Writing Business Proposals is easy. It’s other activities that are hard. Your Business Proposal may be the best priced, with the right people, and the top qualifications, but, if you overlook one critical business requirement, your bid gets rejected. We want to avoid this, right?
Proposal Development
- Have you analyzed the client’s needs thoroughly and creatively?
- Have you turned the statement of need into an overall strategy?
- Have you checked the proposal for continuity and consistency?
Compelling Content
- Is the creative strategy viable?
- Are all facts accurate and double-checked?
- Is the strategy supported by evidence and samples?
- Is the proposed solution clearly worthwhile?
- Have you removed all vagueness, abstraction or generalization?
- Is there too much detail and no overview or sense of perspective?
- Is the proposal client-centred or us-centred?
Make your Organization Interesting
- Do the cover letter and executive summary hook the reader?
- Is the proposal one unified, persuasive argument? Is there one common strategy to which everything is related?
- Are the parts arranged in a coherent, logical order?
- Is there a wrapping up to each major section?
- Have you structured the information from the reader’s point of view?
- Are my headings clear, properly worded and parallel?
- Is each section written around (1) the client’s need, (2) solution, and (3) with supporting details?
Get the Style Right
- Are the sentences easy to understand?
- Are all technical terms and jargon used correctly?
- Have you avoided clichés?
- Is the proposal concise?
- Is the level of writing appropriate for the reader?
Facts and Figures are Accurate
- Check for mistakes in grammar, usage, spelling or typing?
- Check for mistakes in names, titles, dates, costs or other details?
- Check that the proposal is neat, professional and easy to read?
How else can we improve our Proposals?
About the Author: Ivan Walsh provides business proposal writing tips, tutorials, and templates on the Proposal Writing Course every week. Get his free proposal writing newsletter here.