Post on 25-May-2015
Producing Better Management Summaries
25th June 2009
Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
After this session...
You will produce better Management Summaries that will: Make customers want to read your proposals Make customers say “It felt like it was written
for us!” Make customers say YES
The BasicsProducing Better Management Summaries
Never forget…
This great quote / truism…
“If you want to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings and speak my words”
Cicero, Roman Philosopher, 106 BC
Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
What are customers interested in?
NOW
NOW
US
OUR PAST
THEM
THEIR FUTURExx
Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
Typical Management Summary
The Best Company is delighted to submit this proposal etc…
The Best Company is best placed to meet the requirements…
The Best Company is market leader in providing xxxx, yyyy and zzzz…
The Best Company has offices in all major cities on all major continents…
Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
Importance of ‘Early Positioning’
Quality of pre-tender engagement
Quality of proposal Likely outcome and Return of Investment
Lengthy, influential, innovative, creative
Good or better (purpose written)
Win and 100% ROI
Lengthy, influential, innovative, creative
Average (more Cut & Paste than purpose written)
Disappointed customer awards you 2nd or 3rd – Zero
Limited Good or better (purpose written difficult)
Possible win, probable second or third – Zero
Limited Average (largely Cut & Paste)
Also ran... – Zero
None Good or better (purpose written impossible)
Also ran… – Zero
None Average (largely Cut & Paste)
Also ran… – Zero
“The majority of tenders are issued with a potential winner already identified.”Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
Producing Better Management SummariesProducing Better Management Summaries
Management Summaries
What is a Management Summary?
The first and last thing that people
read in your proposals!
Management Summaries
What is a Management Summary? The ‘glue’ that pulls it all together The picture on the jigsaw puzzle box A brief but compelling summary of the
customer’s business requirement and your proposed solution
Why they should buy it from you Totally stand alone and self explanatory The key to getting the customer to read the
rest of the proposal
Drafting a Management Summary Input:
from the ITT and your relationship to date (vital)
Objective: Develop a draft Management Summary to
serve as a guide to the bid team (if there is one)
Worksheets: Management Summary Development
Copyright Get to Great 2009
Basic requirements before you start
A very good understanding of the customers headline issues and the underlying background
An understanding of the competitive position and what makes your offer unique – your differentiators
Some key messages using the customer’s language They say “maximise availability”, you say
“maximise availability” They say “reduced cost”, you say “reduced
cost”
Management Summary content
1. Identify with customer’s requirement and pain
Shows you understand them2. Paint their vision (“in an ideal world they
want”) Ghost ideas for them…
3. Paint their desired return on investment / benefits
And all this WITHOUT mentioning your company
4. Overview your solution (aligned to above)
5. Tell them why they should buy it from you (differentiators)
6. Commercial headlines (least cost option)
Who should write it?
Sales, or the owner of the customer relationship who understands them the best…
When should it be written?
Produce a draft before the rest of the proposal
Review and revise constantly as you develop your proposal
If you do this it will serve as a guide to others who are working on the proposal
What should be in it?
An elevator speech with your boss!
Tips and Tests
Always follow customer guidelines if provided
Be brief – two pages maximum Focus on the customer and their
requirement – not yourselves Apply the ‘we we’ test to check use of key
words If possible, get the customer to validate
your assumptionsAsk the So What question!
Creating a draft Management Summary
Complete each box in turn using bullet point detail only, not longhand!
Show them you understand their issues!
1. What is the customer’s business requirement, pain or issue that I am trying to provide a solution for?
Remember that this is about them, NOT you. The answer should be in the tender if one exists. Use their language, not yours.
Show them you understand what they are looking for!
2. What is the solution that they are looking for to meet this requirement?
Talk about them
Show them you understand how they will justify it!
3. What are they looking to achieve from this solution?
Results, benefits, ROI etc. Talk about them
Talk about your solution to their pain!
4. What is your proposed solution?
Tell them who will do what, where, when and how. Keep it short.
Use your Key Messages here!
Sell yourself and your solution!
5. Why they should buy it from you?
Only tell them facts that are relevant to their requirements; global reach is irrelevant if the requirement is for the Croydon office.
Use your Key Messages here!
Management Summary Development
Copyright Get to Great 2009
Any Questions?Did it feel like it was written for you?
Copyright Get to Great Limited 2009 – 0870 421 5150
Start Writing the Proposal
Always use the draft Management Summary as a point of reference
Most importantly, write what the reader wants to read, not what you want to write!
Always confirm that you can MEET the requirement
Confirm if you can EXCEED the requirement
Substantiate your claim with facts (known as Proof Points)
Guidelines to answering questions
Sell the features, benefits and value of your solution
Demonstrate understanding Talk about the customer and their needs –
then you! Follow the instructions in the ITT -
M/O/Nice Think Rudyard Kipling and his ‘six good
men’… Tell them WHO will do WHAT, HOW,
WHERE and WHEN and WHY
Guidelines to answering questions
Apply the ‘So What?’ test to every answer Respond by adding ‘which means that…’
then Key Messages Refer to your company in the third person
singular – ‘Rockwell is…’ Refer to the customer in the third person
singular – ‘British Airways is…’ Apply the ‘we we’ test – again
The ‘we we’ test
Guidelines to answering questions
Count occurrences of key words and expressions – use Replace in MS Word
Beware of many authors/many styles! Always make sure that someone checks
your answer If you are tempted to ‘cut & paste’, print
item and edit by hand before retyping
The problem with ‘technical’… It’s often all ‘features’ and the reader says
“so what?” Link a feature to a benefit that the customer can
specifically relate to or wants, i.e. which means that…
Ask yourself, will they say ‘“It felt like it was written for us!”?
Golden Rule No. 1: Only use ‘purpose written content’ in the
proposal, relegate all ‘pre-written content’ to the appendices
Golden Rule No. 2: Never assume the customer is a mind reader; tell
them the obvious stuff (to you) as well
The problem with ‘technical’…
Think about how newspapers present a story:
1/ a headline, 2/ a summary paragraph, 3/ the story
Answering Questions
Repeat the question, for example:Q. What colours are your solution available in? Our
minimum requirement is red, green and gold.
Answering Questions
Repeat the question, for example:Q. What colours are your solution available in? Our
minimum requirement is red, green and gold.R. Our proposed solution, XXXX, is available in red,
green and gold, thereby meeting your minimum requirements. XXXX is also available in blue, brown and black, and we can build-to-order in any colour with 5 working days notice.(So What? Which means that… )Choosing XXXX will provide CUSTOMER with a flexible solution that will enable them to meet and exceed the requirements of the ever changing consumer market, ensuring they stay ahead of their competitors in this highly lucrative but competitive market.
Answering Questions
Q. Please provide details of your major locations.
Think about why are they asking? Should you…
Provide a list of your locations? Provide a map showing your locations? Provide a map showing your locations in relation
to theirs? Provide a map showing your locations in relation
to theirs, and a statement about distance, and why this matters?
Answering Questions
Q. Please provide details of your major locations.
Wrong answer:Our offices are located in Northwich, Cheshire.
Better answer:Our offices are located in Northwich, Cheshire, which is within
20 miles of both your Warrington and Chester offices. An even better answer:
Our offices are located in Northwich, Cheshire, which is within 20 miles of both your Warrington and Chester office. This means that we are available to respond to your requirements quickly and cost effectively.
So let’s try some of this in anger!
Q. What command and control system do you propose within your solution?
What is the wrong answer?
What is a better answer?
What is an even better answer?