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Hello everyone, and welcome to Diners, Dives and Deadlines… How Restaurants Can Improve Your Proposal Process. 1
Hello everyone, and welcome to Diners, Dives and Deadlines… How Restaurants Can Improve Your Proposal Process.
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My name is Erin Thedwall, and I am the Senior Analyst for the Salesforce Marketing Cloud RFP Team… we work primarily on commercial, enterprise‐level RFPs.
I’ve been working on proposals for the last 5 years… at both Salesforce and a construction firm, after spending more than five years previously in journalism.
Feel free to jot down your questions and thoughts during the presentation – we’ll have Q&A breaks throughout to share how your teams are implementing some of the ideas we’ll be walking through.
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Imagine for a moment that you’re opening up a restaurant.
In addition to choosing the type of food you’re serving – you also have to decide what kind of restaurant it’s going to be. Is it more of a fast food counter, with a limited menu and a fountain for patrons to serve themselves drinks?
Or, is it an upscale, five‐star restaurant with a white glove treatment?
Or – do you want something in between?
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You can pose the same question to your RFP team. What level of service are you currently providing to your account executives, sales reps, or other internal stakeholders? What level of service do you want to provide?
Is your team focused on developing resources for your sales reps to more easily write their own RFP responses? Or, are you providing full service support to your sales reps – from content development to formatting to graphics and more?
Many teams focus on one approach or the other … but is it also possible to scale in such a way that you can provide resources across the spectrum of support?
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Throughout the course of this presentation, we’ll take a closer look at how different types of restaurants are structured… to gain insight into how you can scale your own proposal team to best meet the needs of your internal stakeholders.
We will learn from Fast Food restaurants… about how to provide easy access to pre‐built resources.
From Buffets, how to create a DIY proposal spread…
From Casual Dining restaurants…. We’ll learn to operate with agility and offer a mid‐tier service
And from Five‐Star restaurants… how to don the white gloves for a complete, full‐service experience
By combining the best of these food service options, you can optimize the resources of your team to provide the best level of support.
We’ll also take a look at popular “kitchen nightmares”… and discuss how to avoid these situations on your team.
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Let’s start with fast food….
When you think of fast food restaurants, it’s hard not to first jump to arguably the most well-known of them all… McDonald’s.
McDonald’s was founded in the early 1950s with a focus on quality and quick service. We can use McDonald’s main pillars: Quality.. Service.. Cleanliness.. and Value to guide our RFP teams… in order to provide fast food-like, easy access to resources.
Ray Kroc, who led the franchising of McDonald’s said… “If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them.”
We can take each of those values and apply them to a fast-food RFP service…
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You first want to make sure that the resources you develop for your sales reps and your own internal team are high quality… and easy to access.
Create an RFP Drive‐Thru lane so your Sales Reps can download‐and‐go.
You can do this by creating frequently‐asked for assets… like product overviews, general templates and more. These assets should require little customization or work on the part of the sales reps to use.
Spend time reviewing and revising content… create high quality graphics and page layouts to benefit the content… and make it easy for the end reader to understand and digest.
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You can see examples of our “drive‐thru” resources here…. We built a questionnaire that helps prospects write their own RFPs… the sales rep simply has to download, make edits if they want to, and send it on its way…
We also created pre‐built templates and content that is specific to our top industries… these are also easily customizable, and require little work to prepare to send out.
Lastly, we also have a selection of pre‐built product overviews that are static and updated on a quarterly basis as part of our content reviews.
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You also want to offer a high‐level of service to your internal stakeholders…. This can mean making sure that your quick RFP resources are easy to access. Take the time to develop a repository where this content is housed – it could be a shared drive, or an internal site…
You should also have a way for sales reps to ask you one‐off questions and where you can respond in a quick and timely manner. This could be a shared email address for your team… or a shared posting system, like Chatter from Salesforce.
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When you go to a fast‐food restaurant, one of the things that’s immediately noticeable is if it’s clean. Are the surfaces clean, and is it easy to find what you’re looking for?
The same goes for your RFP team… once you have your asset repository built up, make sure that it is organized. If your sales reps have to spend a lot of time hunting for resources, then they aren’t as useful.
Content needs to be easy to locate, and well labeled. Consider adding a description or steps on how to use the resource and any best practices.
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Here you can see examples of our resources…
We have all of the assets listed, organized, and searchable on our team site… We also have helpful guides so the account executives can more visually navigate to the resources they need.
On individual asset pages… we also have explanations on WHEN and WHY to use a resource… and HOW to best use it.
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Finally… McDonald’s last lesson for us is to provide Value.
You should ask yourself… beyond responding to RFP requirements, how are you providing value to your internal stakeholders?
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One way you can do this is to keep track of things that your internal stakeholders are requesting… if it’s not something you currently offer, you could prioritize it as a future project. If it is something you currently have, maybe it needs to be better labeled or easier for them to locate.
We keep a spreadsheet of resources we get asked for to get ideas for future projects.
We’ve also developed an F‐A‐Q page on our site as a quick way for our account executives to find answers to frequently asked questions or locate frequently requested resources. We routinely update this page as new common requests pop up.
Finally, you can also be proactive… and directly ask your internal stakeholders what they would find useful. We will post questions or polls like this in our Chatter group, or ask the sales leaders directly during our quarterly reporting and analysis calls.
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We have also incorporated this as part of our post‐RFP survey that we send to our account executives as part of an automatically triggered email.
We used our own software to build the email – which also lends us credibility by demonstrating that we are experts in our own product.
After an RFP submission is marked “Completed” in our C‐R‐M‐ system, an email is automatically sent the next day to the account executive assigned in the opportunity … asking them to fill out a quick survey regarding their experience with our team.
If they don’t click on the link, a reminder email is sent to them three days later.
The survey is only a few questions long… it asks them to rate our team from 1 to 10, and to rank the areas where they felt we provided the most value… We also ask what they liked most about working with our team… and if they have any suggestions on how our team could improve.
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So now it’s time for you to share…
Is your team implementing any “Fast Food” options today? If so… what methods are you using?
What would you like your team to start doing??
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Moving on… Golden Corral is known for its endless buffet… featuring an abundant variety of delicious favorites and continuous new menu offerings.
You could consider implementing buffet-style options for account executives and internal stakeholders… allowing them to self-serve RFP content.
We have a deal-size threshold in place…. And for opportunities that do not meet our threshold, the account execs will build their own RFP responses.
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There’s an important first step when you’re at a buffet… you need to grab a plate first! All of that delicious food you’re selecting needs a place to go.
Offer a plate to your Account Executives by making sure they have all of the templates and style guides they need to get started on creating their response.
Also keep in mind that you might have different needs to account for….
If you serve many global regions, you might need to have templates with different paper sizes.
Do you frequently have RFP responses requested in different submission formats? If so, you might consider offering templates across the formats you see the most… such as word or powerpoint.
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After you have your plate… it’s time to load up!
The best buffets have well‐labeled sections, so you know where to go to find the type of food you want the most. Then, within those sections, everything should be well divided and labeled.
You can approach your content library the same way.
Make sure that the responses your self‐serve account reps would need to use are easily accessible… well‐organized… and labeled. It also helps if your response and content repository is easy to search.
Finally… create a process and follow‐through to update your responses frequently, and add in new content… you wouldn’t want old or cold food at a buffet… so keep the content up‐to‐date and fresh.
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Here is an example of our content library… built on Google sites…
Which includes a search function… and we also show when the content was last reviewed or updated for each individual page.
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Finally… before you head back to your table to start eating… you have to grab some utensils!
Most people would agree, that knives and forks and spoons make it much easier to eat.
You can also share RFP tools that make it easier for your self‐serve account executives to put the finishing touches on their RFP responses.
This could include tools such as cover letter or executive summary builders… easily editable pricing tables… or even tools for building basic graphics.
You could also create an area for commonly requested resources that aren’t maintained by your team… so all of the links are stored in one easy‐to‐use spot.
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Here you can see an example of the cover letter builder we created for both our team and our account executives to use…
Our RFP team members do not handle pricing… but we were always asked for ways to format pricing within a proposal. So we put together a few common examples of how our executives have liked to structure pricing in the past. These examples are stored and easily editable from our site.
We’ve also created tools to more easily build customized graphics that match our branding.
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We also designated an area for commonly requested resources that aren’t maintained by our team… but this way, all of the links are stored in one easy‐to‐use spot for the account executives to find and use.
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In addition to asking your sales reps for feedback on which resources they would find useful… you can also look at the A‐P‐M‐P Body of Knowledge to get some fresh ideas for new resources!
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So now it’s time for you to share…
Is your team currently using any Buffet options today? If so… what methods are you using?
Or, what would you like your team to start doing?
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Now we’re going to move up a level from self‐service to full‐service.
But not all full‐service restaurants offer the same experience – the same goes for RFP teams.
You have to decide what your full‐service offering will actually include… and in some cases, you may end up deciding that you need multiple tiers.
So we’ll start by looking at a lower‐tier, full‐service support level…. And use the Applebeesexperience as our guide.
In this tier, we want to be able to operate with the agility of a casual dining restaurant…. Able to handle tight deadlines and a quick pace, while still providing complete service from start to finish.
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In his book Persuasive Business Proposals, Tom Sant describes deals that are worth pursuing, but not worth your maximum effort.
He recommends spending less time and effort on these proposals, while still working towards delivering a custom response. To do this… he says to rely heavily on boilerplate content and spend less time during the editing process on customizing those standard responses.
Here, you can see an example decision tree from the book, which can help determine how much effort you should spend on a given response.
By analyzing our data, our team determined that our best support threshold was based on the opportunity amount or deal size… so the potential size of the opportunity is a primary factor in determining our support level.
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Once you’ve narrowed down your support tier… you can determine what you will actually provide at this casual dining, scaled down level.
This could include only populating the proposal with boilerplate content and leaving it to the account executive to make the customizations…
Or, it could mean customizing only the cover letter and executive summary… and leaving the rest with standard responses.
We will often ask the account executives to take a first pass at completion, and then we’ll go through to complete their gaps and clean up the document.
Formatting can also play a big role in a document, and take up a lot of your team’s time…. This is another area where you could decide to cut back on how much support you can provide.
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So now it’s time for you to share…
Is your team using any Casual Dining options today? If so, what methods are you using?
What would you like to start doing?
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For a night out on the town, you may head out to a five‐star, fancy restaurant.
Here, you know that all of your needs will be met and you’ll get the best experience from start to finish.
You can use this same model to provide the ultimate RFP experience for your internal stakeholders.
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When you walk into a nice establishment – you know there will be a host or hostess there to greet you, and who may take the time to get to know you… are you here for a birthday? Just celebrating a night out?
Start your RFP process this way too…
Make sure your stakeholders know how to reach out to you and have an easy way to request your help on a RFP.
Have a seamless process in place to “reserve” their spot with one of your team members … and kickoff the project on time.
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As an example… our team has a main page on our website dedicated to walking our account executives through our process and how to engage with us….
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Our team also uses a framework called a “Deal Support Request” directly inside of our Salesforce C‐R‐M system.
This gives our sales reps easy access to our team…. and gives us a connection to the opportunity and all of the sales data to easily create reports and dashboards for our team’s analysis.
From this request system, we are also able to easily see a complete picture of all of the RFPs that our team is involved with…. So we can properly adjust bandwidth and keep everything on track and on time.
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A high‐quality waiter will lay out what you can expect from the evening…. Let you know your drink options, or what’s available as a special that night.
They are effectively the project manager for your dinner.
As the RFP project manager… you need to make sure your account executives understand how the process will work from start to finish…. As well as what they can expect from you, and where you’ll need assistance from them.
Kickoff meetings should always be carefully planned and executed… they can range from large, face‐to‐face team efforts to smaller, structured virtual meetings.
These kickoff meetings are fundamental to a controlled and successful proposal.
Formalize and document this initial kickoff and division of roles and responsibilities as much as possible to ensure that everyone stays on the same page throughout the process.
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As an example, our team has a kickoff call deck that we fill in at the start of the RFP process… it details our roles and responsibilities and lets us exchange information with the rest of the team in an organized way.
This document is then shared after the call with the whole team to keep everyone on track.
We also put together a separate timeline so it’s easy for everyone to keep track of major milestones throughout the response process.
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As a best practice, APMP also recommends creating a matrix to document who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed for each activity in the proposal creation process following the definitions outlined in this table.
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It’s also important to track activities to show progress… especially for more complex or long proposals.
Early in the kickoff process, create a simplified method for tracking progress on major tasks and explain it to the team.
It can be as simple as a stoplight chart that shows a red, yellow, or green status for each major activity…. You can see APMP’s example on the left.
We use a similar project management table that we store in Google Sheets so it can be easily duplicated, edited, and shared for each proposal…. You can see our example on the right.
Use the tracking methodology to share the status of proposal tasks so the entire team is aware of progress, as well as any challenges.
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You could also use an action‐based plan… these are detailed and diagram‐based.
They address specific proposal tasks on timescales, showing when the tasks are to be done and who should complete them.
Gantt charts are the most common format for this kind of plan…. You can see APMP’s example on the left.
We use a similar chart as part of our project management documentation … it’s stored in another tab on the same Google Sheet as the stoplight chart from the previous slide.
Because it’s stored in Google Sheets, it is easily duplicated, edited, and shared for each proposal…. You can see our example on the right.
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A good waiter can also handle any changes to the menu…. For example, if you have an allergy or don’t like certain ingredients in your dishes.
A good proposal process also accounts for handling all changes and customizations to the RFP response.
Upscale restaurants also present their food in beautiful ways…. Your full‐service RFP process should also include all of the graphics and formatting needed to create a great‐looking proposal.
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So now it’s time for you to share…
How is your team providing a Five‐Star Dining experience today? What methods are you using?
What would you like to start doing?
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When Kitchen Nightmares was on the air… chef Gordon Ramsay would visit struggling restaurants and help the owners find ways to improve and revive the business.
You can also take a hard look at your RFP process to discover where your weaknesses and gaps are… and determine ways to improve… without having Gordon Ramsay scream at you.
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I had the chance to sit down with a fellow proposal writer at another company recently….
Her face and office locations are hidden to protect her identity.
Let’s listen as she recounts her RFP Nightmares…
<<play movie>>
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As our source mentions…. There can be a lot of frustrations in our line of work.
So what are some other common restaurant and RFP Team Nightmares?
When you visit a restaurant… it can be a nightmare if the waiter doesn’t get your order right… or forgets that you had a special request.
It can also be a frustrating experience for the sales team if we don’t remember a special customization request for the proposal response, or certain ways to respond to requirements.
You can remedy this nightmare scenario by taking ample notes throughout the kickoff call… and then go back to your notes frequently while actually writing the proposal response to ensure you’ve remembered to include all of the initial requests.
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Another nightmare scenario…. How much do you hate being seated at a restaurant, only to have to wait forever for your waiter to show up? Or, you place your order and then it takes a long time for your food to arrive?
This can also happen on an RFP team, if the timeline is mismanaged… and the draft, or sections of responses, are not completed on time. Or, worst of all….if the submission deadline is missed completely.
You can remedy this by having a written out timeline that everyone has access to… and making sure it’s followed throughout the process. You can take this a step further by adding calendar reminders and check‐in calls to hold everyone accountable.
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Another nightmare scenario…. As a restaurant, having clear rules for your establishment and the patrons choose to ignore them, or demand other special treatment.
This is very similar to RFP teams that have rules for engagement, and the sales reps unintentionally ‐‐ or very willfully ‐‐ ignore the rules and try to bypass them.
A remedy is to publish your standard workflow and process… and also stick to it!
“NO PROPOSAL FOR YOU!” may be a bit harsh, but you can say no.
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Another nightmare scenario… When you’re starving and you pull up to a drive‐thru line that appears to be 50‐cars deep… caused by either a slow kitchen or a bad ordering process.
This can also happen to RFP teams…
If you have a poorly organized self‐service area that’s hard for sales reps to find assets, then it takes up more of their time and they probably come to you for help – which defeats the purpose of having a self‐serve area in the first place.
You can remedy this by ensuring your self‐service area is well organized, labeled, and searchable. You may also consider having a focus group or surveying some of the sales reps you work with the most to ask for their feedback or confirm they can find everything they need.
You can also cause an RFP backup if your intake and assignment process makes it slow to assign team members to RFPs.
You can remedy this by having a documented and streamlined process. If you have a qualification or bid‐no‐bid process…. Make sure you have more than one team member capable of approving or rejecting RFPs so it doesn’t create a workflow bottleneck
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Finally… in any business, having an angry or hostile co‐worker can make all aspects of work difficult for everyone.
This also goes for RFP teams where you could see clashing personalities on your own team or with your internal stakeholders.
The best way to solve this is through having clear communication from the start… with open dialogue and documented expectations through the RFP process.
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So what are your RFP Nightmares? Do you have any gaps in your current workflow?
What is the number one change you want to make to your current process?
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To recap… your RFP process can include some or all of these restaurant elements.
By combining the best of these food service options, you can optimize the resources of your team to provide the best level of support… and avoid some of the more common nightmare scenarios.
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That’s a wrap everyone…. Thanks for attending!
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