Features don’t win contracts. Impact does.

Principle 3: Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Dale Carnegie said it best: People don’t care what YOU want, they care what THEY want.

Proposals often get stuck in ‘feature land’, e.g. we have 24/7 support, ISO certification, 50 staff in three locations, etc.

Yes, that’s informative, but what clients really want is the outcome that impacts their business: e.g. business continuity, less risk, peace of mind.

That’s where win themes come in. They translate your features into benefits and states the outcomes your client actually seeks.

Swap:

• We provide 24/7 support.

for

• Never be left stranded at 2am, we pick up 24/7.

For every feature you list, ask: So what? What does the client actually want from this? That is your win theme.

For every feature you list, ask: So what? What does the client actually want from this? That’s your win theme.