Successful RFP’s must stick in the client’s mind so when they evaluate the proposals and chose a winner, they are comfortable and confident in your ability to do the job.

Unfortunately, many companies tend to rely on a lot of boilerplate material when putting together their proposals. The lack of details and effort won’t excite the client or hold their attention when they evaluate your proposal. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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Getting material from the subject matter experts within your organization, or from subcontractors and suppliers, can be challenging. There are a few reasons for this. Often, these individuals don’t know how to write effectively, and may not fully understand what’s expected of them. If they’re technical experts, their focus and interests may not match what you need to provide. These people are probably passionate about what they do, but don’t know how to sell that. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

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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 »

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 »

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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 »