The Final Pairing

The Final pairing, judging/perceiving, indicates how a person prefers to organize his organize his or her time. judgers prefer punctuality, structure, order, and closure. As a result, they are more likely to reach decisions quickly, to adhere to a schedule, and to be decisive. Perceivers prefer to "go with the flow." Spontaneity and flexibility are more important to them than organization or structure. They do not feel much inner pressure to reach closure or make decisions.
This brief summary of the Myers-Briggs approach does a disservice to a subtle, nonjudgmental, and extremely rich method of discussing personalities. Combining the various traits outlined above yields sixteen different types is a bit unwield, however, and it's pretty difficult to get your customer to take the Myers-Briggs test anyway. The point I want to make is that the various combinations of these tendencies do identify useful distinctions that we can use to help us modify the way we deliver our message. And we can reach conclusions about our customer's preferences without obtaining a detailed, clinical picture.
The kind of information you need is the kind you can garner from commonsense observation. What is the person's manner of speaking? Curt? Detailed? Emotional? Look at his or her office. How is it decorated? Are there schematics of jet engines on the wall or pictures of the kids? Golf and Tennis trophies or sierra Club posters? If you had to list the ten things your customer is most passionate about,CHECK HERE TO MAKE your customers know he or she can get the best could you? If not, start paying attention and asking. Learn about your decision maker as a person so you can communicate with that person as effectively and comfortably as possible.

Is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI) Really the best?

Among the various tools available for analyzing and Categorizing personalities, one of the most useful is the Myers-Briggs [Personality] Type Indicator. It is used by career councelors, family and marital therapists, Educators, and many others to help people understand themselves and others better. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-reporting test that indicates an individual's likely preferences on four pairs of opposing personality tendencies: introversion/extraversion, sensing/intuitive, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.
The first pair has to do with the way people prefer to interact with the world. When you are on a plane, do you hope that no one sits next to you, or do you welcome a bit of interaction? Would you rather read a proposal or watch a presentation?
The second pair indicates the two general ways people prefer to gather data. Some people, the "sensors," are oriented toward facts by their nature. They tend to be very literal in their use of words. They need to look at all the details before reaching a conclusion. Their opposites, the "intuitives," find details boring and distracting. They prefer the big picture and appreciate the value of the generalist in an organization. Intuitives are often keen interpreters of nonverbal messages.
The third pairing, the thinking/feeling dichotomy, focuses on how people prefer to make decisions. Thinkers look at issues objectively, reaching conclusions based on what is logical and fair rather than on what makes people happy. They find logic, facts, and technical detail more credible and appealing than emotion. Feelers, by contrast, consider a good decision to be one that builds consensus and harmony. They often make decisions by asking how any given course of action will affect the people involved. They Would consider service and quality issues to be as important as price. Do come back for the analysis of the final pairing. You are welcome.

Adjusting for personality type

As Cicero has indicated, then, to Write a winning proposal, you need to consider three key factors about the audience: 1. Personality type ("think my thoughts")
*detail -oriented * Pragmatic * Consensus-oriented * Visionary 2. Level of expertise ("speak my words")
* Expert * Informed * Familiar * Unfamiliar 3. Role in the decision process ("feel my feelings")
* Ultimate authority * User * Gatekeeper To appeal to and hold the interest this broad spectrum of readers, you must balance many presentation skills, providing enough technical data to please the highly informed, detail-oriented customer, but not so much that visionaries will be bored or the Uninformed audience intimidated. Adjusting for personality type; The first factor about your decision maker maker is his or her personality type, by which I mean the individual's preferences regarding information gathering, information analysis, and communication styles. In fact, there are two questions to ask: What kind of personality type does my decision maker have? And what kind do I have? I guarantee that if you don't consciously think about the customer's personality, you will inevitably create a proposal that is exactly the kind you would like to receive. Do not forget to come back for the next one "MBTI" Indicator

Analyzing the Audience

The last element of Cicero's formula is vital. You need to use words the customer will understand. And if there's a discrepancy between the language your audience uses and what you use, you should drop your own usage and mimic the audience. Your readers will understand more, feel more comfortable with your proposal, and be more likely to adopt your recommendations.
Cicero has given us the word: You must consider your audience when writing proposals. It's crucial. Ignoring or misunderstanding the audience dooms hundreds, probably thousands, of proposals to failure every year, proposals that otherwise answer the needs or solve the problems of the corporations soliciting them.
The problem is that most people write proposals under duress. And most of us, when we're feeling stressed, will do something we're confident we can do well. In the case of proposal writing, we'll create the kind of proposal that we would like to receive and we'll include the kind of content we are confident we can do pretty well. If we are technical and detaile-oriented by nature, we will create proposals that are technical and detailed. But how likely is it that the client will have the same attitudes and personality traits that we have? And even if the client does have a similar personality to ours, how likely is that he or she will be comfortable with the same language we are? Sign up for my newsletter.

How to Understand the Customer

What does your Customer care about? What matters? If your proposal is screen of all submissions with the goal of eliminating those that are not appropriate, that person is looking for reasons to disqualify or reject proposals. Of course,the reasons have to be "safe" and defensible, or for a lack of fit with engineering, legal, or contractual specifications.
If the decision maker or recommender is a hands-on user of your product or service,that person is probably most concerned with the reliability, user-friendliness, and productivity of what your're offering. The person wants to know if it will it make life easier or harder. Will it work with existing systems or equipment? Will it require changing familiar and comfortable habits of work?
Finally, if the decision maker is the Ultimate authority, the one who controls the checkbook, the one who says yes or no and who can overrule the recommendations of other members of the decision team, that person is probably looking at bottom-line issues of cost, productivity, return on investment, or other measures of business performance.

If you wish to persuade me you must think my thoughts

Old Cicero doesn't cut us any slack here. This is mandatory. Not "it would be a good idea if" or "beneficial results may derive from..."No. You must. And he's right, because what he goes on to emphasize is the necessity of developing your persuasive arguments from the client's perspective. One of the keys to thinking like the client is to try to see things from his or her point of view. In fact, that may be the fundamental key to all persuasion: getting outside your own head and away from your own interests and trying to get inside the decision maker's head. You must think my thoughts.
To think the thoughts of your client, you need to watch for clues regarding his or her preferences in terms of receiving and processing information. The challenge you face as a proposal writer is twofold: you need to know what your own preferences are, since you will tend to write a proposal that you would like to receive; and you need to know what your Customer's preferences for receiving and processing information are, since you want to adapt your own style to match his or hers more closely. We'll look at specific ways to do this shortly.

The Cicero Principle

The essence of Client-based persuasion can be summarized in the words of the Roman orator and statesman Cicero: "if you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words." This is great advice, so excellent that it is the basis for this entire blog posts. When we break it down, phrase by phrase, we can see just how profound it is. IF YOU WISH TO PERSUADE ME.............
Why do you wish to persuade anybody of anything? Basically, you're hoping to influence their behavior,thinking, or attitude. If the context of the persuasion is sales like the best Auction sales, here you're trying to motivate the audience to purchase your product or service.

Where to Put Your Client-Centered Insights, Not a direct Promotion.

The whole proposal should be oriented toward the client,we are not talking about promoting your products now. But it's particularly important to put as much of your CLIENT-CENTERED insight up front as possible. That means including the client in your cover letter, title page, and executive summary.
One simple way to check whether your proposals are client centered or self centered is to count how many times your company's name appears in the executive summary compared to the Customer's name. The Customer should appear at least three times more often, because a good executive summary will focus primarily on the Customer's business situation, their needs, their desired outcomes, and how your SOLUTION will match up against their expectations. If it's all about you, it's a bad executive summary.

The last six of the Twelve questions for developing a consultative proposal

6. How inclusive (or limited) is this proposal? Could it be focused more narrowly or expanded to include more? Should it be? 7. How can I prove my claims, particularly regarding potential ROI or competitive superiority for my products or services? What kinds of evidence will this client find convincing? How can I illustrate or support my claims? 8. What might an opponent say against my proposal? What aspects of my recommendations might provoke resistance or disbelief? 9. Does this proposal clearly suggest that some sort of action must be taken? Does it indicate the consequences of inaction? 10. If the proposal includes a prediction or estimation of results, how accurate is this likely to be? What is it based on-factual data,observed trends, comparisons to other situations,intuition,or what? Am I guaranteeing results? 11. What are the total costs for this client to undertake the course of action the proposal recommends? Does this include both time and money costs? Are these costs linked to a calculation of return on investment, payback period, total cost of ownership, or some other measure of value? 12. Does my proposal involve the coordination of large numbers of people or resources? If so,does the proposal make clear how this coordination effort will be managed? Register or follow me to recieve my updates it's free.

Twelve Questions for Developing a Consultative Proposal

Lets take the first six of the questions this time:1 What must I establish about myself and my company so that the client will believe what I say? 2. What is the key recommendation I am making? How does this recommendation address the client's needs? Have I substituted my own sense of what the client ought to do for what it thinks it needs? 3. What specific opportunities for improving the client's productivity or profitability am I presenting in this proposal? Have I demonstrated these opportunities in enough detail that the decision maker will find them credible? 4. What are the meanings of the key words I am using? Will the client understand them? Have I minimized the use of jargon? 5. How can I contrast my proposal with other, similar proposals?(Try to anticipate how the competition may bid and -preferably without disparaging or naming names - ghost the competition by showing the weakness of those approaches and superiority of yours.) 6. How inclusive (or limited) is this proposal? Could it be focused more narrowly or expanded to include more? Should it be?

Accept the need and study the client's situation

Respond to the client's definition of the need,but also offer an alternative perspective. You could discuss the situation frankly in the executive summary as a way of introducing your proposal. State that while you are fully prepared to respond to the statement of work as written in the original RFP, and included a response that proves you can do exactly what the client has asked for, your analysis has led you to develop another approach to solving the client's problem. You can get affordable e-books here that will boost you more. In addition,because this alternative approach will be less costly or more effective (or both),you feel obliged to at least present it as an option.
One other technique is to offer a phased approach to solving the total problem. This is reasonably safe approach to take, particularly when the client has not misdefined the need but simply has not requested the total solution that he or she needs. By structuring your proposed solution in terms of phases, with which phase priced separately and each phase requiring a joint review of progress and commitment to the next phase, you provide a structure in which the client can change direction without scrambling the budget or losing face.

Study the client's situation as accurately as you can

Use your own definition of the clients need as the basis for the proposal you submit.
Redefining the need is a high-risk approach, particularly when the client has provided the original analysis or has paid a consultant to develop it. Sometimes, though, you really have nothing to lose. For instance, when the analysis has been provided by an outside consultant or competitor,redefinition may be necessary in order to position your company more competitively. If your competitor has written the RFP,you can assume that there will be nothing in it that favors you.

Accept the need as defined in the RFP and study the various ways in which your company can satisfy that need.

In the short term, this is the safest approach to take. Bid on the job as it's been described, try to win it, and then hope you can convince the client to alter the statement of work after you have the contracts in your pocket. Unfortunately,what's safe in the short term is risky in the long. You're basing the business relationship from the outset on less than full honesty,and a tough Customer who is looking for performance guarantees or service-level commitments may not be willing to approve change documents or authorize additional funding to get a solution that works.

Redefining customer's need.
Sometimes the client tells you his or her need explicitly, either by explaining it in conversation during your sales process or by defining it in the statement of work of the RFP the client issues. The trouble is,Sometimes the client is wrong.
For example, suppose the manager of a telemarketing operation contacts you because she's unhappy with the sales volume her group is producing."We need a course on closing techniques,"she tells you. "can you do that for us?"
Well,you can do it, but after observing the company's salespeople in action, you realize that what they really need is a course on telephone courtesy. These people are so aggressive that they cross the line into rudeness. The best question is, what do you propose?
The best course is to communicate with the potential client, discuss your conerns or your observations, and try to educate and inform the decision makers before you write your proposal. But Sometimes you can't. Sometimes,when you're dealing with a formal RFP released in quantity to many potential vendors, or when you're dealing with a consultant who has written the RFP, or when ego or politics or governmentally mandated procurement rules get in the way, you have to respond to the client's need as it's stated, even if that's not appropriate. And Sometimes you must be sentitive to the client's or consultant's need to save face.

What results are likely to follow from each of my potential recommendations? Make an educated guess, perhaps based on prior experience with other Customer,s, about the probable results of each possible course of action. Will they lead to the client's most important goal? Will they provide competitive advantage? What will they cost? How long will they take? Are cost and timing important issues will they require the client to commit employees to the task?
Choose the best option from the client's point of view, and use that as the basis of your proposal. Even though it can be tough sometimes, try to resist the temptation of recommending the solution that offers you the highest profit margin or the biggest commission check. Manage your proposals and your business for the long term.

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What products, applications, services can I offer that will solve the problem or meet the need?

Usually there are several ways to solve a problem or meet need. Brain storm. Look at all of the approaches as uncritically as possible. At this stage, consider anything. For example, you might be able to meet the needs of a client who is seeking a training? Program by offering a one-day seminar at the client's site. Or you might be able to do it via the Web. Or you might propose developing a computer simulation that can be issued on a CD and reused throughout the organization. Or maybe you could just give the trainees a book to read, followed by a test.
The more creative you can be in combining what you know about the client's needs and goals and what you have to offer, the more likely you are to separate yourself from the pack and develop a truly client-centered solution.

Types of outcomes Clients typically seek

TECHNICAL: Automating *Adding flexibility *Improving quality *Removing process steps. BUSINESS: Improving profitability * Increasing market share * Accelerating growth rate * Reducing cycle time * Leverage data.
SOCIAL
INTERNAL: Morale * Absenteeism * Turnover EXTERNAL: Higher Customer satisfaction * Brand loyalty . Proposal writers often attribute their own values to the Customer. For example, in working with one of the world's largest professional services firms, one said "I found that virtually every proposal contained the same value proposition" "We offer a greater breadth of services than any other firm,"it went. "We can do it all. Nomatter what kind of analysis, implementation, or outsourcing service you may need, we can do it."The problem was, as research into the values of their Customer base revealed, Customers didn't care about breadth of services as a differentiator. What they wanted was much more task specific: Speed of delivery. Risk minimization. Performance guarantees. Relevant prior experience. Introduction of new technologies that improve productivity. Breadth of services was strictly an internal focus, something the partners in this firm were proud of but which had little meaning for Customers. Don't forget to follow my blog, or leave a comment as a blogger to get more back links.

Which goal has the highest priority?

You've identified the client's desired outcomes. Now Which one matters the most? You need to know what's most important to the decision maker for two reasons.
First, you want to present your ideas in the same order that they matter to the reader, because seeing them presented from important to least important will create the impression in that reader's mind that you think the way they do. This is the primacy principle all over again: they assume that what you say first is what is most important to you and an indication of where the proposal as a whole is headed.
Second, you want to know which goal is most important so that you can use it as the bases for developing your value proposition. Presenting an ROI based on improving quality in a production environment may be easy, given the features and functions of the nondestructive test system you sell, but if the Customer is primarily looking for a way to increase market share, it may not be very convincing.

Analyze your personal goals

PERSonaL GOals, finally, include all the outcomes that affect the decision maker's own career, income, or prestige. If the decision maker owns the company, there may not be much difference between personal goals and business goals. But in a typical situation, the decision maker may be looking for an opportunity to be a hero, to climb the corporate ladder, or simply to avoid making a career-damaging mistake. As we noted above, the most defensible goals are those that are organizational in nature, so be wary of making somebody's personal agenda the basis for your proposal.

Social goals

Social Goals can be directed either internally or externally. Internal Social goals might involve enhancing employee morale, reducing turnover, increasing the Professionalism of the company's sales representatives, raising awareness among all employees on issues of diversity, and so forth. External Social goals may focus on relationships with Customers or on relationships with suppliers. For Example, a company may want to increase brand recognition, change consumer attitudes, reduce the number of calls to Customer support, increase the company's share of the Customer's total spending, or capture a greater share of existing markets, among other Customer-focused goals. Social goals involving supplier might include supplier certification, integration of data systems, or development of long-term contracts.

Technical Goals

Technical goals typically adress problems in the infrastructure. For example,a Technical goal might be to automate a labor-intensive process, to provide greater flexibility or modularity in system design, or to enhance quality through the use of automated inspection technology. Our I.T.manager who wants the solution to be microsoft compatible is looking for a technical outcome. Do you know much about microsoft appliances? Well, it's possible of course, that a "technical" goal may have nothing to do with technology. Instead, it might involve implementing quality management methodologies or achieving standards of compliance. For example, a factory might need to reduce emissions of volatile nitrous oxides in order to meet regulatory standards. How they achieve compliance may not matter to them, so long as they can avoid having their plant shut down and fined.

Replace the concept of Business goals with mission objectives

BUSINESS GOALS might include such issues as increasing market share,increasing net profitability, reducing overhead, Creating differentiation in the market place, or reducing unit cost of manufacturing of appliances and other things. Business goals can often be translated into financial measures, although not always. If you are proposing to a government agency, replace the concept of business goals with mission objectives. Most government agencies or departments have a clearly defined mission, and your recommendations should be focused on helping them achieve that mission faster, safer, more completely, or more economically.

What are the goals that the monitoring system must deliver?

As you gain insight into the customer's desired outcomes, resist the temptation to take the first thing your customer contact says as the one,true goal for this opportunity. Sometimes this contact is thinking about Personal parochial interests and not looking at the larger, organizational objectives. For instance,suppose you are talking to I.T.manager and you are learning more about the reasons why this person's company wants to develop an in-house test bed for monitoring engine performance,you know how important it is. You ask question #3:"What are the goals that the monitoring system must deliver? How will you know that the system you purchase is the right one for this application?" And the I.T.manager says, "The system must be compatible, it won't work here."Now,do you think that's the most important goal for the entire company? Or does it perhaps reflect the I.T.manager's anxiety about not being able to support an application that doesn't work in corporate-approved platform and doesn't match the skill sets of his or her employees?
Always push for deeper insight into the goals. In fact, I urge you to analyze the situation in terms of four overlappingareas:Business, Technical, Social, and Personal.

The three criteria your results and outcomes you're noting should meet

* They must be measurable or quantifiable
"Improved efficiency" is not an outcome or a meaningful goal, because you can't measure it. "Reducing system downtime by 20 percent" is a measurable result, assuming there are reliable baseline statistics available.
* They must be organizational in nature
Perssonal or political goals are not the kinds of outcomes that can be quantified or used in a proposal. Results and outcomes are important and defensible if they benefit many people across the organization, not merely one decision maker.
*The results must come as a direct consequence of the impact your services or solutions have on the customer's business operations
There must be linkage between what you specifically are offering (not what everyone who is submitting a proposal is offering, but rather the specific elements of your recommendation that differentiate you from your competition) and the specific outcomes the customer seeks. If you "own" the outcomes in the buyer's mind, you probably own the deal.

What goals must be served by whatever action is taken?

Before you can figure out what to propose,you must know how the client will judge Success. What is the client trying to accomplish and what is he or she trying to avoid? Delivering the right results through your solution is usually more important than quoting the lowest price . In fact ,it's the definition of value.
Compelling value usually comes from a solution that goes beyond merely solving the problem to deliver important improvements. Understood in this sense, results are improvements in an organization's ability to achieve its objectives and function efficiently and profitably.
Ultimately, you have to ask the customer what he or she values. When you look back on this project,what do you hope to see as a consequence? How will the organization be better than it is now? What measures will you use to determine whether or not you got good value for the money?
As you question your customer about how he or she will measure Success, make sure the results and outcomes you are noting meet three criteria:

What makes this problem worth solving ?

What makes this need one that is worth addressing?
Try to look below the surface. Ask yourself why? Why now? As we said previously, there are all kinds of problems and needs that every business confronts almost daily. Most of them will never get fixed,because there just not important enough. So what makes this situation one that can't be ignored? What makes this the right time to take action? Who in the organization is being affected by the problem? What corporate objectives are being blocked? What outside pressures are making this problem something that cannot be ignored? For example, if we go back to our sample problem statemen from above, here are some questions we might ask:
Why does the FAA need a course on customer service and total quality principles? Why do they need it now? Why do they want to combine those two topics in the same course? Why is the course intended for both hourly and management staff? To what extent have recent changes in the aviation industry contributed to the need for this training? We are going to be asking more questions in the next post. Remember to leave a comment to my post, you are welcome.

Ask yourself these questions

(1)What did we sell or propose to provide?
Starting from your own products and services is usually comfortable and easy. Just don't stay theree.
(2) Why did the customer need that service, product, or expertise?
Looking back at previous opportunities,you probably have a better insight into what was going on than you did at the time you wrote the proposal. What was the real reason they were looking for the particular solution you
provided?
(3) Why couldn't the customer wait?
What made this need urgent? Was there a compelling event looming in this customer's business life cycle that had to be addressed? Was there a competitive situation which the company could not endure? Was there a market opportunity?
(4) Why couldn't the customer solve the problem internally?
And what was it about the solution that made it necessary to go outside the company to contract with your firm to get it? Specialized expertise? Speed of delivery? Equipment? Perhaps this isn't part of the customer' core business competency?
The goal here is to understand the problem, define it accurately, and use it as the starting point for what you bid.

One way to start recognizing customer needs

A web search might turn up press releases and news stories that suggest what the problem is.Sometimes a visit to web sites run by your prospective client's competitors will be revealing.The competitors may be hinting at weaknesses or problems that your proposal is intended to fix.
How else can you find out what the customer's needs are? One way to start recognizing customer needs is to work backwards from existing projects or contracts you have with similar companies for similar products or services.In other words,if you have written this kind of proposal before,perhaps reasons that drove that opportunity are relevant in this new opportunity.

The client's main problem

Continue from the previous post.Some how that didn't click for me.It seemed more likely that online payment verification was the bank's way of meeting a broader need of the business.So I asked the account manager the obvious question:
"Why do they need to improve their e-commerce capacities on their
web site?"
"Their competitors have better Web sites,so these guys are losing market
share to them.They're used to selling from their retail locations,and
they have been slow to adapt to online selling,I guess.But now they can see
its hurting them not to have a good system."
After further discussion,we decided that the client main problem or need
was to regain market share and become more competitive by improving its
ability to provide secure,fast transactions online.The ability to verify
credit cards on the web site was an enabling technology to help them
achieve their broader business goal.It was,infact,a key part of the solution.
It wasn't the problem
Try to find out who is feeling the "pain" associated with this problem.
Who is having a difficult time achieving their objectives because of it?
If you are unable to get better definition of the problem,you might consider
doing some research into the company.

One of the most frequent mistakes salespeople make in a proactive situation

In many sales situations, there is no RFP.You are working with a client who has expressed interest,and you have uncovered a need as part of your sales process.The client agrees that it's worth looking at in detail,requesting that you address it in a proactive proposal.This is actually a better situation for you,because you now have the opportunity to offer an unsolicited proposal without facing any direct competition.But you still need to probe that situation carefully to make sure you understand its implications and consequences fully.
In fact,one of the most frequent mistakes salespeople make in a proactive situation,one where there is no formal RFP to define the customer need,is to confuse the solution they are offering with the customer's need.I work with a large company,developing the basic outline for a proposal for treasury services with the account team.As part of that process,we were answering the seven questions to make sure we were client centered.
When I asked them,"What is the client's need or problem?"the senior account executive said, "Well,they need real-time verification of credit cards on their Web site."
"so if they can process credit cards online,they'll be happy?"I asked.
"Right."

Couple of examples of the kinds of statements of need that might appear in an RFP

The question you have to answer is, what are the likely business drivers that lie behind them? 

  *.The client needs a detailed inspection of all cabling and wiring in the blue river nuclear generating station.

The business driver that makes this need important: The utility company faces potential liability issues if they are found to have defective or non-compliant cabling in their nuclear power plant. Failure to comply can result in significant financial penalties.

*.The client requests proposals for nondestructive evaluation or other advanced testing processes that can be used to guide life management practices in the maintenance and repair of turbine blades.The reason this problem or issue is important:The entire aviation industry is under tremendous financial pressure. Reducing maintenance costs on engine turbine blades will lower overall operating costs, easing some of the pressure on airlines and other operators. That will make this vendor's engines more competitive from a total cost of  ownership stand-point.

The question you have to answer

Continue from the previous post. But it's not a good idea to assume that the problem or need as stated in the RFP is neccesarily complete or correct. Read it, understand it, but keep an open mind. There may be more left unsaid that partains to why the client is looking for help than has been included in the RFP.

         In addition, bear in mind that the client isn't always right. Sometimes the client thinks he or she knows what the problem is, but when you begin to look at the situation, you may find that the client is wrong or has only part of the problem defined.

          Use the RFP, if there is one, as a springboard for understanding the client's situation, but don't stop there. The RFP is telling you that there is a gap between what the issuing organization has or knows and what it thinks it needs in order to function effectively.  Don't miss the upcoming posts for more highlight.

          

1.What is the client's problem or need?

Sometimes the client issues a request for proposal that specifically states what is wanted: The FAA needs a course that will teach customer service and total quality principles to its management staff and hourly employees.

Smith, Goldblatt, and Wong, attorneys at law, are hereby soliciting bids for an office telecommunications system to be installed in the firm's new quarters no later than may 15 of this year. The system must provide the following features:...

The trustees of the kallaher Group of Homes for the Aged solicit bids for an audit of all of the properties for the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

Tom's Auto Parts seeks a system to manage the inventory of parts and equipment at all thirteen store locations. The desired system will use bar code data to maintain a current inventory of parts and will integrate with our existing MAS 90 accounting system to automatically update inventory as parts are sold. These are all pretty clear.

Seven questions to keep you client focused

Before you ever set pencil to paper, before your fingertips caress a single key, you should answer the following seven questions. They'll force you to develop a client-centered perspective. If you are a proposal writer who supports a field sales organization, you should ask these questions of your colleagues in sales when they submit a request for proposal that they want you to work on. Without knowing these basic aspects of the opportunity, you can't give them the best possible support. If they resist, point out to them that you don't want to undercut the work they've done during the sales process by delivering a boilerplate proposal.(If they still resist, maybe they haven't done any work during the sales process and don't know the answers. When that's the case, you should question whether or not the opportunity is "real.") SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR A CLIENT-CENTERED PROPOSAL           1.What is the client's problem or need?   2.What makes this problem worth solving? What made this need worth adressing?   3.What goals must be served by whatever action is taken?   4.Which goal has  the highest priority?   5.What products/applications/services can I offer that will solve the problem or meet the need?   6.What results are likely to follow from each of my potential recommendations?   7.Comparing these results to the customer's desired outcomes or goals, which recommendation is the best?

Don't abandon your commitment

       Vendors are invited to send in their proposals by posting them to a web site, e-mailing them, or responding in forms posted on the web. To the extent that companies are using this kind of technology to save time and money, it's helpful. But when they post a spreadsheet or a rigid form, asking potential vendors a disservice. By reducing the buying process to spreadsheet comparisons, a company treats all products and services as commodities and limits the ability of providers to offer anything creative. Differentiators disappear and calculations of ROI or value become very difficult. All the same, you may still have an opportunity to use the principles we discuss in this blog. For instance, if you are allowed to submit a cover letter with your form, turn it into an executive summary. It's not an ideal situation, but if you are forced to respond in a spreadsheet, don't abandon your commitment to communicating persuasively.

Differentiators disappear

 Remember that Different receivers will respond differently to the same message presented in a particular medium.  A decision maker who likes to study information in detail and who tends to be an introvert will prefer to base decisions on a written proposasal. A more intuitive decision maker ,by contrast, would probably glance through the details in a written proposal but rely heavily on any accompanying presentation and the overview elements. The growth of the internet and the widespread use of e-mail have spawned a trend for electronic submissions.                                                                                                        

What is the channel?

The channel is the medium by which your message is delivered to the reciever. Traditionally, proposals have been delivered on paper in print but there are now other options, and they are becoming increasingly popular. For example, your proposal might be accompanied by a digital video of your eqequipment in action. Including a CD or videotape with your document expands the range  of channels you are using to get your message  home. Or you might present your proposal orally before handing over the document itself, using some form of multiple media presentation graphics.  combinit ng an audiovisual channel with print is a good idea, because research indicates that for relatively simple message s an audiovisual presentation  is actually more Persuasive than print alone.                            

How do companies choose representatives?

However, if there is an element of appeal, then listeners and readers will also look for evidence of credibility. The person doing the communicating must appear to know what he or she is talking about, must provide accurate information, must assemble relevant evidence, and must indicate that he or she understands the audience. These are all credibility factors. If you think about advertising,http://www.reviewme.com/?ref=133185 you can see how companies choose representatives on the basis of these qualities. As a spokesperson for athletic shoes or sports drinks, Michael Jordan is both credible-he certainly knows something about sports -and appealing -he's good looking, successful, and apparently a friendly guy. He probably wouldn't be as effective in commercials for lawn fertilizer or dump trucks. He'd still be an appealing personality, but we'd have to question the credibility of his endorsement. Coming soon! How you can establish credibility in your proposals.

Is the source really the person?

The source is the person or thing doing the persuading - the politician making a speech, the sales representative trying to close a sale, the company submitting a proposal, the foundation running a public service announcement. To bee effective, the source must be both credible and appealing. People believe in People they trust, and trust based on a combination of credibilityy and appeal ("rapport" is another way of defining the quality I have in mind here). The audience must like the person delivering the message. They must feel comfortable with the source. They must believe that the person cares about them and understands them. They must respect or admire the company submitting the proposal.These are all components of appeal.If you don't establish a measure of rapport or appeal at the outset of your presentation or document, the audience may tune out and never look carefully at whether you are credible.