Bids and proposals (In-House)

1 Bid strategy

• How to combine your knowledge of the market or customer, your products and services, and your competitors, to create a quality bid
• New insights into your comparative advantages and competitive position in the marketplace
• Understanding more about how your client views you and other suppliers
• A plan of attack to build on your strengths and attack the weaknesses of your competition
• Dealing with RFP/ITT situations

2 Teamwork

• How a bid or proposal team needs to prioritise and manage preparation time
• Co-ordinating input from team members
• Agreeing responsibilities

3 The importance and role of a well-written sales proposal

• Why bother? - the value of the sales proposal to you and to the customer
• What the customer wants and needs to make a decision in your favour
• Understanding and delivering on customer expectations
• Review and discussion of different proposals - with real-life examples

4 The best way to structure your sales proposals

• A section-by-section, page-by-page review of best practice in structuring great sales proposals
• How to improve the way you match your proposal to the customer's objectives and requirements
• Plan your sales documents systematically - to make them easy to read and more persuasive
• How to make your proposal look like the 'least risky' option

5 Making your proposal a compelling and persuasive proposition

• Choosing the right words that sell effectively
• Selecting the right content and information for your document or proposal
• Using an option matrix to summarise complex choices and increase final order value
• How to write an executive summary

6 Well-written and error-free

• Developing your writing style for maximum impact
• Expressing the content (ie, selling points) clearly, concisely and correctly
• Proof-reading and editing work effectively, using formal marks and techniques
• Improving visual layout, format and appearance
• Keeping it customer-focused

7 Presenting to the client - overview

• Presentation options
• Understanding the client's objectives - as well as your own
• The proposal review meeting - logistics
• Managing to the next step
• Designing and delivering a compelling presentation
• Isolating objections and concerns
• Follow-up and follow-through

8 Positioning your final proposal

• Finalising your bid - presenting the right 'best few' USPs, features and benefits and making them relevant and real to the customer
• Smart ways to position price and be a strong player - without being the cheapest
• How to differentiate yourselves by how you present, as well as what you present
• How to design and deliver a successful bid presentation

9 Bid presentation practice session with structured feedback

• Participants work in small groups or pairs to prepare and later present a sample section from a real life bid or proposal presentation
• The trainer will provide assistance and input
• During group review and discussions, input from others will be encouraged and many best practice ideas summarised

10 Managing the end game

• How best to draw-out, understand, isolate and answer customer objections, negotiate points and concerns
• How to read the situation to plan the next step
• Identifying negotiation tactics - and how to deal with them
• Planning for a negotiation and how to get the customer feel they have the 'best deal'

11 Workshop summary and close