What Will It Take To Win This Job? Part 1

Week of September 29, 2014

How many times have you heard (or thought) "What do I have to do to work on this project? This would be so cool!" And where does that conversation go? Into the weeds, as I like to say. That is, into the details about the project, the technical "coolness" of it, and the possible solutions.

My job at that point is to say, "We wouldn't be talking about this opportunity if you couldn't DO the work. What we have to do now is WIN the work." I'm such a buzz kill. But it's true. Why torture yourself with the fun talk about the project when you don't even have it, yet?

I think it is because folks believe that it is hard and not fun to do what is necessary to win the work. Let me tell you what "hard and not fun" is:

Hard and Not Fun

• Writing a persuasive cover letter without knowing what is motivating the client
• Tailoring resumes without knowing what skills the client is looking for or what is needed for the project
• Putting forth a passionate, believable, likable PM that has never met the client face-to-face
• Creating a team of subconsultants without knowing if any of them have history with the client (you know what I mean)
• Knowing that our competition did all the previous phases of work, but not knowing if the client liked it or not
• Writing an approach for a project that you understand technically, but not politically

Easy and Fun

• Knowing more than any of your competitors about the project
• Knowing what the client is really after because they told you
• Being told by the client which subconsultants they think are needed for the project
• Getting confirmation from several stakeholders that a specific issue is a real issue for the success of the project
• Learning that your competition did not even bother to submit a proposal because they heard how prepared you were
• Or even better - the client asks if they can sole-source the first phase of the project because they are so impressed with what you know and how involved you have been to this point!

What will it take to get to "easy and fun" and win the job? Do this ONE THING: Write an executive summary to your proposal before the RFP is ever released.

Organize your summary like this:

1. Client Needs - spell out what the client needs and the client's key issues or problems, based on what the client has told you
2. Results/Benefits - what the client wants to achieve by addressing their issues or solving their problems. These could also be the benefits the client will realize through the completion of the project, such as safer streets, fewer community complaints, good publicity, etc. This must be based on what the client has told you, too.
3. Solution(s) - what will you DO that will (lead to) the solution for the client's problems and deliver the results the client wants? This has to be action-oriented, explaining the process, not the products. The products will be the same for every competitor. Only the process, the experience the client will have working with you, will be different. Pick out the high points, as if you are opening the "black box" of your creative process.
4. Proof - briefly explain where you/your company has provided a similar solution/process, and how it was received. This can be as brief as a single sentence: "We implemented a similar collaborative process for the City of Wonder, and they were able to complete their project three months ahead of schedule with full Council approval and an overflowing community ribbon-cutting ceremony."

Have someone else read your summary. Ask them to look for:

• Client Focus - does the writing focus on the client, the client's needs, how the client will benefit, how the solution(s) will help, etc.? This is good. If it strays to language about you/your company before the last paragraph, it will need to be corrected.
• Filler - words like unique, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, innovative, and others that are vague and/or superlative. These will need to be eliminated.
• Jargon - The executive summary needs to be clean and simple so that anyone with a fourth grade reading ability can grasp what you are saying. Look for acronyms, technical jargon, etc.
• Pretense - words and sentences that are more complicated than they need to be to convey the message need to be cleaned up. Remember, fourth grade reading ability. Do not hide your message in complex sentence structures or difficult vocabulary.

If the writing is clear, clean, and client-focused, you're in great shape! You know enough to make the proposal process much easier and more fun. If not... Come back next week for my tips on what you need to do next.