ociwins.com

I just got back from four days in Las Vegas. I spent the first two days working with Kaiser Permanente, and that was delightful--speaking at their national sales meeting, working with their proposal writers, and leading a workshop for their sales people.

I had a very disturbing conversation with Nick Oulton the other day. Nick is the UK-based author of Killer Presentations, and an expert on using PowerPoint. 

This article is adapted from my part of a three-person Roundtable, given at the APMP – National Capital Area Chapter, September 17, 2008.

A blank page can be intimidating. You have a blank page at the start of each proposal. And then another at the start of each section. Most people go through a "warm up" process while they try to figure out what to say.

What is wrong with the following list of reasons why the customer should select you in a proposal?

I want to challenge a statement in your previous Proposal Service Monthly newsletter. This statement reads as follows:

During my career, I have evaluated, reviewed, edited, or written over 20,000 resumes, mostly for technology personnel. This experience was obtained in staffing and preparing personnel sections for Government proposals.

   During the days when I had time to personally write proposals, I was often elected to prepare the management plan. During the past 20 years, I have probably written at least 150. I will never forget the first management plans I wrote.

When I first heard this, I felt that he was just spouting an arcane cliché that had no real meaning. After all, I was the English major and he was the engineer. I knew about the use of repetition to add emphasis, but favored a more moderate use of the technique. The engineer was adamant, "We're gonna tell 'em three times! If we don't tell 'em three times, they ain't gonna get it!"