“For your own good” is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction. Janet Frame

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.

Business Proposals: Four Steps

Your can persuade the reader to consider (and hopefully award) the contract to your if you use the follow four tactics:

1. Understand Your Client’s Needs

How do you do this? You get the reader’s attention by highlighting a specific need or problem they have and then explain how you can solve this.

You need to show that you understand their need and approach this from many angles throughout the proposal.

Demonstrate to the client that you recognize their need. State it clearly.

2. Show The Benefits

Next, discuss the benefits they can expect to gain by accepting your proposal. Discuss the solution at a later stage.

Focus on explaining how the client can improve their:

• Productivity
• Profitability and
• Success

with the solution you’re offering.

To support your argument, explain the consequences of inaction or selecting inferior products. You’ll establish credibility not so much by demonstrating your expertise, but by showing your understanding of their business needs.

3. Discuss Your Solution In Plain Language

Make sure that the reader clearly understands what you are proposing. Ask yourself – can they summarize in one sentence what you are proposing.

Make a firm, clear recommendation accompanied by specific action steps. Avoid vague statements.

Recommend a specific approach or application: “We recommend that the Client use our company to design, write and produce its corporate marketing brochure.”

Present it so well that the client believes that your solution will meet their needs.

4. Give Details, Recommendations and Endorsements

Provide the reader with sufficient details. Demonstrate your qualifications and competence to deliver the solution:

• On Time
• Within Budget
• To Specification

This effort will show that you understand the costs involved, particularly the Return On Investment to the client.

Also, discuss related issues, costs, management issues, schedules, risks, future implications. Always return to your key selling point and recommendation presented in terms of a quantifiable benefit. Wrap up by give convincing reasons that the client should choose you over all others.

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a recovering technical writer who now writes business proposals for clients coast-to-coast. He shares business writing tips for smart people like you at Klariti.

Related posts:

1. Kate Winslet’s 7 Smart Ways to Read Business Proposals
2. Business Proposals: How to Write Costs For RFPs
3. Four-Step Strategy for Better Business Proposals

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 as part of my consultancy services) and found it very difficult to make a solid recommendation. Here’s the problem.

• The proposals are fine.
• They’re well-written.
• They look good.
• They have (almost) no grammar or typing errors.
• Even the prices are fine.

So, what’s the problem?

 Business Requirements Excel Matrix

Why Most Proposals Don’t Get Accepted

The problem is that they are offering solutions to problems we don’t actually have.

Maybe someone else does but these documents don’t address our ‘pain points’. My guess is that they read the RFP we sent out and got started pronto. But…

• Did they read the RFP in detail?
• Did they read out annual reports?
• Did they ask to see any feasibility studies we did?

I’m not sure.

How to Write from the Client’s Perspective

One way is to step back and see how you can link your client’s strategic needs – what holds their business together – and what you have on offer. By doing this, you’re putting yourself in their shoes and writing the document so that it answers the issues they have. This actually makes your life simpler. Instead of writing about features, specifications, and other functionality you can dovetail your product offerings to their exact needs.

But…

First you need to identify their strategic needs.

Indeed, the fastest way to lose business is to write business proposals/business plan from your perspective and not that of your clients.

The second is to overlook how the proposed solution actually meets the client’s requirements.

You’d think this would be obvious, right? But many proposals I review miss this point. The proposed solution and the actual business requirements are very far apart.

Identify Strategic Goals
Your business proposal should focus on the client’s needs and how your solution or service solve their problem. This means that before you write the proposal,

You need to read the Request For Proposal, Business Cases, Annual Reports and other collateral that gives you an insight into their business operations. Ask yourself: what it is the client really wants to accomplish.

In other words, does the Request For Proposal, your solution and their Strategic Plan all connect. If not, revise your Proposal and close the gaps between their needs and your offering. Indeed, the more knowledge you have of the client’s strategic goals, and how they impact their business, the more likely your proposal will align with their needs.

How to do this?

Examine their strategic goals from these four different angles:

• Business Strategy – how can you increase their market share; raise profitability; reduce overhead and marketing the product line.
• Technical Strategy – how does your product automate labor-intensive processes, enhance quality with automated machining.
• Social Strategy – in what way can you enhance employee morale, reduce turnover, increase brand recognition, and change consumer attitudes.
• Personal Strategy – and how can you improve career development opportunities and improve employee issues.

Look at the material you have gathered about the client and

1. Identify
2. List
3. Number and
4. Rank

the strategic goals.

Revise the Business Proposal so that it addresses each of these strategic goals.

How to Prioritize Strategic Goals

I use an Excel spreadsheet (matrix) to captures the requirements in one column and then cross-references it against our products key features. You can develop something similar that allows you to map your technical solution against their Request For Proposal or other business documents.

In next week’s article, I will look at how to identify the client’s strategic goals. Once you have identified these, you can fine-tune your Proposal to match these goals.

Conclusion

The cardinal mistake that many novice business writers make is to focus on their product – and assume that the reader will have the time, patience and interest to read their material. This is forgivable when someone is charged up and wants to get the message out. And it works  to a degree. The message is sent out but does anyone likes what they read? And will they be so patient the next time?

Over to you.

How can we improve this? Where do you see the connection between Request For Proposals and identifying Strategic Goals? Also, what other points should business writers bear in mind when developing their Business Proposals?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh provides Business Tips for Smart People on Klariti.com. His also runs the Business Plan Blog at http://www.ivanwalsh.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/ivanwalsh

PS: The Business Plan Template is here.

Related posts:

1. Kate Winslet’s 7 Smart Ways to Read Business Proposals

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 business document is the first impression you make on the reader. If your business plan’s executive summary is poorly written, dull, or cut/pasted together it will hardly get noticed and the effort you put into the rest of the document won’t be seen.

Instead, set aside two or three hours and write the best Executive Summary you can. Challenge yourself to write three hundred words that excite you, generate interest, and paint a picture of your company. People want to read about other people. Don’t forget the power of human interest. In the end, they’re going to do business with you – not your product.

‘The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.’ Warren Buffett

How to Write an Executive Summary that generates interest

Your Executive Summary should excite the reader and help them understand the key results and conclusions in your business document, whether it’s your business proposal, business plan, annual report, case study or white paper.

Looking for inspiration?

Read the Annual Reports written by Warren Buffett and you’ll see how he does it. You know he has confidence in his company. He highlights the goods news in a nice understated way and delivers the less pleasant results with the same even tone.

Executive Summary Definition

Here’s one definition from The Handbook of Technical Writing, “An executive summary is to consolidate the principal points of a report in one place. It must cover the information in the report in enough detail to reflect accurately its content but concisely enough to permit an executive to digest the significance of the report without having to read it in full…."

Characteristics of a Well-Written Executive Summary

While this is a business document in the tradition sense, you must still find ways to stimulate the reader’s interest, make them want to turn the page and take some action.

• Executive summaries must be original.
• Executive summaries must not be cut-and-pastes extracts from the main document.
• Executive Summary should provide unique information not contained anywhere else.
• Executive summaries are standalone documents. The reader, for example, an investor, should be able to grasp your over-arching aims without having to read the entire document.

Documents That Require Executive Summaries

Some business documents require summaries, others don’t. Write an executive summary for the following types of documents:

• Grant Applications
• Standards
• System Design Documents
• Technical Reports
• Training Plans
• White Papers

Documents That Do Not Require Executive Summaries

You do NOT need to write an Executive Summary for shorter documents or certain technical publications, such as:

• Functional Specifications
• Meeting minutes
• Release Notes
• Status Reports
• User Manuals
• Workshop reports

Executive Summary Format & Guidelines

These are guidelines for your Executive Summary. They’re not set in stone, so adjust where necessary. The summary should cover the:

• Purpose
• Scope
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusions

In general, you can write it as follows:

• First paragraph answers: "What is this document about?"
• Summary answers "How did you get the information?"
• Expand on the Software Development process (if applicable)
• Facts
• Results
• Conclusions
• Findings Note: present facts in tabular format.
• Recommendations

What doesn’t go in the Executive Summary?

Other information that doesn’t go in the Executive Summary includes:

• Acknowledgments
• Background data
• Cross-references
• Footnotes
• Industry updates
• Justifications
• Objectives
• Project history
• References

Remember to close your executive summary will a strong summary statement. This must persuade the reader that your business is a winner and the only way to do this is to turn the page and learn more about your company.

Final Tips for Writing the Business Plan’s Executive Summary

Provide a summary. The business plan itself gives the financial details.

• Use strong and positive language.
• No more two pages long. Don’t pad your business plan’s executive summary with fluff.
• Generate interest by enticing your reader to read the rest of the business plan, not tell him everything.
• Read it aloud. Does it read well or sound artificial? Is it clear and succinct?
• Adjust the executive summary for your respective audience. For example, if you want to attract investors, focus on the opportunity your business provides investors and why this opportunity is so special.
• Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Does the executive summary really make you feel excited? If not, why?

The final word goes on Warren. Here’s his take on gold, “It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.”

Make sense?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh provides Business Tips for Smart People on Klariti.com. His also runs the Business Planning Blog at http://www.ivanwalsh.com

PS: The Business Plan Template is available from our partner here.

No related posts.

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.

Here’s what I do:

1. Don’t Park – I try to push each email to completion; that means no ‘parking’. Once I open it, I see if I can finish it then and there. I don’t want to see it a second time. Hat tip to Tim Ferris.

2. Guilt — Don’t feel guilty about writing short, accurate emails as long as you address the key points. Just because you get a 500 word email, doesn’t mean you need to write 500 words back! You don’t have to reply like for like. Knowing this made a huge difference as I felt free to write one line emails that answered the question and then moved on.

3. Word count – Aim to reduce your word count. Say it in one word, not three. Write use, not utilize. Move, not migrate.

4. Deadwood — Drop non-words such as actually, as a matter of fact, in the event of, due to the fact that, and other fillers. Also, remove oxymorons such as pre-meeting (meeting is fine).

5. Consolidate — I’ve closed down my Hotmail account and moved other accounts into one master Gmail account. Less time lost logging in and out. And more secure too. Here’s how to read your Gmail emails offline.

6. Touch Type — I learnt to touch type as a teenager (and do shorthand) so I can type fairly quickly. This helps me run thru emails that bit faster.

7. Microsoft Word — I write longer emails in Word, use the built-in features such as auto-completion, auto-correct and then paste into the email client. It’s so much faster. Word is great when you learn how it really works.

8. Delete Folders — I rarely use them. I don’t store emails for a rainy day. I used too until my account got deleted by accident. Most of what I had ‘collected’ was of zero use. If it’s that valuable, store it somewhere safe.

The more you have, the more you have to manage.

9. Train Customers — I ‘train’ my staff and customers to answer emails the right way. I know that may sound extreme but very few of us have been trained (really trained!) to communicate. It’s not their fault. And no one has shown them how to do it better.

Enter Ivan!

Here’s an example:

Instead of asking

“Will it be ready?”, (an open ended question)

I write:

‘Can you confirm it will be ready by Friday?’ (I’m looking for a specific date, time, or confirmation)

In other words, I’m training them to give me the information I need to push the task to completion. My goal is to get to completion as soon as possible.

10. Subject Line — I use the subject line in the email to ask, confirm or agree with the email’s request. Others have now got into the habit. Many staff ask/respond to emails in the subject line only. Really speeds things up.

11. Help the Reader — Don’t group several ideas/questions in the same paragraph. People read in a hurry. Help the reader reply to your email by:

• Pulling out the key points,
• Use bold when necessary, and
• Red if it’s really critical.
• Don’t go over-board but a single bolded in red will get the reader’s attention.

12. Use Bullets – for longer emails, I bullet point and/or number the key points. This makes it easier for the reader to see what I need answered.

‘Let’s see, Ivan has these five questions. I’ll start at the top and work my way down.’

13. Ignore FYIs – I rarely respond to or read FYIs. Most is information pollution and people covering their… Status Reports are fine; that’s where the relevant information should be. Also, if you ignore FYIs, and don’t respond, they stop sending them.

14. Meetings with Me Only — I book meeting rooms just for me. Then I spend an hour in there ‘processing’ emails. I really try not to check email when doing this (I’m human after all) but to process things and get them to the next step.

15. Good Surfing Habits — This is more to do with time-saving. I don’t surf the web without an aim (well, almost. Those ninja cats can be real fun). Instead, I use Google Reader, which pulls in (and shares) my fav sites, so I don’t have to go hunting them down. It also shows if/where there is a new article. And, I’ve setup folder/topics and read the most important sites first.

16. Team Effort — I also try to get the team into the same mindset. The best way to get them onside is to show them how this saves time and makes their life easier.

17. Use the Phone — finally, be creative. You don’t have to use email all the time. If it’s quicker pick up the phone or print it out and walk over to your colleague. It’s a nice way to network, look busy and get some light exercise.

One book I found really helpful is Alan Lakein’s ‘How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life’. He wrote this in the 70s – before email – but his approach is very helpful. It’s a small little book but worth the read.”

How do you manage?

Out of curiosity, how many emails do you get every day?

Related posts:

1. Kate Winslet’s 7 Smart Ways to Read Business Proposals

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.

Percentage of Women in High Level Positions

The Center for Work-Life Policy announced that while 47% of college-educated entry-level corporate professionals are female, women comprise a mere:

• 21% of senior executives,
• 17% of Congress and
• 15% of board directors

Do Women Make Good Business Leaders?

The Harvard Business Review articles raise three issues:

1. Masculine vs. Feminine women: Ambition in women is often misinterpreted as aggression. Laura Lopez writes about how toughness from a woman can be taken differently than toughness from a man. Similarly, women who allow their “feelings” to get in the way are perceived as too weak to lead and run others. This paradox can leave women unsure about how to best behave and people doubting their intentions as leaders.
2. Belonging vs. Competing: Dr. Roy Baumeister showed that humans have a desire and need to belong, yet women and men differ on how they handle this. He says that women tend to prefer close and intimate relationships, while men tend to go for shallower connections in a larger group of people or a cause. This can lead to men thriving in competitive environments involving networking and competing with their peers, and can result in women avoiding jobs that will place them in direct competition for advancement with their peers to preserve close friendships.
3. Family Life vs. Work Life: In “Opting Out: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home” Pamela Stone highlights the institutional obstacles and cultural pressures that lead many women to be pushed out of work. This dilemma draws many women away from high-profile careers to stay with the kids at home.

The article concludes by saying that, “Female leaders can rise to the top as they embrace their own strengths as women and maintain a leadership style that is embedded in their individuality. This is what will draw others near, inspire, and motivate. It will also require society to respect women for the strengths they posses?”

Is this true?

Do you see this happening in the workplace? Do you support your female boss as much as your male boss? What are the blind spots and politically correct behavior that stops this from happening?

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