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Does Your Proposal Sell or Are You Just Crossing Your Fingers?

Guest post by: Fern Lebo

Article Overview: A proposal is a key closing tool. Why cross your fingers and hope for the best? You need to clue in about what it takes to write a great proposal. This article spells it out.

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Does Your Proposal Sell or Are You Just Crossing Your Fingers?

Once again, I received a call from a client, a major multi-national company, who asked me to "tweak" a proposal due in a few days. Of course I was happy to get the request--it's something I love to do. And I was stunned--yet again--to discover how badly written this proposal actually was. Call me naive, but it still comes as a shock to me how many people are clueless about what it takes to write a great proposal.

It happened the usual way. The request for proposal--the RFP-arrived. The key sales person received it and passed it on to the proposal writing team who got to work pulling applicable answers from the database. The database had been populated by internal subject matter experts who-whether they were good writers or otherwise-had answered the dozens of questions submitted to them with sincere diligence. They were on point, yes. They were also as cold, technical and off-putting as they could possibly be from a buyer's point of view.

As in all proposals, an Executive Summary was inserted. The Summary had been written by somebody in marketing whose writing skills were greatly admired. It expounded on the company history-through all the changes, mergers and reorgs since 1902, then seguayed smoothly into a description of the company's full array of equipment and services. Of course, this particular buyer was interested in one specific piece of equipment, but that didn't seem to matter. Here was one of those "trust us because we've been around" summaries that in no way summarized the actual proposal. How could it? It was nicely written marketing material, pure and simple.

Then too, in this RFP as in most, some questions came up more than once. When that happened, the reader was referred back to a previous answer as if to say, "How dumb can you be? I already answered that!" Overall, it was a camel of a proposal and it was bound to fail. These folks needed a racehorse to win.

Now here's the thing. Marketing material uses a scattergun approach; it is meant to intrigue a stranger whose needs are unknown. A sales piece--i.e. a proposal--needs a lasar beam because it is going to a buyer you know. Indeed, you know exactly what they want--and if you didn't, you wouldn't be submitting your proposal. So why use a standard, unfocused Executive Summary when you know precisely what the reader wants to hear? Why stock your database with answers written by people who can't write didly-squat for sales? When your bonus is on the line, are you willing to throw something--anything--together and cross your fingers in the hope it will work?

Obviously, a proposal is a key closing tool. The Executive Summary is your first big opportunity to sell and when you've done it right, all the rest is simply proof that the readers' immediate positive reaction to the summary was well founded. Research tells us that if you grab them in the summary, the chances are better than good that they'll be yours in the end. So speak directly to the buyers' needs in warm, friendly and conversational language. When it comes to the content, if a question is asked more than once, answer it more than once. And do not waste your readers' time and your own with anything that is not on target.

I fixed this proposal, of course. I went to the buyer's site and drafted a blow-their-socks-off Executive Summary that targeted their goals exactly. Then I rewrote thecontent eliminating passive voice, warming up the prose, and making the answers so reader friendly the buyers were sure to smile knowing they were in good hands. And yes, it worked.

So I ask you, why cross your fingers and hope for the best? Why tsk about your losses when improving your closing percentages takes little more than a professional's input and some serious coaching? How can you afford not to do it right?

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About the Author: Fern Lebo
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Fern Lebo helps her clients improve their closing percentages with presentations that win and writing that works. Author of 6 books, consultant, trainer and coach, Lebo is President of FrontRunner Communications, adjunct professor at Auburn University and a frequent speaker at conferences, retreats and workshops across North America. Exciting, innovative and dynamic, she informs, excites and delights her audiences with real-life strategies that improve sales results.

For nearly 20 years, Lebo has helped Fortune 500 companies and start-ups create and deploy star performers. In seminars, workshops and coaching sessions, participants master the skills they need to compete and win more often. Whether it's reinventing a presentation, writing strategically, or improving presentation delivery, Lebo's clients master the techniques they need to achieve outstanding success. Find out more at www.FRcommunications.com or read her blog at www.FRcommunications.com/blog and pick up free tips and must-have lessons.

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