Page 67 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

58 Writing Winning Business Proposals

feel different than they did before your involvement. But sometimes this “good
feeling” is not enough. I might only be satisfied with hard evidence, the num-
bers, objective rather than subjective proof of improved processes, saved money,
better-served customers, and the like.
Even if I don’t request such information, your providing it in your proposal
could differentiate you from your competitors and thus be very persuasive. There
is, however, a major obstacle: You can’t achieve measurable results unless your
project involves implementation. Only after, and sometimes during, implemen-
tation can I expect processes to be improved, money to be saved, customers to
be better served, or market share to increase. Only Implementation Projects can
provide measurable results, which I define as tangible, quantifiable, demonstra-
ble improvements in my organization. So only in Implementation Projects can
you promise such concrete results. But in Insight Projects and Planning Projects,
you can provide what I call a “measurable-results orientation.”

Measurable-Results Orientation: The Insight Project

Let’s recall the three kinds of projects discussed in Chapter 2, remembering that
a combination of them is not only possible but common.
In an Insight Project, I don’t know if I should change because either I’m not
certain that I have a problem or I sense that a problem exists but I’m unsure of
its nature, scope, or severity. Therefore, I need insight to determine if I should
change or if I should maintain the status quo. I might, for example, have some
questions about my manufacturing processes. They might be suitable or they
might not; I don’t know. Perhaps they are terribly inefficient, or perhaps they are
adequate but improvable. I don’t know, but I might be willing to engage you to
conduct an audit or a competitive assessment to provide me with that insight.
You might benchmark my processes with someone else’s to determine whose
are better. That insight is not a measurable result; it is not by itself a change in
any of my business processes. Therefore, you can’t express measurable results by
the project’s insight objective. But note how you still might be able to provide a
measurable-results orientation (see Figure 4.1).
In an Insight Project, I am paying you for insight. That insight is beneficial to
me and is what I expect you to deliver. But you can go beyond my expectations by
looking farther ahead, by including content in your objectives slot that indicates
the measurable value to me and my organization if we act on that insight and
move ahead with subsequent planning and implementation. Your methods slot
could provide a general discussion of tasks related to evaluating potential savings
of subsequently closing the gaps, and the benefits slot could discuss the potential
value of closing them. Note the key word subsequently.