How Do You Get Technical People To Understand They Have to Prepare Proposals That Sell?
By Dan Safford

Getting the technical people to write what I call "proposalese"-the language of proposals-is the Holy Grail that all marketing people seek. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet here. However, I've found that there are some ways to help them along.

But first, we need to think about the technical person-the "subject matter expert"-and what drives her. I don't want to make too many generalizations here, but I've found that most "technical" people have a difficult time writing "sales" documents because they firmly believe that what they are proposing-a solution to a problem-is valuable because it solves the problem. And if the problem is solved, the benefit is obvious-no more problem. 

But, that's not all the customer is looking for. Sure, the technical evaluator in the customer's shop needs to see that the technical proposal writer fully understands the problem. But by also calling out the benefit of the solution, the proposal writer demonstrates that she knows what the technical evaluator thinks is valuable. The evaluator says, "Okay, they know what's important to me."

But there's a more important consideration: the technical evaluator is not the only one evaluating the proposal. In fact, evaluation panels often include more non-technical readers than technical ones. And these people don't often know the technology well enough to see the intrinsic benefit of the technical solution. These are the people the technical proposal writers really have to reach.

One way to get the technical people to focus on the sales aspect of the proposal is to hold a mini-training session at the proposal kick-off meeting. This should run no more than an hour or so, and should cover the basic principles of proposal writing. This session must include before and after examples of proposal sections-the before sections with just the features and the after sections that highlight the clear benefits along with the features.

Another great tool to use is what I call "section directions." These are written by the proposal leader and give specific instructions about what details to include in the sections, and the main benefits that must be highlighted. These directions take a long time to prepare, but the time spent doing them pays off big time in the end by reducing the amount of rewriting.

Plus, I have found that the technical people love the section directions. We all know that the hardest part of writing is getting started. The section directions remove that major stumbling block.

Finally, you have to hammer at the features/ benefits connection whenever the opportunity arises. When you review the sections, write "what's the benefit?" or "so what?" in the margin. If you talk with a writer in the hallway about her section, say, "Don't forget benefits." At the various proposal meetings, say, "What's the benefit of doing it that way?"

The point is that the writers have to be constantly thinking benefits, benefits, benefits, and they need reinforcement.