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O P I N I O N
When old is new again Bells and whistles are nice, but when it comes time to write a winning proposal, a strong, focused message is still the way to go.
I n recent months I have seen a number of questions in A/E marketing-related forums about classes, training, boot camps, etc., for various copyrighted or trademarked proposal processes and systems. I have also seen ads and received printed brochures for a number of these systems. Each one proclaims that it is the most popular and effective, and that thousands of A/E firms are using that process for successful marketing.
Bernie Siben
I find all these notices interesting, to one degree or another, but they all leave me with one question: If I select, learn, and use one of these processes or systems, what will differentiate my proposal from those of the other thousands of firms whose marketers have taken the same training? Since no marketer actually wants to submit a proposal that shouts, “We’re just like every other A/E firm,” why does anyone want to use the same thing that everyone else is (supposedly) using?
So I registered for the session, made my travel and hotel arrangements, and went off to Las Vegas to learn what “everyone else” was learning. “If I select, learn, and use one of these processes or systems, what will differentiate my proposal from those of the other thousands of firms whose marketers have taken the same training?” There were around 20 of us in the class, all from Western states. Some from big firms, some from small firms; some from multidiscipline firms, some from “boutique” or specialty firms; some
For me, this defied all logic.
A while back I was working for a firm with multiple offices in multiple states when I received one of those brochures in the mail. I finally realized that I couldn’t avoid doing what everyone else was doing unless I took the class and learned what everyone else was being taught.
See BERNIE SIBEN, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER September 19, 2016, ISSUE 1168
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