Chapter 17
Ten Common Misconceptions about Bids and Proposals
IN THIS CHAPTER
Considering misconceptions that can cost you the business
Being wary of misconceptions that can confuse your customer
Looking out for misconceptions that can undermine your effectiveness
When you’ve been a proposal writer for a while, you’ll hear a lot of advice, usually from people who aren’t as well versed as you in the craft of proposal management. Smile, listen, nod, and … run away as fast as you can!
Be wary of these ten misconceptions about bids and proposals, proposal processes, and proposal techniques — following any of this misjudged advice will jeopardize your and your proposal’s effectiveness.
Engaging the Customer Early Isn’t Important
Reacting to an opportunity — caused by when you’re unaware of an RFP being released or a problem that your customer is having — is never good practice, if only because it usually gives your competitors a jump on the business. But it’s worse than that. Scrambling to assemble a solution and a team to respond puts your whole organization behind the eight ball, disrupting normal business operations and siphoning resources from other important projects. And, because a proposal opportunity normally has a hard deadline that you dare not miss, a delayed start can mean a frantic finish.
Start early and be consistent. Front-load your projects by making proposal planning ...
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