Using Stories in Proposals: a Cross-Industry Inquiry

APMP Greater Houston Chapter – August 6, 2014

Using Stories in ProposalsA Cross-Industry Inquiry

Presented by:

Julie WickertTrue Story Communication

[email protected]

“If stories are in the heads of people on the

team, when those people walk away—retire,

win the lottery, go to work for the

competition—those stories walk away with

them.

Stories are intellectual capital the company

should be trying to figure out how to own.”

-- Amy McGeady Ph.D., CPP APMP Fellow

© True Story Communication 2014

Story cross-pollination


Jeannette Waldie, CPP APMP

Owner, J. K. Waldie & Associates

The participants:

Various industries


Amy Mills

Dep. Dir. Proposal Development, RTI International

The participants:

Research and

technical services


Robert Lohfeld, AF.APMP Fellow, APMP International

CEO, Lohfeld Consulting Group, Inc.

The participants:

Various industries


Amy McGeady, Ph.D., CPP APMP Fellow

Business Development and Proposal Consultant

The participants:

Various industries


Diane Autey

Proposal Manager, RedBrick Health

The participants:

Health engagement

technology


Dee Hutchison

VP, IE Federal Proposals , URS – Austin

The participants:

Engineering,

construction, and

technical services© True Story Communication 2014

Lorre Walker

Sr. Marketing Coordinator/Proposal Manager, URS

The participants:

Engineering,

construction, and

technical services© True Story Communication 2014

Betsy Cummings, CF.APMP

Proposal Manager, L3 Aerospace, Army Sustainment

The participants:

Defense and

space


“Before we start the questions, I would like to

ask you a question. What do you mean by

‘stories?’”

-- Jeannette Waldie, CPP APMP


What do you mean by “stories?”

• Customer success stories

• Anecdotes that provide insight into the

character of key proposed personnel

• Accounts of improved performance

• Others? __________________________

A narrative telling of an experience, used persuasively


1. Types of stories? Vary from market to market?

2. Formal story-gathering or story-banking process?

3. How do you gather the stories?

4. How do you store and access them? Any special tools?

5. Other groups use the stories? Stories repurposed for non-proposal uses?

6. Competitive difference?

The questions:


What makes a good story?

“Act I: Get your hero up a tree.

Act II: Throw rocks at him.

Act III: Bring him down.”

Robert McKee, screenwriting instructor

to 26 Academy Award winners

and 125 Emmy Award winners


How do teams capture stories?

• Interviewing customer-facing team

members, customers, or other stakeholders

• Soliciting online submittals

• Mining existing proposals, marketing

materials, annual reports, press releases

(use Google Alerts), etc.


How do they store them?

• Structured folders

• Databases

• Collaborative tools such as Privia, Salesforce,

Pardot, or wikis


How do they showcase

them?

• In the executive summary

• Woven throughout the response

• In a graphically noticeable way

• During orals


“If businesses would prioritize the gathering

of stories, they’d begin to own their own

reputations.”

-- Amy McGeady Ph.D., CPP APMP Fellow


Resources

Stories that Sell, Casey Hibbard (and associated Success Story Marketing LinkedIn group)

“Winning Federal Government Contracts through Fact-Based Storytelling,” Robert S. Frey, M.A. APMP ProposalManagement, Spring/Summer 2005.

“Creating Preference,” Terry R. Bacon, Ph.D. APMP ProposalManagement, Fall/Winter 2002.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee.

© True Story Communication 2014Image courtesy of Anna Cervova (http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/)

Julie WickertTrue Story Communication

[email protected]

512-914-6882

Twitter: @juliewickert

I’d love to hear how you are using stories in

your proposals; get in touch!

Using Stories in Proposals: a Cross-Industry Inquiry

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