Show ribbons and is the overwhelping favorite to complete dogdom’s Triple Crown this week at Westminster. She’s already charmed the judges, in fact. (Yeah, and her overwhelping would suggest she has charmed her fair share of male dogs as well.)

Someone I shared this with suggested the typo could have also been “overyelping”. That would have been fun too.

We’ll be running a couple of major posts next week, looking at trends past and future in the world of proposals – with input from a number of luminaries in the proposal profession. Watch this space!

In the meantime, something to make you smile… Ever come across clients who behave like this?

Click here to view the embedded video.

(With many thanks to the participant on the APMP Foundation course that I ran in the Netherlands earlier this week, who shared the clip with me. And a quick reminder whilst talking about buyers: our recent white paper discussing how purchasers perceive proposals is still available for free download!)

The bid openings I have attended have been very staid events, limited to the client announcing which companies had submitted a response, opening the boxes and a quick count of the documents. During the openings I’ve attended, the documents were never even removed from the boxes. Needless to say, they have hardly been the media events I might have hoped for.

Based on this, I’ve been inclined not to attend bid opening (unless they happened to be close by and it was convenient for me to attend (or they were in a city wished to visit).

My thinking on this has changed, based on an experience one of our clients had recently. Here’s the story (there’s always a story, right?)

For this particular RFP, submitting the documents, for all the usual reasons, came down to the very last minute (big surprise, right?). In order to ensure the document would be submitted on time, two members of the team drove to the client (some 6+ hours away), while the rest of the team worked away. The document was then sent to a printer near the client and the two team members put the documents together there. (This was Plan C, necessitated by a combination of a printer which kept acting up and a heavy snowstorm that threatened to keep planes from flying.).

The two members then delivered the document to the client (with minutes to spare). The bid opening was scheduled for an hour later and, since they were already there, they decided to attend the bid opening. This would prove to be a very good decision!

At this particular bid opening, the activities were as I described above – documents were acknowledged, counted, etc. But then, quite surprisingly and in my experience, quite unusually, the client offered to allow those in attendance – drum roll here – to review ALL of the responses. Yep…you read that right. My client was allowed to sit and review the responses submitted by their competitors. As my client was quick to point out, “This was worth the long drive, the extra effort, time away from home, etc. The information we gleaned from our competitor’s documents will be incredibly valuable to us for future bids.

So as you might expect, I am now an advocate for always attending bid openings.

*As to ‘flash bulbs popping’. I came across this phrase in an article in the newspaper recently and found it most distracting. After all, when’s the last time someone used flashbulbs, much less heard them pop? (While our readers who are near my age will certainly recall flashbulbs – perhaps in a Kodak Brownie or in your Polaroid Swinger -  I suspect many of our younger proposal folks have never even seen a flashbulb.

“Hola! You’re very pretty! God, I realy luv beautiful hot cuties like u!”

An amusing study at dating site “OK Cupid” has analysed the language used by their members when first making contact with someone new, and found that certain phrases have a marked impact on the reply rates. The sentence in brackets above (“Hola…”) breaks about ten of their rules; the site would suggest something like the following (with 24 of their recommended phrases in bold):

How’s it going?

Your profile is really fascinating. I noticed that you mention pretty much all of the things I enjoy. That’s awesome! It’s nice that you love literature and movies; LOL I’m curious what your favourites might be, although I’m guessing that you have good taste.

PS I’d like to apologise for the fact I’m a bit of an awkward atheist. Sorry! But I am a vegetarian, and I did get some tattoos when I was in a metal band whilst studying physics at grad school, ha ha!

OK, maybe not… But it’s an interesting article nonetheless, and did make me reflect on the language used in sales proposals. (See, the post’s relevant after all!). Here are just a few of the phrases from the report that suggest that successful proposals of any sort have some underlying similarities:

• Netspeak, bad grammar, and bad spelling are huge turn-offs. (But hey, we don’t need trained proofreaders to check our sales proposals, do we??)
• People normally like compliments, but when they’re used as pick-up lines, before you’ve even met in person, they inevitably feel…ew. (“You’re such a wonderful organisation, and we’d love to work with you on this truly exciting project…”?)
• The way you choose to start your initial message to someone is the “first impression of your first impression.” (See various entries here on Executive Summaries!)
• Even more effective are phrases that engage the reader’s own interests, or show you’ve read their profile. (Profile = RFP!)
• Be careful not to let the appearance of vulnerability become the appearance of sweaty desperation: please is on the negative list (“Thank you so much for inviting us to bid for this contract…”?)

I wonder if proposal folks are particularly skilled at dating?!

Hangin’ out on the Bench

I first spent time with Jeff in Hendersonville, TN (home of Grammy winning country/pop star Taylor Swift). Almost before I was unpacked, Jeff requested I review Jeff’s notes on a current project and help him craft an executive summary. Once I started working I realized I could help Jeff by recommending some changes to the layout of his home office that would make things more efficient.

Jeff had a meeting that afternoon with one of his clients and he suggested I come along. Once there we reviewed the strategy on a multi-million dollar proposal for a large government municipality; my global expertise came in VERY handy, and my previous experience with IT companies really helped me translate the key messages from “tech speak.”

The next day Jeff had an orientation meeting with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT), which supports a wide range of needs in Tennessee.  Jeff loaned me a Netbook for that meeting and I loved it —it was just my size!

On my last evening there, Jeff and I kicked back and played a little bluegrass, which is one of his other passions. I really enjoyed picking his mandolin on some of those old-time country tunes – we even tried our hand at “I May BE a Panda But I Won’t Panda To You.” It was a great way to wrap up the first week in Nashville.

Rockin’ Robin, tweet, tweedle-lee-dee

Next, I headed on over to visit with a good friend of Jon and BJ, Robin Davis.  On the day I arrived, Robin was documenting the proposal process she designed for a client. Since I’ve been around so many different shops, she asked me to help ensure she was following best practices.  I offered some advice on ways to make the process more efficient and then got busy making a flowchart for the client’s team to review. Robin then asked me to help create the proposal process training presentation for the client’s sales team. A perfect task for me since I’m a master presenter! I quickly whipped up a compelling and fun presentation and coached Robin on how to deliver it in the most effective way.

After a quick trip to Starbucks for a hot non-fat Chai tea latte (I asked if they might have a bamboo shoot to put in it but, as seems to be the case at most coffee shops I’ve visited, they didn’t have any.) While Robin was on a call with a prospective client, I monitored her Twitter account for her.  That was pretty cool. There’s SO much information out there – some useful, some pretty strange -  it was a blast!

Time for some fun

After a fair amount of working time, I was in need of some serious downtime.  So, Robin and Jeff took me around to see the sights of the city.  I can’t do that on an empty belly so our first stop was the Hard Rock Café on the banks of the Cumberland River.  There was great music, fun memorabilia to look at, and an overpriced, but tasty, cheeseburger.  Proposal Panda cannot live on Bamboo alone.

Nashville is the official “Home of Country Music” so we headed over to the mother church of country music, the Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974, and today, still hosts some of the hottest acts around. My hosts tell me this place has the best acoustics in town, even though you have to sit on hard wooden church benches.

Next on our list was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The building is designed to look like a piano keyboard! The Museum, established in 1961, includes a vast collection of items that tells the story of country music history. The Museum hosts regular live performances and public programs, and also includes a Museum Store and on-site dining. I had great time learning about the dramatic history of country music and I have a new-found respect for it.

But, this is music city so it’s not just about country music.  Around the corner from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home of the Nashville Symphony. Built in 2006, the building takes up a full city block and was inspired by many of the world’s greatest symphony halls built in Europe in the 19th century. The hall features a custom-built concert organ and a convertible seating system that is designed to give the hall unique versatility. My hosts had the privilege of playing on the Schermerhorn stage and can attest to the hall’s acoustic clarity and warmth

After the Schermerhorn, we walked a block to Lower Broadway – host to a multitude of honky tonks and shops. We visited a fun little shop that offers tourists their fill of Nashville-themed trinkets. I resisted getting the giant blue foam cowboy hat that caught my eye – Robin and Jeff said it wouldn’t fit in my box. ☹  Right outside of the store I ran into Elvis. That’s right, ELVIS!!  Ok, not the real one, but a cool statue of him, nonetheless.  I rested on his guitar neck while the three of us belted out Blue Suede Shoes.  Here I was in Music City U.S.A., singing on the street, just like many other struggling musicians.  For just a moment, I got to experience what it must be like to chase your musical dreams.

Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?

Well, it’s that time again and I must move on to visit new people and experience new places.  Nashville was a blast and I enjoyed spending time with Jeff and Robin. I’m looking forward to seeing them again when we all attend the APMP National conference in June.

Proposal Panda travels the world visiting proposal professionals. Click here for more details. If you’d like Panda to visit you, just email us at panda@theproposalguys.com

• how important are proposals
• how good are the proposals that you receive
• what advice would you offer to proposal teams.

The results were quite fascinating: in essence, proposals  are clearly a vital part of customers’ decision-making processes, yet few vendors submit truly excellent documents. (Since we were presenting to the UK chapter of APMP, those who participated in the study were in the UK and continental Europe, but I have no doubt that similar conclusions would be reached from a similar survey in other geographies).

Here are my ten favourite quotes:

• “A good written proposal, in itself, might not win you business but a badly conceived and written one may put you out of the race.”
• “It is never enough to say “I’m qualified.” So is everyone else.  The point is “Pick me because I’m different.”"
• “The easier the seller makes it for us the better for them.”
• “Some are articulate, really have got under my skin, are really convincing – whereas others look mechanical, dull, pre-written and could have been meant for anyone.”
• “They vary from excellent (rare) to awful (quite common), but most of them are mediocre.”
• “Your ability to do what is required of you at proposal stage reflects upon your ability to perform once in contract!”
• “Buyers are not idiots. They read good proposals thoroughly and they are not amused at fluff, being patronised, inconsistency, arrogance or shabby editing.”
• “They are seeking a reasonable deal with low risk to themselves (oh yes, and their employer).”
• “Clearly understand the problem to be solved.  Then and only then can you provide the appropriate solution.”
• “If the customer wants the responses written in quill, printed on papyrus with a bow around it, please conform. Comparing proposals that don’t follow the templates requested is often a long and difficult task… and does lower the tolerance levels of those marking.”

We’ve put together a white paper containing all of the responses that we received; click here if you’d like to download a free copy (and here if you’d like to see a copy of the presentation we gave to UKAPMP). Feel free to share the white paper with colleagues – this is precisely the sort of stuff that your VP Sales needs to read to understand the importance of strong proposal management. And, as ever, we’d be fascinated to hear your comments.

As a previous post stated, I read Tried by War: Lincoln as Commander in Chief (McPherson, Penguin). This is a documentary that looks at Lincoln’s handling of the Civil War. It was very well written and provides valuable insights into Lincoln’s decision making and leadership style. (This book contains many insights – what to look for in individuals, when to change Generals, how to effectively persuade others, etc., – that are applicable to managing proposal efforts. Another book along this line that I highly recommend is Lincoln on Leadership.)

Another book I read and would recommend is, The Lacuna (Kingsolver, Harper). Kingsolver is the author of The Poisonwood Bible, a favorite book of mine and one I highly recommend, and I was expecting this book to be very well written and engaging. I was not disappointed. The book is set in, for the most part, Mexico and follows the life of a man from childhood through his death. The story is related to the reader through his journals.

Somewhat similarly presented, this time through a series of letters passed between various individuals, the book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (How can anyone resist a title like that?) (Shaffer/Barrows, Dial Press). This book presents a remarkable and delightfully quirky group of people on the Island of Guernsey during the German occupation. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy a book about human relationships.

On the business side I read, What the Dog Saw (Malcolm, Little Brown). This is the latest from the prolific Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Outliers. This is a set of about 20 or so articles written by Gladwell over the years. It includes pieces on such notables as Ron Popeil and the famous “Chop-o-Matic”, ketchup and mustard, Cesar Milan (the piece on which the title is based) and Pit Bulls (the concluding chapter and a favorite [but then I admit to a bias here as an owner of an American Staffordshire Terrier – aka a pit bull.)

I’m always looking for recommendations for a good read (and attempting to not read a book which is not worth reading) so please do let me know what you’ve read lately and what you thought of it.