Architects, engineers, accountants, and attorneys suffer from mass superiority delusion. They believe that there is nobody better at what they do than themselves. The truth is you can bet they’re not the best at what they do.The reality is there are tens, if not hundreds, of professionals just as good who have almost identical experience […]
February 12, 2012 by 6 Comments
Proposal Development Secrets: Win More, Work Smarter, and Get Home On Time
Remember I said there was something exciting I was working on. It’s officially here, and I want you to be the first to know about it. Before I tell you all about it, let me give you a little background. What I’ve Learned About Proposals I believe my experience in the world of proposals to […]
February 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
What If You Were A Proposal Superhero?
Many of us spend a great deal of our time developing proposals. I think the majority of us are pretty good at putting them together. We have learned from others, read the books, and attended the presentations. We all know the best practices. As children, we all knew superheroes. Normal people who were either bit […]
January 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
How Getting on Proposal Teams is a Lot Like Dating
The vice president of a construction consulting firm sent me an email after reading my SMPS whitepaper, “Marketing to the Mind.” Here is the question he asked: “How does one best apply these techniques to a crowd mainly composed of business development or marketing personnel? The vast majority of the national conferences and monthly organizational […]
August 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Can A Better Proposal Process Guarantee You a Win?
Laura Ricci of 1Ricci has a proposal process that she says will give you wins. Honestly, it is more complicated than any process that I have ever used (and I’ve submitted and won multi-million dollar proposals). Laura claims to have unlocked the magic behind winning proposals: Well, the fact is that winning proposals isn’t magic […]
August 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Proposal Basics from the Buyer’s Perspective
I recently had the opportunity to review proposals and conduct interviews with firms. During this process, a few proposal and interview basics came to mind. And while I’m often the proposer, it’s nice to be able to talk from the buyer’s perspective. So here are my suggestions from a buyer’s perspective. If the guy who […]
May 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Proposal Project Order Formula
The other day the question came up about whether we should give our staff guidance on the order projects should appear in proposal resumes and experience sections. The ultimate answer was, “I hope not.” To some respect, it’s a gut decision. But then I thought, maybe it’s not. Maybe there is a formula to picking […]
October 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Guess What, RFPs are Not Perfect
Requests For Proposals (RFPs) are not perfect. Personally, out of the thousands of rfps that have passed before me, I have yet to see one perfect RFP. The problems come when the rfp has confusing, illogical, contradictory or ambiguous language. You may just shrug your shoulders and say, “well, I’ll just give them what they […]
October 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Do it Now
You do it now so it won’t be sloppy. Those forms for the proposal due next month, do them now. That technical approach for that proposal due in three weeks, do it now. The consequence of not doing it now is submitting a proposal that could have been better. Sure, there are other things […]
August 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Is It Legal To See Your Competitor’s Proposals?
I love to see competitors’ proposals. Proposals are competitions, make no mistake about it. Professional sports teams scout their competition to see what plays and tactics they use. So it makes sense for AEC firms to do the same. If you can look at your competitors’ proposals, do so…with one caveat. Make sure it’s legal. […]
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