Business Plan | Proposal Writing Tips

Entries Tagged as 'Business Plan'

Four-Step Strategy for Better Business Proposals

August 30th, 2010 · View Comments · Proposal Writing

One of the secrets to writing successful proposals is to write the proposals backwards. Ok, I don’t mean line by line backwards. What I mean is identify the problems first and then write the proposal to address these problems. I’ve been reading Business Proposals for a client all week (I assess Business Plans and Proposals [...]

What Warren Buffett Taught Me About Writing Executive Summaries

June 28th, 2010 · Comments Off · Proposal

What I like about Warren Buffets Annual Reports is that he says so much with so few words. And loses nothing in the process. For those of us who make a living writing business documents there are a few lessons to be learnt here. Why The Executive Summary is Important The Executive Summary of any [...]

Gmail Tips: 17 Ways to Read, Write, Respond, and Complete 75 Emails a Day

June 27th, 2010 · Comments Off · Productivity

As someone who runs their own company, lost time is lost money. And, it’s no different if you work for someone else. Lost time = lost money. Every minute counts.

‘Help me answer every email in the same biz day!’ I got this from a good friend a while back and this is what I wrote back to her.

‘I get approx 75 emails a day. 120 is high. 50 low. I run 7 sites. Most of my customers are in the US but I have others in the UK, across Europe and in Australia. So, emails are always coming in.

Can She Lead? Do Women Make Better Managers Than Men?

June 17th, 2010 · Comments Off · Productivity

The Harvard Business Review asks What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe About Gender Equality in the Workplace, and then Can She Lead? These articles raise the sensitive issue of a) whether women make good bosses, 2) want to be bosses and (slightly controversially), 3) will men support women bosses or do their best to defeat them? One argument is that many men don’t feel comfortable playing second fiddle to a women boss. Yes, I know there are exceptions but… So, while men tend to become CEOs etc due to networks/old boy’s clubs etc, most women, regardless of their ability may not get this opportunity.

4 Smart Ways to Write Business Proposals That Win Contracts

May 24th, 2010 · View Comments · Proposal Writing

Why do you write business proposals? Same reason we do! We write proposals to win more business, pay our bills and send the kids to college.

Same as you, I guess! Right?

I’ve been in the proposal development game for eleven years. I don’t call myself an ‘expert’ but I have learnt a few things that might interest you. Especially if you want to avoid the mistakes I made…

What’s the best way to write a proposal?

There is no ‘one way’ that works every time. But here are some pointers to consider.

To make your proposal work, you need to persuade your client that your solution is significantly better than your competitors. Not slightly better, but so much better that is would be foolish not to accept it. What makes this happen? As you write your proposal, look at where and how you can persuade the reader to buy your product.