Do not be more motivated than your customers are to achieve their goals. Therefore, before you continue with the second half of MP 3, conduct one last reality check. Verify that your proposals are pulled through by the customers and not pushed through by you. If you obtained the first two MPCs (Interest Confirmed and Potential Confirmed), they should feel pulled through.
However, sometimes in your zealousness to help customers, it is difficult to identify the category in which your proposals fall. Make that determination by taking the following "Does Your Proposal Pass the Pulled-Through Test?" in Exhibit 7-3. No boxes should be marked off in the left pushed-through column, while all the boxes should be checked in the right pulled-through column.
| DOES YOUR PROPOSAL PASS THE PULLED-THROUGH TEST? |
| "Pushed-Through" (Salesperson-Generated) | "Pulled-Through" (Customers-Generated/MeasureMax) |
| q | Goals, systems of evaluations, and filters are not measurable or specific | | | | Goals, systems of evaluations, and filters are measurable or specific | |
| q | No verifications of MPCs | | | | Verifications of Measurable Phase Changes | |
| q | No conditional commitment or attainment measurement exists | | | | Conditional commitment or attainment measurements exists | |
| q | Uncertainty over what prompted the proposal | | | | Proposal generated at customers' request using well-defined goals | |
| q | Proposal contains limited customer input | | | | Proposal uses customer's input to fill out Q sheet | |
| q | MPs not conducted in proper sequence | | | | MPs conducted in proper sequence | |
| q | Salesperson avoids or supplies own numbers for cost justification | | | | Customer supplies the means for direct or indirect cost justification | |
| q | Proposal considered as a means to flush out concerns or undisclosed goals and filters | | | | Proposal used to formalize agreed-upon MPCs | |
| q | Clarification calls to customers before making presentations are nonexistent | | | | Numerous clarification calls, and customers understand the reasons for them. | |
| q | Unclear time frame for starting | | | | Well-defined time frame for starting | |
| q | Uncertainty over chances of success | | | | Proposal status is well known | |
| q | Proposal focuses on numerous product features without connecting to specific customers' goals and measurable benefits | | | | ⌧ Proposal focuses on customers' agreed-upon goals and measurable benefits, and demonstrates connections between them and products' features | |
Exhibit 7-3: Pushed-through vs. pulled-through test. Classify your proposal's status before you present it. If it is pushed through, revisit MP 1 and MP 2 as the checklist indicates. If pulled through, continue on to the rest of MP 3 and MP 4. This checklist helps you to avoid the disappointment of working up proposals doomed to "maybe next year" or lost for unclear or unstated reasons. Another sure-fire way exists to determine the status of your proposals. See how much of a Q sheet you filled out.
| Note | If you are dealing with a customer that you have not done business with before, the larger the dollar amount of the proposal, the more risk the customer feels he or she is taking. Measurable goals, performance guarantees, and documented success will help the customer to feel less at risk. However, sometimes it's better to eat an elephant one chunk at a time. If need be, divide your proposal into smaller scopes of project and dollar amounts. Make sure the customer understands the projects are cascaded with no significant redundant costs (such as administrative, labor, and set-up charges). |
Sign a memorandum of understanding with a time line on when each smaller project will be completed. This fragment strategy also works when there are budgetary constraints. The customer can spread out costs to encompass more than one fiscal year. Caution: Do not use a fragment strategy if your unbreakable package as a whole provides you with unique strengths to sell compensated value and create competitive barriers.
| Note | Boilerplate proposals often use a product-oriented format that leaves it up to customers to determine which features apply—and their value. They are always risky. Only highlight features that connect to measurable goals and create maximum value. The customers know they are only paying for what they need to achieve their stated goals. |
