How to Create Great Proposal Themes (Part 3): Use Discriminators to Support Your Claims
By Chris Simmons, founder and principal member of Rainmakerz Consulting

In Part 2 of this series we discussed the two primary components of winning proposal themes (features and benefits) and how they are effectively used to create compliant and compelling themes. Part 3 describes how to get the most out of your themes by providing discriminating proof for the features and benefits that truly set you apart from the competition.

Great proposal themes highlight the important and relevant elements of your solution. They are found throughout proposals—most notably in theme statements, action captions, and feature/benefit tables. Highlighting themes in high-profile locations is the most effective way to avoid the common practice of burying important 'golden nuggets' in proposal nooks and crannies where they are sure to be overlooked. Well placed themes make the evaluator's job easier by providing clear and compelling reasons to select your company and eliminate the need to read the proposal from cover to cover (most evaluators don't do this anyway).

Use discriminators substantiate your claims
Although theme development and placement is an important first step, most proposal teams fail to develop compelling themes with sufficient discriminating proof points to support their claims. This typically happens for a number of reasons:

1. Many writers don't know enough about the sections and topics they are assigned;
2. The solutions haven't evolved sufficiently to identify the discriminators and proof, or;
3. The team relies too heavily on generic boilerplate previously used for other customer requirements and solutions.

The predictable result is a proposal draft filled with fluff and unsubstantiated claims. These are two of the most frequent deficiencies found in proposal reviews and can render proposal themes virtually useless.

In order to do their job, proposal evaluators need quantifiable proof that supports your claims and sets you apart from the competition. Proposal themes without sufficient proof are risky, and can even be damaging, as overused catch-phrases such as mission-critical, leading-edge, and best-in-class become meaningless clichés when not substantiated. Discriminators provide the undeniable proof that demonstrates your understanding of the customer, and your solutions to their requirements and hot buttons.

Is the proof really in the pudding?
When it comes to great proposal themes it's important to remember that the proof is in the pudding. This well-known and commonly used proverb is a great metaphor for proposal themes and discriminators. Most of us have heard this phrase so many times that we believe we know what it means. But take another look. The literal translation of the proof is in the pudding does not make any sense. The proverb has evolved over time from the original Don Quixote quote: “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” which means that you won't know whether food has been cooked properly until you try it. In proposal terms, evaluators will not understand your themes unless you use clear and precise (feature and benefit) language that provides sufficient quantifiable and verifiable proof (discriminators and substantiating metrics) to comply, persuade, and convince.

The evolution of a theme
The most effective themes include both discriminators and proof in addition to features and benefits to capture the attention and imagination of evaluators. The following example shows the evolutionary path of a technical proposal theme starting with a poorly written theme statement (Theme 1), and ending with a compelling and convincing theme (Theme 4) that includes all the basic elements of a great theme (benefit, feature, discriminator, and proof). Each evolutionary step includes a high level analysis of the theme and the score that most evaluators would likely award based on a commonly used color scale.

• THEME 1: Our technical approach includes automated coding software. Most evaluators will view this theme as nothing more than a glorified re-statement of a basic requirement. At best, it is a lazy attempt at highlighting a generic feature of the solution (automated coding software). The more important elements (benefit, proof, and discriminator) that are required to score evaluation points are missing. SCORE: RED (unacceptable)
• THEME 2: Our Auto-coding™ software will reduce time and cost. This theme includes a specific feature (the name of the trademarked software) and a link between the feature and the associated benefits (reduced time and cost). However, most experts would agree that the benefits of reduced time and cost were probably the basis for the automated software requirement in the first place. Unless the amount of time and/or cost savings is specified, repeating these benefits is barely worth the effort. SCORE: YELLOW (marginal)
• THEME 3: The intuitive graphical user interface of our Auto-coding™ software can reduce staff training time by 400% to meet DOJ service level agreements. This theme is a significant improvement over Theme 2 and includes most of the required elements (feature, benefit, and discriminator). The feature is more specific (graphical user interface) and the discriminator (reduced staff training time) links to the specific evaluation criteria for meeting the DOJ-specified service level agreements. The metric (400%) quantifies the benefit to some degree, but it is does not constitute real proof since it is not clear whether training takes hours, days, weeks, or months. SCORE: GREEN (acceptable)
• THEME 4: Our Auto-coding™ software reduces staff training time from 4 hours to 1 hour by using the intuitive graphical user interface we implemented on more than 10 DOJ task orders. This theme puts all of the pieces together. The Theme 3 discriminator (reduced staff training time by 400%) is refined and quantified in a more meaningful and practical way (400% is replaced with 4 hours to 1 hour). The proof (implemented on more than 10 DOJ task orders) is a very compelling metric – especially since DOJ is the customer in this example. The benefit (reduces staff training) is re-positioned in front of the feature (intuitive graphical interface) to place more emphasis on what DOJ really cares about. SCORE: BLUE (exceptional)

Discriminators provide proof and give customers a reason to believe
A theme without discriminators is like a court case without sufficient evidence. The result? The case is thrown out of court by the judge before the trial. Discriminators provide quantifiable proof points that substantiate your claims and give prospective customers tangible reasons to believe you are different (and better) than the competition. The strongest discriminators are unique selling points that you have vetted with your customer. Ideally these selling points are true for you and not true for at least one of your competitors. Be careful!!! Many companies have either not seen what their competitors offer or rely on old or incomplete information. When you claim to have a unique approach (that really isn't), you run the risk of losing significant credibility with your customer.

The capture plan and other pursuit deliverables are designed to document and communicate customer hot buttons, selling points, and competitive information that are essential for theme development and a winning bid. Part 4 of this series describes a proven approach for developing great proposal themes that leverages all the information you have about your customer.

Chris Simmons is the founder and principal member of Rainmakerz Consulting—a business development solutions company specializing in proposal management, writing, and review.

Still confused or looking for more detailed suggestions? Take time now to send feedback, comments, or questions about this or other challenging proposal issues to Chris at chris@rainmakerz.biz or 202-255-2355. Visit www.rainmakerz.biz.

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If you don’t have your own FREE subscription to Bid-Winning Proposals, sign up now at http://www.24hrco.com/ezine.html. Join more than 1800 other proposal professionals who get answers to their most pressing issues and challenges from recognized industry experts—every other month. Plus you’ll have access to all back issues and our growing library of proposal resources.