Why Email No Longer Rules...The Proposal

Posted by Roger Neel Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:15:00 GMT

Come gather ‘round people / Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters / Around you have grown
And accept it that soon / You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you / Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ / Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
      - Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’
 
Today, an article written in the WSJ titled "Why Email No Longer Rules…" was written and is getting a fair amount of buzz in the blogosphere.  As the author points out, one of the big changes now that we don’t have an online/offline relationship with the Internet is that email is taking a back seat to more real-time services like Facebook and Twitter.  As MG points out on TechCrunch, this has been going on for a while and also extends to services like Skype, IM, and Google’s Wave.
 
I would also argue that other micro-services and collaborative platforms that are helping the independent professional succeed are part of the new ruling class.  At Mavenlink, we think that it’s time to extend this model to the old, tired, worn-out proposal.  In the ‘80’s, it was "mail me your proposal."  In the ‘90’s, it was "FAX me your proposal."  In the last decade, it has been "email me your proposal."
 
There have been 2 problems with all of these old approaches: 1) you need another meeting to walk through the proposal and 2) usually they get filed away with the rest of your clients mail/email.  All the proposal does is allows the consultant to show their client that they were listening, they have a handle on the problem, and they are ready to get started on an agreement.  Doesn’t that sound perfect for some new collaboration tools?  Maybe even some tools that help you achieve mutual agreement, get contracts in place, and help you get the work done?  As our product guy, I’m really excited to show you what we have in the works.  In the meantime, please share with me your war stories.
 
If I may paraphrase Bob: if your client’s time is worth savin’, then you better start swimmin’…

Morning Musing 10-9-09

Posted by Sean Crafts Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:39:00 GMT

As a team we get together early, just about every morning, to catch up, discuss direction moving forward and generally get on the same page.  I will certainly do my best to spare you from the unappealing details, but in an effort to shed additional light on our company direction and our perception of the SMB consulting market, I will be sharing a couple of relevant highlights from these meetings here in our blog.


Thought for the Day

It seems like the world of consulting proposals and contracts with their talk of scope, approach, tasks and deliverables have ventured away from the simple needs of independent consultants and their clients, "Here is what we agreed to go do".

Company Updates

Product: New Designs almost complete mapping out the new Proposal Process for consultants and their clients.  The team is focused on providing everything you could ever want in a proposal with the flexibility you need to pick and choose the pieces necessary for your project.  And if that wasn’t enough, we’ll make sure to keep it simple.

Marketing: Getting ready to launch our Innovation Group, a core group of users who have graciously volunteered to give us early feedback on upcoming product releases.  Upcoming fun for the Innovation Group includes a first look at the new comprehensive software platform designed for the independent consultant (including the aforementioned Proposal Process) and some video reviews.