Comments on: The 4 Immutable Laws of Giving Great Proposals http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/ Startups, entrepreneurship, business and social media Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:27:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Public Sector Tenders http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-113231 Public Sector Tenders Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:23:58 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-113231 <strong>Public Sector Tenders...</strong> Public Sector tendes are open to challenge, you won't be awarded a contract because they like you, can omly award it on marks, and they can only mark what they can see... Public Sector Tenders…

Public Sector tendes are open to challenge, you won’t be awarded a contract because they like you, can omly award it on marks, and they can only mark what they can see…

]]> By: Bill http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-101197 Bill Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:52:16 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-101197 Even worse is the RFI, then the RFP. Talk about a time suck. Even worse is the RFI, then the RFP. Talk about a time suck.

]]> By: Bill http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-101193 Bill Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:52:16 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-101193 Even worse is the RFI, then the RFP. Talk about a time suck. Even worse is the RFI, then the RFP. Talk about a time suck.

]]> By: Laura’s Winning Ideas » Proposal Carnival - August 29, 2007 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51736 Laura’s Winning Ideas » Proposal Carnival - August 29, 2007 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:22:16 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51736 [...] Yoskovitz presents The 4 Immutable Laws of Giving Great Proposals, saying, “As much as we might not like RFPs, proposals are necessary in a lot of cases to get [...] [...] Yoskovitz presents The 4 Immutable Laws of Giving Great Proposals, saying, “As much as we might not like RFPs, proposals are necessary in a lot of cases to get [...]

]]> By: David Kutcher http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51663 David Kutcher Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:12:42 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51663 I know RFPs suck, but sometimes you really DO need to use them to find projects to bid on. If you're in that boat, head on over to the <a href="http://www.rfpdb.com" rel="nofollow">RFP Database</a>. The site is free to publish and download RFPs and all of the data is user-contributed! You can also help out and drive traffic to the site by incorporating the RSS feed into your blog :) I know RFPs suck, but sometimes you really DO need to use them to find projects to bid on. If you’re in that boat, head on over to the RFP Database. The site is free to publish and download RFPs and all of the data is user-contributed! You can also help out and drive traffic to the site by incorporating the RSS feed into your blog :)

]]> By: Ben Yoskovitz http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51635 Ben Yoskovitz Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:13:29 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51635 Mason - Great news! And congratulations on closing a deal. Do I get a commission? *grin* (joking!) Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Hope to see you around some more... Mason – Great news! And congratulations on closing a deal.

Do I get a commission? *grin* (joking!)

Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Hope to see you around some more…

]]> By: Mason from SmallFuel Marketing http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51634 Mason from SmallFuel Marketing Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:39:43 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51634 Ben, I really appreciate you distilling all of this information into simple and concrete tips. Personally, wading through tons of information to find good advice is tiresome. Your post is refreshing. I used your advice when writing a proposal earlier today. And guess what, I got the deal. So thank you again. - Mason Ben,

I really appreciate you distilling all of this information into simple and concrete tips. Personally, wading through tons of information to find good advice is tiresome. Your post is refreshing.

I used your advice when writing a proposal earlier today. And guess what, I got the deal. So thank you again.

– Mason

]]> By: Ben Yoskovitz http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51551 Ben Yoskovitz Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51551 Carl - That's very sound advice. RFPs shouldn't be the initial contact between prospect and vendor. But very often they are, and those are RFPs to stay completely away from. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! Carl – That’s very sound advice. RFPs shouldn’t be the initial contact between prospect and vendor. But very often they are, and those are RFPs to stay completely away from.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

]]> By: Carl Dickson http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51541 Carl Dickson Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:34:42 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51541 Whether you are dealing with a government RFP or a commercial one, I think it's best to look at the proposal as the closing of the sales process. In government proposals the successful companies are the ones that are marketing the customer _before_ the RFP is released. The same is true with commercial RFPs. You always need more information than is in the RFP and it's easier to get before the RFP is released. Plus, it gives you a chance to influence the RFP. Finally, even in government contracting, your relationship with the customer counts for as much (if not more) than the written proposal. While we approach our proposals as the closing of the sales process, they are only part of the overall sale. Whether you are dealing with a government RFP or a commercial one, I think it’s best to look at the proposal as the closing of the sales process. In government proposals the successful companies are the ones that are marketing the customer _before_ the RFP is released. The same is true with commercial RFPs. You always need more information than is in the RFP and it’s easier to get before the RFP is released. Plus, it gives you a chance to influence the RFP. Finally, even in government contracting, your relationship with the customer counts for as much (if not more) than the written proposal. While we approach our proposals as the closing of the sales process, they are only part of the overall sale.

]]> By: Ben Yoskovitz http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/comment-page-1/#comment-51520 Ben Yoskovitz Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:06:58 +0000 http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-4-immutable-laws-of-giving-great-proposals/2007/08/15/#comment-51520 Steve - Glorious government work. Great for the pocketbook, but insanely frustrating for vendors. I've done some government work in the past, and been involved with other companies that focus almost exclusively on it. Very, very tough. Not a business I'd want to be in, although there are advantages. The government RFP has to be one of the worst ever, since the government is most likely really clueless on what they want, what they need and how it all works. I understand with the government that RFPs are used as a way of having a standardized system for everyone to try and get work. It's designed to create some transparency and consistency in the tendering of projects. Given how many scandals we continuously see (at least in Canada) over the awarding of contracts to friends, family, etc. I question whether the system works at all. Steve – Glorious government work. Great for the pocketbook, but insanely frustrating for vendors. I’ve done some government work in the past, and been involved with other companies that focus almost exclusively on it. Very, very tough. Not a business I’d want to be in, although there are advantages.

The government RFP has to be one of the worst ever, since the government is most likely really clueless on what they want, what they need and how it all works.

I understand with the government that RFPs are used as a way of having a standardized system for everyone to try and get work. It’s designed to create some transparency and consistency in the tendering of projects.

Given how many scandals we continuously see (at least in Canada) over the awarding of contracts to friends, family, etc. I question whether the system works at all.

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