How to Not Bomb Your Proposal
My idea was gonna change everything.
But one fatal mistake blew up my pitch before it got off the ground.
As a doe-eyed newcomer to the world of marketing, I wanted to make waves. I was a marketing enthusiast for years so although I didn’t have agency experience, I still understood more than just the basics.
It wasn’t long before I spotted a way to improve a major process at work, so I booked a meeting with a director. This was going to revolutionize the business, make everyone's lives 1000x easier, and put me on a shortlist for a promotion. I had it aaaaall planned out.
I showed up to the meeting with a written proposal, a roadmap for the project, and talking points for my discussion with the big wig. And then it happened. Moments into our conversation, one fatal flaw surfaced and blew everything up. Sparing you all the boring details, he told me the reason why the process was what it was… and that my idea would actually poison the lifeblood of a carefully balanced protocol.
Oops.
The huge, vital mistake in my proposal: I didn’t start with research.
My Rookie Proposal Mistake
I didn’t start with research. That was it. Had I asked some preliminary questions and sought to understand the current processes, I’d have saved myself a weekend of writing that proposal. I noticed a problem and got so excited about fixing it that I jumped straight into problem-solving mode without a foundational understanding.
It felt like someone just popped my balloon. Slightly embarrassed, I thanked the director for his time and X’d out of the Zoom call.
How To Handle Rejection at Work
First of all, your boss is probably impressed. Seeing this type of initiative and innovation is not typical. It’s usually up to the leaders to come up with brilliant ideas all by themselves, so taking point is huge. But be careful here. If all you’re doing is identifying issues, you’re just putting another task on your manager’s plate. Go one step further and start to think of possible solutions to workshop with your manager.
That’s a great place to be - the risk-taker, the innovator, the gap-filler. Every team needs them. Not everyone has that special blend of personality and process power to do it. Plus, it immediately creates a space where challenging the status quo is normal, accepted, and wanted… even if thoughts don’t always pan out.
Second of all, this isn’t the only genius idea you’ll ever have. You’re a natural problem-solver. This is actually an infinite well you can return to forever and it will never run dry. There will always be another logjam or bottleneck to puzzle out… but this time, do some research before diving in.
Your Proposal is a Gateway
When the time comes when you’ve identified a problem that can be solved and you captain the effort to correct it, that leads to bigger and better things. If you love your job and want to stay right where you’re at, you can command a pay bump. You can also use that as a building block to position yourself for a promotion or beef up your resume to transition into another company.
The trap that I notice so many employees falling into is that they don’t value their contributions like they should. They chalk up their innovations and new initiatives to nothing special. Or else, they’re so exhausted that they don’t even recognize their impact, let alone have the energy to add it to a portfolio.
One thing every career person should do is value their contributions appropriately. If promotions, raises, and aligned work environments are on your radar, try looking at your special projects in context of the bigger picture. Ask yourself questions like:
What numbers or KPIs did this improve?
What impact did this have on company culture? Did it help retention?
How did this improve efficiencies or reduce redundancies?
Were customers positively impacted? If yes, how?
Did you coordinate with other departments or colleagues in order to accomplish your goal?
Did you manage the project or oversee a team?
…and so on. When you understand your level of impact and the elevated skills it takes to accomplish the goal, it is easier to see yourself in your ideal role — because you’re already doing that kind of work. One of my favorite lines is from the book The Big Life by Ann Shoket, former Editor in Cheif at Seventeen magazine. She said this of big jobs:
You’re ready for the promotion when you already have the right clothes in your closet.
(paraphrased)
While I love the symbolism of this, I try not to take this literally. There are plenty of badasses hiding in low-paying jobs that can’t afford BCBG. But the spirit of this sentiment I love. My interpretation of this is when you’re ready for the promotion, you’ll already be comfortable doing what that person does.
Every promotion or job I designed came after I became comfortable and confident with the work. People around me — like bosses with hiring power—could sense my energy, my drive. I was ready for it and then it came.
Final Thoughts about Proposals and Pitching
It’s scary putting yourself out there. There’s fear of rejection, loss, and even fear of success at play. Yep. What if you did get this thing going? Could you even keep up? …stuff like that is a normal internal talk track.
Like everything else in life that is hard, it takes practice to get better. So go ahead. Tank your first proposal. Then dust yourself off, give yourself an inside-joke-type-chuckle and move on.
But if you’re in the mood to get to the next level of your career, mining your day job and current contributions will help you instantly upskill. I’m betting you, like so many other totally qualified superstars, are downplaying what you do. I mean this with all the love and appreciation I’ve got: You’re underselling yourself. Knock it off.
Hitting the pause button to observe how your specific skill set drives the team forward is step one. Download your free copy of Move On or Move Up to guide you through a unique career self-evaluation and kickstart your next big thing.