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In this podcast, I’m covering a common question which is : How long should a proposal be?

The rule of thumb for how long your proposal should be is to make it as long as you need to get your point across without overwhelming the evaluators. More is not better. Consider the effort it takes by the reviewers to slog through long proposals.

In the words of Dr. Frank Luntz, author of the book Words that work, “… brevity, clarity, and simplicity are simply the hallmarks of good communication.” Read the rest of this entry »

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In this podcast, I wanted to discuss the most important part of a successful RFP proposal response other than a good price.

It’s about answering the damned question.

Ok, answering the question is a simple concept when responding to Request For Proposal questions, yet proposal writers frequently don’t answer the question the way the client intended. Since a proposal isn’t a two-way dialogue, you need to get it right the first time. Read the rest of this entry »

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In this podcast, I’m covering an often overlooked issue that can sink your proposal – a simple thing called perception.

Perception can be a problem for you when writing your RFQ or RFP proposal response in two ways. First, your perception of the client and their requirements may not be true, and could taint your proposal response. Second, the client’s perception of your organization and your service may not be valid, yet it will influence how they evaluate your proposal. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:49 — 4.4MB)

I’m sure many of you have had to rely on others for the content you need to write a proposal, whether it’s internal staff, subject matter experts, subcontractors or partners.

Getting content from others can be challenging. I think there are a few reasons for this. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:14 — 3.0MB)

Welcome to another episode of the podcast ‘Write Winning Proposals”.  In this podcast, I’m talking about a sure way to lose credibility with clients and the evaluators – Weasel Words.

I have to admit, I’ve used them myself in the past and based on the RFP Responses I’ve reviewed, many others use them too.

Proposal writers use them because they’re easy, cheap and pretty useful when you don’t want to make a commitment or don’t really know what to say. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:45 — 4.1MB)

Welcome to another episode of the podcast “Write Winning Proposals”. In this podcast, I’m revisiting the idea of asking yourself questions to prepare for writing your proposal response.

In episode #5, I also talked about asking questions, but the focus was on a series of probing questions specific to the questions they expect you to respond to and using a drill-down technique to ask questions about each subsequent answer.

There are, however, a few other questions you should also ask yourself about the client and the proposal as part of your strategy process before you start writing. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:51 — 5.1MB)

Welcome to another episode of the podcast  ‘Write Winning Proposals”.  This time, I’m taking a look at RFP’s from the client side.

While I’ve been helping bidders respond to RFP’s, I’ve also assisted companies on the client side to develop and write RFP documents. It’s the other side of the equation – clients who issue proposal requests need to make it easier for bidders to respond and at the same time, make the bid proposal responses easier to evaluate so the best provider is chosen.

In the November, 2009 issue of Summit, Canada’s largest magazine on government and public sector procurement, I wrote about 5 things clients can do to get better proposal responses from bidders when they write their RFP documents.

Of course, even bidders can benefit from this advice so I’ve provided the original text below in addition to a podcast of the article. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:40 — 2.5MB)

Welcome to another episode of the podcast  ‘Write Winning Proposals”. This time, we’re talking about questions. Not the ones your client asks in the RFP, the ones you should ask yourself before you answer their questions.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:35 — 3.1MB)

Using boilerplate material is the easy way to write a proposal, but like everything else, the easy way isn’t usually the path to success.

To win, you need to provide custom writing that speaks to the client and their needs with details, facts and information that matters to them. That means thinking about what needs to be said and saying it, not just using boiler plate material and cutting and pasting what you said in the last proposal.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:07 — 3.5MB)

When reviewing proposals written by bidders, I can’t stand seeing fluff.

And, I’m not the only one. Someone I recently interviewed about reviewing proposals said that when there’s fluff, it’s glossed over and if there’s something related to the evaluation criteria hidden in the fluff, it’s missed by the evaluators.

Keeping out the fluff when writing isn’t easy, but it’s key to a successful proposal. Read the rest of this entry »