Get Down with the Lingo

RFPs

Client issues Request for Proposals. In laymen's terms, RFPs = sales proposals.

The usual content (suspects):

The usual content categories: Company Profile, Project Team, Products, Project Schedule, Pricing, Warranty, Sustainability.
Most of the content can be reused from RFP to RFP, except for Products, Schedule, and Pricing - these are specific to each RFP.

Our submission back to the client is termed "RFP Response".

Whenever possible, we use a standard SideMark RFP template. For special / big pursuits, we will design customized RFP responses.

Examples

Mockups

Mockups usually come after the RFP. Mockups are actual furniture decked out with accessories and other decorations.

Usually there is an accompanying presentation, handout, and physical tags to call out / explain the furniture.

Mockups are a collaborative process between the sales team, the PM team, and the marketing department.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO PITCH IN.

Examples

Thought Starters

Smaller packages consisting mostly of product images, with some per unit pricing, or some good/better/best options.

These packages usually occur early in the sales process – to give clients some ideas on furniture pieces and a ballpark budget.

Examples

Presentations

Requires a presenter!

IS NOT a regurgitation of everything you want to say (i.e. don't need all the content that will be discussed to be on the slide/page).

Let us know if you need it in Powerpoint format.

Examples

Furniture Standards

A catalog of products ordered for a project, especially when the project has multiple buildings in multiple locations.

It's a little something extra we provide to help clients keep a consistent standard throughout all the buildings.

The usual content:
Floor plans, Products, Fabrics/finishes, Care and Maintenance, Warranty

Example

Annual/Quarterly Business Reviews

A package to help clients see the scale of services and products we have provided them. They are usually for our large corporate clients and require content/direction from AMs. Business Reviews consist mostly of figures, graphs, and key performance indicators.

Example

Email Campaign

We send out email campaigns when we have big news to share with clients and contacts and for holiday greetings.

What we need from you: a mailing list in Excel so we can upload to Mail Chimp.

Examples

Collateral

Any small print items for giveaways, events, etc. Think little wine tags, gift tags, gifts, and thank you cards.

Examples