Creating Win Themes
Designing Effective
Proposal Messaging
Steve Snow
S Project
Sr.
P j t Mgr.,
M
Qvidian
Q idi
Anatomy of a Win Theme
What are they?
Why are they important?
Where do you use them?
What does one look like?
What is a win theme?
Customer-focused
Customer
focused messaging
Limited, high-level ideas and concepts
Melding of the buyers priorities and the
sellers differentiators/strengths
A compelling story
Qvidian’s
Qvidian
s win theme definition
Win themes tell a clear,
clear concise
concise, and compelling
story. They are unique to each sales opportunity,
they focus on the customer’s
customer s highest
highest-valued
valued
issues, and they frame your proposal as the best
overall solution.
Why are win themes important?
Help organize your proposal strategy
Grab the evaluator’s attention and differentiate
your proposal
Demonstrate your understanding and frame your
solution for the buyer
Give evaluators a reason to select you, even
before they read the proposal
Where do you use win themes?
Title page and page headers
Cover/transmittal letter
Executive summary
Section introductions
th granular
l llevel,
l where
h
i t
At the
appropriate
Sample Qvidian Win Themes
Reduce the cost of sales
Qvidian builds proven process improvements into
our sales platform. More important, because the
platform is configurable to each customer’s
customer s unique
selling environment, you can customize the
application to mirror your selling approach. The
process efficiencies you gain from using Qvidian
will reduce your overall cost of sales.
Implement a globally scalable solution
The Qvidian platform is highly scalable to meet the
needs of international conglomerates, and smaller
companies with plans for future growth. Whether
your implementation requirements include different
languages, multiple-operating units, or simply a
growing sales team, Qvidian can scale
accordingly.
Boost team sales morale
Many software applications are not used to their
potential because they do not match the sales reps’
real-world
real
world selling environment. This leads to low
morale and declining productivity. We’ll configure
Qvidian to your specifications and the sales teams’
needs. Our flexible sales effectiveness platform
helps promote work processes that increase
productivity and job satisfaction
satisfaction.
Improve sales collateral
How you say things is just as important as what
you have to say. Good writing takes effort, and too
often companies do not have the internal
resources ensure their content really conveys their
important messaging. Qvidian’s team of content
experts can help you tell your story in language
that is clear, concise, and compelling.
Creating Effective Win Themes
Create a value proposition matrix
Create 2-3 compelling win themes
Strategically use win themes in your
proposal
Value Proposition Matrix
List what the customer most highly values
List your differentiators / business strengths
Rank (1-5)
(1 5) how well each strength impacts the
various customer values
Tally the rows and columns
Qvidian Sample Value Proposition Matrix
Prdctvty
Quality
Technical
Org.Social
Risk
Collabor
Collabor.
5
4
1
5
2
17
Mthdlogy
5
5
2
4
2
18
CRM integ
4
4
5
3
3
19
Ramp up
5
3
2
5
2
17
Easy UI
4
3
2
5
4
18
SE experts
p
5
5
2
4
3
19
Security
2
2
5
3
5
17
Proj Mgrs
3
3
1
2
5
14
Cust Com
2
2
1
5
3
13
35
31
22
41
29
Overall Score
Prdctvty
Quality
Technical
Org.Social
Risk
Collabor
Collabor.
5
4
1
5
2
17
Mthdlogy
5
5
2
4
2
18
CRM integ
4
4
5
3
3
19
Ramp up
5
3
2
5
2
17
Easy UI
4
3
2
5
4
18
SE experts
p
5
5
2
4
3
19
Security
2
2
5
3
5
17
Proj Mgrs
3
3
1
2
5
14
Cust Com
2
2
1
5
3
13
35
31
22
41
29
Productivity & Quality are the highest values
Prdctvty
Quality
Technical
Org.Social
Risk
Collabor
Collabor.
5
4
1
5
2
17
Mthdlogy
5
5
2
4
2
18
CRM integ
4
4
5
3
3
19
Ramp up
5
3
2
5
2
17
Easy UI
4
3
2
5
4
18
SE experts
p
5
5
2
4
3
19
Security
2
2
5
3
5
17
Proj Mgrs
3
3
1
2
5
14
Cust Com
2
2
1
5
3
13
35
31
22
41
29
Technology & Risk are the highest values
Prdctvty
Quality
Technical
Org.Social
Risk
Collabor
Collabor.
5
4
1
5
2
17
Mthdlogy
5
5
2
4
2
18
CRM integ
4
4
5
3
3
19
Ramp up
5
3
2
5
2
17
Easy UI
4
3
2
5
4
18
SE experts
p
5
5
2
4
3
19
Security
2
2
5
3
5
17
Proj Mgrs
3
3
1
2
5
14
Cust Com
2
2
1
5
3
13
35
31
22
41
29
Hands-on
Hands
on exercises
LedgerPro Accounting Software
Customer Values
Acctg for non-accts
Ease-of-use
Budgeting
Payroll
Tax liability
Cash flow
Data
D t security
it
Inventory mgmt.
Strengths
LedgerPro
g
g
Convenient, secure
access
Easy set-up / use
Income and expense
tracking
Built in acctg. help
Manage employees
and contractors
Create 2-3
2 3 win themes
Split into groups of 3
Complete and tally the LedgerPro matrix
Pick & rank the top 3 customer values (1
(1-2-3)
2 3)
Match up the most relevant differentiators, and
how they impact the selected values
Use win themes in your sales proposal
Proposal title and subtitle
Cover letter / Executive Summary
Solutions or Pricing section
Moving Forward
Sample worksheet
Group brainstorming
Qvidian custom workshop
Th k You!
Thank
Y !
Q
Questions
ti
& Answers
A