No matter how much your company may love your proposal idea, you’ve got to make sure that there is some interest if you want it to be approved. If not, then the only positive response that your proposal will receive will be a no. So if that feels like something that might happen with your project in the future – check out this list of tips for improving your company’s proposal.
1. Speed up your process with innovation.
Defining a particular innovation that your company will be able to offer is key to separate yourself from other proposals. Later, you can check that people are interested in what you’re proposing by assessing their interest immediately after starting this innovation. It’s worth noting that if the number of responses is lower than expected when you’re getting started, checking when they’re not interested in your project is also useful.
2. Clear communication with potential partners.
Communicate with your potential clients to make sure they understand what you are offering, and respond to any questions they have. If your potential partners don’t understand what you’re proposing, then you shouldn’t waste time trying to explain it again. Check out this list of questions to help clarify, or feel free to ask them directly.
RFP software is capable of tracking potential partners’ interest in your proposal. If, at any time, you notice that people have no interest in what you’re proposing, then the sooner that you catch that, the more likely it is that they’ll be able to provide a meaningful response.
3. Watch the numbers.
Asking people what’s important can be tricky. If you ask them if cost is important and they say yes, you might assume they mean that price is more important than quality. But if you don’t ask the follow-up question: Is quality more or less important than price? You might think people care about quality, but your response rate will be lower than expected.
In some proposal software, there’s an option to add a number scale to your survey. If you do that, then it will be much easier for people to tell you exactly what they mean in any given situation.
4. How Not To Boost Interest in Your Company’s Proposal
It’s also worth pointing out that there are some pitfalls to avoid when trying to get interested from potential partners. With RFP software, your surveys are already designed so that you can avoid these problems. If you don’t, it can be even harder for people to tell you what they mean.
Don’t ask leading questions – If you want to encourage yes answers, then it’s tempting to ask an open-ended question like Is reducing costs important? But if you rephrase the question to make it less open-ended, like Reducing costs is an important part of this project. Does that make sense? Then it becomes more clear what your company needs. The same is true with questions that you can answer yes or no. Don’t try to draw out the answer by forcing people to choose between two options. They’re much more likely to say yes when they mean no.
6. What to Do When Your Project Doesn’t Get the Responders It Deserves
If your project isn’t getting any responses, then you should check your survey designs. Are there any questions that are expected to get a lot of answers but aren’t? Are there any questions that seem to baffle people?
If your project isn’t getting the number of responses that you think it deserves, then you might have to go back to the drawing board. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time.
7. What’s Next
Don’t worry if your company hasn’t received a proposal yet – it might be a while before anything happens. That’s why the “next steps” section is so important. You can help people ensure that you’ll be able to submit your proposal on time. It’s also worth pointing out that you can’t just assume that someone is interested in working together just because they respond positively.
If they really are interested, then make sure they know what to do next. If they’re not, then at least they know how to let you know. That way, if there are any misunderstandings, later on, it will be easier for you to sort them out.
Conclusion
If you take care to avoid these common pitfalls, you should have no trouble getting the interest you deserve. With proper preparation, your proposal will get approved, and your company will be able to deliver the kind of project that people want.
