Most proposal professionals understand the importance of putting the client at the center of the bid process. But what if a client centric proposal is not enough? According to Kevin Switaj, a winning proposal takes things one step further, leveraging empathy and creativity to build an emotional connection with the evaluator. Kevin is President and CEO of BZ Opportunity Management, a full life cycle proposal consulting firm out of northern Virginia. With more than 15 years in proposal development, Kevin is a recognized thought leader and regular contributor to industry publications. On this episode of the RFP Success Show, Kevin joins me to discuss his new book, Keys to the Castle: Building Empathy and Creativity into Bid Processes. Kevin discusses how an empathetic proposal builds emotional connection with prospective clients and describes how we might apply Pixar storytelling techniques in an RFP response. Listen in for Kevin’s insight on helping subject matter experts write with empathy and learn how to develop content that speaks to the client’s perspective and opens a conversation with evaluators. Key Takeaways How Kevin’s thinking around connecting with evaluators inspired Keys to the Castle How an empathetic proposal builds an emotional connection with prospective clients Kevin’s take on why writing to the client’s needs is not enough How we might apply Disney or Pixar storytelling techniques to a proposal response How to develop empathetic content by focusing on the client’s point of view Kevin’s annotated mockup approach to helping SMEs write with empathy How to reorganize the capture process around Kevin’s empathetic approach to RFPs Logistics Intelligence gathering Idea development Why you should only bid on opportunities that align with who you are as a company What it looks like to put the client at the center of the proposal process The first step in building empathy and creativity into your team’s bid processes Connect with Kevin BZ Opportunity Management BZ Opportunity on LinkedIn Kevin on LinkedIn Connect with Lisa  Lisa’s Website Lisa on Twitter Lisa on Facebook Lisa on LinkedIn The RFP Success Company on YouTube The RFP Success Company on LinkedIn Subscribe on iTunes Email [email protected]  Resources Kevin on The RFP Success Show EP072 Keys to the Castle: Building Empathy and Creativity into Bid Processes by Kevin Switaj APMP Bruce Farrell Creativity, Inc.: Understanding the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films by Dean Movshovitz She-Hulk 96-Step Shipley Process Book a Call with the RFP Success Company Dare to Be Influential: Maximizing Your Positive Influence While Still Being True to You by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Book by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Institute