Collector - October 2016 - 32 SALES How to Create Winning Bids and Proposals 10 tips to catch a creditor's eye and get more business. By Marc Trezza A high-quality proposal is absolutely essential to a competitive sales effort. If every agency is automated, with flexible software, a dialer and good references, why should a creditor choose you? How have you demonstrated that you should be on that company's short list? Here are a few easy ways to revamp your proposal process First, it's critical to think about the buyer or potential reader. Most creditors know very little about how collection agencies function, how they calculate profit and what the best predictors of a successful agency relationship actually are. They have a business to run and collection is a very small part of it. As a result, they may not be very skilled at selecting agencies or writing RFPs. This is compounded by the fact that most agency proposals are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Collection agencies often default to listing features that every quality agency has and noting a fee. This forces the buyer into a fee-only consideration. Think of it this way: What would you look for in an agency if you were the creditor? 32 This is presuming every agency had the following: * A collection management system. * A dialer. * References and experience. * Insurance. * Compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. * A firewall and backup system. Is that all you would want to know? No. You'd also want to hear specifics about data security, training, quality assurance (and not just on the collection floor), available (not total) volume capacity, collector queue sizes, resources invested in the collection process, approach to client service and communications. Then, after reviewing all of that and narrowing the list down to the best of the best, you would look at fee. Here are 10 basics steps you should follow when putting together your proposal package: 1. QUALIFY THE RFP Be sure it's right for you before you invest the time and effort in creating a response. Ask yourself: * Can we compete if we win? * Can and will we meet their ongoing service requirements? * Do we have the necessary resources available? * Will it lead to other opportunities? * Can we bid low enough to win, deliver all the services we will promise and still make a profit? * Do we really want it? If the answers are not "yes," then don't bid. 2. PULL THE RFP APART LINE BY LINE RFPs are usually full of cues that will help you write your proposal. Read between the lines-multiple times. Evaluate the intent of the RFP, not just the facts. Carelessness here will cost you. 3. ATTEND THE PRE-BID CONFERENCE They have become rare; but if there is one, show up. Send someone who will represent you well in the meeting, armed with intelligent questions that show that ACAINTERNATIONAL.ORG http://www.ACAINTERNATIONAL.ORG Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Collector - October 2016 President’s Page Industry News Best Practices FYI Collection Tips Connect the Dots Looking Deeper Head of the Class Calendar Honor Roll The Formula of Five How to Create Winning Bids and Proposals A Running Start ACPAC Election Watch ACA’s Industry Advancement Program Aids Eleventh Circuit Win for Member Company Compliance ACA SearchPoint Last Word Collector - October 2016 - Cover1 Collector - October 2016 - Cover2 Collector - October 2016 - 1 Collector - October 2016 - 2 Collector - October 2016 - President’s Page Collector - October 2016 - Industry News Collector - October 2016 - 5 Collector - October 2016 - 6 Collector - October 2016 - 7 Collector - October 2016 - Best Practices Collector - October 2016 - 9 Collector - October 2016 - FYI Collector - October 2016 - 11 Collector - October 2016 - Collection Tips Collector - October 2016 - 13 Collector - October 2016 - Connect the Dots Collector - October 2016 - 15 Collector - October 2016 - 16 Collector - October 2016 - 17 Collector - October 2016 - 18 Collector - October 2016 - 19 Collector - October 2016 - Looking Deeper Collector - October 2016 - 21 Collector - October 2016 - 22 Collector - October 2016 - 23 Collector - October 2016 - Head of the Class Collector - October 2016 - 25 Collector - October 2016 - 26 Collector - October 2016 - 27 Collector - October 2016 - Calendar Collector - October 2016 - Honor Roll Collector - October 2016 - The Formula of Five Collector - October 2016 - 31 Collector - October 2016 - How to Create Winning Bids and Proposals Collector - October 2016 - 33 Collector - October 2016 - 34 Collector - October 2016 - 35 Collector - October 2016 - A Running Start Collector - October 2016 - 37 Collector - October 2016 - 38 Collector - October 2016 - 39 Collector - October 2016 - ACPAC Election Watch Collector - October 2016 - 41 Collector - October 2016 - ACA’s Industry Advancement Program Aids Eleventh Circuit Win for Member Company Collector - October 2016 - 43 Collector - October 2016 - Compliance Collector - October 2016 - 45 Collector - October 2016 - ACA SearchPoint Collector - October 2016 - 47 Collector - October 2016 - Last Word Collector - October 2016 - Cover3 Collector - October 2016 - Cover4 http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201904/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201903/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201902/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201901/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201812/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201811/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201810/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201809/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201808/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201807/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201806/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201805/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201804/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201803/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201802/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201801/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201712/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201711/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201710/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201709/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201708/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201707/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201706/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201705/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201704/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201703/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201702/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201701/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201612/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201611/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201610/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201609/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201608/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201607/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201606/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201605/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201604/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201603/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201602/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201601/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201512/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201511/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201510/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201509/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201508/ http://online.collector.com/collectormagazine/201507/ http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
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