Chapter 15: Writing in the Midst of a Storm: How to Deal with Bad News and Negative Publicity


We said earlier that people like to buy from people they trust. We further defined trust as a combination of rapport (how well they like you and your colleagues) and credibility (how well you seem to understand your own field), divided by the perception of the risk of doing business with you. Trust is generally earned over time, built up from repeated positive experiences.

Trust can be damaged very quickly, however, from just a single negative experience or from bad publicity or news reports. We have seen examples in recent history of once mighty and prestigious companies that were brought down by the loss of trust.

Every business relationship will hit a rough spot from time to time. The customer may be disappointed in our execution on a given contract. Negative press coverage may raise some concerns. As long as the experiences and the reportage aren't so bad that they become toxic to the relationship, we can usually recover. We regain trust through honesty, accuracy, and effective communication.

But what do you do if you're trying to write a proposal in the middle of churning seas of bad publicity? The kinds of negative publicity are legion— product defects, product recalls, lawsuits, accidents, regulatory violations, malicious tampering with your products in the marketplace, defections of key personnel, loss of a major client. All of these may cause eyebrows to go up and frowns to turn down.

Or what if you are trying to win business from a client who is currently unhappy with your firm? They have refused to sign off on the most recent phase of a project. They are invoking service-level agreements and demanding refunds. They are claiming that your product does not perform in full compliance with the specifications contained in their original RFP. They are unhappy because of personnel changes your company has made that affect their project.

Figure 15-1 shows the range of options available to you in dealing with these situations, assuming that the accusations or bad news is basically correct. Lying, denying, and ignoring are negative approaches that are predicated on the notion that your customers (or the public in general) are stupid, that they have short memories, and that they have even shorter attention spans. History is full of examples of businesses that decided to use one of these approaches, only to have it blow up in their faces like a land mine.

click to expand
Figure 15-1: Ways to Handle Bad News.

That means you're better off confronting the situation directly. Your options there are to acknowledge that the situation is essentially true, but to put a spin on the way the facts are interpreted to minimize the damage. Thus, if your CEO was indicted on charges of embezzlement and tax fraud, you may want to indicate that although charges have been filed, not all the facts are yet known in the case. It would be unfair and contrary to the justice system to pronounce someone guilty before that person has had a full and fair trial. In the meantime, the company is moving ahead with an acting CEO.

It's not great, but it may relieve some of the heat. A slightly more courageous approach is to acknowledge the facts as they are known and explain how this sad situation came to pass. In the case of the felonious CEO, your response might be that the indictment has been handed down and that although there is still much evidence and information which must be disclosed, at this time the company is changing the way sales are recorded and the way cash accounts are handled. The situation has brought to light weaknesses in the internal controls that are being fixed.

Finally, full disclosure is a rare and somewhat risky approach. Basically, you grab the advantage by telling the public everything and taking fast action to rectify the situation. The most famous example of this approach is the way Johnson & Johnson responded to the deadly product tampering with their pain reliever, Tylenol. Rapid action, full disclosure, and aggressive change managed to preserve an extremely valuable brand name.

If you are writing a proposal, the "acknowledge and explain" approach is usually your best choice. It gives you the opportunity to be forthright without necessarily conceding that the situation is completely bad. Warren Buffett's advice on communicating during a crisis applies to the proposal writer or salesperson who is trying to close a deal during one, too:

  • Admit that not all of the facts are known.

  • State the facts that you do know.

  • Make sure you get them right. At this point, you start reestablishing trust by communicating accurately.

  • Quickly shift to a discussion of what you are doing to solve the problem, to minimize its impact, to correct any damage done, and to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.

When the negative situation is based on the customer's unhappiness or dissatisfaction with your firm's performance, avoid blaming the customer for the problem. That's just not going to get you anywhere. It is reasonable to point out that situations are never black and white and that a number of variables contributed to the current situation.

In your proposal and presentations, stick to your core message. This message is based on the assumption that the client has a need, that you can meet this need, and that you can deliver superior value in the process. The negative news or unpleasant experience is undercutting the issues of credibility, but if you have the problem right and if you have a compelling value proposition, all is not lost.

If the customer's unhappiness is based on your team's poor execution of the contract terms, maintain an attitude of candor. You need to say: "Yes, there have been problems, but this is an extremely complex environment and a challenging project. We may have underestimated the challenge at the outset, but we fully understand it now and remain the best choice for managing the project to a successful conclusion."

In the case of bad news, you may want to reframe the issue. This can work well both in a proposal and in an oral presentation. By reframing, I mean changing the nature of the questions being directed at you in the RFP or during the question and answer period following your presentation. Here are typical reframing statements:

  • This is an important issue, of course, but we believe the most important issue is ...

  • You're right to be concerned, and what we have done is ...

  • In the past that was a problem, but let's focus on what we have done about it because these changes will help guarantee a successful project for you ...

  • It's important to look at what the facts are, all of the facts, and to separate the facts from rumors ...

  • This is a complex issue. We are continuing to gather information and opinions from experts and a variety of sources, both within our company and from outside, including ...

What if the bad news that has been reported about your company is actually false? In a way your task is more difficult. Refuting a negative report is much harder. Your best options are to draw upon third-party evidence to establish a strong record of performance. Also, focus on the policies and procedures in place that were designed to prevent exactly the kind of problem your firm is accused of. You might be able to use traditional forms of credibility-building content, such as references and case studies, to counter-balance false accusations. Finally, if you know what is being claimed is not true, you might consider offering guarantees, service-level commitments, or other tactics designed to minimize the customer's perception of risk.

When you're faced with the challenge of writing a proposal or presenting a solution during a period of negative coverage or during a crisis, ask yourself what part of the trust relationship is broken. Is it your firm's credibility? Is it the sense of rapport and shared values? Is it the client's perception that working with you does not pose significant risk for them and their company? Keep your content as accurate as possible and strive to overcome negative news with superior value.

Above all, don't bluff and don't lie. Just like your momma told you, honesty is the best policy. Even if you lose this particular battle and don't win the business, your candor and directness may go a long way to healing the wounds and helping the client start to trust your firm again.




Persuasive Business Proposals. Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts
Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts
ISBN: 0814471536
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 130
Authors: Tom Sant

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net