Author: Janine Morice
Published: 23 August 2024
Within professional services, small to medium-sized firms should win as many proposals as larger firms. Sadly, they don’t.
People working in professional services are often employed by larger firms then move to smaller firms during their career. So it makes little sense that if the competencies are the same, regardless of the firm’s size they are working for, that smaller firms are less successful in tenders.
One reason could be the perception of trust in the smaller firm's brand. We’re not talking about the logo or website, but strong brand delivery.
Larger firms often have solid structures in place to ensure efficient turnarounds on proposals. They have templates and easily retrievable brand content. They also often have dedicated design, brand, and marketing teams to ensure the firm’s branding is consistent and on message.
A brand’s impact is felt through the collective experience of every interaction with your business. That means every presentation, interpersonal interaction, website visit, proposal submission, and email tells a story about your brand.
This collective story feeds into the perception of trust. If they don’t trust you, why would they hire you?
Building trust happens through relevance and consistency. The ingredients for this are:
Good branding: Is your brand solid, contemporary, and functional? Is your visual brand saying the right things about the firm?
Templates: Does your firm have professional templates that are working for you (and that nobody curses at)? Does everybody know how to use them? Do they make turning around proposals quick and efficient?
Content: Do you have reusable content stored in a way that can be retrieved easily? Does your content reflect the firm’s values and tone of voice consistently?
People: Great people produce great work. Developing your people and ensuring they are embodying and executing their roles through the brand values will build trust in the minds of your clients.
Consistency: If you lay out multiple pieces of brand collateral on a table, does the visual brand look cohesive?
Small to medium-sized firms can look as good (or better) as larger firms without the need for permanent additional design, brand, or marketing hires.
Our advice to firms that want to win more work is:
Your brand says as much about your business as the proposal. Make it a winner.
Author: Janine Morice
Published: 23 August 2024
Within professional services, small to medium-sized firms should win as many proposals as larger firms. Sadly, they don’t.
People working in professional services are often employed by larger firms then move to smaller firms during their career. So it makes little sense that if the competencies are the same, regardless of the firm’s size they are working for, that smaller firms are less successful in tenders.
One reason could be the perception of trust in the smaller firm's brand. We’re not talking about the logo or website, but strong brand delivery.
Larger firms often have solid structures in place to ensure efficient turnarounds on proposals. They have templates and easily retrievable brand content. They also often have dedicated design, brand, and marketing teams to ensure the firm’s branding is consistent and on message.
A brand’s impact is felt through the collective experience of every interaction with your business. That means every presentation, interpersonal interaction, website visit, proposal submission, and email tells a story about your brand.
This collective story feeds into the perception of trust. If they don’t trust you, why would they hire you?
Building trust happens through relevance and consistency. The ingredients for this are:
Good branding: Is your brand solid, contemporary, and functional? Is your visual brand saying the right things about the firm?
Templates: Does your firm have professional templates that are working for you (and that nobody curses at)? Does everybody know how to use them? Do they make turning around proposals quick and efficient?
Content: Do you have reusable content stored in a way that can be retrieved easily? Does your content reflect the firm’s values and tone of voice consistently?
People: Great people produce great work. Developing your people and ensuring they are embodying and executing their roles through the brand values will build trust in the minds of your clients.
Consistency: If you lay out multiple pieces of brand collateral on a table, does the visual brand look cohesive?
Small to medium-sized firms can look as good (or better) as larger firms without the need for permanent additional design, brand, or marketing hires.
Our advice to firms that want to win more work is:
Your brand says as much about your business as the proposal. Make it a winner.
