captureplanning.com Tutorials and resources for proposal writing and business development





Who sets the standards for proposals?

The customer.

There is no universal standard for layout or composition of proposals. If you think about it, it makes sense. A “proposal” is intended to persuade someone. What is required to do that is up to the person being persuaded.

If you want your proposal to succeed, you must know your customer. If your customer wants:

  • If your customer wants details, give it to them. If they don’t want to do a lot of reading, give them a short proposal.
  • If your customer wants references, give it to them. Otherwise, don’t.
  • If your customer wants pricing, give it to them. If they’re not ready for pricing, don’t give it to them.
  • If your customer wants contractual details, give it to them. If they’re not ready to discuss contractual details, don’t force them.
  • If your customer wants to know who will be doing the work, tell them. If they don’t care, don’t tell them.
  • If your customer wants things presented chronologically, organize your proposal that way.
  • If your customer wants information organized functionally, organize your proposal that way.

If you don’t know the answers, find them out.

If the customer doesn’t know what they want or need, give them criteria to help them figure it out.

Never load the customer up with a bunch of paper just because they might want something. Give them what they want. No more, no less.


By Carl Dickson, Founder of CapturePlanning.com



Click here for more free articles like this one




Click here for hundreds more free articles we have published


The free articles on our site are samples of what's in the PropLIBRARY Knowledgebase. Our free articles openly discuss the theory and foundations behind our recommendations. PropLIBRARY provides the detailed templates, forms, and processes that make it quick and easy to turn theory into winning proposals.


We also publish proposal tutorials, guides, samples, and other documents with titles like:
How to Survive Your First Business Proposal
How to write a Management Plan
Proposal Sample Makeover
Proposal Formatting Guide
How to Write an Executive Summary
Business Development for Project Managers
509 Questions to Answer in Your Proposals
See all the proposal guides we publish


Browse hundreds of free articles on all these topics:

Proposal Writing Advice
How to Write a Business Proposal
Proposal Management
Red Teams & Proposal Quality Validation
How to Create a Compliance Matrix
Process and Procedures
Win Strategies and Themes
How to Write an Executive Summary
Professional Services Marketing
Proposal Templates and Reuse
Training Program Considerations
Proposal Software Advice
Miscellaneous Tips
Proposal Graphics & Visual Communications
Storyboards and Content Planning
Oral Proposals and Presentations
Government Contracting
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Bid/No-Bid Decisions
Business Development and Marketing
Relationship Marketing and Customer Contacts
Sales Letters & Copy Writing
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Small Business Development & Startup


Miscellaneous
Home
About Us
Privacy Policy
Contact Us




Copyright © 2012. Please review the Terms of Use prior to copying or distributing.