What’s Your Sell Ratio?Very simply, what percentage of your proposals sell? If your sell ratio is below 60% then you have an opportunity. If 4 out of 10 of your proposals get cut in the first round of a RFP you have a bigger opportunity.
A Sea Of “Look Alike” Proposals
What is the point of a proposal or response to a RFP? It’s not to win the job. It’s to give the customer or client the quality information needed to make the best business decision - you. Just for a moment pretend you’re a client sitting through a round of “stand up” presentations or sorting through a stack of proposal documents. What makes the difference between a proposal that stinks and one that sells?
Odds are you haven’t changed your approach to proposals in years or decades. It’s time to overhaul your proposal process and put it in-sync with how your clients buy.
How Clients Buy
It is all about them and not you – they have objectives to be met and results to generate. They have budget parameters that can’t be exceeded. They also have executives, departments, rivalries and egos to handle.
They know their requirements better than you do – they are looking for a working partner.
They want to be able to compare each proposal point-by-point – this is for their convenience even though it may not be the best way.
Creative, logistics and budget are important but they are buying strategy, confidence, chemistry and a relationship – in the end they have to defend that they made the “best decision.
They want to feel that they “own” the solutions – when it’s all over they want to look good. They want to be able to take the credit.
Toss Out The Boilerplate
Throw out your standard proposal format. Rethink and redesign to make your proposals align with the client’s buying process. Make it all about them and not about you. Here’s a suggested outline.
Scope of the Project – what they need in their terms. This isn’t the objectives it is how the client described the project.
Results– forget stating the objectives – clients buy results. Outline the specific results you will generate and the time period. If you can’t present specific results then you simply don’t understand the project or the requirements.
Strategic Approach – the thinking you have used to develop specific solutions. In the end clients hire you to think for them so let them know you understand the situation and are approaching it strategically as well as tactically.
The Solutions – based on the scope of the project and the strategy. You are demonstrating your thinking and ability to deliver specific results. This is more than an explanation of products, services or creative elements. Remember, the client is buying your ability to think and work with them to develop solutions.
The Benefits of the Solutions – clearly defined benefits your solutions deliver. Make a commitment on what they gain. Don’t be vague – promise specific results. They are buying results.
Time Line – demonstrate how you will organize the project and the deliverables. Put this from the client’s perspective.
Working Budget – position these as beginning numbers. Acknowledge that they will change as you work together on the project. Every client looks at the budget first.
The Benefits of Working With You – think of this as “street cred.” The goal is to build confidence, chemistry and a relationship. Avoid giving laundry list of clients and more than three case studies. What do they need to know to make the decision?
Then – STOP!
It’s a proposal and not a contract. You don’t need to sell. If you’ve done your job well in designing the proposal the client has taken the first step in their buying process.
Super Secret Strategy Nobody Uses
The RFP has a deadline of 4:00 Friday afternoon so when does every supplier deliver proposals? 4:00 Friday afternoon! Be early and deliver your proposal at 9:00 Wednesday morning. Here’s why. You look more organized and professional. The clients will read your proposal first – it’s human nature – and give it more thought and consideration. Your proposal becomes the unofficial standard while all the others are just an ominous stack. Being early gives you the edge.
Deodorize Your Proposals
- Be early - the first proposal
- Be brief, prepared and professional
- Concentrate on the client and not on your company
- If it's from your perspective - you lose!
- Act like a business
- Take on an attitude of service
- Be focused and cut it to essentials
- Demonstrate your uniqueness and the differences you provide
- Make it easy to buy your proposal and your company
- Be the best decision
Take all the fluff and self-serving verbiage out of the proposal. Make every word speak directly to the client’s need. Sell the experience of working with you. Be interesting, exciting, reassuring and confident.
In the end, become the “best decision.”
_________________________
Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.
Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.
Posts
