Summer in Review

OK... so I took a long summer vacation and I enjoyed it immensely. But the kids are back to school and so it's time to pick it back up!

As a lot of you know, there was a networking meeting at the beginning of summer. I'm sorry I didn't take photos but here's a brief recap:

• About 20 people attended - some I'd never met before and were forwarded the blog from others
• There were many that I go way back with and others I've just met in recent years - it was great to catch up!

Topics of discussion:

• All of us have had a very slow year
• No immediate recovery in sight
• We all expected things to pick up in the fall but so far it's pretty quiet out there
• We all agree that when things pick up, the business will be different
• It will not be the business we know from the past
• We must all look at the business with a fresh eye and flexibility
• Many of has have started to reinvent ourselves and how we approach business opportunities (highlights to come in forthcoming issue!)

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT ON

PROPOSALS

When was the last time you received a well-written RFP?

This was a discussion recently posted on Linked In. For the entire post, click on the title.

I've worked on so many RFP's that were so poorly written, it was hard to tell what was being requested. How many of these cases sound familiar to you?

Discussion:

I hate to admit it but about 90% of the RFPs I see have little thought or process behind them. They don’t clearly communicate the scope of the project, the critical details and the objectives the client expects. It’s almost as if they’ve never done one before.
Then the client seems frustrated and irritated by questions from all the bidders in attempt to learn what they need to successfully respond to the RFP. In some cases the client provides far more details on how they want the document organized and formatted than the response and the estimates.

How many good RFPs do you receive?

What do you think would be the long-term impact of clients actually investing the time to develop well-conceived RFPs instead of doing cut & paste on the last confusing document they issued?

Some Responses:

I recently reviewed two RFPs. The company spent three months developing the RFP for a $500K IT project. They spent about two days on the RFP for a $1.5 million annual meeting.

The big objective was to give the sales force the same experience they enjoyed the last few years at 50% of the budget. They sent the RFP out to seven companies - plus the incumbent. Guess what, they were upset because the bidders didn't seem to understand the project. By the time I became involved the RFP schedule was weeks behind, bidders were getting upset and and top management was screaming.

I agree that one of the hallmarks of an inexperienced client is when you see 6+ bidders. Besides indicating that they don't know what they're doing, it shows a great disregard for suppliers who are expected to spend thousands of dollars in proposal costs with little chance or winning the job.

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This issue of RFP's seems to be plaguing us all lately...lots of time spent only to have our ideas taken and turned around to the one who will do it the cheapest. Sometimes you don't even hear back. One of the issues we disucssed was charging for proposals and if the bid is won then it can go towards the mgmt fee. But if everyone's not charging, then it's not likely to go over well.

We've gotten a few RFP's this past year that have been absurd. And we're asked to submit all of our ideas and take days/weeks of our time out of our schedule only to have these ideas taken, or as said by Richard Rowlands "to check out the market." The process has been very frustrating...wish we could figure out a way to reform it!

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Very recently, we received a RFP from a prospect where we didn't have a prior relationship. The RFP came from a Gmail account of the prospect company, without a contact person's info and a less than one week turnaround that included creative concepts for a 2010 program.

Not sure what to think here...is it a real opportunity? Why such a quick turnaround? How many agencies received this RFP? Why isn't there a contact person? Do they really expect us to provide some free ideas to a Gmail account? We politely declined...

DO YOUR PROPOSALS STINK OR SELL?

What makes the difference between a proposal that stinks and one that sells? Odds are you haven’t changed your approach to proposals in years or decades. It’s time to overhaul your proposal process and put it in-sync with how your clients buy.

• HOW CLIENTS BUY
• They know their requirements better than you do
• They want to be able to compare each proposal point-by-point
• Creative, logistics and budget are important but they are buying strategy, confidence, chemistry and a relationship
• They want to feel that they “own” the solutions

TOSS OUT THE BOILERPLATE

• Scope of the Project – what they need in their terms. This isn’t the objectives it is how the client described the project.
• · Results– forget stating the objectives – clients buy results. Outline the specific results you will generate and the time period. If you can’t present specific results then you simply don’t understand the project or the requirements.
• · Strategic Approach – the thinking you have used to develop specific solutions. In the end clients hire you to think for them so let them know you understand the situation and are approaching it strategically as well as tactically.
• · The Solutions – based on the scope of the project and the strategy. You are demonstrating your thinking and ability to deliver specific results. This is more than an explanation of products, services or creative elements. Remember, the client is buying your ability to think and work with them to develop solutions.
• · The Benefits of the Solutions – clearly defined benefits your solutions deliver. Make a commitment on what they gain. Don’t be vague – promise specific results. They are buying results.
• · Time Line – demonstrate how you will organize the project and the deliverables. Put this from the client’s perspective.
• · Working Budget – position these as beginning numbers. Acknowledge that they will change as you work together on the project. Every client looks at the budget first.
• · The Benefits of Working With You – think of this as “street cred.” The goal is to build confidence, chemistry and a relationship. Avoid giving laundry list of clients and more than three case studies. What do they need to know to make the decision?

SEE MORE AT LINK INCLUDING THE SECRET STRATEGY

WHERE WE LEFT OFF

MAINTAINING YOUR FREELANCE RATES

This section on my last posting sparked the most controversy to date. There was a lot of feedback from both sides. Below, I'd like to share a couple of quotes/comments which I'm keeping anonymous.

When I took this fulltime position, I have wanted nothing more than to gain the respect from the freelance community, earn favor and have them realize our company is a different place to work. Hopefully allowing us to recruit better talent and have the best of the best working for us. I have wanted the response about our company to be positive, people talk about what a great company it is to work. That is a huge task, because there is no way to make everyone happy, and many just want everything. I had freelancers working for us making an extreme amount, (more than I, and I have 4 departments under me) and yet they were leaving before their job was done, because they had a vacation scheduled and they could not get the event reconciled before they needed to leave. I realize that the majority of the freelancers work extremely hard, and put in exhaustive hours, and should be paid accordingly. I respect the community, and very passionate about it, and want to help be a solution.

Event company - management

I've been told "not asked" to take my 2nd pay cut yet I'm not given any guarantees that when the market picks up, that I'll be restored to my previous salary. It's very scary.

Event company - management

I was asked to work on a proposal on spec with the guarantee that I'd be given the job if awarded to this company. However, after spending 2 back breaking weeks (including weekends) on the proposal, the company decided not to submit. I have to wonder if they were paying us, would they have thought differently about submittlng. I won't do any more "free" work moving forward.

Freelance producer

I'm not willing to reduce my rate on proposals or sold business. However, I will work with the production company to get the job done in less days (not work a full week) as long as it's possible given the scope of work. I still give 110% on the days I work and try to remain flexible. On proposals, I've offered to kick back a large portion of the proposal fee I'm paid, once they are awarded the business and I get the work.

Freelance producer

My Top 5 Biggest Freelancing Mistakes

It is often said we learn more from mistakes than successes. Sometimes it is nice to learn from another persons goofs rather than your own!

Every freelancer will have their own story to tell, here are mine. I hope you find them useful and maybe you will share your own in the comments.

Click the title for detail but here's the summary:

1. Underpricing
2. Over committing
3. Failing to sell
4. Always saying 'yes'
5. Not following up