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Final tips for a GREAT proposal!
I know that students will be working really hard right now to balance regular school commitments, exams and get the Challenge proposal done! But I also know that there is an immense amount of talent, creativity and drive amongst the teams participating in a competition like ours. The last few blogs have been about sections of the blog, but this time I’d like to give you all the tips I can about making a good proposal great. This is a bit of a repeat from last year, but the finalists did say it helped them. These come from personal experience, from our Challenge support team, from some of my mentors and from a number of other sources of best practices. I hope that these tips are something you can use beyond our Challenge to make all your future plans, proposals and pitches outstanding!
General Tips:
• Have one editor. If team members write separate sections of the proposal, having one editor do a “master” edit will ensure a more consistent tone.
• Make sure all the sections link. This may sound simple, but all the sections should be linked and tell a consistent “story.” The executive summary should be a true and concise summary of what the reader would get out of the proposal if they read the whole thing. (More notes on the executive summary further on.)
• State the conclusion or benefit in the body of the proposal and put the evidence in the appendix. For example: “Innovation ABC will reduce cost of client acquisition by head by $X.XX (Appendix A) and increase average revenue per client by $Y.YY (Appendix B).”
• Have a non-team member critically read the proposal and give real feedback. It would be even better if you can have an expert reader and a reader unfamiliar with the realm of your innovation. If they both understand your message, you are in good shape! I know it may be a time crunch to finish the proposal, but that one extra round of editing and input could make all the difference in getting your GREAT idea to the finals. From personal experience, this cost me a grade on one of my graduate projects and taught me a very valuable lesson.
• Read and re-read your proposal to cut down excessive prose. You would be amazed how many excess words we use when we are excited about something. There are ways to shorten the message.
For example: The previous sentence started as:
“You can often find various ways to shorten your messages” and became
“There are often ways to shorten the message” then finally
“There are ways to shorten the message. “
The “So What” Methodology:
I learned this from a brilliant Strategy professor: challenge every conclusion you have by imagining a Sr. Executive, VC or Strategist asking “So What?” After all, they are only interested in what your Innovation will do for them; that is, what value it creates. If you only have a weak answer to "So What?" you will need to rephrase your delivery or change the strategic angle. If a conclusion or argument can stand the “So What” question, then there is definitely value in it. (I still hear that prof’s voice in my head all the time - just like Obi Wan Kenobi!)
“The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts”:
To impress the judges, your final submission must score well against the evaluation criteria listed in the Rules & Regulations. Don’t forget it must all link and be consistent. But here are some section by section pointers:
Don’t skimp on the executive summary. It’s a small fraction of your submission in terms of length, but the executive summary plays a pivotal role in capturing the interest and enthusiasm of the judges. It should read as a stand-alone section summarizing the entire submission. It should compel a judge to plow into the rest of the proposal. Keep in mind judges will be reviewing your submission alongside many others so the executive summary is your opportunity to show them your idea is preferable. If it doesn’t communicate the essence of your proposal, then your summary has missed the mark.
Provide evidence when describing influential client traits. The key to this section is evidence. If you make claims about any client, process or result you must back them up. Without evidence, you are asking the judges to trust you blindly. If you provide supporting data (in the appendices) judges will understand your stance and your claims will be difficult to dispute. If you make predictions, base them on early indicators that suggest clear trends.
Explain the benefits of your proposed idea or innovation. This is the heart of the submission and the section that judges weigh most heavily. Insight into any client group or business process will not amount to much unless it delivers results. Present your idea clearly and explain why it’s a good one. Focus on the benefits to customers and the organization in terms of how it meets a need in financial services in Canada. Make sure it connects logically with the previous section.
Anticipate potential concerns in your implementation plan. There are a million reasons not to innovate. Great ideas get delayed or abandoned, often for fear of failure. To “create new dimensions of performance” can mean taking a plunge and the status quo is hard to shake loose. Use this section to address resistance to your idea by anticipating issues that skeptics might raise and providing answers. Show the judges that you recognize the associated challenges and that you have plans to deal with them. State the top level defense in this section with the further evidence in the appendices. Since you are bringing an idea to Canada from elsewhere in the world or to financial services from another industry this is a great place to cite examples too. Remember to be as brief as possible by naming or listing any examples then flesh them out in your appendices.
Exploit the Appendices. Submissions must be in Microsoft Word format and no longer than 2,500 words. That doesn't leave a lot of room for creative license. What if you design a Flash animation to illustrate your spectacular new business process? What if you think a video is the best way to demonstrate a new method of serving clients? Where do you put the insightful financial projections that back up your Innovation? These are completely legitimate questions, especially for a competition about innovation.
There is a way to include such material in your final entry. The Rules & Regulations allow appendices directly related to the innovation with no restrictions on the format or length. If you have unique material to bolster your submission, put it in an appendix. This allows you to state the top level conclusions and outcomes clearly in the body of the proposal and refer to the support in the appendix- but only include material in an appendix that is referenced in the proposal (orphan or random exhibits confuse your message).
Finally, don’t be shy when it comes to originality and creativity. Remember this is an Innovation Challenge, not just an ordinary case analysis. It’s about connecting the possible to what is valuable and creativity can be just as important (if not more so) than pages and pages of financial projections. Judges will be looking for originality and creativity at every turn. If your idea is truly innovative, don’t be afraid to shout it from the roof tops. Get their attention! You are the sole advocates for your idea and your submission is the only vehicle you can use to influence the judges.
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The Innovator Blog is your inside source for advice and guidance on the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge™.
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