Marriage of inconvenience

This is the third and final instalment of a short series of posts about common sales mistakes that independent consultants make. Read the first one here and the second one here.

“Write me a proposal.” 

Of all the phrases that should strike fear into the heart of an independent consultant or consultancy, this (and its many variants) should be number one.

That might sound like an odd assertion. For the vast majority of consultancies, proposal writing feels like a logical and necessary step in formalising a working relationship. A proposal can capture useful information for future reference, demonstrate insight, advance client comprehension of how best to solve an issue, and set out a clear path to problem resolution.

At its most basic level, a proposal also gives a client something to approve. And, of course, a written outline removes ambiguity and so protects everybody concerned.

So far, so good… perhaps.

But time and again I have seen independent consultancies plough time and money into proposal preparation. Such documents are always written with the aim of demonstrating knowledge, understanding, clarity of thought and a buyable solution. They are investments of time, effort and money, made in the best of faith.

And, as often as not, they end up being slow-walked to nowhere.

When yes means no

My practice used to work with a public sector organisation that was renowned for its non-confrontational, bureaucratic culture. I would remark to friends and colleagues that “I’ve never met people with as many ways of saying ‘yes’ when they mean ‘no’”.

At the heart of such organisational cultures is an inability to manage conflict — specifically, conflict of an internal, psychological kind. Saying ‘no’ can be uncomfortable. Denying somebody something they want can bring each of us into conflict with our unconscious need to see ourselves as good, kind people.

So, as was the case with my client, the individuals who should be saying ‘no’ instead say ‘yes’ (or a version of it, such as ‘maybe’) as a means of avoiding difficult feelings. They do so in the mistaken belief that they are being kind to those on the other side of the table. But this is pure projection: in reality they are being kind only to themselves.

The depressing reality is that such behaviour is commonplace in business. Yes, “write me a proposal” can be said in good faith. But it can also be a conflict-averse way of saying ‘no’. The invitation is a step on the way to ‘yes’ that appears real but is only imaginary. It preserves hope while incurring pointless, costly work. It is cruelty masquerading as kindness.

Compounding the problem, “write me a proposal” is a gift that keeps on giving — for the client. Not only does it delay the uncomfortable process of saying ‘no’, it also offers the tantalising prospect of some free insight.

So, “write me a proposal” can mean two entirely different things: 

1. Write me a proposal… so I can check that we have a shared understanding of what lies ahead, finalise budget, and sign it off
2. Write me a proposal… so that you stop disturbing me for a while, and give me a means of slow-walking an uncomfortable conversation, while potentially providing some useful insight

The problem that all independents face is discerning which of these meanings applies in any given situation. People are not in the habit of saying the quiet bit out loud.

Sometimes, you have to write the proposal

I am not arguing against the need for proposal writing. (Despite appearances to the contrary up to this point.) It is never a good idea to embark on any relationship without a clear, shared understanding of what you are going to do for your client. Basic commercial risk management, as well as the fact that organisations tend to require written confirmations of scope, make this a non-negotiable in most engagements.

So how do we maximise the chances of “write me a proposal” skewing positive in both intent and outcome? 

Connect to your value

Let’s revisit the ways a proposal can “capture useful information for future reference, demonstrate insight, advance client understanding of how best to solve an issue, and set out a clear path to problem resolution”. 

If you were to ask anyone to define how consultancy adds value to organisations, that wouldn’t be a bad start. 

That value is what you have got to sell. 

In fact, that value might be all you’ve got to sell. A single insight might crack a problem. A path to problem resolution might be what a client needs to be able to forge ahead. If you are not willing to charge a client for that, what are you willing to charge them for?

As we have established, some clients will act in bad faith, and want a free lucky dip into your skill set. But let’s be clear: they are not behaving this way because they are bad actors. Human behaviour is more complicated than that.

They are doing so because they have been trained by their organisations, as well as by the consulting industry, to believe that this is how the game works. And you, the independent consultant or consultancy, industriously preparing proposals that give your value away, are co-creating this self-defeating situation right alongside them.

I used to do this myself. Then I got connected to my value, and decided to stop.

How to write proposals that work

Effective proposal writing follows three clear principles.

The first is that proposals should only be written late in the prospecting process, as a means of confirming verbal agreements with all decision makers. You do not use a proposal to set out a course of action. You use it to capture, in brief, a course of action that you have already agreed with your prospective client. This forces the right conversations to happen, and in the end saves you time (as you’re not writing your way to mutual clarity of understanding).

The second is that proposals should be restricted to the intended scope of work, and offer little to no added value by way of insight, diagnosis or solutions design. The comedian Eddie Izzard, when presenting an award many years ago, said, “no long speeches… people have to pay for those”. This is the right spirit to embrace. (Added benefit: working this way also means that you don’t have to prepare a separate scope of work when a project is agreed.)

The third point follows from the first two: proposals should only be offered as the penultimate step in the prospecting process, immediately preceding contract finalisation. Feedback should be done via conversation whose stated intention is to sense-check any remaining details before committing to the project.

These three principles barely begin to scratch the surface of this important topic. But my hope is that they form a useful start point for any consultancy experiencing proposals being slow-walked to nowhere.

For a deeper dive, and debates on how you can better manage your sales process, take a look at our podcast.

What to take from this article

Proposal writing is an essential part of the sales process, but it is open to abuse. Delaying the moment of proposal writing and restricting its contents can act as a forcing function for greater efficiency and efficacy in prospecting.

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