Winning Proposals -- What they look like.

1. What winning proposals look like and how to create them Kimberly Koehly, Director of Channel Sales / Certified Whale Hunting Partner

2. © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 2 Function of Sales (not marketing)

3. Salesperson: “I’m calling as the result of some initial research my agency team has conducted; we’ve discovered that you are not maximizing your search engine marketing efforts.” Client: “Yes, well…we are aware of that and I appreciate your effort in doing your homework. We have recognized that this is a weak spot for us and we intend to select an agency to assist us with it soon. Can you send me a proposal for your search marketing services?” Salesperson: “Great! I’ll get it right over!” © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 3 Scenario 1: Proactive sales

4. Scenario 1: Issues No budget qualified Assumption that pre-sales research is accurate No firm timeline identified Your “soon” and their “soon” are not likely the same! Not sure who else is in the running Need to know how best to position your agency based on competition NO IDEA WHAT CLIENT EXPECTS OR IS LOOKING FOR IN A PROPOSAL © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 4

5. Client: “I’m calling because we need help with our search engine marketing efforts. I understand this is something your agency does.” Salesperson: “Yes, it certainly is. What is your time frame for selecting a new vendor for your search efforts and what budget have you identified for this?” Client: “Well, we aren’t sure about the budget; we’re willing to spend what we need to in order to get results. I’d like to get a proposal from you so we can best determine what the budget needs to be. As for the timeline, we’d like to get started as soon as possible.” Salesperson: “Great! I’ll get it right over!” © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 5 Scenario 2: Reactive sales

7. Assumption that pre-sales research is accurate

8. No firm timeline identified

9. Your “soon” and their “soon” are not likely the same!

10. Not sure who else is in the running

11. Need to know how best to position your agency based on competition

13. Questions to ask What are your objectives? What will success look like for you? What is your budget? What is a budget range that could work for you? Does $50,000 make you nauseous? $25,000k? Who else are you considering for this work? What is your timeframe for moving forward? What is the highest priority in selecting a new vendor? What does your process to select a vendor typically look like from here? Are there other team members involved in the decision? What are you looking for in terms of a proposal? © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 8

14. Standard elements of a good proposal Table of contents & page numbers Executive summary Objectives Strategies Tactics Case studies for like clients/services Relevant team member bios Pricing Next steps © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 9

15. Standard elements of a bad proposal Anything boilerplate (within reason) More than one paragraph of agency background Your process Typos Misspellings Other clients’ names throughout © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 10

16. Elements of the BEST proposal Shorter is always better Think: How many pages of a proposal for a service I buy would I be likely to read? Exactly what the client has asked for How you will solve their problem and meet their objectives Needs Analysis Proposed Solution Research Ideas****** Why they should work with you Straight-forward pricing Time-required action date © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 11

17. Tips, Tricks & Lessons Learned Give yourself a reasonable amount of TIME Back into the delivery date (Keep the client updated on your progress) Schedule time on your calendar appropriately (STICK TO IT) Communicate to your team about what you need and when Get into the right frame of mind & environment Don’t EVER deliver a proposal via email without a firm date to review Find a proof reader © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 12

18. Request for Proposals Always follow their format. See #1. © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 13

19. © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 14 Templates for your consideration Duh.

20. Templates for your consideration © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 15 http://www.seobook.com/free-search-marketing-rfp-proposal-template Clear bullet points on scope of work (details, details, details) Emphasis on three main facets of SEO (site-side, link building, analytics). In many cases, it's our ability to demonstrate link building or analytics proficiency that wins the business. Emphasis on the tie between SEO and social media Emphasis on the tie between SEO and content development Emphasis on our team's ability to work directly with client stakeholders (IT/Dev, marketing, PR, and even legal for some clients) Emphasis on our team's ability to take overall business goals into account (not just being SEO-centric) Emphasis on ROI (explaining how you will justify their monthly spend...again it's all about the details) Emphasis on the idea that SEO is ongoing and not a one-time engagement Emphasis on the importance of "baking" SEO into redesigns, site migrations and even the addition of a single page of content Case studies and client testimonials Emphasis on our efforts to be thought leaders in the space (aka "shameless plug for my blogging efforts over the years")

21. Proposed Scope of Work THE best proposal there is! Skip the step between pitching and “proposing” Outline exactly what you are recommending in your SOW format http://marketingmentor.net/p/download.asp?fileName=WD1233 © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 16

22. Thank you! Kimberly Koehly Director, Channel Sales - EmpowHER Certified Partner – The Whale Hunters 602.722.0149 kkoehly@empowher.com kimberlyk@thewhalehunters.com @kimberlykoehly http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlykoehly © 2010 EmpowHER – Company Confidential 17