Several Linkedin forums have been debating about cliches in proposals. These conversations devolve into debates about bug dust. What Is Bug Dust? Bug dust is defined as elements of your proposal that have no significant influence on whether you win the job or not. Should you use contractions in your proposals or is that too […]
August 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
What If The RFP Stipulates Experience Within The Last Five Years, But Yours Isn’t?
You have your hands on an RFP that is perfect for your firm. You have completed a ton of projects just like the client needs. But there is one gut- wrenching problem. The proposal asks for experience within the last five years. Your relevant projects are over five years old! Now, you could just throw […]
August 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
How To Create The 100% Recyclable Proposal
Clients have been asking that more and more of our proposals be recyclable or made from recycled material. Eventually, they’re going to ask for the 100% recyclable proposal. Why not beat them to the punch? The Challenge Of Creating 100% Recyclable Proposals We already have 100% recycled paper. That’s really easy to come by at Staples […]
August 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Guess What Will Be In The New AIA Handbook!
Good things come in “threes,” so I have three exciting announcements for you. First, the kindle edition of my book, Proposal Development Secrets: Win More, Work Smarter, and Get Home on Time has officially been downloaded over two thousand times. A huge thank you goes out to everybody who downloaded and read the book! Of […]
August 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Cost of Bid Pulling
The A/E/C marketing community is a very close-knit and supportive community. That’s what the last few days have taught me. Thursday’s post on bid pulling really struck a chord with many people. I got a ton of email from people who had something to say about this topic. Everyone who contacted me really felt for […]
August 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Why Would You Pull A Proposal At The Last Minute?
It can only be described as the proposal manager’s worst nightmare. You work for months on the largest design-build proposal you’ve ever done. It’s worth $5B, yes billion. The hard work is done. You’re in the client’s lobby when you suddenly get a call. “Pull the bid,” the voice on the other side commands. One […]
August 6, 2012 by 2 Comments
Merge Data From Excel into Indesign
InDesign and Excel Data Merge from Ted Orr on Vimeo. In a thread over at the Proposal Development and Writing Secrets group on Linkedin, Ted Orr from Steven Schaefer Associates posted this really interesting video explaining how you can merge data from an Microsoft Excel file into a proposal formatted with Adobe Indesign. If you use these […]
August 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
The AEC Website That’s Giving Me Website Envy
Every once in a while, an A/E/C website pops up that gives me “website envy.” Website envy is when I say, “I wish I had thought of that!” Enter Lindsay Diven who recently launched Marketers Take Flight, a website that seems geared towards helping AEC marketers get ahead in their careers. Let me give you […]
July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
One Paragraph…One Idea
When you write, it will be in paragraphs. Unfortunately, 99% of people suck at writing paragraphs. This results in emails, marketing pieces, and proposals that are difficult to read. Luckily, there is one simple rule that you can follow to use paragraphs correctly and drastically improve your writing. One Paragraph One Idea Here is the […]
July 23, 2012 by 2 Comments
What Is Your AEC Business Selling?
What are firms in the architecture, engineering, and construction business selling? It may not be what you think. We don’t sell buildings. When you go in to pitch a client…there is no building, there is no bridge, there is no reservoir, there is no plant. It hasn’t been built yet. You can’t hand a client […]
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