Posted by Jon under Musings | 
“So what do you do for a living?” That was the question posed to me by a cab driver the other day, as we waited for a friend who’d popped into a laptop repair shop to come back out and join us in the car. And, to be honest, it’s quite a tough one to answer, if the person answering isn’t used to the world of business, sales, procurement. “Proposal manager? What’s one of them, then?”
My son Benedict used to ask me a similar question when he was much younger: “What do you do at work, daddy?” I guess if one’s an engine driver, a police officer, a teacher, it’s easy to respond. But how to explain to a small child about the world of proposals?
My answer, which seemed to satisfy him? “I go to work to help business people to tell stories.”
Now he’s somewhat older, and he knows much more of what I do, I think he’s a bit disappointed that my working life’s not quite as glamorous as “storytelling” might imply. But I actually think it’s a pretty good summary of what we do.
Posted by BJ under Musings |
I snowboard and when I do I am typically the lone boarder among my group of friends who are all skiers.
For those unfamiliar with snowboarding I’d point out a few differences that relate to the point I’d like to make in this post. These differences are – the bindings, the speed of travel and dealing with flat stretches.
Bindings – Unlike ski bindings which allow a skier to very quickly and easily step into their bindings, snowboard bindings require a boarder has to ‘strap in’ and this typically takes a few moments. Also, unlike skiers who are able to ride the chairlift while still in their ski bindings, a boarder has to undo the rear binding each time they get on the lift and then strap in again when they get to the top of the lift. At the top of the lift, my friends very graciously wait for me each time I have to strap in, occasionally teasing me about their having to “wait for the boarder”.
Speed – Another difference between skiing and snowboarding, at least for my style of riding (that being ‘surf style’ wherein I do a lot of turning rather than going straight down the slope), is that I don’t go as fast as the people I am with, again necessitating their waiting for me. While going down a slope, one or two of my friends will always stop and wait for me to catch up. Again doing so graciously and occasionally teasing me about their having to wait for me.
Flat stretches – When covering a flat section, a snowboarder can only use the momentum they carry into the section and if the momentum is gone before they reach a section with enough pitch, they will come to a stop. They then have to release their rear binding, walk the section (awkwardly at best and usually with some difficulty) and then have to strap in again when they have reached a section with the necessary pitch to get them going again. A skier, having two separate skis, has the advantage of being able to ‘skate’ and propel him or her self through the section. An alternative for a boarder is to have a skier extend a pole which they then grab and the skier pulls them through the section. This is what my friends do for me. Coming into a flat section, one of them will extend a pole to me and pull me through the section enabling me to keep going and not have to release my rear binding, walk the section and then strap in again. It also eliminates the need for them to wait for me which is probably their real motive.
My riding with this group of skiers is enjoyable because they extend me these courtesies and I greatly appreciate their patience and caring.
Recently, I rode with a group of three skiers whom I had just met. At the top of lift they would reluctantly wait for me, making comments about losing time on the slopes. Then they would take off at high speed and quickly be out of my sight and I wouldn’t catch up to them until I reached the lift at the bottom. Here again they’d make a snide remark about my being slow and slowing them down. Not surprisingly, when we came to flat spots, they would look back and watch as I inevitably slowed and then came to a stop and had to release my binding and ten walk…watching them disappear ahead of me. As you can imagine, this was not much fun and I after two runs I decided I’d rather not ride with them.
As I was riding with this second group, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much more enjoyable it was to ride with my friends. I realized there was a corollary to those proposal groups where the members perform as a team – supporting one another, being patient with those who might need a bit of time to catch up and the good natured ribbing that goes with people who enjoy working with each other. Being a member of this type of team is not only enjoyable but, in my experience, they are more productive and they produce higher quality results. I want to work with – and ride with – a team wherein members support one another.
Posted by Jon under Musings |
‘m guessing most of you will call into coffee shops from time to time. You know the procedure: queue up, order your drink, pay, wait again whilst the barrista makes your coffee.
The drink’ll be thrust onto the end of the counter: “Venti decaf skinny capp”. You look at those around you – is that mine, or did someone in front of me in line order the same thing? And, the moment of minor stress duly over, you pick up the cup and wander off to enjoy your caffeine injection.
Now, picture the coffee shop at the APMP conference hotel a couple of months back. Same process – queue, order, pay – with one addition: the cashier asked for my first name. On to wait for the drink, which was then served with the phrase “large decaf cappuccino for Jon”.
Now, which do you prefer? The personalised approach certainly worked for me – and I saw an obvious parallel in writing proposals. Forget the standard, product-based approach – the more personalised the communication, the more
appealing it’ll be to the buyer.
Posted by BJ under Word play & writing |
There’s a video making the rounds which illustrates the power of words and reinforces how using different words can have a significant impact on how the message is received and the effect it has on people.
It’s worth watching both for the message it delivers, as well as for reinforcing once again how important it is for us to carefully consider the words we use.
You can watch the video below, or click here to watch it on YouTube.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU[/youtube]
Posted by Jon under Processes & best practice |
A recent discussion with a client revolved around the role of the Executive Sponsor on a bid. Whilst I’ve worked with many such senior figures on deals, I don’t think I’ve ever actually come across – or written – a list of their responsibilities. Here was my quick stab at it:
External focus
- Be seen by the customer as the senior manager accountable for the bid – and ultimate successful delivery of the project
- Drive strategy / plan for contact with senior-level customer contacts / influencers
- Host / lead / contribute to client events as appropriate (e.g. meetings, visits, presentations)
Internal focus
- Actively champion the importance of the opportunity – ensuring it’s viewed as a “Will Win” deal
- Ensure relevant senior colleagues are appropriately briefed / consulted regarding the opportunity, and that their views are suitably reflected
- Qualification: ensure that the deal is properly qualified in, with the resourcing plan fully understood and supported by all at senior levels
- Secure the involvement of senior colleagues in the bid/proposal effort as required
- Chair any regular bid/proposal reviews [not daily calls - more occasional overviews]
- Provide active, visible support to the bid/proposal team – supporting with ideas, motivation etc.
- Act as a point of escalation for any bid/proposal issues, including resourcing problems requiring resolution with / by senior colleagues
- 8. Participate in formal reviews as required – e.g. Strategy, Storyboard, “Red Team”
- 9. Approvals: provide senior-level bid approval – confirmation that the corporation is happy to submit, given clearly stated risks / assumptions, and is doing enough to win
- 10. Ensure learning points are identified via a Learning Review, and take accountability for reviewing recommended actions and ensuring a clear plan is in place for their implementation
I’d welcome others’ input via the comments!
Posted by BJ under Word play & writing |
I have always enjoyed humorous word play. One of the earliest examples would be something I read (and amazingly still recall) was on a comic that came with (Actually wrapped around as many of you will recall, a piece of Bazooka bubble gum (and if you do recall Bazooka bubble gum and the aforementioned comic that accompanied each piece, then you too have a few years on you. And, I’ve no doubt, Jon and my colleagues on the other side of the pond will be asking, “Ok, what’s Bazooka?”),
The comic had a character (I don’t recall which one), say to Bazooka Joe (he of the turtleneck collar over the lower half of his face, but I digress here), “My mom says there are two words you should never use. One of them is stupid and the other is lousy.” Joe responds with, “Okay, what’s the stupid one?”
These came to mind while I was reading a newspaper article on a recently condemned apartment. The article cited one of the reasons, among many, for the apartment being condemned as it being infested with bedbugs. Also cited was the fact that the apartment could not be heated to an appropriate temperature due to, and I’m quoting here (as will be obvious to many of you, or at least I’d hope it would be!), “lousy insulation”.
I suspect you can see where the problem, and the, I suspect, completely unintentional humor, lies. For those that might not be aware of the definition of the term “lousy”, it is, “to be infested with lice.” So, one could assume, given the infestation of bedbugs that was mentioned, the insulation probably was lousy. But I’m pretty sure what the writer meant was it was “insufficient”.
This misuse of the term lousy completely distracted me from the article itself. Jon and I have both reviewed many proposals that contained misused words that caused similar distractions (in our opinion, it’s the humorous ones that are the most distracting) and we’ve offered up a number of our favorite examples over the years.
I offer this one for your amusement and as a reminder to chose/use your words carefully.
Posted by Jon under Word play & writing |
An interesting article on the BBC News site the other day discussed the impact of spelling mistakes on online sales.
An entrepreneur, Charles Duncombe, noted that “sales figures suggest misspellings put off consumers who could have concerns about a website’s credibility” – especially when one only gets “about six seconds” to capture the viewer’s attention on a website. He quotes a proof point: after a spelling error was corrected on one of his company’s websites, revenue doubled.
The article added:
William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, says that in some informal parts of the internet, such as Facebook, there is greater tolerance towards spelling and grammar. “However, there are other aspects, such as a home page or commercial offering that are not among friends and which raise concerns over trust and credibility,” said Professor Dutton.
Now, doubtless you’ll find proofreading errors here on our blog. BJ and I write this for fun in our respective spare time; we love sharing ideas and good practices. It’s not a commercial exercise; readers (we hope) understand that. But when it comes to proposals? We’re acutely conscious that the reader draws conclusions about the likely professionalism of your company and solution should they award you the contract from the professionalism of your written proposal.
So where’s the acceptable limit: one proofreading error in the document? Ten? One hundred? A thousand? At what point does a reader’s tolerance for “the occasional mistake being inevitable” and “nobody’s perfect” compromise your credibility – and are you prepared to take the risk?
