Writing winning proposals

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Writing winning proposals
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Why write proposals?

• Work in industry and business is done through
  proposals
• The process
• Requests for Proposals (RFPs) identify problems
  that organizations want solved
• Other organizations submit proposals that
  describe the solution they can create to that
  problem
• The original organization selects the proposal
  that seems to offer the best solution
• The second organization wins the contract and
  creates the solution that it proposed

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What makes a proposal good?

• Carefully and thoughtfully analyzed content
• Efficient and effective design of the proposal
  and the solution
• Persuasively sells the solution it proposes
• Demonstrates how its solution is better than
  other possible ones
• Shows the experience and talent of the team that
  will produce the solution

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What kinds of proposals are there?

• Internal written by a division within a company
  to persuade management to approve an idea or
  project
• Solicited submitted in response to RFPs or
  specifications
• Unsolicited individual or company has identified
  a problem and devised the solution that the
  proposal presents
• Sole-source contracts organization intends to
  engage only one company to supply a product or
  service (one company is usually selected prior to
  publishing the RFP)

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What is a proposal?

• Primarily a sales pitch that seeks to define a
  clients problem and/or opportunities and to sell
  the client on your companys ability to provide
  solutions and strategies. Robert Hamper and Sue
  Baugh, Handbook for Writing Proposals.
• It shows how you can provide help to solve the
  clients problem

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When to decline writing a proposal?

• Deadline is too soon for you to write a good
  proposal
• The RFP offers follow-up work to a larger project
• You are not equipped to produce the
  specifications listed, but your competitors are
• The contract is outside your field of expertise
• You have no real competitive edge over the
  competition
• You lack staff and resources to prepare a good
  proposal
• Your chances of winning the proposal are less
  than 50

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How are proposals evaluated?

• Does the proposal writer fully understand my
  needs and problems?
• Does the writer know how to solve my problem?
• Is the plan, strategy, or program suitable and
  appropriate to achieving my goal?
• Does the writer have the qualified personnel to
  complete the proposed project?

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How are proposal evaluated?

• Has the writers organization completed similar
  projects in a timely and satisfactory way?
• What makes this writers organization superior to
  others who are also bidding?
• How attractive and professional looking is the
  proposal and its presentation?

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Important aspect

• Not only show that you can solve the problem
  well, also show that you can solve it better than
  others proposing solutions
• Persuasion is a key element of a winning proposal
• You must sell your ideas, as well as your
  expertise and dependability
• Price is not the primary criterion for selection
  professional competence and prior record are the
  deciding factors

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Who is the audience for a proposal?

• The individual or group that will evaluate the
  proposals and award the project
• To gain information about the evaluators, analyze
  carefully the RFP itself for information
• Examine organizational materials that are
  available in the public domain, such as annual
  reports, newsletters, press releases, etc. for
  insight into the culture, financial stability,
  and management style
• Talk with clients if possible (if permitted)

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Analysing an RFP

• Determine what kind of proposal is requested
• Examine the primary criteria listed in order of
  importance
• Identify any secondary criteria
• Once you feel you thoroughly understand the
  requirements of the RFP, you can start planning
  your solution and the pitch you will use to sell
  it to readers

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In-Class Exercise 6.1 Analyze an Assignment as an
RFP

• Read Major Project 9.1 on page 268 in the
  textbook.
• Using the ideas outlined in the previous slides,
  analyse this RFP for information about the
  requirements of the assignment and the
  expectations of the reader.

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Generic format of a proposal

• Problem statement/Background
• Methods/Procedures
• Qualifications/Resources
• Work schedule
• Budget

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Questions a proposal must answer

• What problem are you going to solve?
• Answered in the problem statement
• How are you going to solve the problem?
• Answered in the problem statement and the methods
  section
• What exactly will you provide for us?
• Answered in the problem statement
• Can you deliver what you promise?
• Answered in the methods, qualifications, and work
  schedule sections

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Questions a proposal must answer

• 5. What benefits can you offer?
• Answered in the problem statement and the
  qualifications section
• 6. When will you complete the work?
• Revealed in the work schedule
• 7. How much will it cost?
• Revealed in the budget statement

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In-Class Exercise

• Using the information on the previous slides,
  analyze the sample proposal distributed to your
  group.
• First, describe what the writer has done in each
  section to develop his or her ideas.
• Second, evaluate the effectiveness of each
  section of the proposal.
• Third, make notes on how the proposal might be
  revised to improve the answers to the questions
  posed by readers of a proposal.