How to Create Dramatic Options to Increase Value and Fees
If you want to create high value, differentiated options in your proposals, consider these factors and how they might be included. Note that your most basic option still has to meet ALL the buyer’s objectives, and that options aren’t impressive when they’re solely “more” or “longer.”
Factors:
• Involve employees
• Involve customers/clients
• Involve venders/suppliers
• Evaluate competition
• Shop the client’s business
• Shop the competitions’ businesses
• Evaluate remote and/or virtual applications
• Offer a retainer beyond the project’s end
• Involve superiors of the target group for reinforcement
• Train trainers/create internal consultants
• Compare against internal best practices
• Compare against external best practices
• Create baseline studies for future comparisons
• Co-author results for publication with client
• Appear at board meetings to debrief
• Assist with media debriefings
• Extend to international operations
• Evaluate for international application
• Offer implementation help for strategic findings
• Create periodic “audits” to ensure results over long term
• Create in multi-media for remote sites and/or new hires
• Integrate technological change
• Integrate demographic change
• Create appropriate reward systems for new initiative
• Create appropriate evaluations systems for new initiative
You get the idea. You can easily offer significant, differentiated, additional value in your options to dramatically increase the client’s investment and subsequent ROI.
© Alan Weiss 2013
Martyn Drake
Thanks Alan, great post. Should these things be suggested to the client during OMV discussion prior to proposal to see what sparks interest?
Alan Weiss
No, they should be considered when you write your proposal and include options.