Winning vs Losing Proposals: The Missing Piece
“How do I show buyers why we’re a better choice than our top competitor?”
When it comes to proposals, this question is asked again and again.
You may have done everything right. Checked off all of the boxes from the RFP. Met with the customer. Created engaging graphics. Developed a sound pricing strategy.
But for some reason, they continue to win while you continue to…not.
In these cases, there is often one main reason why your competitors are winning over you.
They have developed a sound proposal strategy, often with storytelling at its center.
It may sound overrated, like some marketing strategy that only works for brands like Nike or Google, but once you read a proposal with a strong story, you understand why it makes a difference.
Here are a few reasons why proposals with stories win over those without.
Shows Understanding of Buyer Challenges
At its core, storytelling in proposals is all about understanding the buyer and showcasing that in your proposal. This isn’t the place to focus on your company and how you came to be unless that’s important to the buyer. Every word you include in your proposal should tie back to the buyer, their goals, and what they’re currently facing. The more you speak to their current challenges in your proposal, the stronger it will be.
Which leads us to the next value of storytelling…
Establishes Trust and Credibility
When you’re sending out a proposal, especially in response to an RFP, there’s a lot of money on the table. Procurement teams want to make sure they choose a vendor who can actually deliver on what they’re proposing, and they deliberately and also subconsciously look for ways to reduce risk. If you leverage storytelling techniques within your proposal, you’ll paint a clearer picture of why your company is best positioned to help them for this specific project, not in general. Winning proposals take advantage of this technique, and buyers feel safer awarding to them because they trust the bidder to follow through on the picture they’ve painted.
Easier to Remember
Studies have shown that audiences recall information conveyed through story more often than information shared through data. If your proposal is full of stats and metrics, it might be compelling in the moment, but buyers aren’t as likely to remember those points when they put your proposal down. Instead, incorporate storytelling in addition to the data to tap into our natural memory processing and make your proposal more memorable.
Stand Out from Competitors
As you can imagine, incorporating a strong story into your proposal takes more time than simply piecing together a compliant proposal. That means that many of your competitors are likely not doing this. If you want your proposal to shine as the clear winner, adding storytelling to your proposal will help it be more unique, memorable, and compelling than your competitors–which will ultimately lead to more contracts.
Next Steps for Proposal Storytelling
Not sure where to get started with storytelling? Our work-at-your-own-pace Leveraging Storytelling in Proposals training provides a clear, 7-part framework to use throughout your proposal along with several examples of storytelling in practice. Check out the enrollment page for more details!
