Proposal Writing Tip: Deliver Your Proposal in Person

Your Proposal Writing becomes a more valuable tool if you deliver it in person.

Yes, I know what you're thinking.

I can't do that all the time.

My clients want me to FEDEX it or e-mail it.

Great. If that's what the clients want, give them what they want the way they want.

But, recognize that your chances for success increase dramatically if you deliver it in person.

Notice that I said "chances for success," not "chances for closing the order."

All of this boils down to how you define "success."

If success only means getting the order, delivering the proposal in person may or may not increase your chances.

If by success you mean developing long term relationships that could lead to future business, delivering the proposal in person presents definite advantages.

Face-to-face meetings to deliver your proposal can yield valuable information that can help you win more than the initial proposal. Such meetings go a long way in building a better relationship that can mean success with future RFPs as well as business that may not require an RFP.

In these face-to-face meeting you should be able to develop a dialogue that offers insights that immediately tell you where you might have focused on something you and your team did not recognize or consider. The dialogue can bring out what parts of your proposal the client becomes excited about and which parts did not measure up.

And, this dialogue gives you clues how the client evaluates and decides on successful bidders.

In addition to the dialogue yielding information, the non verbal signals you receive from your client can mean more than the words you hear.

The best reason for delivering the proposal in person is the possibility of the "Action Step."

If you create an outstanding proposal that meets all the needs and emotional buttons your client desires, you could walk out of the meeting with the signature on the bottom line.

The success of a proposal begins long before the first words hit the paper.

If you have developed a strong, positive relationship built on trust, you might be able to close the order or contract at that meeting.

How's that for action!