Million Dollar Consulting Proposals - How to Write a Proposal That''s Accepted Every Time

Informationen zum Autor Alan Weiss, PhD, is a consultant, speaker, and bestselling author. He has the strongest independent consulting brand in the world and his firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, and more than 500 other leading organizations. His prolific publishing career includes forty-five books, some of which have been on university curricula and translated into nine languages. The New York Post calls him "one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America." Klappentext The bestselling author of Million Dollar Consulting shares the secrets of writing winning proposals Million Dollar Consulting® Proposals forever ends the time-consuming and often frustrating process of writing a consulting proposal. Weiss offers step-by-step advice on the essential elements of a million dollar consultancy, including the nine key components of a Million Dollar Consulting proposal structure and the Golden Rules for presenting it. You'll also learn how to get past the goblins at the gate, establish trusting relationships, and time your follow-ups with precision. Acquire the skills to effectively deal with legal departments, secure retainers, and constantly hone your technique. Alan Weiss's expert guidance can lead your consulting business to unprecedented success, and it all starts with a million dollar proposal. "Where other consultants complicate and jargon-ize, Alan provides simple, counterintuitive common sense. He poses basic questions (like 'What is a proposal?') that we think we know the answer to only to find out that we don't. There is no denying the unmistakable rationale that pervades the principles laid out in this book. Yet so many of us do not follow these principles because of bad habits we have picked up over time. Alan's advice helped us build growth and value in our business and sustain it over many years. The advice contained in this book will help many others do the same."-Dr. Joe Zammit-Lucia, artist, author, entrepreneur, and founder and President ofWeb of Life Foundation (www.wolfoundation.org) Zusammenfassung Bestselling author of Million Dollar Consulting shares the secrets of writing winning proposals Intended for consultants, speakers, and other professional services providers, Million Dollar Consulting(R) Proposals ends forever the time-consuming and often frustrating process of writing a consulting proposal. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi Chapter 1 Business Vows: What Is a Proposal and Why It Is Necessary 1 What They Can Do and What They Can't Do 1 Their Place in Your Business Model 5 Why You Don't Provide Proposals for Just Anyone 9 The Role of Conceptual Agreement 12 The Concept of Value (Not Time and Materials) 14 Notes 18 Chapter 2 Five Steps Toward Great Leaps: How to Prepare Yourself and the Client 19 Determining the Economic Buyer 19 Developing Trusting Relationships 23 Establishing Outcome-Based Business Objectives 27 Establishing Metrics for Progress and Success 30 Establishing Value and Impact 33 Notes 37 Chapter 3 Avoiding Gatekeepers, Intermediaries, and Goblins: Accepting Rejection and Rejecting Acceptance 39 Utilizing Mutual, Enlightened Self-Interest 39 Using Guile and Other Art Forms 43 Using Explosives 46 Avoiding Delegation 50 Ensuring Support 54 Note 56 Chapter 4 The Architecture of Successful Proposals: The Million Dollar Consulting® Proposal Structure 57 The Nine Key Components 57 Notes 75 Chapter 5 One Dozen Golden Rules for Presenting Proposals: Steak and Sizzle Are Hard to Beat 77 Speed and Responsiveness 77 Accurate Re-creations 81 Counterintuitive: N...

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments ix
 
Introduction xi
 
Chapter 1 Business Vows: What Is a Proposal and Why It Is Necessary 1
 
What They Can Do and What They Can't Do 1
 
Their Place in Your Business Model 5
 
Why You Don't Provide Proposals for Just Anyone 9
 
The Role of Conceptual Agreement 12
 
The Concept of Value (Not Time and Materials) 14
 
Notes 18
 
Chapter 2 Five Steps Toward Great Leaps: How to Prepare Yourself and the Client 19
 
Determining the Economic Buyer 19
 
Developing Trusting Relationships 23
 
Establishing Outcome-Based Business Objectives 27
 
Establishing Metrics for Progress and Success 30
 
Establishing Value and Impact 33
 
Notes 37
 
Chapter 3 Avoiding Gatekeepers, Intermediaries, and Goblins: Accepting Rejection and Rejecting Acceptance 39
 
Utilizing Mutual, Enlightened Self-Interest 39
 
Using Guile and Other Art Forms 43
 
Using Explosives 46
 
Avoiding Delegation 50
 
Ensuring Support 54
 
Note 56
 
Chapter 4 The Architecture of Successful Proposals: The Million Dollar Consulting(r) Proposal Structure 57
 
The Nine Key Components 57
 
Notes 75
 
Chapter 5 One Dozen Golden Rules for Presenting Proposals: Steak and Sizzle Are Hard to Beat 77
 
Speed and Responsiveness 77
 
Accurate Re-creations 81
 
Counterintuitive: No Pitch or Promotion 85
 
To Be or Not to Be (In Person) 89
 
Defi nitive Dates and Times 93
 
Notes 96
 
Chapter 6 Why Bad Things Happen to Good People Who Wait: Moving Mountains 97
 
How and When to Follow Up 97
 
What to Anticipate and How to Cope 100
 
Overcoming Last-Minute Objections 104
 
Overcoming Legitimate Obstacles 108
 
Creating a Signature (or Something Else) 111
 
Notes 114
 
Chapter 7 First, Let's Kill All the Lawyers: Shakespeare Really Meant That We Needed Them 115
 
Dealing With the Legal Department 115
 
How to Avoid the Legal Department 118
 
Utilizing Your Own Attorney 122
 
Effective and Ineffective Compromise 125
 
The Golden Handshake 129
 
Notes 133
 
Chapter 8 The Dreaded RFP (Request for Proposals): Why Fill Out the Truly Boring in Triplicate? 135
 
The Beauties of Being a Sole-Source Provider 135
 
How to Massage RFPs so That They Look Like You 139
 
How to Offer Additional Value 142
 
How to Use Public Meetings for Leverage 145
 
When to Run for the Hills 149
 
Notes 152
 
Chapter 9 Retainers Are to Projects as Montrachet Is to Thunderbird: The Wonder of Access to Your Smarts 153
 
The Three Variables of a Retainer 153
 
The Need to Control Scope Creep and Scope Seep 157
 
How to Assertively Pursue Renewals 160
 
How to Stimulate More Retainers 164
 
Chapter 10 In the Unlikely Event You Need Oxygen: We Don't Anticipate a Crash, But There Are Some Things You Ought to Know 171
 
What to Do With Requests for Delays Based on Time and Money 171
 
What to Do If Rejected 175
 
How to Improve Your Proposals Constantly 178
 
How to Maximize Your Successes and Fees 181
 
When to Stop Writing Proposals 185
 
Note 187
 
Virtual Appendix 188
 
Sample Proposals 189
 
Index 203

Produktdetails

• Autoren: A Weiss, Alan Weiss, Alan (Summit Consulting Group Weiss
• Verlag: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Taschenbuch
• Erschienen: 23.12.2011
• EAN: 9781118097533
• ISBN: 978-1-118-09753-3
• Seiten: 224
• Themen: Ratgeber > Recht, Beruf, Finanzen > Ausbildung, Beruf, Karriere; Sozialwissenschaften, Recht,Wirtschaft > Wirtschaft > Management; Management, Business & management, Wirtschaft u. Management, Spezialthemen Wirtschaft u. Management, Business & Management Special Topics