Before a RFP hits the street, it’s reasonable for the client to “go out to the industry” for input. Do not send the client RFP language that is ambiguous. Make sure what you give them is very clear and can only have one possible interpretation. Here’s what will happen if you don’t. Months from now, […]
February 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Lets Test That Assumption
This is one of my favorite phases. I use it when somebody says, “that would never work.” If you don’t have documented proof that “this action will cause this result,” it’s just an assumption. Will streaking the Rose Bowl with your firm’s name painted on your butt drive your sales up 20%? I don’t know […]
January 30, 2013 by 6 Comments
Why Fancy Hands Might Just Change Your Work Life For The Better
One of the biggest challenges many marketers have is too many things to get done but not enough time to get them done in. And it’s often the “little things” that clutter our todo list, like setting up appointments, editing word documents, researching information, etc. But what if you could get just one more task […]
January 20, 2013 by 11 Comments
The Most Important Rule Of A/E Marketing
There is one rule you can apply to your marketing that is guaranteed to improve your results and efficiency. Yet, every day the vast majority of firms in the architecture, engineering, and construction business break it. They break it because they’ve been led to believe in rainbows and unicorns. They break it because they can’t […]
January 13, 2013 by 21 Comments
Are Your Proposals Dishonest?
Honesty in the proposal business is a slippery slope. Sure, we all tell the truth in our proposals. Don’t we? But think about how ripe the whole process is for dishonesty. I think we all have a relationship with honesty and the proposal game. I think I’ve told this story before, but I remember the […]
January 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Find The RFPs You Miss
Many have said if you don’t know about the RFP before it hits the street, you have no chance of winning. Of course, I’ve built my career on winning these proposal competitions. Therefore, I need a way to find the right RFPs hitting the street around the country. Here are a few tools that can […]
December 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
How To Launch And Promote Your Own Business Book
The Concept The original concept for Proposal Development Secrets: Win More, Work Smarter, and Get Home on Time was to determine whether a low-cost e-book aimed at the A/E/C industry would outperform a higher cost book by testing it. I knew a similar niche business book priced over $20 could reasonably sell one copy per […]
December 17, 2012 by 5 Comments
Are These The Seven Deadly Sins of Proposal Writing?
I recently picked up a copy of Tom Sant’s Persuasive Business Proposals. This is a commonly mentioned book about proposal writing. My plan is to read the entire thing, gulp, and compare it to Laura Ricci’s The Magic of Winning Proposals (which I liked). In Sant’s book, he describes what he believes to be the seven deadly […]
November 18, 2012 by 4 Comments
The Huge Opportunity You Are Missing At Conferences
A lot of people get frustrated with conferences: either because they are sick of people asking what the firm gets out of it or the work just doesn’t come pouring in after the event. This is because there is a huge opportunity that everyone seems to miss. The big opportunity at a conference is not […]
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