What makes people choose?

One of the most important things to remember is that a buyer chooses emotionally and then justifies the choice rationally.  They buy sex appeal or elegance or youth or macho pride or looking like a hero.  They justify it by discussing features like maintenance-free and low cost and ideal solution to a problem.

A purchaser considers a number of criteria when buying services or products.  To be successful, the seller must appeal to personal motives, and then offer features the purchaser can use to justify why it was the right decision. 

We most generally expect fee or price to be the primary consideration in any buying decision. This is true only in the early stages of the proposal process. Once the prospect has qualified a "short list" of service providers within an "acceptable price range", then other criteria assume greater importance in the decision making process.

Some of the criteria your prospect may be considering include:

• Price/fees--within an "acceptable range"
• Expertise in the same or a similar industry, or serving clients of the same size or complexity
• Chemistry--do they like and feel comfortable with you
• Experience of the person/people who will provide the service
• Contacts--who referred you and will vouch for you
• Creativity/initiative--do you generate ideas/savings opportunities
• Service philosophy--will your references say good things
• Credentials--who are your other clients
• Management style--is it effective and efficient
• Continuity--will the key people be there long-term
• Competence--can they rely on you to do the right thing

To propose effectively, identify the two or three most important criteria the key decision maker and influencers have in mind, and then be sure your proposal addresses each of them in a compelling way.

Questions to Help Identify the Selection Criteria

• What do you think are the most important criteria your management will consider in selecting a firm?
• Will you be using a matrix (or weighted criteria scale) to evaluate the various proposals?
• Which individuals in your organization do you expect to be involved in the decision making process? Why were they each chosen to participate?
• What circumstances have caused you to think about changing firms/buying this service at this particular time?
• Which of the firms bidding appears to be the preferred firm right now? What would it take for you to choose my firm?

For more information on these topics and other strategic issues, see Winning Proposals:  A Step-by-Step Guide to the Proposal Process by Kaye Vivian, ABC (AICPA, 1993).

Copyright 1993, 1997 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net).  All rights reserved.  Permission to reprint is granted so long as the copyright notice remains attached
and the text is not altered.

Page last updated: January 4, 1999