Posted by BJ & Jon
Proposal Panda arrived in the mailroom at 9:42 a.m. on Thursday morning, April 9. Oddly enough, he did not make it upstairs until 4:00 p.m., wearing a CONEXIS excellence award pin and smelling faintly of Tequila. We had to do some last minute scrambling when he informed us that he can’t work in a cubicle, requires a window office with plenty of natural light and prefers a laptop with a suitable ergonomic stand. Fortunately, he decided my office would suit his needs, so we set up his laptop and he got started.​

​Proposal Panda really jumped into action on Friday. I can understand the rumors of his exorbitant consulting salary ($800 USD per hour). Proposal Panda is a real team player, He helped the proposal specialist organize and update the RFP board, consulted with our marketing writers, and after a long busy day, offered to stay and finish the fulfilment by himself. Proposal Panda was amazing, what a work ethic!

​Saturday things took a turn when we got a call from security. It seems Proposal Panda had gotten together with the office bears and some of his hijinks were captured by the security camera.

I decided it would be safer to bring him home with me and have my Basenji, Lucy Liu keep an eye on him. It was love at first sight. Lucy Liu was devastated when he had to leave on Monday morning.

​We learned so much from Proposal Panda and can’t wait to hear about the rest of his travels.

Team CONEXIS

Posted by BJ & Jon
So, Proposal Panda’s been travelling. Here’s a report from Mike Parkinson and the team at 24 Hour Co.

It was pandemonium. Everyone saw red. The proposal was due in two days, and the client wanted one giant bear of a graphic created.

Tired and stressed out, our creativity was an endangered species teetering on extinction.

Then faster than you could say “bamboo shoot,” Proposal Panda climbed in front of the room.

“You can do it!” Proposal Panda roared. “You have the basic idea. You’re so close!”
​
He quickly sketched one of our concepts onto the board.

Posted by BJ
The Proposal Panda arrived safely in the U.S. earlier this month. He visited with the Strategic Proposal staff in New Hampshire and with me and my family for a few days. Though tired from the overseas journey and from the hassles at customs, he was in good spirits, tolerated having pictures taken with various individuals, including my dog Jack and Diane Loudenback’s daughter Julia (both Jack and Julia expressed a desire to keep Panda here for a while longer!) and seemed to enjoy the visit.​

​Panda is on a mission to visit as many proposal groups as possible before heading back to the U.K. after the annual APMP conference in June. On the itinerary at this point are stops in Texas, Illinois, Washington, Missouri and Tennessee (And no Robin, you can’t keep him. You have to send him on his way after the visit.) Panda is still taking invitations.

From our offices, Panda was sent on to visit with the 24 Hour Company in Virginia.  I hear from Mike P. that Panda was a big hit in the office. Watch for a write up on Panda’s visit from the 24 Hour staff soon. From the 24 Hour Company offices, Panda will head for Missouri and a vest with our good friend Marlene (Careful Panda, Marlene’s a ‘hugger’! ☺)

Posted by BJ & Jon
​We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to last week’s post about the newest member of our team, Proposal Panda. It’s great to see so many proposal folks wanting to get involved – and sharing our somewhat quirky sense of humour.

Proposal Panda’s worldwide odyssey started with me here in the UK. (Well, actually, it started in New Zealand at one of the world’s leading teddy bear companies, Robin Rive. Proposal Panda’s posh, see – one of a limited edition of 100).

And isn’t he delightfully attractive? (The panda’s not bad, either!).​

(You get the panda; we keep the cat! We were a little worried that Sabine was going to have an early dinner!).
​
Proposal Panda’s just set off across the Atlantic to visit BJ, before heading out into the big, wide world. Thanks to all of you who’ve replied already– and don’t be too shy to join in the fun. Just email us via panda@theproposalguys.com and offer to host a visit!

Posted by BJ & Jon
​One of the great things about the proposal profession is our sense of community. Whether through attending APMP’s events, gaining professional accreditation, reading and commenting on The Proposal Guys, or participating in other forums – there’s a real feeling of being part of a network of hard-working folks, carrying out similar activities and facing similar issues, all over the world.

So we’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our community. Meet Proposal Panda!​

​Various of you have asked us for a way to “join in” here at The Proposal Guys. Aside from commenting on our posts (and we always love to hear your views!), here’s a way to do so. We’ll ship Proposal Panda to a proposal team, somewhere in the world. The team can take photos of the panda helping them with their work – and then we’ll let you know where to send Proposal Panda next.

We’ll post your photos – and any commentary you might want to provide – here on the blog (and you’ll also be able to get to it from www.proposalpanda.com). If you want to join in, all we ask is that you send Proposal Panda on within ten days or so, in suitable packaging, and cover the shipping costs to the next destination.

Anyone involved in proposals is welcome to join in – whether you’re in a proposal centre in a major organisation, or you are your company’s proposal centre; whether you’re supplying support services to the proposal community. Hey, even the occasional purchaser evaluating proposals might get a look in sometime!

So – if you’d like to play host to Proposal Panda – email us via panda@theproposalguys.com and let us know!