Ah, the new business proposal.
It is the bane of our existence.
We hate putting together proposals…and prospective clients rarely get what they want from them.
But, they’re free to the prospects and it’s how agencies do business so they’re a necessary evil.
Right?
Wrong.
Creating a proposal when you know very, very little—and you well know that two or three meetings with a prospect does not give you enough information to truly propose work that is beneficial to them—is the dumbest thing we can do.
And yet…
What’s even worse is the RFP process, but that’s a different story for a different time.
What if there were a way to get paid for proposal writing?
And what if we changed the name from “proposal” to “strategic plan that is completely customized to you and your business needs”?
A couple of years ago, we decided to do this very thing.
For a few reasons, but namely because it’s impossible to know what you should know about a business at the very beginning.
Typically, it’s not until you’re three months in that you really understand what they’re trying to achieve and how you can help.
But, by then, the client has already paid you $9,000 or more so you have to stay the course.
What a ridiculous way to do business!
In many cases, the prospect either wasn’t fully upfront about their business challenges in the initial meetings, they didn’t fully understand the questions you asked, or a business plan doesn’t exist so everyone is throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.
You also may have a list of questions you ask, but don’t know the right questions to ask for some situations…until you get in there and start working with them.
It’s not fun and it makes for a terrible start to a relationship.
So why do we all do it? We’re all guilty of it.
We have a very standard proposal.
We update it, based on the prospect, but there is no creative thinking that goes into it.
We give away zero ideas for free.
We talk about our process and why we’re best suited as their partner.
Because we use the PESO model, we talk about what one can expect with an integrated program. But we never give ideas.
And the best part is it takes only an hour or two to create versus a week or more if you’re creating a strategic proposal full of creative ideas, based on information you were able to glean off the web and from a meeting or two.
Once the proposal goes through our process, the prospect has a few options:
If they’re doing DIY, they buy one of our products (online courses, webinar series, mastermind, etc.).
If they’re doing DIY + coaching, they are assigned a coach who teaches them how to execute their own plan (and this is very, very needed).
They work weekly with someone here, but we are not responsible for planning or execution…just teaching.
Anything above that requires a strategy session, which is a two-day, in-person session where we dig really deep into the business.
We are paid for this and it’s where the client gets our creative ideas.
This is required for any new client because it allows us to get smart about their business really quickly, it tells us where there are holes, it helps us learn where their team has strengths and weaknesses, and—most importantly—it allows us to figure out how what we do will translate to real business results for them.
These are all things you never learn in a new business meeting, even if you ask.
It also allows us to skip three months of learning through weekly meetings and stumbling through material development.
By the time the first month is finished, we are already seen as partners and we feel as such.
Here is what else is does: Because the client is essentially paying for the proposal, they’re far more engaged.
All of the executives show up for the two-day meeting.
They answer any and all questions.
They give us access to financial information, data, and even cultural or morale issues.
And—this is the most important thing to me—they begin to build trust among my team, which doesn’t require me to be the main point of contact.
That whole wanting to work with me because my name is on the door goes away because they just spent two full days with other members of my team and see how smart they are and what value they bring.
And, if they prefer to save a little money and not have me in the meeting, I don’t attend and send members of my team instead.
It’s pretty great!
We get paid for our creative and strategic thinking. My team quickly become the experts. And I can sit around and eat bon bons and watch daytime television.
#winning
In all seriousness, there are many additional benefits to being paid to write a proposal:
So there you have it. It is possible to be paid to write proposals and I can’t wait to hear some of your success stories from having tried it!
Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.