10 More Reasons Why You Did Not Win The Project

10 More Reasons Why You Did Not Win The Project

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Our previous article covered the first top 10 reasons proposals fail, now we will cover the second half of the list.

Writing a successful proposal is much more than simply editing documents and shipping them off to a prospect. There may be many reasons why your proposal did not make the final cut.

If you are new to creating proposals, try to look at each proposal submission as a learning experience, and be prepared to adjust your strategy and presentation as needed along the way.

After you've found out that you didn't get the proposal, you should try to politely interview the potential client or customer. When possible, speak directly to the staff responsible for selecting the winning proposal.

Explain that you want to learn the reason(s) why your proposal was not selected so that you can make improvements in the future. Give careful consideration to what the person has to say and thank them for their advice. Keep in mind, however, that they may not tell you the real reason behind your loss. Some people may be wary of coming across too critical, and of course there are always times where a friend or relative was picked for the job instead of using a true competitive process.

Although you can learn from mistakes, you should try your best to succeed with every attempt. Don't let sloppy mistakes keep your proposal from surpassing the others. A failure to land the job or get the grant is often due to the some of these common reasons:

#1: Your proposal didn't instill confidence.

First of all, be sure your proposal looks and sounds professional. Next, let others speak for you. Be sure to include client recommendations, referrals, descriptions of similar projects that you have previously accomplished, awards, professional certifications and memberships, etc. - in other words, include everything that demonstrates that others believe you're trustworthy and professional.

#2: Your proposal did not show a solid understanding of the client's needs or business.

Find out what you can about the prospect. If possible, interview the client and ask specifically about goals and objectives. If you received an RFP, read it carefully and make sure you address each of the requirements listed. Find out all you can about the business so that the solutions you propose will match their needs.

#3: Your solution did not offer the best value for the cost.

Another proposal may have offered more options for the same price. If you find this out, consider whether you can match the winner's offer next time.

#4: The competition outdid you.

This might be in terms of presenting a more polished proposal, or simply a better solution for less money. Think about how you could improve for next time.

#5: There was communication breakdown between you and the prospect.

Be sure you understand what the client wants, address the client's concerns, and present the information they are looking for.

#6: A competitor trashed your solution in their proposal.

The only defense against this is to keep your proposal as confidential as possible, and as professional and complete as possible.

#7: A consultant working with the client had ties to your competition.

Again, presenting the most complete, most professional proposal you can is your best protection against this result.

#8: The prospect wanted the "safe" choice, not the "best" choice.

Sometimes this means that the client wants to work with a company they worked with in the past; sometimes it means that they want to work with the market leader for that project. Make sure you include your expertise, awards, referrals, and credentials so that the client will feel that you too are a "safe" choice. Sometimes this means the person who awards the proposal does not want to risk their job and goes with the solution that is the safest for their job position.

#9: The RFP was designed to favor a particular bidder.

There's nothing you could do about this scenario. The winner was selected before you ever bid on the contract; the RFP was only for appearance's sake.

#10: You did not follow the instructions given.

If you are given specific instructions to follow when submitting a proposal, especially an RFP, make sure you follow all of the guidelines to the letter. Many government agencies and businesses issue RFPs that allow you creativity in how you write your proposal as long as you adhere to the guidelines they provide. If you violate the RFP guidelines your proposal may be disqualified regardless of how well it was written.

This list is by no means a complete list of every possible reason why you may have failed to win the proposal. There will always be scenarios that you have no control over. You may never know the reasons why either. Focus on the things that you can control, and use good common sense. Sometimes the key to winning can be as simple as a personal touch - in a business environment that is increasingly becoming automated.

About the Author:
Ian Lauder has been helping small businesses and freelancers write their proposals and contracts since 1999. => For more tips and best practices when writing your business proposals and legal contracts go to http://www.proposalkit.com



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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