Winning the Request for Proposal Bob Stewart KPMG LLP

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Characteristics of Today’s Proposals• Proposals are a significant part of

the business development process

• Clarity and readability, combined with pictures, colour and graphics in the written document, and understanding, energy and enthusiasm in the oral presentation are important elements in winning proposals

• Proposals alone do not win engagements – but a poor one can prevent a win

• What follows can help you stand out from the crowd and win the proposal

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What We Will Discuss Today

• Evaluating the Proposal Opportunity• Selecting the Right Team• Planning, Researching and Brainstorming• Developing a Winning Document• Presenting Effectively• What Wins the Proposal?• Q&As

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Evaluating the Proposal Opportunity

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RFPs Come in Many Forms

• A phone call• A one-liner• A concise one or two pager• An equivalent to Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”

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Dealing With the RFP

• Read, re-read and study the RFP• If you don’t understand something ask the prospect to

clarify it• Understand the RFP’s explicit as well as the implicit

instructions.• Highlight any redundancies and seek clarification• Consider whether to bid or not to bid

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Consider the Following

• Do I have the experience?• Can I spare the time to prepare a good proposal?• Can I meet the proposal’s deadline?• Do I have the resources to do the work if I am

successful?• Who are my competitors in this proposal?• Do I have any advantages and disadvantages?

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Making the Right Decision

• If the answer to any of the first four questions is no – give it a pass

• If the answer to the first four is yes and the answer to the fifth is more than five you may want to pass

• If you decide not to bid, let the prospect know in writing and thank them for providing the opportunity

• If it is a go, the next important issue is who to have on the team

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Selecting the Right Team

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Things to Consider

• People not paper win engagements• Think of the professional competencies and personal

qualities required for every level in the engagement• Chemistry is important – prospects buy from people they

like• When required, change the team to meet the prospect’s

evolving needs• In incumbent situations, be prepared to make changes to

the team to bring fresh perspectives while maintaining continuity and stability

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Planning and Researching the Prospect

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Plan, Research and Brainstorm

• Hold a kick-off meeting to plan the proposal• Good project management is important to ensure a

smooth running and professional proposal effort• Establish key dates and assign responsibilities and

deliverables for each member of the proposal team• Start research on the prospect’s needs and issues• Brainstorm on a potential proposal strategy and key

messages

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Complete Site Visits

• Site visits allow you to collect valuable information from a prospect

• Before the site visit, research the company and industry thoroughly

• Establish who will attend on both sides if possible• Prepare an agenda and let the prospect know who will

be attending in advance of the meeting • Ensure that one member of the team takes notes• Have another member watch out how the prospect’s

attendees react with each other

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Complete Site Visits (Continued)

• Debrief the proposal team on the issues and discussions from the site visit

• Refine your proposal strategy based on what you learned during the site visits

• Within 24 hours of the visit, follow-up on any issues raised at the meeting and/or thank the prospect for their time

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When There are No Site Visits

• Review what internal contacts you have with the prospect

• Determine if any of your firm’s alumni work for the prospect

• Review any news and press reports that have been published on the prospect in the last few years

• Review their website, annual reports, brokers reports or any recent public speeches made by their senior management

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When Site Visits are with the Competition

• Assign one team member to take notes on the information presented

• Assign another to watch the body language and “softer” elements of the other firms with the prospect

• How senior are the lead partners from the other firms?• How good does the relationship between the incumbent and

the prospect appear to be?• What do the questions other firms are asking tell you about

their strategy?• What questions can you ask without giving away your

strategy?

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Developing a Winning Document

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Start with a Document Kick-off Meeting

• Plan out the document section by section based on the instructions in the RFP

• Think about what you have learned about the prospect from your research and site visits

• Discuss document style – how will you make the document interesting through diagrams, pictures, quotes case studies, etc.

• Delegate tasks and assign deadlines• Establish a communication plan• Develop three to five key messages that address the

prospect’s most significant issues

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Proposal Content – The covering Letter

• Letter should be brief and straight forward - state the main strengths of your bid

• Be personal – use I and you throughout• Have the most senior partner sign the

letter

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Proposal Content – Executive Summary

• It should be powerful as it will probably be the only section many will read

• It should emphasize your key messages and the benefits to the prospect

• It should be short and sharp – aim for two pages or less in length

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Proposal Content – The Team

• Be clear what each team member will do• Include a simple team chart • Use prospect-friendly language• Discuss how the team will communicate with the

prospect• Emphasize their skills and experience • Include colour photos for each professional

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Proposal Content – Communication

• Tailor your communication plan to match the prospect’s style

• Outline the planned frequency and form of communication

• Indicate the level of communication – detailed vs. high level

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Proposal Content – Approach

• Use this section to describe how you will do the work• Consider providing an overview of the approach and put

details in the appendix• In complex projects use diagrams, flow charts and

timelines• Where possible, use case studies to demonstrate that

you have done this type of work before• Try to tailor your work schedule to that of the prospect –

their deadlines, reporting schedules, etc.

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Proposal Content – Transition

• Acknowledge the challenges and spell out a plan to ease the process

• Mention any work you have done to initiate the process

• Highlight the resources you will use to manage the process

• Provide transition references

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Proposal Content - Fees

• Simplicity is the key – your pricing strategy should be clear and concise and link directly to the RFP requirements

• Always follow exactly any pricing matrix that has been provided

• Use this section to highlight any areas where you are providing services at no charge

• Outline the assumptions used to develop your fees

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Getting the Best From Design Departments

• Work backwards from the date the proposal is due• Put a production schedule together and agree it with the team and

designers• Sign off on the design style early in the process• Document production always takes more time than expected so

allow adequate time for the designers to complete a full draft of the document

• Agree on how edits are going to be fed to the designers• During the writing phase, provide designers with parts of the

document that will not change much • Do not provide the document to the designers until the working

document is near to sign off

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Presenting Effectively

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Planning the Presentation

• Consider the timing of the presentation – ideal slots are first when the audience is fresh or last because it will be the last presentation the audience will hear

• If in the middle, you may need to do something radical to make an impact

• Analyze the audience• Try to have an advance look at the presentation site• Consider which is better - slides or talk books and

discussion tools?

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Planning the Content

• What are the needs of the prospect?• Break the presentation down into chunks with key

messages for each slot• Ensure everyone understands the two or three key

messages they are delivering• Get to your key messages quickly• If you want the presentation to be interactive, build in

opportunities for the audience to be drawn in

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Rehearse and Refine

• Allow sufficient time for rehearsing your presentation• Try to arrange a practice area similar to the one where

the actual presentation will take place• Spend the first few run-throughs refining the content• During later rehearsals, concentrate on fine-tuning the

presentation – the timing, and raising the energy and the enthusiasm of the team

• Remember – most of the impact will come from how you present rather than what you say

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Rehearse the Q&A Session

• Prepare a list of possible questions • Decide who is best to answer them or how the team

leader will assign them• Practice giving a simple answer to each question - use

examples where possible• Never contradict a team member’s answer to a question

or cut in• Brainstorm and prepare answers for any hostile

questions or sensitive issues

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What Wins The Proposal?

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Here Are The Answers

• The document and oral presentation demonstrates that the firm has done its homework

• The document is tailored to the needs of the prospect and is compliant with the requirements of the RFP

• The document is pleasing in appearance and makes extensive use of colour, graphics and charts

• The fees are fair and transparent• The oral presentation demonstrates the firm’s

understanding, energy and enthusiasm

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Q&A