What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Shipley Asia Pacific, Suite 1, Level 1, 44 Bridge Street, Sydney (2026)

08/10/2024

Ever found yourself staring at your proposal, wondering where the initial spark and innovative ideas have gone? 🤔💡 At the start, your team is bustling with creativity and enthusiasm, yet the final document doesn't seem to reflect that zeal. What gives?

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Here are five things you can do to put the punch back in your proposals 👊

1. Remember What it's All About - Amidst the rush of multiple submissions, it's easy to settle for "good enough." But remember, every client believes their project deserves your best effort, and so should you. Reading a document from your client's point-of-view restores your own perspective and reminds you to shape your response so they WANT to work with you.

2. Echo Their Words - By the proposal stage, you've received ample information from the client. Whether through meetings, briefs, or RFP documents, they've essentially outlined what they hope to see in your response. Tailoring your message to mirror their expressed needs ensures they feel heard and understood. 👂

3. Diversify Presentation - Not everyone digests information the same way. Pages upon pages of dense text can be daunting. Incorporating visual elements and design can not only make your proposal more accessible but also add a layer of engagement and impact. 📊🎨

4. Highlight Compliance - Compliance might seem tedious but it's fundamental. Don't make evaluators search for proof of your adherence to their criteria. Making compliance obvious not only streamlines your document but also demonstrates your attention to detail and commitment. 📝✔️

5. Be Direct - If your completed proposal is bogged down by unnecessary details, it's time to refocus. Concentrate on directly answering their questions without overloading them with irrelevant information. This approach saves you editing time and keeps your proposal concise and impactful. 🎯

6. Preserve Your Message - It's common to start with strong, clear ideas that become diluted after numerous revisions. Setting clear review standards can help maintain the integrity and vibrancy of your original message, preventing it from becoming vague or uninspiring. ✍️🚫

Has your team experienced the challenge of maintaining the original vigour and clarity in your proposals? What have you found effective in keeping the essence of your solution alive until submission?

03/10/2024

Writing isn’t easy. Most people aren’t taught how to write, especially not for proposals. They are also asked to contribute to proposals on top of their day job, so they have to find time to do it. This leads to contributors trying to find shortcuts to finish the tasks assigned to them.

These shortcuts often involve finding similar content from previous proposals and doing some Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. This is where your content gaps come from… They’re answers to a similar question from a different RFT… Not the specific question in front of them.

Blaise Pascal famously wrote “Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.”' (I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.)

While his quip addressed the challenges associated with brevity, it alludes to a broader challenge people face when planning content.

And here comes the cliché: A stitch in time saves nine. Handing over a blank canvas to a contributor will almost certainly lead to more rewrites and editing in the end.

Instead, spend some time producing writers' packs that include:

✅ The Draft Executive Summary so the contributor knows the strategy for winning
✅ Draft planners and organisers with key strategic components already included
✅ Examples of similar content that they should emulate
✅ Boilerplate or pro forma content that you want them (or are happy for them) to use
✅ By providing better direction, they can focus on adding the value of their expertise instead of fumbling around in the dark trying to finish the job as quickly as possible.

Do you want more content like this sent straight to your inbox?

Click the link to subscribe!
https://youwin.by/3XNoX4z

01/10/2024

Ever spent a whole day drafting a proposal response, only to spend the next two trimming it down to meet a word limit? 📝✂️ It's a common struggle, but there's a silver lining. That final, concise version usually ends up being significantly more impactful. 🌟

Why do clients impose word and page limits? It's simple. They're encouraging us to cut to the chase and communicate our points clearly. 🎯

Even seasoned writers can fall into the trap of using filler phrases that make sentences unnecessarily long and hard to understand. A second review to eliminate these redundancies can transform your writing, making it straightforward and much more powerful.

For example:
- Swap "in the event that" with "if."
- Replace "It is certain that changes will need to be made" with "We will need to make changes."
- Use plain English over formal language: "use" instead of "utilise," "start" instead of "commence," "before" instead of "prior to."

The goal? To make your writing as easy to understand and remember as possible. 🚀

Consistently refining your writing to be clear and to the point isn't just about adhering to word counts; it's about respecting your reader's time and attention.

What strategies do you use to keep your writing concise and to the point?🖊️

24/09/2024

Understanding your customer's unique needs is essential in complex pursuits. We all know this, and we do our best to channel those needs into our solutions. So why are we still not winning the contract? 🥈

Often, sales professionals do an excellent job identifying what their customers are looking for but fall short when communicating these insights to their proposal teams. This gap means that those responsible for crafting the proposal are left to make assumptions or resort to highlighting generic benefits that may not resonate with the prospective buyer or, worse, alienate them.

Consider this: you're in the market for a car, and when visiting a dealership, the salesperson continues to emphasise a car's spaciousness to accommodate a large family.

Sounds great... Except you already told them you're child-free and want a car that goes fast. 🏎️💨

What's your impression? How does that make you feel?

Probably like the salesperson hasn't been listening to you at all. You might even feel like they wasted your time. And because your time is precious, you would prefer to take your business elsewhere.

These feelings are not so different from the ones your customers experience when they receive a proposal that doesn't address their needs.

Bridging the gap between sales insights and proposal narratives is non-negotiable if you want to move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and craft proposals that resonate with your customers.

Have you ever experienced this? What's an easy first step to bridging the gap and enabling better communication between our capture and bid teams? 🤝

17/09/2024

In the fast-paced world of sales and BD, getting caught up in the specs and technicalities of what we're selling is easy. But let's face it - when was the last time a feature list alone sealed the deal for you?

Here's a reality check for us: Our proposals might be rich in features but poor in what really matters - the benefits.

Why does this matter? Because benefits are what our customers truly buy—they're the "why should I care"—and they linger in the customer's memory long after the specifics of features have faded.

So, what pitfalls can you watch out for? 👀

❌Feature-Heavy, Benefit-Light Bids: We often clutter our proposals with features, forgetting that benefits are the hook.
❌Saving the Best for Last: If benefits are buried at the end, they may not even be seen.
❌The Missing Link: Without clearly linking features to benefits, we're leaving our customers in the dark about why they should care - remember, you're the expert in the solution, not them.
❌One-Size-Fits-All Benefits: Generic benefits miss the mark. Tailoring benefits to each customer's unique needs and desires is crucial.

What can YOU do about it? 🙌

✔️Understand Your Customer: Dive deep into their specific needs and desires. This understanding is the cornerstone of your proposal.
✔️Link Wisely: Ensure every feature mentioned is directly tied to a tangible benefit that resonates with your customer.
✔️Customise, Don't Generalise: Avoid generic benefits. Customisation is not just beneficial; it's necessary. Remember, a benefit for one might be a turn-off for another.

Shifting from a feature-focused to a benefit-driven mindset elevates our proposals and transforms our engagement with our customers, paving the way for more meaningful and successful interactions pre-RFX and beyond.

27/02/2024

The Executive Summary is one of the most important elements of a winning proposal. It sets the tone for evaluators and is sometimes the only section decision-makers read.

To create a winning Executive Summary, it's important to demonstrate a deep understanding of the customer's vision and hot-button issues. Focus on the customer and their needs throughout, emphasising the unique value your solution brings to the table.

Don't fall into the trap of treating the Executive Summary as an afterthought. Start early in the sales process and make it an iterative process to refine and improve.

20/02/2024

Focusing on solving the customer’s problems and demonstrating value in our solutions are keys to customer-focused writing in our proposals. Applying these guidelines will improve readability and increase your probability of winning the business. 🏆

✔️ Cite the customer organisation’s buying vision—address their primary need. Numerous studies of buyers have found that while nearly all bidders are technically qualified, the proposal selected was the one that stated the best understanding of the customer’s business objectives.
✔️ Link the customer’s buying vision directly to your solution. Sometimes, sellers get so close to the immediate project that they lose perspective and focus on features rather than benefits. Help the customer connect the dots between their need and your solution.
✔️ In theme statements, focus on the customer’s hot buttons (needs, issues, and motivators). Addressing the customer’s hot buttons immediately in a theme statement focuses the proposal on solving the customer’s problem instead of what you are selling.
✔️ Address hot buttons in the order preferred by the customer. When organising your proposal or section, address the most important issues first. Use the customer’s own words whenever possible.
✔️ Whenever possible, name the customer in paragraphs and sentences before your organisation. Scan the opening sentences of each paragraph in your documents. Ensure they don’t always open with the words “we,” “our,” or your organisation’s or product’s name. Name the customer first. Make it all about them, not you.
✔️ Name the customer as many or more times than your organisation. Avoid making the proposal “all about us.” You increase the customer’s engagement and connection to your message by mentioning the customer's name more than your own.
✔️Cite benefits before features in your writing. Doing so places the value of your solution at the forefront.

If you're ready to learn how to apply these customer-focus principles to your proposal writing, check out our upcoming POWeRful Proposal Writing Workshop!

https://youwin.by/4963qYZ

13/02/2024

So, let's talk about oral proposals 🎙️

Did you know that, unlike some sales presentations, the oral proposal is not always a direct restatement of information in the written proposal? Most businesses use oral proposals as part of the final evaluation criteria before awarding a contract. This means meeting, interviewing, and assessing the contractor’s key personnel is just as important as the written proposal.

To ace your oral proposal, there are a few things you can keep in mind:

✔️Know your audience and the evaluation criteria.
✔️Plan your entire approach before preparing your presentation, including your win strategy.
✔️ Organise your presentation according to customer guidelines and instructions.
✔️ Create compelling visuals (know your audience).
✔️ Develop a delivery style that presents your nonverbal message so they reinforce your verbal messages.
✔️ Rehearse with the actual orals team early, realistically, and often.
✔️ Orchestrate the entire presentation and anticipate questions from the customer.
✔️ Prepare and preserve a lessons-learned analysis on each oral proposal – regardless of whether you win or lose.

Now, over to you, how do you prep for your oral proposals? And did it make a difference in securing the win?

06/02/2024

So, what's the difference between compliance and responsiveness in proposal writing? 🤔

It's important to know that a proposal can be responsive but not compliant or compliant but non-responsive. Compliance means following the customer's bid request and requirements to a T, while responsiveness means addressing their underlying needs.

To make sure your proposals are both compliant and responsive, here are some helpful tips to get you started:

✔️ Follow the customer's instructions exactly when writing your proposal
✔️ Prepare a compliance checklist for all formal and even informally solicited bid requests
✔️ Use compliance checklist shortcuts and automation tools with caution and understanding
✔️ Create a response matrix early to help plan and track every response
✔️ Submit a response matrix with your proposal to make evaluation easy

Always remember, don't sacrifice compliance for responsiveness - you need both to create a winning proposal! 🏆

If you're ready to learn how to write your next winning proposal, click the link to check out our upcoming facilitator-led workshops.

https://youwin.by/3Ss1qER

30/01/2024

⚠️ Problem: We’re not connecting with our customers

Many think our writing and proposals focus on the customer. We write about the features of our offer, but we’re still falling short. Why?

Chances are that our proposals may not be as customer-focused as we think. Maybe we are offering features that the customer doesn’t want or need. Talk about a red flag. When this happens, we’re not demonstrating customer focus. We’re trying to sell them solutions they don’t need, and the customer quickly loses interest, and our proposal goes straight into the bin.

💡 Solution: Show more customer focus in your proposals—write to the evaluator

Customer focus means we step into our customer’s shoes to determine what they need and require.

✔️What are their hot buttons?
✔️What is their buying vision?
✔️How will our solution solve their problem?
✔️What value are we offering?
✔️What matters most to the evaluator?

Speak to these questions as you write, and you're well on your way to a winning proposal!

Keen to learn more about writing a proposal that speaks to your customer?

Click the link to view our upcoming POWeRful Proposal Writing workshop and get hands-on teaching from business-winning experts.

https://youwin.by/4baf7j5

Shipley Asia Pacific

08/10/2024

03/10/2024

01/10/2024

24/09/2024

17/09/2024

27/02/2024

20/02/2024

13/02/2024

06/02/2024

30/01/2024

Address

Opening Hours

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm