Let’s imagine you run a consulting firm that specializes in helping companies in the widget industry improve sales productivity. Half your business comes from this industry, but you also have clients in other industries, and some of your projects extend … Read More
proposals
Why Apple University Has a Course on Communicating Clearly
Before he died, Steve Jobs launched an “Apple University” program to keep the culture of the company strong. Employees can sign up for various courses, most of which are completely shrouded in secrecy. Recently, the New York Times got 3 … Read More
Sales Proposal Buzzword Highlighter Now Live
If you’ve read this blog before, you know how much I hate terrible writing. If not, check out: The Importance of Writing Well, Microsoft CEO Edition How Your High School English Class Is Ruining Your Proposals Don’t Use Jargon, Unless … Read More
Are Your Proposals Like the Baseball Rulebook (or the Tax Code)?
In addition to being very long, the rules of baseball cover scenarios that aren’t all that likely to happen. (This piece in the WSJ cover the 5 strangest rules in baseball.) Why do you need 240 pages of rules for … Read More
Tips for Importing Existing Proposal Content into Mimiran
There are several ways to bring in content from existing proposals and other documents into Mimiran. Copy & Paste You can start by doing a direct copy and paste. This has the advantage of being very easy, but there are … Read More
Write Like a Spy?
As you may know if you visit this blog often, I hate bad, boring, corporate-bland writing. It kills not only proposals and deals, but also brain cells. See various diatribes here (Microsoft), here (worst movie ever), and here (it’s your English teacher’s … Read More
Sell More by Being Less of a Salesman and More of a Doctor
The sales profession has a problem. Most people don’t like and don’t trust sales people. In Gallup polling of how the public sees people in different professions, salespeople rank with members of Congress and advertisers, below lawyers. While the slimy, … Read More
The Importance of Writing Well (Microsoft CEO Edition)
Persuading people effectively requires good communication. In many cases– email, reports, sales proposals, that means writing well. Writing well isn’t just about sounding good, it’s about the writer forcing herself to think clearly, to package those thoughts in a digestible … Read More
The Secret Trick for Reviewing Your Proposal before You Send It
Reviewing a proposal is a critical step in creating a winning proposal, but one we don’t often talk about. Fred Wilson has a great post about Checking Your Work. He’s talking about blog posts, but the lessons apply to any … Read More
3 Magic Words for B2B Sales
Courtesy of Seth Godin. Don’t blow it (the secret of b2b). If you cut your price for no reason, does that make prospect think you are more or less likely to blow it? If you talk about how awesome your … Read More