The Proposal Trap
Proposal Responders
Beware
A brand new prospect says to you, "Yeah, that
sounds great! Send me a PROPOSAL. And if you could get it to
me in the next couple days..."We've all heard those (or
similar) words. We tend to get all excited and think, "Cool,
there's someone who's going to buy from me." We move them up
to the top of the sales funnel maybe even start chalking them
up in the "win" column. Hold on.
Deep down, we know the odds are very slim. We
know that number of countless hours we've done on a custom
proposals (often guessing what the heck these folks want-when
they really have not still a clue), the countless attempts to
follow-up, and the countless times it was all a waste of
valuable time. We got played--again. Oh sure, it does happen
once in a blue moon--a new client signs up this way. But very,
very rarely.
Here's why the huge majority of proposals are
not worth the time and effort:
- They waste precious time that could be used
looking for other prospects or providing other productive
work to current clients.
- They give pricing/packaging information to
mere tire-kickers-and then to the competition-you just
become a number standing in line without a dance
partner.
- They give you a false sense of security that
you're doing something positive and productive in your sales
process-that you're busy and making progress-and maybe
that's the worst of all.
Yes, you'll still need to write
proposals
Especially if you play in the game of government
contracting and other niche business areas (that require RFPs
to play) you have little choice. But custom proposals-even if
you have some good boilerplate to pull from and smart
writers-take a lot of extra time and work-and are often
non-productive.
My advice is to be judicious. Don't spend the
time and effort on any proposal unless you (with clear input
from the client) know what the scope is - versus a hazy idea
of what to they client wants/needs, that you know they have
money to do such a project, and that they are in a
decision-making mode (vs. just shopping for sometime in the
future). Offer to meet and go over your approach, scope and
price (after the person is truly "qualified). If you have
already developed a proposal that takes virtually no
customization or extra time, give it whirl if you want to--but
don't have high expectations. Otherwise try Henry Beckwith's
idea (see below)--or move on eliminate worthless "proposal
requesters" from your sales funnel. You'll get more sales as a
result.
Henry Beckwith's RFP
Approach
Henry Beckwith, who wrote two excellent books,
"Selling the Invisible" and "The Invisible Touch" (about
marketing services businesses, in particular) suggests the
following in relation to the "obligatory RFP (as one category
of proposal). On pages 43-44 of Beckwith's "The Invisible
Touch-The Four Keys to Modern Marketing) he recommends the
following as an alternative to responding to an RFP:
"Because of the extraordinary demands for our
service and the importance we attach to providing truly
exceptional service to our loyal clients, we have a policy not
to pursue(accounts/projects/assignments) that require
extensive proposals. Our qualifications to perform the work
you outline in your request can be found in the words of these
loyal clients. We have included their names and phone numbers
and have alerted them that you may be calling. These men and
women would be happy to answer your questions and tell you why
they chose us-and why they are elated they
did."
"We are eager to meet with you wherever and
whenever you choose, to provide a detailed, concise, and clear
description of how we would proceed with this work, and the
costs, timetables, and other guarantees"
"We are confident that like our clients, you
and everyone at XYZ Corporation would be delighted with our
work on this important task."
Beckwith is trying to be realistic and at least
offers an approach that is different from the
pack.
Beware of these Proposal
Traps:
- The quick response--in fact, the quicker the
new, relatively unknown prospect demands a proposal, usually
the worse.
- Unwillingness (by the prospect) to talk by
phone or meet to review a potential project (and provide
concrete information as indicated by Beckwith).
- The "price is most critical in your proposal"
comment (and especially, again, when the scope is in some
question).
Cut your proposal losses as rapidly as possible.
Just say no to many of those "opportunities." There are
prospects to go after. Sure, there are proposals to be written
for the right reasons at the right time in the sales process.
Use your gut and common sense to decide whether, though, it's
really worth it. Otherwise your odds of proposal success will
continue to be only once in a blue moon.
615.383.7157
