| December 2011/January 2012 | ||
Top tips for writing bids, pitches and sales proposals that get results |
Your guide to writing winning proposals | ||
Welcome to the December/January edition of The Winning Pitch, a bi-monthly newsletter on writing bids, pitches and sales proposals that get results. This month I was lucky enough to meet and have a chat to Bri Williams, a leader in the emerging field of behavioural economics. A proposal is an essential tool for ‘Closing the Sale’, one of the 18 everyday business issues Bri identifies in her excellent book 22 Minutes to a Better Business (which is available from her blog site). In this month’s article, find out how you can apply four essential behavioural principles of Closing the Sale to your proposals and win more business, more often. If your New Year’s resolution is to win more business, Winning Words’ Persuasive Tender and Proposal Writing Master Class program may be just what you’re looking for. The January/February 2012 Master Class is now open for registrations and Early Bird rates still apply until 23 December. See Spotlight for more information. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy start to 2012,Enjoy!
ROBYN HAYDON |
“What's your strike rate when it comes to successful submissions? If it's less than 100%, you could learn something from The Shredder Test. The chapter summaries are excellent…a concise, useful read.” “A quick way to learn a great deal about proposal writing…excellent value…highly recommended.” Australian Marketing Institute "Strategies, tactics, how-to's and tips that any business can use.” Herald Sun
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| FEATURE ARTICLE...What behavioural economics can teach us about writing more persuasive proposals | Spotlight | ||
Behavioural economics applies scientific research on human and social cognitive and emotional patterns to better understand economic decisions and how they affect market prices, returns and the allocation of resources. According to Bri Williams, a leader in this emerging field, we could all be doing business much better – particularly in core areas such as marketing, operations, finance, and sales - just by applying known behavioural principles to the business issues we encounter every day. One of the 18 everyday business issues Bri identifies in her excellent and concise book on behavioural economics, 22 Minutes to a Better Business, is the perennial problem of ‘Closing the Sale’. A proposal is an essential tool for closing a sale. With Bri’s permission, I have taken the four behavioural principles she has identified in her book that are relevant to Closing the Sale and expanded on them here, giving you some additional insight into how successful proposals use these principles to win more business, more often. Closing the Sale Behavioural principle #1 - Herding “We’re a pack animal and it is difficult to go against the mass,” says Bri. “If they haven’t bought from you yet, show who has.” Who would your prospect like to see themselves in the company of? Which of your clients would they admire? If you already work for others in their industry, make them afraid to miss out on what competitors are already getting. If not, show them you’re a safe pair of hands by talking up the size and scale of your customer base. For example ‘Customers who use our widget include almost half of Australia's municipal authorities and eight of the country’s top 10 private cleaning contractors.’ Behavioural principle #2 - Self-herding “We make decisions we’ve made before,” says Bri. “If a customer has previously spent with you, they will be more prone to again to avoid recanting a decision they’ve already taken.” If you are the incumbent, your job is to make walking away from your company very difficult for the customer to justify. Use your proposal to remind them of what they have already achieved by working with you. Find ways to praise their good decision. For example, if you’ve had a stable workforce over the last three years - while competitors have been sold or shed staff – tell them about it and subtly reiterate that they made a smart choice in going with you. Include testimonials about how great it is to work with you from anyone who might influence them – particularly their staff, customers, supply chain partners and other industry leaders. Behavioural principle #3 - Loss aversion To play on the customer’s fear of losing out, Bri advises “paint(ing) a picture of what will happen if they do not commit now, for example price no longer guaranteed, or having to start all over again.” If this is a new business pitch, try giving a deadline for the prospect to take action or offer a limited-time discount or extra (valuable) services that aren’t available after a certain date. If you’re re-competing a contract you already have, here’s your chance to articulate the big-ticket items the client stands to lose if they ditch you. How much are your people, know-how, processes, systems, or equipment actually worth to them? Put a dollar figure on each item if you can – this makes the loss seem much more tangible. Behavioural principle #4 - Sunk cost If you’ve been beating your head against a particular prospect’s wall for quite some time – and you can clearly see that you’ve got a much better offer than the incumbent supplier - it won’t be news that people “tend to stick to decision (they’ve) made, even if they have not been great,” says Bri. This ‘sunk cost’ behaviour is one reason why it’s so hard to unseat incumbents in some contracts, even where they appear to overcharging, doing a less than stellar job, or otherwise taking the client for granted. In my experience, the only way to dynamite some prospects out of their comfortable position with an incumbent supplier is to (1) make your best and most irresistible ‘platinum offer’; and (2) back it with a cast-iron guarantee; and (3) document a bulletproof Transition In or Mobilisation plan. Failing that, you’ll need to sit back and wait patiently for the incumbent to make a truly disastrous mistake – and be first in with a solution to the problem.
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Persuasive Tender and Proposal Writing Master Class Jan/Feb 2012 Early Bird rates available until 23 December – be quick to secure your place
This program will give you the tools and techniques you need to plan and write clear, concise and convincing tenders and proposals that win business. You will learn how to create a bid strategy and Purchaser Value Topics (win themes); how to plan tender and proposal content; how to write a winning Executive Summary; how to recognise and substantiate claims; the power of case studies and customer testimonials; and many other powerful persuasive writing techniques you can apply to your next tender or proposal. Here is what just a few past participants had to say: “This is the best training course I have ever done!” Environmental Consultant “A structured process for setting out proposal strategies and writing bids to a much higher standard.” Associate Director, Project Management “Practical examples and advice. Fast paced with no slow moments. I would recommend this program to others.” Development Manager, Construction “I liked the interaction with others in similar roles, coupled with great advice, suggestions and examples provided by Robyn. It renewed my energy and enthusiasm for tenders!” Partnerships and Business Development Manager, Non-Profit Organisation Run over six weeks to give you time to complete the exercises and start using the new tools and techniques, each Master Class group is restricted to 8 participants for maximum learning. At the start of the program you will set individual learning goals and you’ll also have two individual coaching sessions to get extra help and feedback on bids or proposals you are currently working on. Contact us for an application form and a detailed overview of the week-by-week syllabus of the Master Class program.
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About Winning Words |
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Winning Words works exclusively writing tenders, bids and business proposals, and we get results. Clients we work with have won and retained important contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We can help you plan, write and manage critical bids and tenders; review and improve your approach to writing tenders and proposals; coach and develop bid professionals and in-house writing teams; and continually challenge you and your team to make sure every submission is the very best it can be. Call (03) 9557 4585 or email info@winningwords.com.au . |
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