Proposals are not read, they are scored. To get the best score, what you write must reflect the evaluation criteria. This exercise is about tailoring what you write to the evaluation criteria so that you can beyond mere compliance and improve your score and chances of winning your proposals.
This exercise involves re-writing sentences that fail the "So what?" test. We see sentences like these all the time in proposals. Usually they are dressed up with lots of fluff to distract people from the fact that they don't say anything that matters. When you drop all the fluff and boil them down to their essence, this is all that they actually say.
To complete the exercise, post a reply with a replacement sentence that passes the "So what?" test. In some cases, you will find that they say so little, you'll have to provide more information to make them matter. It's perfectly okay to make up the details you need to do this.
One of the challenges of passing the "So what?" test is that it is recursive. If you add to the sentence, do the details you add also pass the "So what?" test. And if you add more details to accomplish that, do those details pass the "So what?" test? Where does it end? It ends with what matters to the customer. The ultimate goal of the "So what?" test is to be able to assess what you have written from the customer's perspective. Will the customer read it and ask, "So what?"
Sentences for the exercise:
[MyCompany] was founded in 2019.
Our proposed Project Manager has 25 years of experience.
[MyCompany] is the largest provider of [whatever].
[MyCompany] employs a staff of 200 people.
[MyCompany] specializes in [whatever].
[MyCompany] brings a 10-year history of working with [customer name].
Assignment:
Copy the sentences above into a reply. Then add a revised sentence below each one that passes the "So what?" test.
After you have rewritten the sentences above, then review what other people have posted and reply to at least one of them. Part of the value in this exercise comes from comparison and contrast. This is a chance to explore what the "So what?" test really is all about.
Click the "Share your thoughts" button to post your exercise or reply to someone else's.
Proposals are not read, they are scored. To get the best score, what you write must reflect the evaluation criteria. This exercise is about tailoring what you write to the evaluation criteria so that you can beyond mere compliance and improve your score and chances of winning your proposals.
This exercise involves re-writing sentences that fail the "So what?" test. We see sentences like these all the time in proposals. Usually they are dressed up with lots of fluff to distract people from the fact that they don't say anything that matters. When you drop all the fluff and boil them down to their essence, this is all that they actually say.
To complete the exercise, post a reply with a replacement sentence that passes the "So what?" test. In some cases, you will find that they say so little, you'll have to provide more information to make them matter. It's perfectly okay to make up the details you need to do this.
One of the challenges of passing the "So what?" test is that it is recursive. If you add to the sentence, do the details you add also pass the "So what?" test. And if you add more details to accomplish that, do those details pass the "So what?" test? Where does it end? It ends with what matters to the customer. The ultimate goal of the "So what?" test is to be able to assess what you have written from the customer's perspective. Will the customer read it and ask, "So what?"
Sentences for the exercise:
[MyCompany] was founded in 2019.
Our proposed Project Manager has 25 years of experience.
[MyCompany] is the largest provider of [whatever].
[MyCompany] employs a staff of 200 people.
[MyCompany] specializes in [whatever].
[MyCompany] brings a 10-year history of working with [customer name].
Assignment:
Copy the sentences above into a reply. Then add a revised sentence below each one that passes the "So what?" test.
After you have rewritten the sentences above, then review what other people have posted and reply to at least one of them. Part of the value in this exercise comes from comparison and contrast. This is a chance to explore what the "So what?" test really is all about.
Click the "Share your thoughts" button to post your exercise or reply to someone else's.