MY FAVORITE FIVE THAT I TALK WITH CLIENTS ABOUT

Waste less time and work with more perfect clients for your business.

No more proposal writing ever again. I love saying that to new clients and perhaps prospects as well. Many of my clients may be just like you in small businesses and struggle with the amount of time, energy and the free labor you give away when writing a proposal or answering a bid request which is even worse. Definitely get out of that business if you are in it. Do I have your attention yet?

Do you have time to waste in your day?

Well writing proposals and answering bid requests is a gamble and I do not know many businesses that survive and thrive on the losing end of a betting game when the odds are stacked against you. When you answer a bid request you must understand that there are at least 2 other companies bidding, otherwise it would not be a bid it would be a comparison, so if you are up against 2 others your odds of getting the bid are at best 33%. Stop reading now and just go to Vegas and play roulette and bet on red all day long. In Vegas that is a 50% shot at making money, and that is better odds and there is no work to fulfill on.

We all somehow drank the kool aid many moons ago and believe that submitting bid requests, writing proposals and answering RFP’s is the only way to go. Wrong. In your small business you should only work with clients that pay your fees in a way that makes you a healthy profit, period. Filling out an RFP and low balling your bid may win you the business but do you want it if you make no money?

There is another option.

I preach and teach that you should be in the Agreement writing business. Writing agreements implies that you have done your proper up front work with your prospects and they understand that you do not write proposals. What? Yes I said that you should let them know that you do not write proposals you write agreements and explain the difference. If and only if they understand the difference should you proceed to working with them and earning the business delivery through a proper agreement.

What if the client asks for a proposal?

Tell them you do not write proposals, you instead write Agreements and hope that is not a problem in securing their business. They will be dumbfounded by your answer so you will need to explain your position once they come back down to earth. You would say that you do not write proposals you write AGREEMENTS and the only difference is that agreements are written with the client making sure you capture their true needs in the process of solving their problem.  You feel that writing up numbers at this stage in the process is premature and if you did quote numbers you do not want to guess wrong and it feels like you would be guessing now. There are lots of things to say, and the best part is that everything you say is true. 

What you would like to promote with the prospect is that you spend more time getting to know the situation better, to better understand their needs and soon would be the time to quote numbers. By enrolling the prospect in this approach they will end up spending more time with you and time is on your side. Use that time wisely by asking questions, listening to the answers and also sharing your views to help define and refine the requirements for the project. Your time is well spent here, by sharing time with the prospect you will be doing your best to earn the trust and respect of the person making the decisions on your working together. People buy from people they know, like and trust. That is why I say that time is on your side. The more time you spend with them, the better they will know, like and trust you to handle that big project for them.

Yes there are times when you could quote, or write a proposal or answer a solicited RFP. The time to do that is when you are desperate for the 33% chance of winning or worse.  If you are up for the low odds of winning or it makes some form or strategic sense to win that business then go for it. But first ask yourself what the costs will be to you, and or the company if you win the business. First off you will be doing loads of work writing the proposal. That is free labor by the way. And how would you feel if you knew 9 other companies were also doing free proposals. Take your chances, cause that is exactly what you are doing. Bid high to make sure you either lose the business, or if you win it you would have done so with a good profit built in. Know the game, play the game.

If you saw any logic in this subject or you think I have lost my mind then fine, either way you may want to be in touch with me to learn more. I have saved many business people from this burden of high output and low return business practice. If you are confronted you too may be a possible clients of mine, it is only fear holding you back from taking the leap to awesome profits and the end of wasted hours and stress. You will only know if it works for you in your unique business if you give it a try. Many need guidance to develop this new stance and the subtleties do matter. Call me to discuss your specific challenge and I will listen and then offer my view on how you could use this technique to your advantage. Thanks and Happy Agreement Winning to you!

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