MARKETING
IMPACT
A PROVEN APPROACH TO WINNING BIDS IN A MODERN ERA
If you’re involved in competitive bids, you’ll know your marketplace is changing.
The bid process is turning more complex
and quantitative, with scorecards and portals replacing presentations and relationships becoming virtual. So you need to communicate your compelling reason to buy through a multitude of channels
to a more diverse range of stakeholders.
Thread – a marketing communications agency – and Shipley – a global business winning specialist – have jointly developed a new approach to winning business in this new environment: IMPACT.
IMPACT uses a combination of activities that communicate both the rational and emotional reasons for buying from you. Underpinned by a proven process based on thousands of successful bids and £billions of pro table business.
IMPACT will enhance the way you approach and bid for business. And radically improve your business win rate.
WINNING BIDS IN
A MODERN ERA
HEART
Research & Intelligence
01
Key messaging development
03
Customer engagement activities
05
Deal based marketing
07
Proposal design
and creation
09
Presentation & preperation
11
Capture planning
02
Bid strategy
04
Proposal management, coaching & ccordination
06
Proposal copy
writing and editing
08
Proposal review and evaluation
10
MIND
RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE
UNDERSTAND YOUR
TARGET AUDIENCE
Understanding not just your customers’ needs and what they think of you, but also those of any allied opinion formers is critical to the development of a cohesive strategy.
Our research process gathers valuable internal and external insights that help inform your capture planning, key messaging and bid strategy.
cyber-net
a world of service
CAPTURE PLANNING
DEVELOP A BID WINNING STRATEGY
Are you worried that you aren’t converting large, competitive opportunities? Do you take a scattergun approach to bidding which results in a low win rate?
IMPACT capture planning will guide you through a rigorous, proven process that helps you focus on your opportunities. Then take you through
an approach that helps you develop specific bid-winning strategies and influence your customer at the earliest possible stage.
So you maximise opportunities and improve your bid win rate.
KEY MESSAGING
CREATE A COMPELLING REASON TO BUY
FROM YOU
If you don’t develop and communicate a compelling proposition, you’re not going to win: your key messages form the backbone of your bid.
Our workshop methodology captures, structures and articulates your most compelling offer.
It turns features into bene ts, brings your proposal alive and gives your sales team a set of tools to engage your customer - promoting, clarifying and differentiating your offer.
Business on "tap"
All our energy
is committed to saving yours
PROPOSAL MANAGEMENT
STRUCTURE YOUR BID TO FOCUS ON YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
Proposals need to single-mindedly focus on your value proposition, using a combination of logic, creativity, persuasiveness and intelligence.
We use our globally proven techniques to convert your win strategy into words and position it in the forefront of your target audience’s mind.
IMPACT will help you prepare impressive, compelling bids. Our proposal management service frees your bid leader to focus on pursuing your customer strategy, directing your solution, pricing and commercial teams and gaining internal governance approval.
Our consultants and writers work collaboratively with your technical subject matter experts to write from scratch or to improve your raw drafts into compelling well-written propositions.
Evolved around you
BID COACHING AND COORDINATION
UPSKILL YOUR BID WRITING TEAM
Your bid authors will gain new skills and insights into writing compelling proposals through coaching that combines specifc expertise and bid-winning methodologies.
Our APMP-certifed bid coaches bring years of experience and the backup of IMPACT’s proposal support centre.
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
POSITION YOUR BRAND AS FIRST CHOICE
People prefer to buy from those they feel most comfortable and engaged with. How you position your people, products and promises define you in your customer’s mind.
We provide programmes that specifically influence customer perceptions, in the critical pre-submission phase, as well as during and after a bid submission.
Adaptive Motion
BID COPYWRITING AND EDITING
USE THE BEST TALENT TO WRITE A COMPELLING BID
Proposals need to single-mindedly focus on your value proposition. Using a combination of logic, creativity, persuasiveness and intelligence.
IMPACT experts will collaborate with your technical subject matter experts to write from scratch or to improve your raw drafts into compelling, well-written submissions and answers.
We’ll help you to put your win strategy into words and layouts in order to communicate it to maximum effect, using emphasis techniques such as callouts, theme statements, summaries and informative headings.
DEAL-BASED MARKETING
DEAL-BASED MARKETING
DEMONSTRATE CREDIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING
In large complex bids, it’s unusual if all your stakeholders and decision makers think the same way. One wants innovation, another proven products. One wants a Rolls-Royce, the other’s happy on public transport.
So our award-winning production team delivers a range of deal-based marketing activities that communicate specific messages to specific audiences.
DEAL-BASED MARKETING
PROPOSAL DESIGN
DIFFERENTIATE
YOURSELF VISUALLY
If you’re bidding via a portal, skip this page. But where you’re allowed a bid document, you’ll improve emotional impact and demonstrate you want the business through bespoke bid media tailored to your value proposition.
We provide a complete design and production capability that engages your audience throughout your proposal, highlighting key messages and making them more memorable.
The sum is greater than the parts
Release your potential
REVIEW AND EVALUATION
MAXIMISE YOUR BID SCORES
A proposal content review is one of the best ways of improving your chances of winning.
We review early, to ensure that you’re implementing your win strategy, and review at the end, to optimise your score against your customer’s evaluation criteria. We make sure you don’t just win hearts and minds: you get the top score.
IMPACT will take you through a structured and rigorous review process. To maintain your team’s motivation, we promote constructive, not destructive reviewing. And our review leaders don’t just facilitate reviews: we bring extra value through our own proposal evaluation and benchmarking process that measures you against the average, and best, in your sector.
DEAL-BASED MARKETING
PRESENTATION AND PITCH EVALUATION
PUT ON A WINNING PERFORMANCE
It’s rarely what you say that wins or loses bids, but how you say it. A great presentation can win over a sceptical audience. Or a bad one can lose the business when it was all but won.
We create presentations that support what you’re saying, rather than say it for you. And our presentation coaches will help you capture your audience’s attention so they remember your value proposition when they’re deciding who to appoint.
Positive change
