Alan Weiss - Million Dollar Consulting Proposals: How to Write a Proposal Thats Accepted Every Time

Contents

Copyright 2012 by Alan Weiss, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data :

Weiss, Alan, 1946

Million dollar consulting proposals : how to write a proposal thats accepted every time/Alan Weiss.1

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-09753-3 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-15000-9 (ebk); ISBN 9781118150016 (ebk); ISBN 9781118150023 (ebk)

1. Business consultants. 2. Consulting firmsManagement. 3. ConsultantsMarketing. I. Title.

HD69.C6.W4598 2011

001dc23

2011022699

This book is dedicated to Koufax, the Wonder Dog, and Buddy Beagle, both of whom create irresistible proposals.

Acknowledgments

Id like to thank Shannon Vargo and the editors at John Wiley & Sons for their constant support and collegiality over the years. My thanks also to superagent Jeff Herman.

Introduction

Ive had several careers, often concurrently. Ive consulted with Fortune 1000 organizations globally; delivered keynote speeches before large audiences; written more than 40 books; become a consultant to consultants as a mentor and coach; and formed worldwide communities of entrepreneurs. Throughout those experiences one issue arose, which was equivalent to a synapse in the brain, passing electrical signals: the critical nature of the proposal that spanned the conceptual agreement and the relationship with the buyer, and the formal agreement to proceed with stipulated fees and their payment terms.

Unlike those instantaneous brain waves, however, I found that many entrepreneurs proposals created not linkages but blockages, and they created movement only slightly slower than a receding glacier.

Weve all seen the coffee table proposals, with 30 pages of rsums (John enjoys fly-fishing), 20 pages of credibility (Winner of the Greater Tacoma Not Shrinking Company Award, Honorable Mention), and 10 pages of nonsensical flowcharts and graphs that look like the innards of the Hubble Telescope. On the other extreme are those who boast of a handshake proposal, which holds up nicely until the buyer leaves, the conditions change, or the memories grow short.

In this book (which is the modern iteration of my classic How to Write a Proposal Thats Accepted Every Time , first written in 2002, which sold for $149), youll learn how to write a proposal in about 45 minutes that is 2.5 pages long, no matter how big the project. The proposal will incorporate subtle features providing for an 80 percent or better success rate, and with maximum protection for you. Youll avoid legal departments, maximize your fees, and create a passionate commitment on the part of your client.

Sound useful?

People who have taken this approach have sent me all kinds of positive examples and accolades, and the average income in additional fees the first six months of using it is $40,000. Just a month before writing this introduction I helped a technology consultant raise his highest options from $77,000 to $377,000, which was accepted by his client with 50 percent paid on acceptance.

And thats not unusual.

Weve been able to completely recast this book (its 75 percent different) from its predecessor; provide an online, evolving appendix; and lower the price by more than $100! Thats because John Wiley & Sons and I have a long and happy history together, and the editors and I believe this book can change lives.

Please proceed with an open mind. What Ive created may seem extremely simple. Theres a good reason for that perception.

It is.

Alan Weiss, PhD

East Greenwich, RI

June 2011

Chapter 1

Business Vows

What Is a Proposal and Why It Is Necessary

What They Can Do and What They Cant Do

A proposal is a summation, not an explanation. It is a summary of the conceptual agreement youve reached with an economic buyer and not a negotiating document or an attempt to make a sale.

Therefore, it is formed only after conceptual agreement with the buyer has been completed. We talk more about this later in the chapter, but at the outset its important to understand that Im not talking about the generic or stereotypical proposal in this book. Proposals are a summary of whats come before, to which the buyer has already agreed, and constitute the connection (the synapse from the introduction of this book) to the launch of the project. Proposals are organic documents, which are used to guide and monitor the project, and are not immediately archaic fossils of the Pleistocene Epoch intended for dusty display cases and remote shelves.

Here is what an outstanding proposal can do:

• Summarize and convey formally the conceptual agreements reached in discussions to that point between you and the economic buyer.
• Detail the objectives of the project.
• Provide for the metrics of success.
• Describe the value that will occur once the objectives are met (both personally and professionally).
• Supply options from which the buyer can choose to determine the amount of value sought in return on the investment (ROI) committed.
• Stipulate fees, expense reimbursement, and payment terms.
• Enable immediate acceptance in writing.

My proposals serve as the contract as well as the offer of the contract. They are in plain English, without third parties shall hold harmless, because if you include boilerplate legalese, you will ensure that the proposal will wind up in the hands of your prospects lawyers, who are so conservative and protective that theyd prefer that the firm not even open the doors every morning in order to prevent any harm from befalling the enterprise.