The book, “Win More Business – Write Better Proposals” is now available on-line from Chapter Indigo

You can order it for delivery or for pick-up at your local Chapters or Indigo store.

When I review proposals, I look for details and information that both supports what the service provider says and demonstrates a track record of some sort.

It’s certainly easier to keep your proposal general, particularly if you’re using boilerplate material for your proposals. But the best proposals have details that get the reviewers attention. Read the rest of this entry »

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This time, I’ll discuss some of the quotes from Part 8 of my book, which are directly from buyers and provide you with great guidance for your next proposal.

In this podcast, we’ll focus on the first group of quotes under the heading “Differentiate Yourself”

This is one of the most important things to get right. RFPs exist so clients can decide between various bidders and make a final selection. If you haven’t given the client what they need to differentiate you from others, you haven’t written a winning proposal. Read the rest of this entry »

Selling is an important concept that too many proposal writers and business development professionals forget is actually part of the proposal process.

Unlike a typical sale where you have a conversations with your client and convince them to buy what you’re selling, a proposal isn’t a real conversation – it’s one sided. Read the rest of this entry »

I reference four other books in my own book about writing better proposals because they provide excellent examples or lessons that proposal writers can use to improve their proposals. They mostly relate to getting your message across and persuading the reader.

In some cases, I had been using the techniques already in RFP responses and it was only after I read these books that I understood why they worked.

Here are some examples of how these books influence my approach to proposal writing. 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 »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.6MB)

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 »

I recently reviewed a number of Request for Qualifications (RFQ) submissions for a client. One of the proposals stood out, but not for the right reasons. They chose to use an odd sized paper format, not the standard letter size everyone else used and is the standard in North America. Read the rest of this entry »

While working on my upcoming book recently, I realized that the process of writing a proposal is exactly the same as baking a cake. Unfortunately, however, cake is a lot tastier than your RFP response.

In any case, for a successful proposal, here is the Recipe:

• You are asked to bake a cake
• Find a recipe
• Modify the recipe to suite their tastes
• Grease the Pan and heat up the oven
• Review the ingredients, put them in order
• Add the ingredients for the cake into the bowl
• Beat it until smooth. Test and repeat
• Pour it in the pan and level it out.
• Put the cake in the oven until done
• Test for doneness
• Put it back and cook some more if necessary.
• Let it cool and add some frosting.
• Serve it up
• Hope for positive reviews

If you have your own analogy or anecdote, feel free to leave a comment.

I recently helped a client develop the scope and evaluation criteria for a service related Request for Proposals they want to issue. Even though this was for a client, not a bidder, it emphasized how important it is for you to understand your client’s evaluation matrix when you are bidding and strategically positioning your bid and pricing to benefit from it. Read the rest of this entry »