Writing winning proposals

1. Writing winning proposals

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. What is a proposal? • “Primarily a sales pitch that seeks to define a client’s problem and/or opportunities and to sell the client on your company’s 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 client’s problem

6. 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%

7. 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?

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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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.

13. Generic format of a proposal • Problem statement/Background • Methods/Procedures • Qualifications/Resources • Work schedule • Budget

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.