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Instructional Solutions

Tips to Write a Winning Proposal

Title, Content, Deliverables, Format, and Numbers

2013 Instructional Solutions. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents
Title and Planning .......................................................................................... 3 Make the Proposal Title Count ......................................................................... 3 Match Content to Client Needs ........................................................................... 4 Matching Proposal Content to RFP .................................................................... 4 Keep the Proposal Short and Sweet ................................................................... 5 Specific Deliverables ....................................................................................... 5 Realistic Proposals Gain Business and Save Profits ................................................. 5 Avoid Jargon in Business Proposals .................................................................... 7 Proposal Format for Easy Scan ........................................................................... 7 Proposal Format Tools .................................................................................. 7 Proposal Format for RFP Questions ................................................................... 8 The Persuasive Power of a Single Sentence in Proposal Format .................................. 9 Craft the Numbers.......................................................................................... 9 Consider Your Competition ............................................................................ 10 Polish and Ask for Business ............................................................................... 10 Polish Your Proposal Draft ............................................................................. 10 Ask for Business ......................................................................................... 11 Ready to Master Proposal Writing? ...................................................................... 11

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Title and Planning

If you are in a client-facing business, there is a good chance you have received an RFP or informal proposal request at some point. (In case you havent, RFP stands for request for proposal.) A proposal is your opportunity to show a potential customer what you are capable of, and what the customer can expect from working with you. Knowing how to write a proposal is key to winning business. The full proposal process is taught in our proposal writing course, but in this eBook, I will offer tips to help you make the most of the proposal writing process from the title to the successful closing of a deal.

Make the Proposal Title Count

Your proposal should always include a title, and that title should never, under any circumstances, be Proposal, or even "Proposal to XYZ Company." Naming your proposal Proposal would be like naming a book Book. It tells you nothing about whats inside. It only reflects that you wrote a proposal. Create an informative proposal title that is also interesting. It should also clearly be targeted to the company to whom youre sending the proposal. Dont let a company think you have a generic proposal that you send for every RFP or proposal request. Lets imagine you design web pages and you receive an RFP from a bakery for a new website. You might entitle it, Icing on the Cake: A Website Proposal for Uptown Cake Bakery. If you find yourself struggling to come up with the perfect title at the start, dont worry. Something will come to you as you plan and write the proposal, and you can go back later and add a snappy title. Dont force a title as you begin. Adding a subtitle allows you to further define the value of the proposal: For our Uptown Bakery, it might be: Increase website traffic and convert more visitors to leads. The title and subtitle is your readers very first engagement with your proposal. It is here that your reader will make his or her most important decision: whether or not to read on. Be sure
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you frame the value of your proposal carefully, by crafting a specific title and clarifying subtitles that convey your value.

Match Content to Client Needs

Many times, clients will send out a request for proposal (RFP, for short) to a number of potential vendors to weigh the benefits of working with each one. Even if you are not working with an RFP, all proposals must be shaped on client needs and client perspective, so be sure you ask your client probing questions:

What is the main problem your potential client needs to solve, or opportunity? (most important) What impact and/or benefit will solving this problem or implementing this opportunity have on the client's business? Who is the project lead person? What is timeline? What is budget? What steps have they already taken to address this problem or opportunity? What is working and not working for them? At this point, how do they envision a solution?

Ask as many questions as you can before you begin drafting your proposal, so you have a clear understanding of the client's needs and perspectives, to best frame your proposal. Most often, the client RFP contains answers to these core questions. If not, ask more questions to ensure that your proposal will win their heart and knock out the competition.

Matching Proposal Content to RFP

When a client sends you an RFP, they are probably looking for a specific proposal. In our previous example of Uptown Cake Bakery's website development, we should reflect on this companys likely needs in a website development proposal. The bakerys RFP will probably be a simple rundown of the companys needs, a desired timeline for launching their new website, and the available budget for the project. Lets imagine that Uptown Cake Bakery needs a new website to attract new customers and showcase their goodies. Since they have a big anniversary party coming up in three months, they would like to have the site done in less than 90 days. Since the folks at Uptown Cake Bakery are more skilled and interested in baking delicious desserts than website code, we know they likely wont want to manage their own website. Therefore, their RFP will likely include not only the specifics and price of creating a website, but also the benefits and pricing for maintaining their website for them.

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If there is no mention of website maintenance in the RFP, ask your client if they want this included in your proposal, if your expertise suggests a real client benefit. Do not include additional services without first discussing with the client if they want this included in your proposal. It muddies the water, can delay decisions, and in a formal RFP situation can exclude you fully from consideration because you did not match the RFP. You can always suggest a second project of website maintenance, after winning the business the client has already identified as a priority. The proposal should answer all of the questions that your client could potentially have. By following the format of the RFP, you can explain to the bakery how their needs will be met, identify your timeline, and propose a budget for the project. Take this opportunity to explain how a new and improved website can boost sales, explain your companys process of developing a website, and show with real numbers what the cost will be (and since you know the budget, you could even propose a cost thats slightly lower). By answering your clients questions directly, you are able to establish a working relationship and build trust.

Keep the Proposal Short and Sweet

Most proposals have an About Us section, where companies often excessively tout themselves. In truth, this area is often skimmed until a client has narrowed potential vendors to a select few. Highlight your company information that best matches your client. For our example of Uptown Cake Bakery, this section would include a brief history of our web development company to establish credibility, a list of comparable clients, and information about the designers and their credentials. If you can link to an online portfolio or case study or client references, this is the place. Links allow you to keep the proposal short, while providing wider background relevant to different readers. The About Us page needs to be short and compellingonly highlighting the most crucial aspects of your company. As with the entire proposal, you should keep it as short and sweet as possible. Instead of cramming full history about your company in this section, try to get the important points across that will prove to your client that you will meet their key requirements, such as demonstrating you consistently meet timelines and budgets in your work, or design sites that are both attractive and coded well. As you plan and draft the proposal for the client, be sure they understand your process and what you can do for them. Remember, the full focus is on the client, not you.

Specific Deliverables
The deliverables you identify in your proposal need to be specific. You should not over promise, under promise, or vaguely promise. As clients send you a request for proposal (RFP), you need to keep in mind that they are probably sending it to a number of potential venders. The proposal is your chance to clearly explain to the client what you can do, and exactly how you will do it.

Realistic Proposals Gain Business and Save Profits

It is easy when drafting a proposal to oversell yourself and your company, or spin into other advantages you offer that don't relate to the proposal RFP. Don't fall into this trap.
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You need to keep your promises and deliverables realistic and specific. When you are specific about what you can offer a client, you are reassuring the client that you can fulfill requirements better than another vendor, and you are also defining your work. If you over promise, you risk project creep, and revenue loss. If you under promise, you won't win the business. The key to this balance is specificity. Outlining your specific deliverable will reassure the client and it will force you to consider all contingencies and know how much actual work this particular project will entail. Let's revisit our example, Uptown Cake Bakery, and the proposal Icing on the Cake: A Website Proposal for Uptown Cake Bakery. This proposal should include:

Specific information on how a new site will boost sales. Promise a timeline that is realistic for both you and the client Explain the steps you will take to complete this project. Explain what information or support you need from the client. Provide an accurate a budget that will allow you to develop a great website for the client, with billing terms expressed clearly.

You need to think through each of these components carefully. Each industry has work that needs to be clarified. If you don't delineate this in the proposal, it can lead to an unhappy client, even though you completed the work fairly:

Will you research and suggest photos for Uptown Bakery's new site? Will you use current photos? If the client has already told you they want pictures of staff baking their delicious brownies, you should specify who will take the pictures. If it is your company, be sure to include this work in your planning.

Use caution here. Every industry has quirks that need to be considered. For example, we offer online business writing courses. Once someone enrolls in a course, our work begins. We pay licensing fees and instructors. Client care has to track and remind clients. During a longterm, large group training, some client employees may leave the company or be reassigned. Clients have asked me for free enrollments to replace those employees who recently left the company, since they didn't fully complete the course, even though we've completed work for those employees. I've learned it is very important to spell out terms for this contingency. Think about similar issues in your industry to prevent project creep. Back to our friends at Uptown Bakery: using statistics from your company and outside sources, you can show the client how a new site can increase sales and leads. Uptown Bakery has already established that their new website needs to be completed in 90 days, so explain how your developers will complete the site on time. When setting a budget for the client, you need to be honest and accurate with them. I strongly recommend quoting by the project, 6

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rather than by the hour, when possible. This helps both you and client budget better, and it allows you to frame a project within your expertise. It also allows you to compete on your value, not just price.

Avoid Jargon in Business Proposals

When writing a proposal, it is easy to get caught up in all the jargon and buzzwords that fly in the business world. We sometimes think these words make us appear smarter and more skilled. However, overused words and phrases like synergy and innovative and value-added are just fluff. They just muddle your message. Jason Fried, the CEO of 37Signals says, Jargon is insecurity. Instead of using jargon, use language that is easy to understand. Use real words and especially precise verbs that clearly spell out what the client will receive. (Review our list of top jargon to avoid, and substitutions.)

Proposal Format for Easy Scan

Even in a requested document, such as a proposal or RFP, know that all business readers skim. Format enhancements make a document quickly absorbable. Use format to guide your readers to the areas you want to highlight.

Proposal Format Tools

The key format tools in a proposal are:

Headings Subheadings White space Bullet points and numbered lists Color Single sentence paragraphs

Each of these format tools can make your proposal standout from competitors. These crucial formatting techniques are simple to insert and help you drive your main point across: that you care about the client by presenting information in an easy to understand, honest format. Formatting the proposal will also allow your client to find the important information quickly and easily. Be certain that the content emphasized by your format is the content you want highlighted! Lets think back to our example of Uptown Cake Bakery and the proposal Icing on the Cake: A Website Proposal for Uptown Cake Bakery. Our example proposal would use a heading and bullet points to show the key elements your company suggests for their website, such as a blog, banners, a portfolio, and a contact page. Notice how much more impact this 7

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information has when formatted in a heading and bullet list, as opposed to the previous sentence: Included in Uptown Bakery's website development project:
o o o o

Blog, integrated with your site Banners Portfolio highlighting your work Contact page

After having introduced the type of elements you will include in the website with the format oomph of a clear heading and bullet points, shift to text narrative to explain each of the elements represented by a bullet point in detail. Alternatively, you could use sub-bullets, further indented, if the clarifying information is very brief. The text narrative on the blog should explain what would be included, such as access to the blogging software and a description of the blog title, theme, and categories. The website banners you are proposing should be clearly summarized and illustrated. For example, because we are a business writing training company, we use these banner statements with corresponding images on our site: Profit through Effective Writing, Train any time, place, or pace, and Write as if your career depends on it. It does. Provide examples of banners in your proposal, but no need to share the exact phrasings here. Don't give your creative work away for free. The portfolio would explain what each page would contain and where on the site it would be located. Each webpage title should include its own heading in the proposal. Including a proposed map of the website would also add visual clarity to the proposal. This map allows your potential client to better envision the website you will build, while not requiring you to share all your design recommendations of color and imagery and text copy. At this point, you want to gain your potential clients business, not tell them all aspects of your specific design ideas that a competitor could complete. Also explain what you will include in the contact page, and how this benefits Uptown Bakery. Use format in this section to highlight the key elements you are suggesting with a heading and bullet lists, and then explain them further in supplemental narrative. This allows easy skim for overview, and an easy dive for readers into more detail, if desired.

Proposal Format for RFP Questions

In many cases, RFPs will include specific questions and concerns that need to be answered in your proposal. When you answer the specific questions and concerns, you should highlight your responses with enhanced format elements. This is another place that bullet points are useful. Using bold or italics can also further emphasize, but be careful not to use too many visual elements of bold, italics, and color or reader eyes will have too many focus points and

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nothing will be emphatic. You also need to answer these questions and concerns in the order that they appear on the RFP. Because question responses are so critical in a proposal, use a sidebar to emphasize that this area specifically answers an RFP or client question. Name it. Call it "RFP Question Response" because your reader is looking specifically for this information. The overall goal is plenty of white space and judicious use of emphatic devices. Beware the proposal template. A template is very useful, and certainly saves time. However, never let a template fully dictate the content of your proposal. Shaping content to reader perspective, not a template, is most important. Bend the template to match reader needs.

The Persuasive Power of a Single Sentence in Proposal Format

A powerful, yet often overlooked, format enhancement in proposals is a single sentence paragraph. (Just like this one.) Forget what your high school grammar teacher said. Grammatically, it is perfectly acceptable to have only one sentence in a paragraph, and this is a powerful persuasive rhetorical strategy. A single sentence paragraph has staccato punch. Visually, it pops. Therefore, use a single sentence paragraph when you want to highlight a key benefit. Each company should adopt their own proposal format style for branding and consistency, and decide which tool is best to present your proposal to clients. Most often MS Word and PowerPoint are chosen tools.

Craft the Numbers

I've already warned how easy it can be to lapse into using jargon and buzzword instead of clear, evocative words that express your value. It is just as easy to start throwing internal slogans and clichs out at clients. You need to avoid these. Instead, the specificity of numbers and deliverables helps a client build trust with you. Instead of summarizing what your solution will cost, itemize the costs for your potential client, and explain the value behind your numbers. Going back to our Uptown Cake Bakery example, instead of just stating the price of the website is $5,000, you should actually break down the different pricing.

Let your client know that research will cost $500 Development will be $2,500 Photography will be $500 Meetings will be $500 Content on the site will be $1,000. 9

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You can take all of that one step further and explain development costs are the highest portion of the total fees because you work with very skilled designers, ensuring the client will receive a functional site that is both eye catching and works well with search engines. Stress the client benefit when justifying numbers, not the workload to you. There are two major sales advantage of delineating costs: 1. It allows a client to choose portions of your solution that are most relevant, or even just stay in budget. (Best for the client) 2. This ensures you will not lose a client who cannot afford your entire package. (Best for you) Never, ever understate actual costs to your client and then charge them more money than what you quoted in your proposal. It is bad business and will sour relationships.

Consider Your Competition

As you are writing your proposal, you need to keep your competition in mind. What sets you apart from them? Is it your skills? Your development process? Your customer service? Dont specifically mention your competition, but think about what weaknesses you see in them and offer your strengths that counteract them. The cost area of your proposal is a perfect location for an implicit competitive comparison. For instance, if your websites cost more than your competitions, then mention that the cost reflects a website that comes with graphics, photos, banners, or whatever else your company does better than your competition. Delineating the inclusive value for each cost element takes client focus off the cost alone and emphasizes the value your solution provides, or problem you solve. Additionally, you are far less likely to lose a contract on straight cost comparison.

Polish and Ask for Business

If you have followed previous steps, you now have a draft that is based on your potential client's needs, contains relevant content, and clearly spells out specific money and deliverables. Now it's time to edit and polish the draft and ask for business. Remember: all of these previous steps must happen before you start editing your proposal. No amount of editing will enhance a proposal that lacks focus, appropriate content, or unclear costs or deliverables. As my favorite writing professor used to say, editing a poorly constructed document is just "polishing a turd."

Polish Your Proposal Draft

Sometimes our eyes glance over things. We miss words or small spelling errors. Some words look like other words and we adjust our eyes to read it the way we intended it to be. Because you are so familiar with the content in your proposal, the odds of overlooking an error are much higher. This is the "love is blind" problem of editing a document you've written with real care and know well.

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When you are done writing the proposal, proofread it. Then, proofread it again. The most efficient process for editing a proposal follows three steps: 1. Verify content. Does the reader you identified have all of the information he or she needs to decide if your company is best for the project? Is there any information that is not needed? 2. Verify format. All business readers skim. Make sure you format your proposal so it's easy to absorb. Use headings, indents, bulleted lists, and a table of contents. 3. Now correct language. Cut all extraneous words. Choose clear verbs. Eliminate passive voice. Correct any grammar errors. If your proposal has grammar errors, they can diminish your credibility and make you look sloppytwo things you dont want to happen. Proofread these three elements of content, format, and language sequentially. Ask someone else to proofread your proposal. A fresh pair of eyes will find those little mistakes you will miss due to familiarity. Grammatical errors creep in frequently, but hunting and correcting them will make you look more credible and will encourage a trusting relationship with your client. INC Magazine reported, Companies lose business every day because they submit proposals that contain grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. You can avoid being one of those companies by proofreading your proposal draft thoroughly and methodically.

Ask for Business

You need to ask for the business directly at each step. Consider your potential client's needs and how you can meet them. The heart of the proposal should be about how your company can best help the client. Be sure this is evident in every section. Decide how you will transmit your proposal. The most common proposal transmission is an email with the proposal attached. You may also deliver the proposal in person. Regardless of the delivery vehicle, ask for the business. Summarize, tightly, how your company best solves the client's problem. Ask for the opportunity to work with them. So often, we spend so much time writing the proposal that we forget this all-important step.

Ready to Master Proposal Writing?

Our Proposal Writing Course will ensure you write proposals that win business, and spend far less time writing them. The course includes: Practical, specific proposal writing instruction Instructor support and feedback on your writing One-on-one coaching for one of your actual proposals

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