Proposal writing can either create increased profits or drain your resources, time, and budget.
Squeezing profits from your proposal writing efforts demands paying attention to three significant disciplines.
The sales skills required to sell on paper, however, differ vastly from the skills mentioned above for selling in person.
When selling in person or on the phone, sales people can benefit by observing body language, tone, and verbal and non-verbal cues.
Selling on paper or via e-mail, without these benefits, must rely on a keen sense of client priorities. In proposals, sales people must match what clients see in their heads with the pictures the words paint.
Read the entire article at http://www.proposalwritingsuccess.com
Showing posts with label Proposal Writing Editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proposal Writing Editing. Show all posts
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Friday, October 10, 2008
Proposal Writing: How To Be Correct When Writing Proposals
Being correct means many things.
First, the information needs to be correct. That includes names, dates, addresses, contact information, pricing, products, services, projected timetables, and solutions.
Second, the structure of the proposal must match the structure of the RFP or the size and importance of the client.
Your knowledge of and history with a client can serve as a guideline for how to correctly structure your document.
You may be dealing with or know the principle of a firm and know that he or she simply wants a one-page document (similar to an Executive summary) that states solutions, costs, fulfillment details, and support strategies.
If you can do all of this in one page, do so.
If you are working on a multi-faceted, multi-million dollar contract, you need to create a proposal that correctly follows and correctly presents your products and services using the structure laid out in the RFP.
But maybe, more importantly, your spelling, punctuation, grammar, format, style, and tone need to scream correctness.
If you call the Procurement Officer and ask for Mr. Smith and the voice at the other end of the line says, "This is he," do you have a clue on one of the more important parts of that proposal?
I hope so.
First, the information needs to be correct. That includes names, dates, addresses, contact information, pricing, products, services, projected timetables, and solutions.
Second, the structure of the proposal must match the structure of the RFP or the size and importance of the client.
Your knowledge of and history with a client can serve as a guideline for how to correctly structure your document.
You may be dealing with or know the principle of a firm and know that he or she simply wants a one-page document (similar to an Executive summary) that states solutions, costs, fulfillment details, and support strategies.
If you can do all of this in one page, do so.
If you are working on a multi-faceted, multi-million dollar contract, you need to create a proposal that correctly follows and correctly presents your products and services using the structure laid out in the RFP.
But maybe, more importantly, your spelling, punctuation, grammar, format, style, and tone need to scream correctness.
If you call the Procurement Officer and ask for Mr. Smith and the voice at the other end of the line says, "This is he," do you have a clue on one of the more important parts of that proposal?
I hope so.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Proposal Writing; The Secret to Conciseness
The worst thing you can do in a proposal is waste your reader’s time.
You may have 12 pages of information that is valuable to your client. If the RFP states a maximum of 10 pages, give them eight pages. Many times exceeding stated minimums and maximums become knockout factors for your proposal.
If clients request a one-page proposal or pre-proposal document, give it to them.
Most of the time, excessive writing results from weak writing skills, not an overabundance of information valuable to the client.
Allow me to explain. Please check the examples below to see how excessive writing can become concise writing.
We are in agreement with your conclusions.
We agree with your conclusions.
The monthly report should have been distributed sooner.
We should have distributed the monthly report sooner.
With this situation, there is involved in apparent reorganization of all 15 departments in the company.
This situation involved in apparent reorganization of all 15 departments in the company.
This reorganization involved all 15 departments in the company.
All 15 departments in the company reorganized.
The company reorganized all 15 departments.
Company policy states that it is the responsibility of all employees to report all actions the day the accidents occur.
Company policy states that employees must report all accidents the day the accidents occur.
It seems likely that the recent additions to our staff will eliminate the bottlenecks caused in customer service.
Recent staff additions should eliminate customer-service bottlenecks.
Our manager made a recommendation that we sell the return goods for half price.
Our manager recommended we sell the return goods for half price.
After you have reviewed the enclosed material, please give consideration to becoming a sponsor for this program.
After you have reviewed the enclosed material, please consider becoming a sponsor for this program.
Engineering made modifications to the galootin pin.
Engineering modified the galootin pin.
As I hope you recognize, conciseness in proposal writing means forgetting the tactics you used when you wrote your high school and college term papers.
You may have 12 pages of information that is valuable to your client. If the RFP states a maximum of 10 pages, give them eight pages. Many times exceeding stated minimums and maximums become knockout factors for your proposal.
If clients request a one-page proposal or pre-proposal document, give it to them.
Most of the time, excessive writing results from weak writing skills, not an overabundance of information valuable to the client.
Allow me to explain. Please check the examples below to see how excessive writing can become concise writing.
We are in agreement with your conclusions.
We agree with your conclusions.
The monthly report should have been distributed sooner.
We should have distributed the monthly report sooner.
With this situation, there is involved in apparent reorganization of all 15 departments in the company.
This situation involved in apparent reorganization of all 15 departments in the company.
This reorganization involved all 15 departments in the company.
All 15 departments in the company reorganized.
The company reorganized all 15 departments.
Company policy states that it is the responsibility of all employees to report all actions the day the accidents occur.
Company policy states that employees must report all accidents the day the accidents occur.
It seems likely that the recent additions to our staff will eliminate the bottlenecks caused in customer service.
Recent staff additions should eliminate customer-service bottlenecks.
Our manager made a recommendation that we sell the return goods for half price.
Our manager recommended we sell the return goods for half price.
After you have reviewed the enclosed material, please give consideration to becoming a sponsor for this program.
After you have reviewed the enclosed material, please consider becoming a sponsor for this program.
Engineering made modifications to the galootin pin.
Engineering modified the galootin pin.
As I hope you recognize, conciseness in proposal writing means forgetting the tactics you used when you wrote your high school and college term papers.
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