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.

Ok, when developing a document and waiting for specific information (a date, name, link, etc.) it is fairly standard practice to put in a “marker” where the information is to be inserted once it is known. This typically takes the form of xx/xx/xx, or insert XXXXX here. Using this method, you’d use logically www.xxxxx.com to indicate a link, right.The intention, of course, is that these be filled in before submitting the document and ideally and as we teach our clients, these are highlighted to ensure that in fact they are filled in prior to submission and NOT overlooked.

However, as we all know, despite all best efforts (or for lack of them!), once in a great while that doesn’t always happen and one of these ends up in the final document as is.

Very unfortunately, that’s just what happened recently: A document went out with www.XXXXX.com in it.

As you might have guessed, though unbeknownst to the person who quite innocently used this as a marker, this is actually a working link. And like the title says, it’s not a link to which you want to be directing your client. (And I strongly suggest you DON’T GO THERE!)

Ever faced an uphill struggle getting team members to remember that they need to reflect the agreed win themes in their proposal text?

Here’s a simple idea we came up with recently: create an email template for the proposal in question, so that every note starts with a header that includes your key themes. That way, every time the team members receive anything from you, they’ll be reminded that (a) the messages exist, and (b) they should be incorporating them into their proposal!

Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address consisted of just 272 words.*RFPs often limit the number of words and/or pages for an Executive Summary, typically to around 2500-3000 words or 2-3 pages.

The typically allotted amount of words or pages for an Executive Summary eems rather large when compared to few words Abe needed to capture and keep his audience’s attention (and he’s managed to keep doing so for a fair number of years at this point.). Obviously, the limited number of words used didn’t lessen the impact any. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The brevity of the address, among other things (such as that great opening line. After all, he could have just said, “87 years ago”), is what gives this amazing piece of content its impact.

This is something to offer the next time a sales person tells you they just can’t cut the Executive Summary down any further.

*Some sources state the address contains 269 words.

A wander through one of London’s nicer areas after dinner with a friend recently took us past the window of a shoe shop. There, it proudly proclaimed its award-winning track record:

“So what does that tell you about them?” I asked, interested to test a theory.

“That they’ve been really useless for the past couple of years,” my friend immediately replied.

There’s always a fine line when mentioning prestigious awards in a proposal. The fact that you were acclaimed “Company of the Year” this year means you’re at the top of your game, the very best in the industry. Why wouldn’t the buyers buy from you?

If it was the last calendar year’s prize then, hey, they might not yet have got round to holding the awards ceremony this year! But two or more years ago? There’s someone better than you out there whose been walking off with the silverware.

Even if you’re not the remaining champions, there can be certainly value in quoting a long list of successes that demonstrate a consistent level of excellence year-in, year-out. But if said list stumbles to an abrupt end three years ago, it feels to the potential customer as if you might be a little tired as a supplier, and that they might be better shopping elsewhere.