TOOLS and TECHNIQUES for WINNING BIDS

Training and coaching

Proposals and RFP responses are a major part of life for companies in many industries. The benefits of winning are clear, but the costs of bidding can be great, and there are rarely any second prizes. The quality of your proposal can make the difference between winning and losing.

The importance of sales and product training has long been recognized, but that is no longer enough. Leading organizations today also recognize the need for a sound base of knowledge and skills in the production of business proposals.

This is more and more so, as their key potential customers take an increasingly strategic view - placing their business with companies who can clearly demonstrate a compelling value proposition, focused on the customer's needs and highlighting the specific benefits the customer can expect.

The skills involved in understanding, defining and proposing a compelling value proposition are essential not only for sales staff and bid managers, but for the whole bid team -including the functional and technical specialists whose contributions are so important but who are so often 'unguided' as to what is really needed.

This need is especially strong in organizations proposing complex solutions which will be evaluated by multiple decision-makers, e.g. major IT systems.

Practical training and coaching in the areas that count

Proposal Focus can provide training and coaching in the subjects which are key to consistent success:

	The proposal as part of the sales process - an introduction for both sales and non-sales staff
	Why proposals win and lose - how they are really evaluated
	*Understanding real* customer needs and drivers** - getting beneath the surface
	Developing a winning bid strategy - a value proposition which delights the evaluators, plays to your strengths and makes life difficult for your competitors
	'Storyboarding' the bid strategy - how to create a 'winning web of persuasion' to weave throughout your proposal
	Persuasive writing - how to use structure, language and style to ensure your messages reach home to all the different decision-makers
	Reviewing the proposal - making sure it meets the customer's - and your company's - needs
	Presenting the proposal - a guide for sales and non-sales staff on how to avoid the pitfalls in presenting complex proposals to multiple evaluators.

Flexibly delivered

Training can be delivered as a combined set of modules to form a complete proposal training programme, or you may wish to cover just a couple of subjects to meet a particular skills gap.

And, if you prefer, we can work with you to produce a programme specially tailored to your company and its business - perhaps your industry, your bid process or your sales methodology. And the method of delivery - presentation style, level of interactivity, use of case studies and course documentation - can be adapted to meet your company's culture and requirements.

It can be particularly valuable for coaching to be provided as part of a facilitated workshop for an impending or even a live bid.

We aim to provide participants with real, practical guidance supported by simple but effective methods and tools - immediately applicable and of lasting value both to the company and to the individual participants.