The Best Books for Proposal Development Professionals
What are the best books that proposal development professionals should read?
What are the best books that proposal development professionals should read?
How do you calculate your proposal win rate? Begin by recognizing there’s more than one. This blog post argues there are at least eight proposal win ratios most sellers should be calculating.
Sellers ask about average win rates because they’re trying to gauge their performance. They’re looking for some external standard against which they can evaluate how well they’re doing. But is this the best approach?
Most people do not read a proposal cover to cover. If you want to increase its readability, make it easy to skim.
Dave Seibert will be presenting a webinar titled: Encouraging Sales Team Involvement in Proposal Kickoff Meetings. Hosted by the APMP Greater Midwest Chapter, the webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24 at 10:30 Central, 11:30 Eastern. Webinar summary Proposal writers can only write effective, customer-focused content if they understand each buyer’s interests and motivations, and …
If a reader can skim your proposal, and still understand your message, you just leapfrogged past the competition.
Are your proposal writers substantively involved in post-proposal sales presentations? They should be. This helps ensure the continuity of your message.
My New Favorite Proposal Book: Secrets of the Selection Committee by Gary Coover. If you sell to state and local governments, you need to read this book.
Proposal training programs can vary in many ways, so it’s important to choose a training provider and program that is a good fit for your team and your business.
Could a lawyer present an effective closing argument if she hadn’t been involved in the case up to that point? Can a proposal writer draft an effective RFP response if she hadn’t been involved in the sale up to that point?
Dave Seibert to Speak at APMP Greater Midwest Symposium on September 19
Do you save and catalog every RFP you receive? You should. You really should.
How important is price in proposals? It depends. RFPs aren’t always about getting the lowest price. Sometimes, it’s about value. Which kind are you bidding on?
Jargon is great–as long as everyone understands the jargon you use. If they don’t, though, they’re missing the point you’re trying to make.
How can you get better if you don’t know what you did wrong? Or right? A good post-procurement research and analysis program will show you both.
Too many people in the proposal development world think of themselves as “technical” writers. In fact, proposal writers are salespeople who sell on paper.
Professional salespeople hate RFPs, and not always for good reasons. It’s time to set some things straight.