Sell the Steak by Making It Sizzle - Winning Proposals

As I was reading through a professional services proposal this weekend, I was struck by how ... well, matter-of-fact it seemed.  A perfectly serviceable proposal, it was a professional recitation of fact, scope, and deliverables, couched in a layer of explanation where required.  It may or may not win the business.  It did not overwhelm me with the feeling "I have to hire these people!" or "This company is the only one that can solve my problem!"  This proposal is (to tie back in to the title of this article) a steak, on a plate, with a little garnish of parsley.

If the organization does not agree that every single thing we put in front of a client or prospective client is Marketing, there's a fundamental issue that must be addressed.  Here is the issue:  Every single thing we put in front of a client or prospective client is Marketing.

Would you trust an organization with a badly constructed proposal to build a software system for you?  Does a proposal filled with misspelled words leave you filled with questions?  I once worked with a client who had issued an RFP, and when the responses came back, he threw out two without even reading them.  One had misspelled the name of his company, and the other had misspelled his name.  His comment?  "No attention to detail; don't need them working for me."

Every single thing we put in front of a client or prospective client is Marketing, and every detail is important.

In many organizations, Marketing gets input to a proposal before it is sent to the potential customer, yet I have found that Marketing's input is typically restricted to ensuring that the appropriate marketing language is included - the About Our Company section, perhaps the references, and of course the overall look and feel - fonts, colors, logos, etc.  Perhaps another party proofreads the proposal, ensuring that scope and deliverables match, that the project plan accurately accounts for all of the scope items, that the proper rates have been used.

Who is responsible for making it sizzle?

This is the rise of the specialty marketer: the marketer who understands the industry, the offerings, and the competition enough to create language within the recitation of fact, scope, and deliverables that will add the sizzle to the steak.

"The proposed approach represents a paradigm shift in the way that X Organization has been doing Y task.  By undertaking this shift, X Organization will be positioned to leapfrog the competition, executing faster, with greater agility, using Z process." 

"Challenges with the current system include A, B, and C, which will be negated by Z process, ensuring a smoother delivery of services to X Organization's constituents."

"Based on our experience with similar organizations, X Organization should expect to cut Y task time by half."

These claims should not be lofty, unsubstantiated, or sales-y, and, while the standard proposal language must obviously include appropriate disclaimers, the meat of the proposal itself should be the written equivalent of a platter of sizzling steak fajitas being carried past you in the restaurant - hear it, smell it, and you want fajitas, don't you?

There's more. 

Salespeople, technologists, proposal-writers in general lose sight of the possibility that the proposal will need to stand on its own after it has passed from their hands.  Someone will inevitably be reading it who has never heard your presentation, never witnessed your sermon, who has never heard of whatever it is you are selling.  To these people, a steak pretty much looks like a steak.  It is incumbent on the organization - whether with a specialty marketer or another articulate party - to ensure that the proposal stands apart from the noise by making a noise of its own - a sweet, fragrant, sizzle that will stay with the proposal no matter where it goes or who reads it.

How do we make it sizzle?

• Appeal to the heart of the problem being solved, in language relevant to the business of the organization to which you are proposing.
• Make your understanding of the issues completely obvious within the language of the proposal.
• Sell to the "fourth level" - to your customer's customer - in language that is relevant to them.
• Ensure that benefit expectations, and how your proposal addresses them, are clearly articulated.  I like to use "Critical Success Factors" for this.  How will you know if the project has been successful?  Typically, the answer will be "if we overcome challenges A, B, and C," right?
• Call out past experience and past successes - "In similar organizations, we have seen these results."  Use the phrase "based on our experience" where it makes sense.

You know the subject, you know the problem, you know how to solve it, and you are tremendously excited at the opportunity to work with X Organization to get them to a new level in their business evolution.  If your proposal doesn't give off that aroma, it may be time to get Marketing involved.

The steaks will fly out of the kitchen.

Happy Sales.