The Coach sez . . . sign up for John’s Humor Power Tips ezine at http://www.HumorPower.com

5. On Time

There’s an old Irish saying, “When God made time, he made plenty of it.” Yes, we all have same 24 hours each day, 168 hours each week and 8736 hours a year. It may be most democratic element in our lives. So how come it doesn’t feel that way? How come we often feel we are “out of time?” How come some people accomplish hundreds of complex tasks and others lay buried under a sea of papers and. . . laundry? That’s paradox.

The Coach sez… “I don’t have time to think about this anymore.” (What are your “p & q’s” for managing your time?)

6. On Useful Websites and Announcements

"Speak Like a Pro for Profit" Struggling to get clients? Want to have a full speaking calendar? This e-book contains proven tips and techniques to become a polished presenter to speak effectively to anyone, anywhere, with confidence. I wrote this for speakers, coaches, authors and business professionals who want to deliver masterful presentations and/or grow a profitable speaking business. Only $8.95. http://www.cartoonresource.com

Summer Sizzle Sale! Big product sale going on. See details above under "Special Offers" and http://www.schrift.com/summer_sizzle.htm for product descriptions and discount prices.

Here is a country guide to help you plan your next trip (or speech) http://www.economist.com/countries

Learn about website traffic and opt-in list building methods. http://www.affila.com

Let's meet in Bermuda, August 7-14, Denver, Colorado, October 13 - 20; Quebec City, Canada , November 3-6; (ICF conference) or in San Diego at any other time.

Sandra's Products Sandra Schrift offers a variety of products that will turn you into speaker you always wanted to be. Her innovative thinking and powerful leadership can be right at your fingertips. Go to www.schrift.com to order your e-books, video tapes and audio cassettes so that you can have right tools on hand.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Coach Sandra Schrift shares a few easy-to-read insights in this bi-weekly broadcast, and welcomes positive responses and input. Her 13 years as founder/owner of The Podium Speakers Bureau in San Diego afforded her privilege to work with many outstanding professional speakers and meeting planners nationwide. She knows what Meeting Planners want . . . and knows what speakers need to know!

If you are an Executive, you will benefit by strengthening your presentation skills, so that whatever audio-visual aid you use will enhance, rather than distract from, your message.

As your coach, Sandra provides you with greater focus, increased ways to prospect, more ideas for getting referrals, and just more business.

E-mail Sandra for your Complimentary 30- minute Coaching Call: Sandra@schrift.com (http://www.schrift.com) “The only group that likes change are babies with wet diapers." -- Sandra Schrift

Thank you for reading this issue of Monday Morning Mindfulness Look for your next issue on August 9, 2004 --Coach Sandra

If you have a comment you would like to share, please email me at Sandra@schrift.com. I appreciate hearing how this newsletter is influencing your career and life.

Invite a friend, speaker, coach who would enjoy reading MMM to subscribe. Copyright 2004, Monday Morning Mindfulness. This content is copyright please copy it right when you pass it on!

Present Your Company, Present Your Product - Define why you should be chosen. Be clear on who and what you are. Be specific on what you can do. Be specific on features of your product. Ensure that your product covers all points of RFP.

Be specific. Do not embellish. Always represent capabilities of your company and your product without embellishment. In other words do not BS. If your product or company cannot meet a stipulation of RFP, look to forming strategic alliances with companies that can provide in requirement.

Strategic Alliances: One point of contact. Customers do not want to have hassles when implementing, or maintaining a system after implementation. If at all possible define a proposal leader amonst your alliance and define this company as single point of contact for any upfollowing activities.

Structure and Order. Stick to point. Provide a good referencing structure in your proposal. Remember, a proposal is not a Lone Wolf gamebook (the kind where you have to page around to read story). Put all relevant information pertaining to RFP in main body of document. Any ancilliary material goes in an appendix with adequate referencing from body.

Cater to your audience: Proper Mix of Tech and Sales. Keep your proposal readable and believable. This can only be achieved by putting a leash on your sales people and by teaching your techies how to write copy that is readable by human species.

Inspire Confidence. It is always a good idea to include a corporate resume. Only list past projects that are relevant to issue at hand - do not include irrelevant work to fill out your proposal.

Spell out how you work. Define project structure and scope adequately. Identify your personnel and technical competencies berforehand. Create a believable project plan.

Methodology is key. Customers and evaluators want to be reassured that you know what you are doing and that you will attempt assignment in a structured and ordered manner. If you do not have a methodology by which you work, establish one or acquire it. Ensure that your personnel are trained and are conversant in this methodology. Remember, a project plan on its own is not a methodology.

Run proposal process as a project. Time is money and money is time. Resource assignment on a proposal should be justifiable. Do not spend too much time and effort on little jobs, and too little time and effort on big jobs.

Riaan Pieterse is the CEO and founder of Kerberos Internet Services CC, South Africa. Having spent a number of years conducting various consulting assignments in the Far East, Middle East, Africa and Europe to businesses and governments alike, Riaan has a solid understanding of the business and technology issues in today's market.