Who Are Your Readers; the Technical Buyer
By Dan Safford

I recently posted an article on the four different "types" of readers in any give proposal evaluation scenario. So far, I've talked about the "Economic" buyer and the  "User" buyer. This time I'll focus on a second category--the Technical buyer.

Technical buyers are the ones who decide if you have met the basic technical qualifications to get the work done.  They will measure your technical solution against a set of requirements and specifications. You must make sure that your solution passes muster with them or they will make sure your proposal goes no further.

Their natural inclination is to be skeptical that your solution will work; they are the technical hotshots in the company and you have to prove to them that you can meet their standards.

Who they are and what they look for. Technical buyers are like any technical person on your staff-they would rather be doing "real work" instead of reading (or writing) a proposal. In other words, they are likely to have a less than positive attitude even before they begin reading your proposal. Your job is to give them what they want to see quickly, and make it as easy as possible to find.

These folks read the technical sections, and not much else. The technical buyer is looking for the following:

• Compliance with the solicitation requirements. Have you answered all the mail? In other words, have you followed instructions?
• How well you address their specific issues. This is common among all the readers of your proposal. It means that you will have to discover the hot buttons the technical buyers have and make sure you push them.
• Technical insights into their special issues. They'll want to see that you not only understand the technical aspects of the work like this in general, but how to apply it to their specific project.
• Risk assessment and resolution. They'll look to see if you have weighed the risks of your approach against the payoffs. Then they'll want to see how you intend to mitigate any risk.
• Above all, they want to get a warm fuzzy feeling that they can trust that you have the appropriate technical knowledge and expertise to carry out their project. 

How to write for them. First, answer every question/requirement in the order dictated by the solicitation. These readers will stick to their evaluation sheets and will want to see your answers in the places they expect them to be. Here are some more tips:

• Call out and address critical technical issues and how you will resolve them. This is an excellent way to convince the technical buyer that you have a grasp of the technical approach it will take to solve their problem.
• Substantiate you claims. Technical readers will be skeptical of such claims as "we have extensive experience," or "we are uniquely qualified." When you make a claim, back it up with proof.
• Be logical and complete. 
• Use technical graphics. You score points with your XY graphs and your data point plots, your tables with numbers and your cross-section drawings. 

Finally, hit on their key issues and highlight the benefits of your solution. This will make sure they get the idea that you are as concerned about their needs as about any other's.