Page 43 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

34 Writing Winning Business Proposals

likely revenue for a new drug and, therefore, the level of investment justified
for launching that pharmaceutical product.
◉ A planning benefit (which also can often involve understanding or knowl-
edge) can be:
• An enabler for achieving a result—for example, “a road map for . . . ,” “an
understanding of the magnitude of the effort,” “direction . . . ,” and so on.
An example is the benefit of a revised call and targeting plan that allows me
to know how much of the sales force needs to be deployed when and where.
• Group buy-in—for example, “commitment,” “consensus,” or “confirma-
tion.” An example is the benefit from training my sales force in the value of a
revised customer-targeting program, so they both believe in it and execute it
fully, rather than continuing to call on their existing and familiar contacts.
◉ An implementation benefit often is a measurable or tangible result—for example,
a change in my organization’s business performance—and should be quantified
whenever possible to help determine the basis for calculating return on consult-
ing investment (ROCI). Examples include the ROCI achieved from a higher value
on a drug for which I am executing a licensing deal; a more productive sales force;
a greater return on promotional spend through better target marketing.

In general, deliverables are more specific than benefits (implementation bene-
fits sometimes excepted), but that doesn’t mean they are more important. In fact,
deliverables are only instrumental. A list of specifications, such as in the graduate
school example, is only useful and relevant if it leads to something more impor-
tant, like knowledge or understanding, which is ultimately what I pay you for.
In proposal after proposal that I have read (and, possibly, in some of the pro-
posals you have written), the benefits are not aligned with the deliverables and
desired result, as is the case with the following two examples.
For the first example, assume that I know that my customer service levels are
too low to be competitive. That’s my current situation, my S1 state. What I have is
insight; I know I have a problem. What I don’t have, but desire, is a plan for acting
on that insight.
Therefore, my desired result, S2, is a plan for improving customer service, and
your objective would be related to developing that improvement plan. The ben-
efits to me in this effort would not be those advantages accruing from achieving
improved levels of customer service. My desired result, at least for now, at the
completion of this project, is not improved customer service but a plan to improve
it. Therefore, the benefits to me of your support are those advantages related to
my having the plan you propose to develop. Those benefits, of course, could be
considerable. At the beginning of your involvement, I had a problem that I didn’t
know how to fix. At the end of your efforts, I have a plan for fixing it. I now know
how to improve the levels of my organization’s customer service.