Hocus pocus in the Absa tender team

 

When I visited the Absa tender team I told them we would create magic with words and cast my opening spell on them......Cistem Pandorum!!! They told me that they plan to improve their proposals by focusing on five things:

• Executive Summary
• Persuasiveness
• Effectiveness
• Language and
• Overall Impact 

I picked up a few problems in their proposals and I thought the Wendy Word magic would help them to remember, so I cast another spell ....Magicus Mordus. We agreed that they needed to make some changes. I told them:

"Your Proposals are too lengthy and too technical. We need to simplify and write in “client language”. Your Table of Contents needs to be shorter with Heading levels clearly indicated. You need to focus on the Customer’s needs/requirements rather than including too much product specific content. You need to mention the customer’s name more than yours. You need to make the proposal more personalised with the names of consultants rather than just talking about a team. You need to include a conclusion or summary section. Include Case Studies. Because the Executive Summary is the introduction to the proposal it needs to be eye catching and makes you want to read further. Include a value proposition. Use Strong creative titles."

At first they were flabbergasted but soon rolled up their sleeves to fix the problems. I told the Absa team that being more persuasive in their proposals is like making a brush scrub the floor all on its own. My spell words are Auto Rubbum.

Their tips to my readers based on their proposal experience are great:

1. Don’t change the order of the questions and do not rewrite them. Follow instructions in the RFP.
2. Repeat the questions as written in your response, and thenanswer it in a different format. Use bold or a different colour.
3. Include a compliance matrix at start of response or for each section.  Rate yourself in terms of “exceed”, “fully complies”, and “partially complies”. Evaluators love this compliance.
4. Do not send your reader off to another part of your proposal to find the answer. Never answer” answered above” or see section 3 for the answer.  You come across as lazy and inconsiderate.
5. Answer the question and answer it each time they ask it.
6. Focus on what the client cares about first, not on your product or service details.
7. Clients are interested in what our products do for them not how they work.  The text can be too technical and too product focused.  We need to engage them immediately.
8. Use Tom Sant's A-P-S format for important answers
   
   A= Acknowledge that the question is significant
   P= Make a persuasive statement about what you have done in this area
   S= Substantiate with details
   
9. Weave your value proposition into your answers and include key differentiators. Tie the business or technical need to the value or outcome you are delivering in explicit language.
10. Keep the writing simple and clear. Average sentence should be around 15 – 18 words.
11. Provide time to edit answers written by subject matter experts. The problem with product experts is that they use product names and in house jargon.  They don’t realise they are confusing customers.
12. Watch your tone. Keep it friendly and avoid answers of “yes”, “no”. Give more information.
13. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

Lucky 13. The list gets my vote! The Absa team said they really enjoyed my proposal magic. I told them I will visit again soon and then blew myself away with the wind using my magic words...Veni Veni, see you soon.