Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Manager Training, Proposals: Strategies for Writing Proposals

 

The proposal document is an expensive, time-consuming, yet necessary document.  Therefore it better hit the right buttons with the client so it takes you to the shortlist or gets you invited to do a presentation.   So some thought should go into what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say it, and the format of your written document.  Here’s what to consider.

 

The Line Items

 

Every line item in the spec must consider three factors. (1) You must show you understand why that line item is in there and what it means to project success.  (2) You must show you can handle/deliver it. (3) You must know who this line item is important to or who is worried about it. 

 

Now boiler plate spec’s and regulations have to be addressed, but the above refers to all the other line items.  Keep in mind that the spec is written by an administrator and that person has written his or her interpretation of the actual deliverable.  These interpretations are often misleading and inaccurate.  Therefore, it’s very useful to get different interpretations wherever possible.  Keep in mind the spec is not the choir singing.  It is more like an office person getting every ones opinion on where they should go for dinner.

 

Winning decision makers’ votes is the most important factor.  As mentioned in previous articles, it requires satisfying the personal desires, social expectations and project requirements for the individuals.  The RFP will seem to focus mostly on the project requirements, but behind every item there is a buyer’s (or many buyers’) concern/s.  Otherwise it wouldn’t be there.  Therefore your proposal will have to satisfy these concerns for you to get into the game.

 

Additionally there will be many success factors not stated but significant to the voters, i.e. cost savings, schedule improvements, no complaints, no disruptions etc., as well as risk sensitivities about failure vs. assurance of success.  People will be open to discuss these if asked, but it’s a big mistake to assume you know what’s in the back of everyone’s minds.  Finally what constitutes trouble and/or success is relative to each individual. It’s best to know each person’s metrics.

 

Competitors

 

Everything above is about the voters and getting their desires met.  Many sales people and companies are focused on what the competition will say in their proposals. This is a major mistake, yet competition cannot be ignored. Winning a proposal is not like a sporting event where you have to beat the competition.  It is an election where you have to win the votes of the powerful. 

 

Therefore, it’s better to focus on how you company’s competence addresses the project requirements and the voters’ desires – especially the bosses.  Who’s better, stronger, etc. is not the issues.  The attention will be on who gives the impression that they can do it and do it well — with minimum risk of failure and/or greatest chance of success.  The company that builds the feeling of confidence that the project and voters’ desires will be met, wins. 

 

Numbers, Names and Details.

 

I will repeat this concept often because it is so important.  Numbers are believable. They are also easy to visualize and understand.  “13” is more powerful than “many times”.  21 years of experience is more understandable than very experienced. Details of how you accomplished a line item for another project are important to the people concerned about that spec item.  Names validate you.  They provide concurrence and favorable associations. 

 

Your goal is develop a positive, confident, comfortable feeling in each voter that you understand and can do the work well.  In the end decisions always come down to how the voter feels about your company.  It then gets justified with details.  Keep in mind that anything can be justified, but feelings are the deal maker and deal breaker.  The best way to build the feeling of competence is to use numbers, names, and details.

 

To develop a good feeling you have to paint a colorful picture that the voter remembers.   Numbers, names and details dothat.  They are vivid, objective, and meaningful. 

 

The other beauty of n umbers, names and details is they will set you apart from the competition – in two ways. They show difference and people can relate to them.  Differentiation means that the competition can’t come behind you and say, “We do that also.”  The competition doesn’t have the same numbers, details or names that you have, so they can’t come behind and say we have that also.  They can say they’ve done it 17 times or many times, but you’ve done it 13 times – that different. More importantly, most competitors (unless they’ve read this article) will use generalities and ambiguous words, such as, many times, lots of similar applications, very experienced and other “grey” words.  Your numbers, names and details paint your story in living color and develop the feeling of credibility within the voters.  This will certainly set you apart.

 

Red Flags and Strengths,

 

For each line item or section of the specification, you must consider your red flags (areas of weaknesses) and your strengths. Now just because your competitor is “better” than you in certain areas doesn’t mean it’s a weakness for you.  That certain area has to be important to one of the powerful voters for it to be a red flag.  Many people get hung-up on some capability of the competition that is meaningless to the voters.  Remember it’s all about the voters.  The same applies to your strengths.  They have got to be of significance to a voter.  Just because you’re global doesn’t mean it’s a strength to someone looking for local service.

 

Once you identify your red flags, decide what has to be done to prove they will not affect successful delivery of the project. Don’t get paranoid that competitors will emphasize your weakness to the buyers. It would be tacky and make them look badly.  What you have to show is that you are capable of doing that item and doing it well. You don’t have to be the best.  You have to be competent.  This is where the numbers names and details will help you tremendously.

 

In the same way consider what strengths you have as they relate to each line item. Then determine how to use those strengths.  A strong strategy is to use your strengths to overcome your red flags.  However, be sure to apply strengths that are relative to the specification and/or to someone in particular. For example, if you have worldwide capability, but this project is local, detailing your global prowess will be annoying chest thumping.  But if you relate how that world presence has given you experience that will help the local area, then it’s useful to use.

 

The No Contact Clause

 

Since the award will be decided by the committee and their bosses, your ever present thought has to be “What will it take to win each individual’s vote?” or “What’s in it for him or her?” This is why the pre-work is so important. Without the knowledge of each individual’s desires and concerns, it’s difficult to target a message that will satisfy that voter.  The word “they” must be eliminated from your vocabulary.  You must speak about individuals, Sam, Mary, John, etc. when referring to any line item or deliverable.

 

Since most people are off limits after the spec has been issued, the best after-the-fact way to learn about an individual voter’s desires is to use your network of people that know the voters. If you open your mind and do some asking, you’ll realize you know people that know these voters and they will help you if you ask.  However, you’ve got make the mental effort and then make the calls.  Most people dislike asking for help and come up with every reason not to.  You’ve got to get over it.  People will help if asked.

Be careful however.  Your contact’s information may not be totally accurate, but it’s better than having none. Query them about things the voter typically worries about.  Ask about things that person has liked to see in the past, i.e. areas of concerns, and/or positive comments they had on previous projects. It will at least give you some sensitivity to this voter.

 

With this level of knowledge you’ll now be able to put pen to paper.  But wait.  How your words get’s interpreted will make or break your proposal.  So next section we’ll discuss how to build the feeling of trust and confidence in the belly of each reader.

 

And now I invite you to learn more

 

Bonus Tip:   FREE Video Series “40 Winning Strategies for Proposals and Presentations”.  Just click this Sales Management Training Proposal Link http://www.sammanfer.com/Proposals . Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to become a 70% closer and feel comfortable selling to C-Level leaders. 

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management Training: Differentiating Your Business During This Recession

It’s amazing to me that most sales people, mangers and corporate officers believe they know what their prospects and clients are thinking and wanting.  On the surface and/or in general terms they may be correct sometimes.  However, it’s not the vague generalities that win sales.  Besides, when in a selling situation you don’t know if you are working with the rule or the exception.

As I’m mingling at a networking meeting an elderly gentleman stops me and offers a hello.  He asks me who I’m with, so I say, “I help people develop business.  So what are your major issues as it relates to business development during this economic down time?” And he says, “Getting more business.”

Then I ask him, “Do your current clients have business that you’re not getting?”  At first he says yes, but then quickly moves to tell me how he’s getting all the business from one of them.  So I say, “What about getting more from the others?”

Well, somehow he dodges this question and tells me what his company has that others don’t.  “We can react within a day,” he says.  “Our competitors need 1-2 weeks.” 

So I tried to say, “What if your other customers are not in a hurry, then what?”  But he didn’t answer this.  He just kept bragging about what he felt made his company special. 

So here are two points to learn from this story.

You may feel you have a differentiator – fast in his case, but be careful.  Not everybody wants what you think they should want?  In his case fast is a macro differentiator.  This can be used in marketing campaigns to attract leads that want work to begin with a few days.  However, once someone shows interest, you’ve got to move to the micro differentiators.  These are the issues and concerns that the individual wants solved and/or the desires s/he wants you to deliver.  Fast maybe one of them, but there may be others.  So just in case another competitor can do it fast also (because they have extra capacity during the slowdown), you’d better have some other deliverable that the person wants that you do well.

Not everybody wants you’re macro differentiator even though you think they should.  So when you’re going after a project and you want premium pricing, you have to find those that have to have you’re macro differentiator.  Actually this will be one of the criteria of you Ideal Customer Profile.  You want customers that need your services delivered right away. 

For those that don’t, you’re going to need other differentiators or else you’ll have to be the low bidder.  So, are there other things you do well?  Of course there are.  Start documenting how well you do them and what experience you have doing them.  Then when someone says they want services like you have, but not for a few weeks, and they want it done accurately with quick follow-up if needed, you can tell them how accurate you are and what your follow-up program is, as you back it up with numbers of jobs, testimonials and other proof.

The moral of this story is that in a recessionary period seek customers that fall in your sweet spot, but also open your thinking to other things you do well.  Document those other things and market those strengths also.  You don’t have to be the best or the only, just good.  And, the best place to start is within your existing client base.  You want 100% of the business from 100% of your clients.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Would you like to see something tangible that gauges the skills and behaviors of your sales people?  Just click this http://www.sammanfer.com/cleveltest.htm  C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders. 

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management: Avoid Motivational Bankruptcy, 6 Tips for Exciting Your Sales Team

The president of an office supply company was recently lamenting that his sales people were not operating to their potential. “Motivationally bankrupt,” he said.

This is a very common complaint in any area of business. However, it is usually the managers who unconsciously demotivate their employees.

Sales people want to succeed in their jobs.  When they sign on they’re psyched to do well in the company. Even if they are experienced, they are new to you and new to your company.  If you haven’t made a conscious effort to show them how to do business your way, they will do it their way and probably be less effective than either of you hoped. What happens next is they become unhappy.  That’s strike one. You’re disappointed, which shows – strike two. Then, you probably tell them what they’re doing wrong and that’s strike three – motivational bankruptcy.

Here are 6 tips to keep your staff motivated and producing.

1.         Set The Expectations.

Tell your people what you want and your method to get it.  Nobody knows what you think they should know.  Believe this or live in frustration.  Never assume they know because of experience, intelligence or whatever.  Make your desires perfectly clear.

Also, get over any concern that it would be insulting to them, or unnecessary.

You will have to take the initiative because your employees are probably not going to ask for your expectation or how you want them to work.  They foolishly think this would make them look badly to you.  Therefore, pull each aside quarterly and spell it out.

If your employee has a different approach, work it out together.  Otherwise, even if successful, you will always be suspect, waiting for the fall, and your anxiety will come through.  This causes self doubt which leads to failures and demotivation.

2.         A Well-Trained Employee Is A Happy Employee.

Employees – especially when new or entering a new role – are like sponges trying to learn what to do.  You can fill that sponge with good liquid or let them fill it with whatever they pick-up.  Even your best people are sponges, but they are looking for new liquid to get a competitive edge.

Unless a person has learned how to sell (or do) your stuff how can you expect them to know how? I hear all the time, “They are experienced.”  I always retort that I am an experienced golfer, but I am still a 17 handicap.  Experience doesn’t mean they know how to do it well, and for sure not your way.

Doers need skills – skills they never learned and/or don’t use. Besides, everyone can learn again or be refreshed.  Employees will never accept responsibility for failure.  They will always blame the company – you.  So put your people through skills training. In this way you will know they actually have the tools.   Additionally business is constantly changing and your people need to be updated.

Be careful of in-house training. Consider bringing in a professional to train.  Internal people, unless doing or managing the task, lack the been-there, done-that knowledge and credibility to be effective. For example, many companies let marketing do training for new sales people. This is a curse to salespeople.

Marketing pushes product advantages, features / benefits, and competitive differentiation rather than selling skills. This indoctrination makes salespeople feel they should go out pushing prospects to buy, rather than digging for needs and relevant information. They become annoying and never build their credibility.

3.         Coach Your People Until They Get It Right.

People cannot coach themselves. If Tiger Woods needs a coach, your people need one. A few years back he was without a coach and his game slumped considerably. You are the best to do the coaching. Do sales calls together. First you do the interviewing. Discuss it and then let your person do the next one. It is crucial to give positive feedback. Also, once is not enough. You will have to do it until he or she gets it right. Better comes before perfect.

4.         Recognize Good Behaviors.

Saying something was done well – no matter how small the deed – is a big deposit in their motivational bank account.  Your urge will be to tell what the employee did or is doing wrong.  No matter what you think, this is a motivational withdrawal. You have to exert an extra effort to spin negatives into positives.  Say, “Consider doing it this way in the future.” This will be tough because it takes more energy to find positives, or take poor behaviors and restructure them into constructive suggestions, than it is to just say something negative.

5.         Pay Attention to Your Bad Days.

Here’s a typical situation. You’re up to your ears in alligators. It’s a bad day and you want to strangle someone, and now your subordinate comes in and lays-on another frustration.

Be very careful here. Your day is not his or her issue and a negative reaction will inadvertently be a drain to the motivation account. So be alert to your awful moments. Avoid your people or at least decompress before engagement. This will mitigate unintentional damage.

6.         Rewards Are Very Powerful Motivators.

Rewards are catnip to employees’ self esteem. Salary, benefits, and bonuses are part of the job. Rewards are special and personal. They are public acknowledgements of your appreciation and can be very energizing.

Two keys: First, don’t presume to know what will excite a person. Everyone is different. Ask what special something would excite him or her. If they say something monetary, probe to see what else. You’ll be amazed.

Second, the cost of the reward is not important. A plaque with the person’s name is big. Decals or coasters are significant. Make it tangible – something for them and others to see. This is a lotto size deposit into the employees’ motivation account.

Also, make rewards so that everyone can win for meeting expectations. This creates a team atmosphere for all to help each other.

In summary, demotivating is like going down a slide – fast and without effort. Motivating is like crawling up a flight of stairs covered with broken glass.  So check your negative reactions and your employees will stay motivationally high with little effort on your part.

Although intuitively obvious, the implementation will require you push yourself into behaviors that are different – and nobody likes to change.  However, if you make the shift you will stop the motivational withdrawals and your portfolio of satisfied, highly  productive employees will keep paying you dividends.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Just click this “http://www.Sammanfer.comCleveltest.htm” C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.  

Hospitality Sales & Management International


Image by LunaWeb

Hospitality Sales & Management International


Image by LunaWeb