When writing an SOW, you must clearly define your offering and establish the guidelines of your relationship. 

To do this, include relevant and specific information that will catch your prospect’s eye and allow you to highlight your agency’s unique value proposition.

That’s pretty ambiguous, though. There’s a lot you could include in an SOW.

So, what should you include? Here are 7 essentials.

What’s a Statement of Work (SOW)?

A statement of work (SOW) is a document that describes a project’s requirements. Said another way, an SOW outlines the scope of the work, deliverables, timelines, payment terms, and anything else pertinent to the business relationship.

A statement of work essentially sets expectations for the customer-business relationship and holds both parties responsible. An SOW also acts as “protection.” For example, if a customer and business disagree on the payment conditions upon the project’s completion, they can reference the SOW.

Statement of Work vs. Scope of Work

Statement of Work and Scope of Work are often used interchangeably, especially because you can abbreviate both with “SOW.”

They’re not the same—here’s the (relatively small) difference:

A Statement of Work is a formal document that describes the project’s goals. Meanwhile, the Scope of Work is a part of the Statement of Work that describes the plan to deliver the outcomes for which the customer is paying. Think of a Statement of Work as the book and the Scope of Work as a chapter.

What Should You Include a Statement of Work?

No two Statements of Work are the same because no two projects are the same.

Each project requires a unique SOW that outlines the specifics of that engagement. That said, almost all SOWs will include seven elements: the Scope of Work, deliverables, time and resources, payment terms, client services, changes, and terms and conditions.

Let’s look at each one.

1. Scope of Work

We’re already covered this essential, but it’s worth repeating.

The Scope of Work outlines what’s actually going to be done or what could be done if required. This is where you’ll use words like strategy, project, plan, etc. Your benefit to the client should be made most evident.

Your benefits should be at the heart of this section. What can you include to show them you took the time to carefully craft a plan to fulfill their needs?

2. Deliverables

While it’s important to lay out your goals and schedule, it’s also important to establish a two-way flow of deliverables. These are the guidelines attached to the Scope of Work.

As you build your SOW, lay out the key accomplishments and milestones and when their deadlines.

Consider this the verbal, more friendly version of the Terms and Conditions (see below). After all, a big factor in meeting your deliverables is having a cooperative partner.

3. Timeline and Resources

You should also include a detailed project timeline and any related resources, including the project’s duration, required tools and resources from both parties, and where the project will occur.  

4. Payment Terms

It is always smart to be upfront when discussing money, so create a billing plan with clear payment terms, including payment due dates, payment methods, and any additional terms that could apply.

Typical payment terms include “by deliverable” or “by schedule.” For the former, the customer pays when you reach certain milestones. Paying “by schedule” means the customer sends you payment on a pre-defined date, like every month or bi-weekly.

No one likes to feel duped, nor do they like hidden terms, especially in a down economy forcing many businesses to pinch pennies like never before.

5. Client Services

Tell your client who they will interact with when contacting your company and across what mediums, including email, phone, text messages, etc.

Communication is important in the relationship-building process. This section of a Statement of Work establishes how you’ll do that. 

6. Changes

There will most likely be some tweaks during the project—and that is ok.

During times of “scope creep,” i.e., the unauthorized additions to a project, it is important to show you are flexible and understand that sometimes change is necessary (within reason). 

That said, it is equally as important to communicate your expectations about any changes and how they will impact the original Scope of Work and project timeline.

7. Terms and Conditions

As with any contract, you must include legal information, including contract termination, invoicing agreements, damages, and other legal issues relevant to your relationship with the customer.

The Importance of a Statement of Work

There’s no right or wrong way to write a Statement of Work, but there are essentials, including the scope of work, deliverables, time and resources, payment terms, client services, changes, and terms and conditions.

Include these—and anything else you deem relevant to the project—and you’ll be in a prime position to demonstrate your willingness and interest in forming long-standing relationships with your clients. You’ll realize a host of other benefits, too.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

After countless emails and even more voicemails, you’ve finally got your prospect on the phone. Even better, you’ve landed a Zoom meeting. 

Before that started, you had to find your perfect target, so you focused on maintaining a near-perfect prospect list.

Great job.

Now, it’s time to ask questions—you know, to get to know the prospect and push them toward a deal. But not just any questions, though. The key to building lasting—and profitable—relationships with your prospects is to ask the right questions. 

Your level of question specificity could be looked at as a funnel:

Introduction Questions

Questions at this stage of the relationship-building process with your prospects should be high-level and aimed at building rapport. Nothing more, nothing less. Said another way, they’re questions you would ask almost anyone. 

While these questions may seem insignificant to your ultimate goal of closing a deal, their relationship-building prowess is exponentially more important in the post-pandemic world. According to McKinsey & Company, more than 70% of buyers no longer want to meet sales reps in person but are open to remote meetings. 

These “introductory” questions can go a long way in fostering your relationship with prospects and setting a foundation to close a sale.

For example: 

• How is your business going?
• What are you doing this weekend/how was your weekend?
• I’ve gotten a sense of your business from your website and marketing
• materials, but I’d love to hear more from you. Can you tell me what you’ve been up to this quarter? 
• How did you hear about us? (Your marketing team will love you for this one.)
• What was your experience buying X?
• When was the last time you purchased X?

After you get through these top-level questions, it’s time to dive deeper and connect with your prospects in a meaningful, solution-focused way; it’s time to bring your product into the equation.    

Getting-to-Know-You Questions 

Questions at the “getting-to-know-you” stage are more profound and specific but still open-ended. At this point, the conversation should still be engaging. 

While the questions are still higher level, they should be time-specific and geared toward your prospect’s company, their experience, and what they’re trying to accomplish with your product (at least at a high level). 

For example: 

• What is most important to you and your team right now?  
• Who typically works with you to make buying decisions?
• What is your biggest area of focus in the first six months of the year?
• You specialize in X niche. Why did you choose it?
• Did you use a checklist or comparison matrix to help you make a purchase decision for X?
• Can you walk me through the process you’ve used to fix X problem?

By asking your prospect open-ended yet specific questions, they will be more inclined to be transparent and honest with you. 

Getting-Personal Questions

Not personal in how you’d talk to a friend or a colleague at a work event; personal in the sense that you’re starting to understand why your prospect is looking for a solution like yours. More importantly, you’re trying to figure out if there’s a match. 

For example: 

• How will solving this problem or achieving this business goal impact your organization and you personally?
• Have you used similar products in the past? If so, what was your experience? 
• How will you be “grading” the impact of this product? Which metrics will you use, and who will you report to? 

Knowing your product or solution’s impact on your prospect and their team is essential because it helps you better understand their mindset and focus on a specific, meaningful, mutually beneficial end goal.

Relationship Building is a Question-based Process

To grow your business, it’s your responsibility to make your buyer understand your solution is helping them overcome real-life problems – not hypothetical ones. 

If you follow a discovery process that includes asking the right questions, the buyer will lay out a roadmap for how you close more business.

To know what questions you should ask, it’s important to consider your prospect as a person and nothing else.

Think about the process of becoming strongly acquainted with another person. The first thing you do is introduce yourself, plain and simple.

After breaking the ice, you begin getting to know the prospect a bit more. You learn about who they are, where they’re from, and their current situation.

From there, you get personal. As your questions get more personal, they get more specific. This is where you learn about the other person’s why or intent.

Once you completely understand the other person, you can form a meaningful, mutually beneficial partnership. This, in its entirety, is the framework for deciding what questions to ask your prospects.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

The space sets the entire vibe for your event. Each year, MediaRadar attends over 20 events, hosted by different organizers, targeting many different industries, and utilizing many different event styles.

From an education standpoint, your event should inspire while also providing actionable insights. Your conference must also present valuable networking opportunities without feeling like a forced party.

The right mix of activities and opportunities will ensure your conference attendees walk away feeling both enlightened and excited.

Here are 5 tips on how to plan a B2B conference that attendees will find enriching and productive.

1. Timing is Everything

The timing of the event is crucial.

Avoid scheduling during known busy periods, holidays, or major elections. Ideally, your conference will fall when most members of your target industry are already doing their planning for the following year. A good time to try might be the end of a fiscal or calendar year.

If you are unsure, ask a few of your clients when they typically do their long-term planning, or when their businesses slow down.

Another way to make this determination is to scope out when other conferences targeting your industry occur.

2. Fresh Ideas

Developing a strong agenda of conference presentations is key to getting attendees in the door.

While of-the-moment industry trends are informative, an awesome speaker, hot-topic panel discussion, or event that focuses on innovation or fresh ideas will drive curiosity and RSVPs.

Investigate themes of disruption for your target industry, or scope out the latest predictions of your industry’s thought leaders. A conference planning tip for incorporating new ideas is to start with researching the latest data and trends related to your specific industry.

Ideally, this fresh, big idea or innovation will provide you with an excellent theme to build the rest of your conference content around.

If your target industry is lacking any sort of innovative inspiration, make some of your own by including a brainstorming session.

Your industry’s business owners (i.e. your prospects and clients) and your ad sales executives will be quite knowledgeable about the weaknesses and concerns surrounding  their industry and business. Get them together and challenge them to collaborate and challenge the norm.

As an added bonus, this type of open brainstorming or constructive debate is also a powerful way to add networking to your conference.

3. Proper Pacing

Another conference planning tip relates to your agenda.

No matter the length of your conference, it’s important to have appropriate pacing to avoid burning out your attendees. Rigorous, mentally engaging sessions should be paired with lighter, inspirational and interactive ones.

Appropriately timed breaks throughout your conference will allow attendees a mental breather, the opportunity to refresh, and a moment to check emails. Avoid long periods with no planned activities; attendees will likely head back to the office or their hotels. This will cause your event to lose momentum.

An ideal pacing schedule would involve an inspiring kickoff, a down-to-business strategy session, interesting trend highlights and a closing inspirational, surprising, or lighthearted session.

4. Guest List

From the types of businesses to the seniority level, you’ll want to think carefully about how to structure your guest list.

Keep networking benefits at the forefront of your decisions. Networking can be a business development activity, an opportunity to collaborate, or the chance to meet fellow business leaders and talk shop.

Providing valuable networking opportunities can guarantee RSVPs and conference vendors.

A guest list of diverse business types can enhance the networking experience for professionals in an industry who commonly see one another at trade shows or long-standing, legacy conferences.

If your industry already has a regular assortment of conferences, make your crowd something different and new for your industry.

Pairing industry trend spotters and disrupters, combined with established industry members can make for interesting conversations.

5. The Key Takeaway

Your conference’s programming (and theme) should support a central takeaway that’s highly impactful for your target industry.

The key takeaway should be your fresh idea or innovation put to work, and answer the question “what do I do now?” Include suggestions in your closing session, or have leaflets with guidance on next steps.

Here, your vendors or industry partners (fellow businesses serving the industry) can lean in with prescriptions or strategy suggestions. Finding a meaningful way to involve your vendors, sponsors, or industry partners is how you plan a conference that’s both enriching and commercially successful.

Consider ways in which your target audience can leverage evolving technology, changing consumer habits, or potential new business models to leave your conference and go on to drive meaningful improvements for their business.

With these 5 elements in place, you’re off to a great start in planning your B2B conference or trade show. 

For Further Reading:

[VIDEO] How to Maximize Your Pre-Conference Attendee List
[VIDEO] Does Your Conference Networking Elevator Pitch Pass “The Mom Test”?
8 Easy Ways to Make Conferences Work For You
[VIDEO] Post-Conference Follow-up: It’s All in The Details

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