Proposals are the life blood of any professional services, consulting firm.  As Peter Drucker said, the purpose of business is to create a customer.  In professional services, easier said that done.

Customers don’t always know with clarity what they want, who they should chose, how long it might take, which risks are important, what success looks like, how involved they should be, how much they should pay . . . and another 7-8 questions, often driven by time-constraints, fear, and budgets.

I’ve written a good bit about proposals and statements of work (sow) here, here, here, and here. But trust, I don’t have a monopoly on good advice. I asked blog readers for some of their advice on proposals, and what I got back was good.  Real good. . .

A consulting proposal is a statement of intent written by the consultant to the client describing what, why, how, when and at what cost will be delivered to solve the client problem. It should basically cover: Cover page, Introduction, Consultant’s Understanding of the Problem/Scope of Work, Deliverables, Methodology, Workplan, Budget

It’s a story and the client is the heroine

A few “rules” I learned the hard way: – a proposal is a story, not a brochure – the hero of the story is the buyer, not the seller – a compelling story needs a great villain (what is driving the action?) – use the buyer’s words– take great notes

Huge fan of that (hat tip: RS).  It’s a story.  Absolutely. The hero of the story is the buyer. So true. In the end, the proposal should resonate – make sense – to the buyer, that they are motivated to act. Heart, heart, hand.

Keep it simple, direct

Clear and concise wins the day; often.

Keep it short (most buyers don’t have time to get bogged down in pages of details). Make the benefits, objectives and deliverables completely clear. Succinct enough that the client could copy and paste into their business case (to buy your services and/or the project you’re contributing to).

Create great content, not great slides. Powerpoint presentations are an annoyance within corporates. Instead come up with good, relevant content and distill it into a very small number of slides. This should entice a corporate enough for a chat, then come in and sell a fantastic story without relying on a lengthy slidepack.

GTTP: Get to the point Put together an exec. summary: make sure it stands alone- this may be the ONLY thing the client reads. Appendix gives your credibility: your main proposal/deck is your story – don’t mix the two up

Same sentiment, expressed with a NOSE.

Follow NOSE framework: need, objective, solution, evidence. Why before What and what (they get) before how. For services: people buy people. Inspire trust and competence.

Same sentiment, had to look this one up too.  BLUF – Bottom Line Up Front.  Executive summary comes first. Nice.

Without having a clear picture of “done” or what the client’s goals are, I would suggest a handful of options based on insight from the data provided. . . . Lots of backup slides/appendix pages to reference, but a BLUF page with options and big picture numbers.

Start with the problem and dollarize it

Let’s start with the problem.  What’s the client’s situation and context. After a few phone calls, emails, or in person meetings, have you taken good notes and narrowed down the issue? Consultants are in the business of helping clients get to yes. We are solve problems, and give the clients the credit/glory.

Strong recommendation to always start with and focus a proposal on ‘what is the problem the client is seeking to solve, and how do you propose to solve the problem’. Sounds straightforward, but I’m currently working for a client reviewing proposals from firms and have a number of proposals which focus on ‘what are the things we’d like to sell you/ we’d like you to know about us’ rather than a client-centric lens of ‘what do we understand about your problem and how do we think we can help’

Identify the clients pain and touch on that. Do not try to offer more than the client want and need, i.e., do not offer them a Rolls Royce when they just need a Toyota.

Understand the client’s needs thoroughly, from multiple (and the right) stakeholders. 

“Dollarise” it to make the cost-benefit super-clear.

Unique selling proposition / differentiation – Provide your narrative / story – Describe client pain better than they can – Emphasize value not time & material – 

Consultants should demonstrate a thorough understanding of client’s industry (in this case gym / fitness facilities) and business (challenges, competitors, opportunities, etc.).

If you have a generic offering, make it bespoke

What’s your specific point of view? Client’s don’t want walking generalities or copy-paste-best-practices. They can do that themselves. Don’t forget, consultants have many exit opportunities and you’ll find ex-consultants throughout your client organization. Cynically, they know all your tricks, so be earnest and do good work.

My perspective having gone into industry [ from strategy consulting ] has been eye opening: A poorly thought through response is worse than a polite decline to respond. It is easy to differentiate the quality of what comes back when you put out a specific exam question. General discussions should be highly tailored to my situation. If you have a generic offering, make it bespoke so it is clear why it will be useful for my company.

Demonstrate your credibility

Your action plan, methodology, hypotheses, etc should demonstrate your credibility

Methodology / phases / value proposition… what they’d look at, usual issues in the industry, symptoms – possible root causes. Credentials- similar work performed previously (big names?), core team (CVs), any prior experience with this client (hopefully positive). 

Get them excited (to buy)

Convert programmes of work into visual image diagrams. Make it easy for clients to understand timelines, milestones and when resources peak and when it drops off.

Ensure they know exactly what to do next (eg a call to action)

Be hypothesis-driven. Share initial insights and observations. Get the client comfortable with your workplan. Show some illustrative examples of what you are going to deliver.

Include a list of your other ideas that might benefit them (a subtle up-sell, but more focussed on the value-add to the client’s situation)

[ It’s okay to have a ] creative look & feel if not via procurement.

Negotiate fees harder

This feedback was very thought provoking. All you gristled consultants out there – you’ll appreciate this one.

Negotiate fees harder. If we get to the stage of a negotiation of fees, scope, resources and time then we probably want you. If you were an order of magnitude too expensive to start with then the detailed fee negotiation wouldn’t happen. Therefore, be tougher at this point because you are already wanted.

Persevere to keep your foot in the door

Of course, finders want to book business today. In reality, the client’s timeline is often different.  Consultants will tell you about client projects that they closed after 4-5 years.  Sometimes, the timing is just not right. Note: B2B purchases involve scoping, budgeting, and often going through committee. Expect for this to take some time.

Persevere to keep your foot in the door. If there is a sniff of interest then you have a foot in my door. Keep on knocking for a response at increasing intervals over time (even months / years later). Don’t do this if you have never heard from me and don’t have a foot in the door.

Foot in the door.  Love this expression.  A partner I worked for at Deloitte often said, “Look for unfair fights.” Don’t respond to blind RFP where you don’t have some connection, proprietary insight, or advantage. Time is short, so concentrate your efforts where you have some advantage.  Strategy = set of activities that gives you a sustainable competitive advantage. Play the games you are more likely to win.

What other advice do you have for writing proposals?

Another entry, specifically related to RFP (request for proposals):

I would suggest that the proposal responds to each and every requirement of the RFP, customised to meet the specific requirements detailed by the client. Also that each requirement is cross referenced to the relevant corresponding response in the proposal.