ChatGPT 101 (what to know in proposals) & Never do this in a Q&A

This is a recap of the most valuable ideas we talked about in January 2023.

For the busy pros, it starts with:

• A highlight of what happened in proposals technology
• One key idea for doing better in our profession
• The most viewed short video

Then, for the geeky pros, I've included a compilation of the rest of the topics.

The Proposals Tech Highlight of the Month

ChatGPT 101 - what you need to know in proposals

I'm going to assume that, at least, you have heard about ChatGPT by now. If you haven't, comment below and I'll share some links.

Most of you have seen a demo or even played with it. And like most people, you're surprised, because you have seen a computer do something you thought impossible. That 😲 moment is almost guaranteed!

I had my 😲 moment around 20 months ago when I realized how good AI was getting and launched DeepRFP to bring these advancements to our profession.

Now that the hype has passed, I want to share some facts that every proposal pro should keep in mind regarding this technology:

👉 ChatGPT is just a toy, a lite version of the underlying technology optimized for chatting with humans. It does a great job showing its language capabilities and impressing people, and it's enough to cover some light applications. But,

👉 The underlying technology—large language AI models, in this case, the GPT series—is 100 times more powerful than ChatGPT, can be trained on specific content and tasks, and is less user-friendly (you need to code 😁). So,

⚡ This tech has the potential to revolutionize the RFP-Proposal process through niche applications that cover specific steps of the bidding process.

It's time to think about how this can enhance your RFP analysis and proposal management processes.

You know I can help, and know how to find me.

Related content: a clip from a conversation we had when almost no one of you had heard about ChatGPT—it's funny how it all played out!

The Proposals Tip of the Month

Never do this in a Q&A

There is a persuasion law that applies to many aspects of our lives, yet you're reading this because you're a smart proposal pro, so let me land the idea to our profession.

Of the many versions of it, I like the one in the words of Baltasar Gracián, "the truth is generally seen, rarely heard", which in practical terms nowadays means:

Be too clever to argue. Show instead.

Momentary wins gained through argument are extremely difficult to achieve and carry hidden risks often driven by personal resentment.

Words are never neutral, and by arguing with a colleague, a subco, or a client, you risk them feeling insecure and inferior. Even if you win a particular argument, this is not great long-term. Every won argument has the potential to backfire in the future.

Whenever you can, try demonstrating instead.

One practical example based on an experience I've just had recently:

• Refrain from arguing through a Q&A over an inconsistent or conflicting requirement. Find a creative way to show that you're right in the proposal.

The bad news is that it's not always possible, but I've found that approaching arguable situations with this in mind uncovers ways of demonstrating that your ideas are right without telling, getting what you want without creating losing feelings in your counterpart.

Next time you're about to argue, spend a minute thinking about how you could show that you're right indirectly.

The Short Video of the Month

Before the rest of the recap, 15 seconds

As promised, below is the rest of the month's recap, but if you're reading this, you must be in proposals, so give me 15 seconds because being on this list interests you.

Every week, I send two emails to the pros on this list 👉 jescartin.com, one on how to do better at proposals and one about proposals technology.

The coolest thing on this list is the emails, yet the hundreds of proposals pros on it also get exclusive access to top proposals stuff for free.

Like what?

Like access to the Top Jobs in Proposals—a job board including only fully remote positions with salaries disclosed at companies with excellent ratings—or the GPT use cases for RFPs & Proposals compilation including the most practical AI uses that proposal pros and businesses can implement today.

One-click on, one-click off. Easy.

Check it out! ⚡ jescartin.com ⚡

The rest of the recap, below:

• And then, it all happened at once
• This holy grail is about to be a must
• Two ideas to save & improve your career/business (no clickbait)
• Do you parrot?
• ChatGPT CEO on the future of proposals

And then, it all happened at once

Around a year ago, I started DeepRFP based on the belief that AI was advanced enough to bring value to our profession.

I thought we still had some time to take it easy.

Peer, I was wrong.

2022 brought a seismic shift and put the "far away future" right in our faces at a speed no one could have anticipated.

And that's why:

• it's unlikely you haven't seen any AI-generated "art" by now.
• it's unlikely you have yet to get the hype around ChatGPT.

So, here we are, riding the massive AI wave that's going to change our profession forever.

But. 

Peer, I got one thing right.

Around July, I decided to combine our AI models with OpenAI's GPT series, the same AI tech on which ChatGPT is based.

And now, we're going to be able to automate almost anything you're doing when reviewing RFPs for proposal management.

You may be thinking, "OK, Javi, good to know, but what's in today's email for me?"

Fair enough. Here it is:

2023 is the year when the software industry is going to "cognify" with AI the whole bidding process, so a good New Year's resolution is to start thinking about what to do with:

• A tool that does what an assistant would do when reviewing your RFPs during the evaluation and bid/no-bid.
• A tool that analyzes and extracts all the info you need for proposal management from RFPs, as an assistant would do.

👉 DeepRFP is leading the two applications above, and I'm happy to present you a demo.

• A tool that automates your content library management, like a team of assistants would do.
• A tool that automates your proposal writing, like a team of junior writers would do.

👉 DeepRFP won't address the content generation part anytime soon, yet I know a few and consult for companies that want to find the right tech (and, very importantly, implementation) to solve bottlenecks in these stages. Again, just one click away.

What seemed the far away future is here. It's time to get ready.

This holy grail is about to be a must

Before those of you employed stop reading, today's idea is something you want to think about, so keep with me for 45''.

It isn't news that fixed fees are the holy grail for proposal colleagues freelancing.

It is the only way to charge based on the value provided without clients screaming because of your effective hourly rate.

Until now, those who mastered it could break free from the income cap that came with hourly rates, yet it was possible to make a good living with rates that are often >$100/h for pros with some experience.

I believe we're on a trend that's going to make it harder to maintain hourly-based services in the freelance space:

The most time-consuming tasks are on the decline because of technology and automation—this isn't new, but I've seen some colleagues realizing it lately because of ChatGPT. 

Take it seriously; it is happening.

And once proposals are all about strategy and expertise, and their heavy lifting becomes less relevant, there'll be two types of bid consultants:

The ones charging fixed fees based on value who can control profitability (less time per proposal) or competitiveness (lower fees while keeping profit).

The ones charging hourly who will need more proposals just to keep workload, with all the headaches that come with that.

Every one of us should get ready to navigate what's going on—think about it, analyze our processes, improve bottlenecks that technology can already solve, etc.—but if you are freelancing, there's an extra thing you should do: move to value-based pricing through fixed fees.

Two ideas to save & improve your career/business (no clickbait)

It seems the ChatGPT hype is not decreasing as fast as it increased—maybe a signal of how deep this tech impact could go sooner than anyone anticipated.

We'll see.

It has been more than 250 years since the industrial revolution, and we had others after that one, so by now, history has already shown a few times that:

👉 Expecting game-changing technology to disappear, or be banned, is the foolest position.

👉 Business scenarios change along with jobs and careers.

So, today I won't go after these same classic arguments but focus on what you can do as an individual professional and business leader.

⚡ As a professional willing to increase (and secure) your value to prosper your career start using this tech now. Learn, try and evolve with it. 

We're all lucky this tech is coming in such user-friendly ways. Take advantage!

Return potential is huge, and the risk of not doing so is too high.

One example: there was a huge advantage to being one of the first accountants that knew MS Excel, and today no one would hire even an assistant that doesn't know how to use it.

⚡ As a business leader, realize that the exponential return is not on the user level—meaning that your team uses generic tools like ChatGPT to complete their day—but on the adoption of custom tools that work with your content and corporate knowledge, tailored for the type or RFPs you pursue, trained on the specific industry (or even agencies) that you work for, etc.

These are not as user-friendly and require investments; yet again, the potential is enormous, and not doing it is too risky.

One example: those businesses that made the digitalization move first got great returns even when done imperfectly. There was a time on the internet when moving first and being good was better than waiting to be perfect.

AI in proposals will be like this.

The time to move is now.

Do you parrot?

You are a smart proposal pro, so you know that restating a SOW doesn't win you contracts.

The "what" vs. "how" thing.

We can agree on that.

But.

(there's always a BUT in proposals)

What do you do when a SOW is bulky or unclear? What about when organizing a proper work breakdown structure from an RFP lacking management understanding?

Going straight to the "how" in these cases is not the best approach; there are times when "parroting" requirements make sense.

Ok, Javi, good to know, but what's your tip?

I have to tell you.

Today I just wanted to share that idea and suggest you keep an open mind about this hard rule of "never restate a PWS".

But.

(there's always a BUT when writing this newsletter)

While I was writing this, I tested how the text-davinci-003 model (the powerful stuff that powers ChatGPT) could help with big parroting efforts—for example, once you've already understood the requirements but need simplified versions for a quick WBS draft.

Here you go:

ChatGPT CEO on the future of proposals

Yes, I'm guilty.

I had to play that clickbait, so this got your attention, but this is one of the rare cases where click baits are for good.

The accurate subject line would be: OpenAI CEO on the actual business value ahead, and it goes like this.

Back in September, when most proposal pros hadn't seen what AI in text generation was starting to look like, Sam Altman shared the following view on this technology's "middle layer". 

Paraphrased in three key points:

"In the future, will be:

• A small number of fundamental large language models that other people build on
• A whole new set of startups that take an existing very large model and tune it for specific use cases
• Solutions that leverage the virtuous cycle of having own/client's data improving the models iteratively"

If you want the podcast link, tell me and I'll send it.

Now, what can this mean in proposals?

👉 You will be enhanced in your job with tools that write very advanced drafts for you and likely come in two versions:

⚡The one trained on your industry, type of RFPs, business line, and every other relevant information not proprietary.

⚡The one exclusive for your company trained with your SMEs, corporate knowledge, and other IP assets.

So, let's don't underestimate this technology just because ChatGPT—a toy in comparison to what's coming—can't cover a use case you thought of.

It's time to get ready, both at a personal level and as businesses.

Thanks!

And this is it for this edition of this newsletter.

I you don't want to wait a month to know what's going on in proposals and tech, join us on the hottest list in the space.

Let's talk proposals and tech! 👉 jescartin.com

Besides the valuable updates, tips and ideas, you'll get access to top proposals stuff such as the Top Jobs in Proposals—a job board including only fully remote positions with salaries disclosed at companies with excellent ratings—or the GPT use cases for RFPs & Proposals compilation including the most practical AI uses that proposal pros and businesses can implement today.