Shipley Tips

Value propositions establish the value basis for the business relationship. They describe how your solution will improve the customer’s business and how the improvement will be measured. Make sure your value proposition is: •relevant to the individual client •predicated around what is important to the client not what you consider important about your own organisation

Redundant words reduce the persuasiveness of your sales documents and should be used only when trying to: •Emphasise a point: Planning is absolutely essential to meet every milestone •Mirror the bid request: Every bidder must include a chapter on past performance

  In most instances, the evaluators did not prepare the bid request AND they are looking to rapidly locate the answers to the questions asked in the bid request.   Make it easy for evaluators to correlate the bid request and your proposal by: •Mirroring the numbering system in the bid request •Placing helpful notes

Kick off meetings are critical milestones that require careful core team planning then execution. Premature kickoff meetings offer the illusion of progress but lead to more rework and less competitive proposals Good ones motivate, inform and direct teams and have the following objectives: •Create a cohesive team •Initiate contributors’ proposal efforts •Answer questions about the

Executive summaries, especially when developed early, can: •Build trust, credibility and confidence when shared with clients pre-tender as they are consulted and part of the solution process •Help refine your win strategy pre-tender, when developed in parallel with client conversations incorporating client feedback •Enable faster senior management buy-in to your win strategy •Drive faster, more

Cliches are overused words or phrases that have lost meaning or effectiveness. Many proposals often open with seller-focused cliches such as: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to present” or “Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your RFT.” Is your gratitude the most important concern of the customer? Noticeable cliches distract the

….Know thyself, know thine enemy (competitor) and most importantly know thy client. Discriminators differentiate you from your competitors against criteria your client actually cares about and has acknowledged as important. Consider the following two scenarios: a) renting a car b) buying a car When you rent a car, do you care about the colour of

Industry leading organisations continuously widen the gap between themselves and their competition come RFT phase, by articulating their value proposition within the context of the real world. To successfully compete against such organisations you must: •Identify your strengths •Mitigate your weaknesses •Downplay your competitor’s strengths •Highlight your competitors’ weaknesses (in an ethical manner) AND… articulate

It’s a trait that everyone claims to have but what does it actually take to be Customer Focused? And what benefit is there in adopting such an approach when pursuing an opportunity or client? To be Customer Focused you need to understand: •Your client’s objectives •What is most important to your client about the product

Bid decisions, used effectively, eliminate opportunities you’re unlikely to win, allowing you to spend more time on those you can win.   Industry leading organisations; •split this decision into three distinct milestones; pursuit, bid and bid validation •have a process predicated on their knowledge of their client NOT their own internal commercial and risk considerations