Win themes are too often neglected in many proposals. Frequently, both
new and established companies forget that any proposal should instil confidence
in the potential buyer, highlight your competitive advantage and show
exactly why you are best suited for the job. Written proposals with an
effective win theme almost always ensure you, the provider, a winning contract.
What is a win theme? A win theme can be defined as a concept presented
in your proposal that is designed to persuade the buyer of your unique
suitability to deliver the project. Find a single aspect that marks you
as uniquely suited for a given project and present this to the buyer.
Creating compelling reasons to buy is why you land contracts. This is
even more important if you are conducting business primarily over the
Internet. Face to face interactions naturally work much better when it
comes to creating lasting relationships. Online, you need to work harder
to make yourself stand out. Distinguish yourself from competitors in every
way possible.
Merely listing your qualifications won't get you far. It won't hurt, but
you will need to do much more than this to consistently win jobs. Don't
fall into the trap of believing that your experience alone will speak
for what you can do - when a proposal is tailored specifically to a contract
and shows exactly how and why you will meet the customer's needs, you
will be much more likely to gain his business.
Defining win strategies and how they relate to you is not an easy task.
They frequently vary considerably from proposal to proposal. Pick the
competitive advantages you have that are important to the client. Emphasize
your value. Competitive advantages are those experiences you offer that
are obviously superior to what your competitor offers. Are you more experienced?
More creative? More in touch with the direct issues a project applies
to? Find whatever aspect distinguishes you from the herd and focus on
how this feature can improve the end product for the client.
Use a tool such as the Learn to Write Proposals Bid Capture Plan to help
you define you proposal win themes and strategy Focus on developing distinct
win themes that will ensure that, at the very least, you are always strongly
considered for any given contract. Businesses hire the company or individual
they feel will deliver the best results. Granted, price is often a strong concern, but more important is the ability to instil confidence
in those who consider hiring you. Play to your strengths and emphasize
your distinct value to the client. No one can advise you exactly on how
to do this, but knowing your strengths allows you to easily understand
how you can fulfil a contract.
You must always emphasize your value to the client. Hundreds of businesses
are vying for the same opportunities. Guarantee your success by offering
something specific. The Bid Capture Plan helps you define the factors
that help present to the client the perception that you are unique amongst
potential suppliers in being able to win this contract.
James England is a proposal specialist with years of experience
in the creation of proposals, proposal strategy as well as bid management
and production tools and software. Find out more at http://www.learntowriteproposals.co.uk
