Page 299 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

290 Appendix F

never before seen Baker’s work and whom Baker wanted to impress for what-
ever future business might be in store.
To respond to the vice president’s needs, Baker used a lot of straight talk,
telling him what specific deliverables he would have at the end of the study
and how the resulting cost savings would end up paying for the project. Thus,
Baker expressed a strong bottom-line orientation: “The proposal, almost by
its nature, had to have some boring recapitulation of data that really is not
even relevant to the study such as costs and numbers of workers and how
big the plant is and how they were organized over the years.” Moreover,
Baker used headings such as “Sales Effectiveness,” “Customer Service,”
and “Organizational Effectiveness” rather than generic headings such as
“Background” or “Methods.” He did not “want to sound like a heavy consul-
tant” but rather wanted to place himself in a “sort-of-good-ol’-boy kind of
role.” In addition, since the vice president was a Southerner whose plant was
located in a small deep-South town, Baker brought with him to the meetings
a highly experienced colleague who spoke with a strong Southern accent. 2

This example not only illustrates how Don Baker strategically projected the
right voice for a given situation, it also suggests how he adapted his document
to respond to that situation because he fully understood his relationship to his
readers, his buyers. The questions Baker asked and the answers he received while
meeting with the prospect helped him determine what image to convey, what
voice to speak in, to satisfy the needs of his readers to make them feel comfort-
able and persuade them to accept the proposal.
You might have noticed that I have been using adjectives to characterize a spe-
cific voice, like proactive, laid back, analytical, or cautious. Other adjectives could
be used to describe characteristics of a good consultant, for example, confident,
energetic, hard-working, responsible, knowledgeable, culturally sensitive, expe-
rienced, organized, efficient, and reliable. As a result, many if not most of your
proposals will need to project these attributes. Some occasions, however, will
demand that you convey not only these characteristics but also specific attributes
that respond to these occasions.
How do you decide which characteristics are relevant, which adjectives to use?
Figure F.1 shows you how.
Your voice depends in part upon the kind of project you’re proposing to do
because different kinds of studies might require different roles. But defining your
role alone isn’t enough. If you are doing a Planning Project for me and I need you
to be a visionary, you need to decide what kind of visionary you need to be. That
decision depends upon my hot buttons, my selection committee’s evaluation cri-
teria, and your counters to your competition. That is, the decision depends upon
your themes.