How do you align your proposal graphics with your win themes and value proposition?

There are lots of tools and templates that can guide you through this process. My favorite is Shipley Associate's Proposal Development Worksheet. It walks you through both outlining your message and theme statement and working those themes into a graphic with an action caption. This way is so much easier than working backwards and trying to write from scratch, then refining to match the RFX.

It is a collaborative effort to investigate, develop, and validate your win themes with your value proposition. This starts during the positioning and client forward phases of pursuits. The concept of your graphics should ideally be something familiar to the reviewers. It is also important to understand the nomenclature to use between a response to qualifications vs response to proposal solicitation. Differentiation, for proposals, lives in the direct price value that the customer may expect. Discrimination for qualifications lives in the reputation of your organization vs. your competitors. It is important then to understand as a team and as the graphic professional language and context of the full pursuit.

While graphics are an important tool in the entire Bid Lifecycle and we need to align proposal graphics with win themes and value proposition. First step is to identify win themes and value proposition for each opportunity. Your key benefits and differentiators should be clearly identified which make solution best choice for customer. Value proposition should deliver value and solve the customer's problem. Develop win themes and value proposition should be based on your customer's needs, goals, and evaluation criteria, as well as your strengths, capabilities, and competitive advantages which means for all the requirements of the customer you have an appropriate solution to suit the needs.

Start by pinpointing your win themes and value proposition. Think of these as your bid's heartbeat. Your win themes are those standout benefits that make your bid shine. The value proposition? That's your promise of how you'll solve the client's problem, uniquely. Tailor these to each client's specific needs and goals. This approach not only shows you've done your homework but also sets your bid apart from the crowd. Happy bidding!

To craft compelling win themes and a powerful value proposition, consider these key factors: Client Needs and Goals: What are the client's pain points and aspirations for the project? Align your themes with their specific evaluation criteria. Your Strengths and Expertise: What makes your firm stand out? Highlight your relevant experience, unique skills, and proven track record in addressing similar challenges. Competitive Landscape: Who are you up against? Identify your competitive advantages and showcase how your approach surpasses the others. By weaving these elements together, you'll create a powerful narrative that resonates with the client and positions your firm as the clear winner.

Graphics can create a lasting impact in putting forward your win theme. Planning for graphics usually starts from pre-RFP stage after the win strategy is finalized. Style and professionalism of your graphics reflect your company culture, professionalism and the quality of your solution. Hence it is very important to plan your key graphics well in advance.

Graphics plays an important role in proposal. Including the well planned and designed graphics in Executive Summary can summarize the entire proposal. The key message of the proposal shall be conveyed in the form of diagrams, charts, icons at appropriate location keeping in mind about the audiance of respective section. Moreover, one should keep a tap on the uniformity of the formatting, font, sequence number etc. Basis the nature of the proposed solution /service the colour theme should be adapted as well. It's worth investing a good amount of time in designing the graphics to be used in the proposal inline with win theme.

Aim for the premium value for the solution in the proposal product by setting up your positioning and capture personnel with strong graphics that capture a full understanding of the promise of the sell/solution. Your concepts and types should mostly be developed by the time the solicitation (RFx) is released. Doing this adds value to the content strategy, writing outline and caption development.

Planning of graphic concepts and types is most pivotal point in the proposal and if everything is planned well it will make look overall proposal very good in every sense. Graphic concepts are the main idea or theme which you want to convey with visuals and it catches the attention of the decision makers. Graphic types are the formats which we use to present concepts such as charts, diagrams, tables, photos and icons etc. Everything should be based adhering to the win theme and value proposition with adequate attention to purpose, audience and tone of the proposal. For example, if your win theme is transformation, you may use a graphic concept that shows how your solution transforms the customer's process.

I always start with a design guide specific to the proposal. If there are subcontractors on the proposal, it can be a great way to create a through line in the document. I also consider the end customer as well- there is a subconscious, positive response to the customer seeing themselves (elements of their branding) throughout the proposal. With enough planning and forethought, it’s also possible to use an “anchor graphic” . An anchor graphic is a wider view of your entire proposed solution that you then zoom in on throughout the course of the proposal to highlight different elements. It can introduce iconography and stylings that become recognizable for the customer and help them navigate your proposal.

As the graphic professional, be sure to communicate with the rest of the content development team and present the iterations of graphic artefacts that have been conceptualized previously for client meetings, industry days, statements of qualifications, and other collateral. These artefacts assist in writing cohesive narratives and organizing technical briefings that answer the clients questions in the proposal.

Design your graphic elements and layout for the visuals being used in Response Document. Graphic elements play an important role because they make up your visuals like colors, fonts, shapes, symbols, labels and captions etc. Graphic layout is the arrangement of your elements on screen. Design your graphic elements and layouts keeping in mind the win themes and value proposition. You should have absolute clarity and maintain consistency so that your impact is best in class. For Example if your value proposition is quality, you may use a graphic element that shows your certifications or awards, and a graphic layout that is simple and professional.

Reviewing graphic alignment and integration is the final step. You should review your graphic alignment and integration based on your win themes and value proposition. For example, if your win theme is customer focus, you may check if your visuals reflect the customer's perspective and needs, and if they are integrated with your text and headings.

Adjustments to graphic sizing, overall layout and accessibility (alt. text, color, and composition) are crucial parts of this review as you get closer to a finished product.

Not sure I'm following... Your brand is already established. Why would we need to review graphic alignment for each proposal when all of our assets are already supposed to be inline with our USP, mission, winning theme...

- Don't forget your action caption. Instead of a "wooden" caption, opt for a benefits-led description of your graphic. - Ask a colleague not involved in the bid to view your graphic and tell you what they think it means. If it's ambiguous, you need to go back to the drawing board.

You proposal could also be a simple word document in which you thought process and handling of the solution is more elegant than a bunch of pretty stuff with "winning strategy." While I love dazzling clients with interactive proposals, I win just as many bids with a plain document.

I completely agree with some of our contributors here that graphics should be brought in during the Pre RFP phase. A graphic designer who specializes in data storytelling can be a key asset on the team and can actually help you craft your solutions, not just redesign what the team came up with in PowerPoint. That collaboration can really take your proposal to the next level.

Use graphics to make a big impact on the evaluator. Make sure you keep things in a uniform color tone, flow, icons and shapes so they can grab evaluator's attention👁. Keep it precise and jargon-free, because this is all about getting a clear message across quickly.

Consider the work that was done before the release of the solicitation. You have worked on socializing your client/customer to your graphic language. The decision makers should be familiar with your work, giving you the opportunity to move quickly past boilerplates and on to customization in a more efficient way. That familiarity is part of the driving factor that makes a proposal product memorable and moves you into premium price considerations.