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- 1. Freelancers,thankyouforinvitingmetovisitwithyoutoday.Thisisquiteatopic! 1
2. IdliketosharealittleofmyhistorysothatyoucanunderstandwhyIwouldspeaktothis topic.Ihave20someyearsexperienceinmarketing,sales,accountmanagement,and proposalmanagement.Iveworkedforandwithcompanies ofallsizes,alllevelsof maturity,invariousindustries.Lotsbutnotexclusiveexperienceinthepublicsector. Aftermanyhappyandinterestingyearsinthecorporateworldalongwithseveral reorganizationsandlayoffsIdecidedtoleapintoworkingonmyown.IlaunchedSequitur Marketingearlylastyear.andamstilllaunching!Everydayisanewexperienceand adventure;itsagreatgig. Ourfocustodayisproposalsbutmyexperienceinallthoserelatedareashasproven invaluable.Thatsaninteresting,scarythingaboutproposalswhatever experienceone has,itcancontributetoagoodproposal. 2 3. Letstake alookagainatthetitleofthissession.writing.Writingmakeusthinkofpen topaperthekeyboardoutlines(maybe)..grammar.. . Butwithalittlethoughtmostofuswouldagreethatwritingaproposalbeginswell beforethepaperorthekeyboard.So,whenorwheredoesthewritingorthepreparation ortheworkbegin? Toooften,theworkdoesnotbeginearlyenough. Ibelievelackofadvancedandongoingpreparationisattherootofmostproposalanxiety, errors,andlosses.Notspecifictofreelancersorjustentrepreneursorsmallbusinessesbut tobusinessesofallvarietiesandpeopleatalllevelsofexperience. Thefollowingisforyoutoconsiderinbeingprepared. 3 4. WHATISAPROPOSAL? So thatwereworkingfromthesameperspective,hereswhatImeanbyaproposalletme knowyourvision. 1. Notaquote,bid,informationsheet,etc. 2. Aproposalmaybeinresponseto aformalRequest.atrueRFP,detailedspecs,etc.Competitiveprocess. informalorevenverbalrequest.Trytogetatleastinformalspecsnotedinamemail,etc. Mayormaynot becompetitive. generatedbecauseyou think(assume)itsthenextbeststepintheprocess,notagood practice 3. Aproposalincludescontent+pricingandisdevelopedforaspecificcustomerfora specificprojectorsolution.Contentsectionsmayinclude: anexecutivesummary solution/productoverview providercompanybackground+qualifications projectplanorschedule 4. Aproposalmaybecomepartofacontract. 4 5. KNOWTHYSELF 1. Thisisgood,generalbusinesspractice,notjustto guideyouinputtingtogethera proposal.Howdoesoneknowoneself?Alittlenavelgazingandmeditationcant hurt. 2. Butgobacktoyourstrategicplanorbusinessplanormarketing plan.Tworeasonsa welldevelopedplanisimportanthere. One,yourplanshoulddriveyourgo/nogodecision.What?!Dowesometimesdecline toproposeorbid?Absolutely.Generalrule.donotbidonwhatyoucannotjustify.The bestjustificationisthattheworkisamatchintermsofyourgoals,vision,timingor availability,skills(currentordesired),andfinancialneeds. Iwillnotethatespeciallyfornewbusinesses,soloprenuers,freelancers.financial needandtofillthetimesheetmay justifypursuingaprojectthatisnotobviouslya goodmatch.Buteveninthissituation,lookforsomevalidwaytotietoyour plan.developanewandusefulskill,proveyourselftoapotentialclient,orestablish yourselfinanewindustry.Keepyoureyeonyourplan. Two,yourplanshouldincludeinfothatyouwilluseintheproposal:corpinfo,product descriptions,pricingmodels,competition..whichleadsusto 5 6. RESOURCES ANDLIBRARY Youhavemany,manybusinessresourcesonhand.Previousproposals,resumes,presentationnotes.Be intentionalwiththese.buildaresourcelibrarythatyoucanrefertoandpullfromquicklyandeasily. 1. Content Developacontent library.Includestandardcontentthatyoucanadaptasneeded.What toincludewill varybutconsider: Descriptionsoftheproducts(goodsandservices)youoffer Successstoriesincludingclientwork Clientreferenceinfo companyname,contactnameandinfo,contractdates,contractvalue Templates(Word,etc.)forproposalcover,coverletter/letterhead,proposalbody,pricinggrid Photos,graphics,tables Standardpricingtablesormodels Standardresumeandprofessionalbio Basicagreementorcontract 2. Resources Document thename,contactinfo,andareaofexpertise forproven,reliablecontractors.These contractorscanhelpyouwiththeproposaland/orwithprojectexecutionand/orwithotheraspectsof yourbusiness.Whattoincludewillvary;formybusinessIinclude: Writers Graphicdesigners Websitedevelopers Photographers Printers Socialmediaconsultants Videographers Marketingandcommunicationsconsultants Attorneys CPAsandbookkeepers 6 7. KNOWYOURCLIENT Asuccessfulproposaltalksto andabout theclient.Establish asincererelationshipwiththe clientsothatyouunderstandthebusiness.Gather asmuchinfoasyoucanasearlyasyou can. Strengths,businessadvantages Uniqueness Needs/problem Otherworries Resources Budget:atleastforthespecific projectandbroader,ifpossible Buyingroles:buyer,user,influencer, decider Competition(theirs) 7 8. ASSESSTHEENVIRONMENT 1. AlbertEinstein saidTheenvironmentiseverythingthatisntme.Forourpurposes,Id focusthatabitoneverythingthatisntmeormyclientdirectlybutthathasimpacton theclientsbusiness.Thiscaninclude: Industry requirementsandchallenges Competition.yoursandyourclients Economicconditions Politicalimpact Weather Pricesofsupplies,labor,shipping 2. Ifyouarenotresearchingandunderstandingthesefactorsuntilyouaredevelopingthe proposal, yourisk: Losingvaluabletime Providinganinadequateorincorrectresponse Pricinginappropriately 8 9. A PROPOSALISAPROJECTMANAGEACCORDINGLY Proposalsaretooimportantnottomanagetheircompletioncarefully.Youareaddressinga clientsspecificneeds,speakingtodetailsandspecifications,providingyourbestpricing, andoftenwithininlesstimethanyoudreallyliketohave. Getaheadofthefrayandapproachtheproposalinanorganizedfashion.Preparea checklisttemplateinadvance.Includeand prioritizethemostimportantsteps. Forexample,somethinglikethis: 1. Requirementsreview 2. Go/nogodecision 3. Plandetails Tasksandassignments:content,pricing,proofing/editing,production,delivery Timeline Resourceneeds 4. Worktheplan 5. Finetuneasneeded 9 10. CLIENTSEVALUATIONANDDECISION Oncetheproposalissubmitted,yourworkisnotdone.Stayconnectedtotheclientand thedecisionmakingprocess: 1. Confirm receipt 2. Followup pendingdecision 3. Addressquestions orchanges 4. Demoorpresentation 5. Award announcement 6. Agreement/contract 10 11. REPAIR UPDATE BUILD Eachproposalcompletedispreparationforthenextopportunity.Takeadvantage!Buildyourresources andlibrarythrough: 1. Postmortem,lessonslearned thinkthroughonyourown,collaboratewithpartnersandsubs 2. Winorlose,getfeedbackfromclient 3. Updatestocontent,pricingmodels,resourcelists,productideas,yourbusinessplan. 11 12. Thesepointsapplytoanyproposalandanyonecanimplementtheseideas Youalreadyhavethefoundationforfollowingthismodel.,sowhynotgiveitatry? Notingtolose.Theupfrontandongoinginvestmentintimeandplanningwillbe repaidinimprovedsalesprocess,reducedanxiety,andhigherqualityproposals Betterproposalsleadarekeytomorewinsand betterprojectexecutionmore referralsmoreproposals.AGOODcycletowork! 12
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