Shezammm – I just went through an interesting and fun
experience with a great proposal team.
Yet, when we showed up they had a non-compliant, non-responsive proposal
destined to be scored a solid bright bloody crimson red.
So what happened?
They were 2 months into the proposal and with 3 weeks left to deliver –
they got an early start which was good.
Yet somehow the proposal took off on a tangent due to a surprisingly
common yet basic error: writing to what
they think the customer wants, not the RFP requirements.
The executive owner of one important section is a work
associate of mine, who I’ve known for about 3 years. We have a great working relationship which
helped when it came to resolving his critical section of the proposal. I thought it was non-compliant and devoid of
commitment - which by the way, commitment was a key hot button for the
customer. I pointed this out to him
and the following paraphrased conversation ensued (after two previous similar
conversations):
Him: “We talked with them, I know
what they want”
Me: “It’s lacking commitment – give
them real performance metrics, the RFP requires them”
Him: “It’s not what they want”
Me: “It’s what the RFP asks for”
Him: “It’s not what they want”
Me: “It’s what the RFP asks for”
Him: “It’s not what they want”
…OK, that went on for a bit, only to get to this part…
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”No”
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”No”
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”No”
…that went on for a while – with a noticeable crescendo at
the end, until I said:
Me: “what if someone else reviews this – not the
person you talked to”
Him:”Huh?”
Me: “What if they shred this
section and give it to someone else to evaluate – not the person you talked to
– that’s one heck of a risk to me”
Him: “Dammit”
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”No”
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”No”
Me: “Commit!”
Him: ”OK”
Later we had a chuckle about this, and the “commit – no”
exchange became a mantra of sorts for the proposal team.
The lessons learned…
It is absolutely necessary to have customer insight and
understanding of their issues and hot buttons.
This insight leads to compelling, winning proposals – but not at the
expense of proposal DQ due to non-compliance.
Always answer the mail - always be compliant. Don’t be so smart you get tossed out.
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