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Critiquing a Consulting Proposal. First, think the way the client does Then, make sure you produce what the client expects, only better. Is it clear what the client will receive?. Think about what you will do Think about how the client will benefit
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Critiquing a Consulting Proposal • First, think the way the client does • Then, make sure you produce what the client expects, only better.
Is it clear what the client will receive? • Think about what you will do • Think about how the client will benefit • Think about what the client will actually receive • Then make sure all of these are described as fully as possible.
Is it clear what the client has to provide? • Time of managers and/or other employees • Expertise, lists, past reports, past records…. • Money • Patience – how long do they have to wait for an interim report? Final report?
You need familiarity with their marketing environment • That’s one reason for the “background” section; it lets you speak in their language. • If you have never worked on a problem of this kind, how is it like problems on which you HAVE worked?
You need to appear careful • Sloppiness with numbers is usually fatal. Proofread everything, of course, but proofread numbers even more carefully – did you mean million or billion? Did you mean 2008 or 2009? It’s not just math errors, in other words. • And your grammar, spelling, etc. need to reflect care as well. The standard is perfection.
You need to diagnose before you prescribe • What does this organization need? Why do you say that? • THEN – how are you proposing to improve things in a way that meets that need?
Anything that doesn’t come out of your own heads needs a citation • It is not enough to list references at the end. • The reader has a right, when reading a statement, to immediately look at the source that the specific statement came from. • Superscripts1 are OK; so is [1]; so is (HP Website, 2008), with the full reference either at the bottom of the page or end of the paper.
You MUST state the breakeven scenario justifying your project • This project will cost $500,000. If a new [business] buyer buys 50 units per year on average for two years…. • …and if you sell a unit for about $10,000 with an estimated gross margin of 20%, a new customer is worth roughly $200,000, and gaining three justifies this project.
Estimating is FINE. Just explain. • We estimated 50 units per year for two years per new buyer based on…. • We estimated a $10,000 per-unit cost based on… • We estimated a 20% gross margin based on…
Don’t “cheerlead” -- please • Overstating the benefits of results is a big mistake. • Saying, in effect, “we will make you successful” kills your credibility. So does ANY projection of how much more they will sell thanks to your help. • Your basic stance is conservative: Here is what we can do; here is how we expect it to help.
Presenting the Proposal • As in the written version, consider what the client is seeking in this proposal • What makes individuals in this class say: “Yes, buy it!”? Remember that one reason you are asked to vote on which supplier to select is to learn what it feels like to choose, so that you learn by experience what managers consider.
Your task is to reduce perceived risk • Risk of taking on a huge time commitment • Risk of taking on a financial commitment with little or no payoff • Risk of having the interaction with unknown people turn out to be unpleasant • Risk of the buyer’s “looking bad” for any of these reasons
