The Role of Ego and Perfection in Marketing Pursuits

We all strive for perfection in our marketing and business development initiatives.  Proposals, for example, can’t leave the office with typos or factual errors.  The boilerplate that has been customized for any client can’t include the name of the previous client who requested similar services.

I have always been a words guy and not really a design guy when it comes to marketing materials, including proposal submissions.  There is a lot to be said about the people who possess the ability to see the beauty in different design approaches.  I applaud them.  In fact, this is the reason a team is always preferred in client pursuits.

When the design gets in the way of the words, I have a problem.   How does design ever get in the way of the words?  Winning is the bottom line of any pursuit.  How a proposal looks goes a long way toward whether it will be read or read thoroughly.  Office managers, senior managers and other “approval-required” executives can get hung up on the look rather than the content.  When this happens design gets in the way of the words.  It slows down the creative process.

Perfection, therefore, can hurt your chance of success.  We all fight deadlines in developing marketing materials.  Proposals have a client deadline and our firms have internal deadlines based upon the client’s deadline. Starting with the “go-no-go” beginning until we finish by putting the required copies of the proposal into the Federal Express package, we are up against the clock. Sometimes there are delays caused by multiple  meetings to decide whether to pursue the project.  Although those meetings  should develop at least an outline of the content and design, it usually ends with simply a yes or no.  The process of business development and nurturing the client has given us our content.  It has revealed the between-the-lines intel that is critical for success. Marketing pulls this from the database and words start to flow on the pages of our proposal. Success is challenged when perfection meets management ego.  The “we have always done it this way” approach is not about perfection.  In fact, it might short circuit valuable client intelligence, RFP requirements and strategy.

The request for proposals is contrasted with what we know about the client.  Graphics, design and format become the focus.  While some RFPs include format and design requirements, it is not the rule. 

As content joins together with design and reviews take place, perfection becomes the goal.  When you confuse perfection with the real goal of winning the project, your chance of success declines.  You know what they say about “too many cooks in the kitchen.” 

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, is often misquoted with a statement about winning.  He never said, “Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.”  He said, “ Winning isn’t everything, preparing to win is the only thing.”

Preparation is the key to successful proposals.

How often do you send out a proposal to a client you know nothing about or a project that is not in your wheelhouse?  Although there are circumstances where this makes sense, it is not the rule for success.

Therefore, we have a process that includes perfection.  We commit to going after the project.  We are prepared to put together the winning proposal.  Our team is ready to wow the client during the presentation.  All the pieces must come together seamlessly. When do you say you have gathered enough client intelligence?  How many drafts of the proposal are enough?  Perfection in these two steps of the process is a requirement and something marketing teams will lose sleep over.  However, the weakest link in the process is the client presentation.

The principal-in-charge, senior officer or even the firm president might take over this step.  The marketing team has created a storyboard of what needs to be presented, how it should be presented and who should be speaking.  It is all based upon the RFP requirements and client intelligence. You slapped yourself on the back with the proposal and made the cut. The presentation is not the time to keep slapping yourself on the back.  Ego is not your friend when the team is preparing for the presentation.  On one side you have a marketing team with the perfect presentation and the other a principal with her own ideas.  She doesn’t like to rehearse because her style is to wing it.  She thinks it might be a good idea for the technical presenters to rehearse, but she has been over this bridge a thousand times.  She has hundreds of projects to back up her claim.

The idea of multiple rehearsals goes out the door and marketing is satisfied with one rehearsal that includes only part of the presentation team. 

The team is now in front of the client’s selection committee and the principal starts the presentation. She goes off script and mentions things other presenters are prepared to speak about.  It would not be a fatal error unless she says something that is the opposite of what the scheduled presenter was going to say.  That person happens to know this client better than the principal and knows her misinformation has to be corrected.  But, you can’t call a timeout during a client presentation.  

Getting everyone on the same page is only one reason why presentation rehearsals are needed.  Team chemistry is the most important.  The presentation shows the client the value and importance of each team member and how they will function together.  Team confusion sends the wrong message to the client. I have seen the enemy of perfection and the enemy is us. 

In marketing professional services winning is never the only thing because winning can’t happen without preparation.  We have to know when enough is enough.  While the majority of firms in the country have never experienced the scenario painted above, it can doom your ability to win projects.  Each step of the process is vulnerable.  Perfection therefore is not one big thing, but a series of small things done well.

Always strive for excellence and the by-product will be near-perfection.  Management will appreciate this because clients will award you more business.  In the end, your most difficult task will be getting some people to leave their egos at the door.