Making a Strong Emotional Connection in Your Proposal – with Kevin Switaj - EP072
Episode description
It’s no longer enough to simply meet the qualifications in an RFP. Everyone who is bidding meets the qualifications. If we want to win, we have to show the potential client that we know who they are and what they need—and that they can trust us to deliver. So, how do we create that strong emotional connection in a proposal?
Dr. Kevin Switaj is the President and CEO of BZ Opportunity Management, a consulting firm that helps small- and mid-sized government contractors navigate the RFP process. He has more than ten years of experience leading high-performance proposal teams and providing strategic support around opportunity identification, capture and proposal management. Kevin’s work has appeared in a number of industry publications, and he also serves as a mentor in the APMP Capital Area Mentor-Protégé Program.
On this episode of the podcast, Kevin joins us to share his definition of empathy when it comes to business, explaining why it’s important to cultivate an emotional connection in your RFP response. He walks us through his top strategies for adding empathy to our proposals, describing what we can do to find out about the client’s needs—whether we happen to have a dedicated capture team or not. Listen in for Kevin’s insight on where to include empathy in an RFP response and learn how to make the crucial mindset shift that the proposal is not about YOU, it’s about the client!
Key TakeawaysHow Kevin defines empathy in business as creating an emotional connection
Why it’s crucial to cultivate empathy in an RFP response
Kevin’s response to the idea that there’s no room for empathy in a federal bid
How to make the mindset shift that the proposal is about the client
Kevin’s top strategies for adding empathy to your proposals
- Leverage info about client needs
- Know details of value you offer
- Explain what makes you different
How to find out your client’s needs without a dedicated capture team
- Google is your friend (look for annual reports, news or interviews)
- Talk to people you know who’ve worked with organization
Where to make the best use of empathy in an RFP response
- Introduction/executive summary
- Intros to each individual section
- Focus on what provides real value in describing technical approach
Kevin’s advice on how to incorporate empathy in proposal writing
- Look at things from client POV
- Ask, ‘So, what?’ to get to benefits
Email info@bzopportunity.com
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Email lisa@lisarehurek.com
ResourcesStorytelling for Business on RFP Success Show EP070