The Tale of a Marketing Proposal

Welcome to the 7 Dwarfs Marketing Company

Most of the time we just sit around and we are Sleepy.

When we get an Opportunity to talk to a hot prospect we are Bashful.

When we learn the “Hot Prospect” is only the controller, we’re Sneezy.

But, when we get an RFP we’re Happy…

Until we learn that 6 other firms are proposing also. Then we are Grumpy.

That’s when we have to bring in the rainmaker—the proposal Doc.

And, these days, if we believe that price won’t be a factor, we’re Dopey.

This is a sad illustration of a marketing company that has grown set in its ways and whose people and process has grown stale. What do you think the odds are off this little cottage firm landing the RFP? Not very high, right? So what can they do differently to shake things up?

• Stop sitting around waiting for opportunity to come to you. You have to get out there and network, get involved with local charities and clubs, interact with the people whom you hope to do business with.
• When an opportunity does present itself, this is not the time to be bashful. This is the time to shine, to put your best foot forward and toot your horn. To let the “hot Prospect” know how you can help them to achieve their goals and objectives.
• Also know who you are talking to! You want to make sure that you are always talking to the person who has the power to make the decision to hire you. Otherwise you are just practicing your pitch.
• When you get an RFP, read it carefully and make sure that it is business that you want. Remember not all business is good business. If you decide to go for it, then approach it like you would any other piece of business and customize it to the prospective client.
• Don’t worry about how many other firms are applying for the same business. You are unique and as such you offer a unique solution that the others cannot duplicate, nor offer so it is irrelevant who else is applying. I also look at it this way: if they hired so and so, they were never going to hire me anyway. So who cares, it all goes down into the experience column.
• You don’t need a “rainmaker” you just need to have a consistent system in place for how you treat all opportunities and that system should begin with “Can we help this business?” What specifically can we do to help them achieve their goals and how will we do it.
• Price is always a factor, yes it’s true. But so is creativity, originality, thoroughness, understanding of the client position, understanding of the client’s competition, understanding of the market, understanding of the untapped market, potential for rebranding, etc. All of things go into the decision making process for the client. If it were price alone, there would be nothing to drive creativity in the marketplace.

So this is my little tale of a marketing proposal. I hope you enjoyed it, and learned something from it.