- 1.
Freelancers,thankyouforinvitingmetovisitwithyoutoday.Thisisquiteatopic!
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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
