Proposals - What to Say, How to Say It, and How Much to Charge

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1 Proposals What to Say, How to Say It, and How Much to Charge Constance Billé +1.215.285.8136 [email protected] Society for Technical Communication - Philadelphia Metro Chapter

Transcript of Proposals - What to Say, How to Say It, and How Much to Charge

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Proposals – What to Say, How to Say It,

and How Much to Charge

Constance Billé+1.215.285.8136

[email protected]

Society for Technical Communication - Philadelphia Metro Chapter

• Proposal Structure

• Cost Estimation

• Pricing

• Related Documents

• Request for Proposal

• Letter of Agreement

• Statement of Work

• Master Services Agreement

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Outline

You Get a Request

They are a bit vague

They ask for solutions

They want deliverables

They want results

They have a number in mind

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$

Scary Stuff

Estimation of the cost of a proposed project.

• The manager has to budget and spend wisely to get

what the organization needs

• The vendor has to make a living while delivering agreed-

upon work (perhaps using a new tool or technique) at an

agreed-upon price

Concerns on Both Sides

• What concerns does the

client have?

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CLIENTS VENDORS

• What concerns does

the vendor have?

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Client: Worry, worry, worry

Am I asking for the right thing?

Is this the right vendor?

What will “it” look like?

How much does it cost?

Do I have / will I get / the budget?

Will I get a good product?

Will I get it when I need it?

How can I protect myself?

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Vendor: Worry, worry, worry

Do I know all the options?

I’ve never done it like that before. Will it work?

How long will it take? How much will it cost?

How much should I charge?

How can I control costs?

Who should be on the team?

Have I accounted for everything?

Will they change their mind mid-way through?

How can I protect myself?

You Respond

You are selling!

Focus on the prospect

Show that you understand them!

Talk to them first and LISTEN

The answer to “Can you…?” is “Yes!”

But remember my mantra . . .

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“Don’t give them what

they ask for, give them

what they need.”

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You Can Do It! Propose!

[Company], an iconic American brand, has been undergoing significant

organizational change of late. In the last few years, the company has

experienced turnover and dispersion within its workforce, with 8,000

employees now spread across the globe. In addition, the demographic

profile of that workforce has changed.

The transition to a younger, global workforce has been accompanied by

the departure of senior leaders who exemplified the [Company’s] internal

brand; creating a general concern that the organization's internal culture

– as distinct from its external brand identity – has lost its clarity. Human

Resources recognizes the need for an internal program to promote the

[Company’s] unique cultural identity.

From years of working with global customer service organizations, [our

company] experience indicates that this . . . [your analysis and solution].

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CURRENT STATUS

PROBLEM

WE CAN HELP

Proposal Structure

1. Statement of Understanding

2. Suggested Project Outline

Phase I: DiscoveryThe project begins with XXX getting a full understanding of . . .. .

Process

Suggested activities include:

• Review existing collateral

• Select existing data for measurement of impact,

• Conduct interviews

• Produce a report .

Deliverables

Discovery findings report

Phase II: Task Force MeetingA task force consisting of representatives from Operations, Marketing, HR, …

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Proposal Structure

2. Project Outline

3. Development Process

Suggested Development Process

• A weekly conference call to . . .

• Outline an overall design . . .

• Receive any templates or graphics to be used or

adapted

• Each week develop a first draft of one unit

• Upon draft approval develop media storyboard. . .

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Proposal Structure

3. Development Process

4. Deliverables

Eight modules of materials including

• Facilitator Guide in Word format

• Presentation in PowerPoint format

• Participant Guide in PowerPoint format

• Four Web-based self-instructional modules . . .

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Proposal Structure

4. Deliverables

5. Timeline

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Activity Completed

Unit1First Draft Week 3

Unit 2 First Draft Week 4

Unit 3 First Draft Week 5

Unit 4 First Draft Week 6

Pilot Week10

Here is a suggested timeline to reach your target date of xxxx, in which case activities must commence by XXX.

Proposal Structure

5. Timeline

6. Roles & Responsibilities (Optional)

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Modules 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

One DRAFT REVIEW REVISE APPROVE

Two DRAFT REVIEW REVISE APPROVE

Three DRAFT REVIEW REVISE APPROVE

Four DRAFT REVIEW REVISE APPROVE

FINALDELIVER

Proposal Structure

6. Roles & Responsibilities

7. Pricing

For delivery of eight modules as specified above,

not including any on-site photography, travel or incidental

expenses incurred in the production of the deliverables

outlined above;

fees do not include any printing, photography, or

telecommunications expenses.

$100,000 USD

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Proposal Structure

7. Pricing

8. Payment Schedule

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The price is quoted in US Dollars according to the following schedule

Upon signing Letter of Agreement $25,000

Upon approval of outline $25,000

Upon approval of first draft $25,000

Upon delivery $25,000

TOTAL $100,000

Proposal Structure

8. Payment Schedule

9. Appendix

• Company Experience

• Project Team Biographies

• Work Samples / Project Descriptions

• Client Endorsements

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Proposal Structure

9. Appendix

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Cost Estimation

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Manage the Mix

WHO

What goes into estimating cost?

• Tasks

• Time

• Team

• Technology

• Experience and benchmarks. e.g., Storyboard

or wireframe analysis (pages, frames, videos,

graphics, audio, minutes, etc.)

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Assembling the Team

Who do you ask?

What do you know about them?

Have you worked with them before?

Are they available? Are they reliable?

Employee? Contractor? Sub-contractor?

Rates

• Employee

• Contractor

• Sub-contractor

• Hourly?

• Per diem?

• Per deliverable?

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Pricing

Cost Estimation

• Assemble project team with all needed skills

• Breakdown phases and tasks

• Add communication & coordination

• Assign hours to everything

• Know personnel rates

• Base on known units

• Go high on unknowns

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What goes into determining price?

• Cost estimation

• Business overhead and margin

• Competition

• Prospect

• Size, resources

• Expectations

• Authority level

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Start with the Known

• Start with known cost elements

• Do some homework on the unknown

• Cover your overhead and the “X” factor which gets

bigger with . . .

• More Unknowns

• Longer timeline

• More people involved

• More regulation or bureaucracy

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“Cost +” Pricing

Conceptualize the design

Define deliverables

How many screens, pages, illustrations

Categorize components – e.g. how many “simple” vs

“complex” interactives

Estimate effort and timeline for each step of process

Describe process & project roles / staffing

Define how many review/revision iterations

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Price Presentation

Bundled price?

Per deliverable?

Retainer?

Set time effort limit – then hourly charges

Note exclusions – travel, out-of-pocket, printing, etc

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Address These Issues in Pricing

New technique or technology

Time frame – team size, skill

Complexity

Not too low

Not too high

Value independent of effort

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TECHNIQUE

PRICE

TALENT

Pricing

Tasks, Hours, Rates

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Rate1 Rate2

CLIENT $125 $150

Activity Who Hrs Charge TOTALS

DISCOVERY

Confer with team on project Lead 20 $3,000

Confer with team on project Person B 20 $2,500

Confer with team on project Person A 20 $3,000

Review internal docs Person A 6 $750

Review data of impact Person A 6 $750

Intview(8 )svc /learng needs Person A 10 $1,250

Rapid design meeting Lead 6 $900

Rapid design meeting Person B 6 $750

Rapid design meeting Person A 6 $900

Develop specifications Person B 8 $1,000

TOTAL DISCOVERY PHASE $14,800

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Project Plan

Manage Expectations

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QUALITY

Task Precedence – PERT chart

Task Time Line GANTT Chart

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Week1 Week2 Week 3 Week 4 Week5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 Week 19 Week 20

Design

July July July Aug Aug Aug Aug Sept Sept Sept Sept Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov Nov Nov Nov Dec

Discovery

Design

Document

REVIEW APPROV

Templates REVIEW APPROV

Part 1 REVIEW REVISE REVIEW REVISE APPROV

Part 2 REVIEW REVISE REVIEW REVISE APPROV

Part 3 REVIEW REVISE REVIEW REVISE APPROV

Part 4 REVIEW REVISE REVIEW REVISE APPROV

Part 5 REVIEW REVISE REVIEW REVISE APPROV

Beta Class

Delivery

BETA REVIEW

Review/Approv

e

REVISE APPROV

Production/

Class

Logistics

Delivery LAUNCH

key VENDOR

CLIENT

Some tasks allow “slide”. . . . some do not

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Other Documents

Request for Proposal

• Know the rules for competition

• Follow the stated structure

• Meet deadline

• Interview or Q&A is Important

• Use third party endorsement / prizes

• Use Affirmative Advantages for government and

nonprofit proposals

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Letter of Agreement

• A contract with mutual obligations

• Signed and dated by both parties

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Statement of Work (SOW)

More detailed than proposal

Roles & responsibilities

Use non-disclosure agreement to protect proprietary

information

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Master Services Agreement (MSA)

• For on-going contracts, such as annual renewal of a

program

• Makes it much easier to write a Statement of Work

• The SOW refers to the MSA

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THANK YOU!