My 5-year old this morning didn't want to put on a dress. I guess she had a different outfit in mind... Perhaps a pair of shorts, or a skirt - but not the sun dress with cherries on it that I handed to her. But that's not what she told me.

Instead, she looked at me with one eye squinted and said - "Do you really want me to get this nice dress dirty? With syrup, or paint, or playground dust?"

It was very clear to me what she was doing. In fact, this technique is directly applicable to government proposals. She was gaining leverage for what she wanted (or didn't want), while expressing it in the language that was relatable to me. She was also pointing at my hot button - wanting to keep clothing clean, and do less laundry. She took herself and her wants out of it and instead was relating the whole issue to me. It was about me only: what was in it for me if she didn't wear the dress.

Here is typical proposal language (from a recent proposal I was tasked to review) that doesn't use this clever technique. It doesn't start with the customer, or what's in it for them. Instead, like a petulant kid, it screams: "me, me, me - let me get this contract!"

"FedContractor (I am not going to share the culprit's real name) is pleased to submit the enclosed proposal in response to solicitation number N12345 as a prime contractor. FedContractor is a Service Disabled, Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), minority owned company. Founded in 2002, FedContractor successfully provides a full range of quality Program Management and Systems Engineering products and services to a variety of customers in the Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Government and other departments and agencies within State and Local Governments. FedContractor is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified company. Our mission is to use our broad employee experience base to deliver timely and tangible solutions to our customers. We continuously strive to build strong, long term relationships based on mutual trust, respect and commitment."

As you can see, there is no customer's name in this whole paragraph, and this language is so generic that it could introduce almost any government proposal on any subject, to any customer. And, its effect is bland. It makes the customer's eyes glaze over - and definitely doesn't prompt them to select you as a winner.

Instead of doing this, consider using a technique my five-year-old used on me this morning. Try to start with showing understanding of the pain that this customer is looking to avoid by issuing this request for proposal, and what this project would enable them to accomplish. Keep asking the question: "what's in it for them?" Make your proposal customer-centric instead of your company-centric. You may just get what you want.

If you would like to delve into more detail on how to make your proposals customer-centric, get my "Executive Summary Secrets" self-study course.

If you need consulting support for your capture or proposal effort, we are here for you with more than 500 top notch consultants. You can reach out to Alex Brown, our BD Manager, at service@ostglobalsolutions.com.

About the Author: Olessia Smotrova-Taylor is president/CEO of OST Global Solutions, Inc., a Metro Washington, DC consulting and training company that helps businesses grow by winning government and commercial contracts. She is a practicing capture and proposal manager who won more than $16 Billion in new business. She has 15 years of experience in proposal and capture management, marketing, and communications. Her self-study course, Executive Summary Secrets, sells worldwide. She is also an instructor in the upcoming on-site Capture & Proposal Management Courses that show how to position to win before an RFP issuance and how to write less and win more. Prior to starting her own consulting company, she won business for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and wrote for the Financial Times of London.

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