Page 138 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

CHAPTER 8

Green Team Reviews

Collaborating to Improve Your Odds of Winning

“

ow do you always seem to create outstanding, creative proposals?” I asked
Ha partner in a consulting firm that has won many assignments from and
completed great work for us.
“Can you keep a secret?” the partner replied.
“Probably not,” I said, “especially if my organization could use that secret to
make our own proposals to our potential customers more effective.”
“Well, I’ll tell you anyway,” she said. “It’s not really a secret, but we have
found a wonderfully effective process that uses our firm’s collective knowledge
to great advantage, especially when we are faced with extremely complex issues.
Harnessing our collective strength, our collective wisdom, multiplies our ability
to ‘work smarter.’ And this ‘secret’ can also work to improve your own selling
opportunities. Our process is based on four key assumptions.
“First, proposal inquiries are an opportunity to build a long-lasting relationship,
an opportunity to learn, to educate, to persuade, to sell—from the moment you, our
potential client, first meet us until you make a final consultant-selection decision.
This context drives us to look for opportunities to share our perspectives, capabili-
ties, experiences, and qualifications throughout the business-development process.
We view every interaction with you and your colleagues as an opportunity to offer

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