Learn to Write Proposals

What's your most important project?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:26:00 +0000

We are at a time in the world of austerity where the businesses that have survived so far may well be well positioned for the future..if you've survived this far then the chances are that you have a business that can carry on surviving in lean times.

But what is it that is helping you manage now?

Is it one client or service? Or maybe you have a business that actually benefits from the recession? Yes, there are some (debt collection agencies are having their best years right now).

So what is your most important project? Is it the one that is keeping your business going? Is it taking all your energy and time? Survival is key of course...but does suvivability have a shelf-life? What happens when that project comes to an end? What happens if circumstances change?

At what stage should you think about moving from surviving to growth and comfort? Do those opportunities exist for you?

Is it time to think that your most important project is the next one?

When you are spending 100% of your time on your current business commitments, looking for and developing new opportunities may not get to the top of your immediate priorities. How to write a proposal when you have no time> But it is vital to the long-term success of your business.

That's why if you want your business to be in position to continue to survive the next project is vital. If you are smoving towards the end of your current commitments the next project is the most important thing you should be working on in your business.

And a quality proposal is one of the key tools that you can use to generate new business. Think about the Learn to Write Proposals persuasion formula:

solution + evidence + value = persuasion

Those current projects should help you define your current solution capability as well as providing evidnce of your ability to deliver. If your business is surviving, then let's assume you offer good value. So you should have a persuasive offering to new and existing clients when you write a business proposal.

Learn to Write Proposals helps you identify key proposal elements, structure your proposal and demonstrate value. We can help you and your team learn how to develop compelling written sales messages. And importantly our tools help you save time so that you can create powerful proposals that help you win new business without losing compromise your current project deliverables.

New UK Government Guidelines on SME Procurement

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 16:30:00 +0000

The recent changes in Government procurement have been designed to enable small and medium sized enterprises tp get more access to goverment contracts.

Traditionally, the procurement process in the public sector has been one that's dififcult to crack for smaller business - the complex procurement complex and the size of contracts available have often been off-putting to SMEs.

That's changing with a new contracts finder website - giving everyone access to public sector contracts over £10,000 but lower that the OJEU threshold.

Another benefit is allowing businesses to pre-qualify once, rather than for each opportunity. This alone will save businesses time and money. In some instances for projects under £100,000 pre-qualification may disappear entirely.

But changing the procurement processes means that businesses have to be prepared to understand new processes and pitch for business. Having procurements that require only proposals and presentations means that the quality of your message, proposal and persuasion needs to be at an even higher level as the opportunities have been opened up to more potentially suppliers.

The new policy also says "Departments will be required to adopt greater use outcome based specifications as much as possible and not to over specify."

Outcome based specifications means that understanding needs and describing client benefits become the essential tools of persuasion - it's not good enough to give details about your business...it's all about what your business can do to deliver the desired outcome.

Businesses need to get close to opportunities - and one danger of these changes is that more contracts will have someone's name on them before the procurement is undertaken - but also any proposals submitted need to be highly persuasive and offer clear benefits statements related to the desired outcomes.

Learn to Write Proposals has developed a methodology for persuasive proposals and this has been deisnged for small and medium businesses - easy to use tools that enhance the sales and proposal capability of businesses that traditionally may not have had to write proposals. But with these new opportunties being publicised, less money being spent in the public sector and a highly competetive environment it means that proposal skills need to be better than ever before. That's why Learn to Write Proposals gives you the tools and resources to respond successfully to opportunities, improving your chances of winning business.

Special offer from Learn to Write Proposals

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:41:00 +0000

There's never been a more important time to maximise your sales potential - that means being able to demonstrate value in your proposals and at the same time create better proposals, faster. It's been an exciting year so far at Learn to Write Proposals with the development of e-learning content, our online proposal writing and business style guide and so much more to come with an online seminar series to support you in creating winning proposals.

To reflect the new content offerings we've recently made some changes to our subscription and lifetime membership pricing. However, we want to offer an opportunity to readers of our newsletter to subscribe to Learn to Write Proposals at a significant discount on our new rates. There really is not a better time to treat yourself and your business to a Learn to Write Proposals membership.

That's why until the end of September 2010 you can get 25% of any subscription or a lifetime membership. You can even use this discount to get a discount on individual items in our online shop.

If you want a reminder on what's included, click here.

To get your discount, use this coupon at checkout:

ZGEWND

If you have any questions, then don't hesitate to drop us a line.

Learn to Write Proposals
info@learntowriteproposals.com

Better Proposals = More Business

Prospect qualification for business proposals

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:47:00 +0000

Writing a business proposal is often a substantial investment for a business, whatever the size. It takes time and resources to produce and, as with any sale, there is a chance that the customer is going to say no.

So the opportunity has to be qualified - that is you need to detach emotion and objectively assess the likeliohood of success, then make the call whether or not to invest in the bid.

This objective assessment or qualification is often difficult for some people - for instance a salesperson who has spent time cultivating an opportunity.

But it has to be done to avoid a lot of time wasting. Qualifying out bad opportunities and concentrating on ones that you can win is one of the easiest things that you can do to improve sales success and therefore the success of your business. It's a technique that all sales staff should learn.

Learn to Write Proposals has a Prospect Qualification toolkit that helps evaluate objectively opportunities. And we recommend that this is used throughout the sales cycle, not just once.

We have two tools to help you with your bid prospecting:

Bid/No bid tool
This tool allows you to make some preliminary decisions about whether it is worth spending time and effort responding to an opportunity. Although it is always tempting to go after everything, unless you can commit time and effort to writing a high quality, customer focussed proposal, you stand only a small chance of winning.

Probability engine
This tool is designed to help you with your bid and prospect qualification - to help you calculate the probability of winning an opportunity based on key business relationship factors weighted against their importance.

Each time you use the bid qualification engine ensure that you name and save the spreadsheet locally. Keep a version for each opportunity and throughout the bidding process re-visit the tool to re-qualify the opportunity - as you get more information and knowledge about the opportunity then check that it is still a viable opportunity - or alternatively that you are applying enough resources to ensure success.

There are fourteen key questions that you need to evaluate, each of which can be given a customised weighting based on the importance of your particular situation.

As this is a very important process, we have also decided to give this toolkit away free. We'll also be working on a improved paid-for version to track costs of the bid process and estimated project costs against value of the bid and the win probability to give you real-time likely return on investment of the bid.

You can download the free toolkit here:

http://www.learntowriteproposals.com/LTWP-Forums/LTWP-Forums/Proposal-Sales-and-Business-Questions/Free-Prospect-Qualification-Tool-Download.html

A business proposal that never was

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:23:00 +0000

I was involved in writing a proposal for a client recently. The contracting buyer was a large public sector quango, who had issued an Invitation to Tender to a range of suppliers who had been consulted over a long period of time about the proposed project.

My client had an opportunity to consult with the buyer beforehand and qualify the opportunity on several occasions...including one-one-one meetings and a supplier's briefing. Then the ITT came out with no surprises. As one of the only providers in the country who had the technical capability (and part of the specification was based on my client's solution) my client was confident.

The ITT was issued as expected and we spent several days putting the proposal response together. The process was managed, we reviewed and edited the proposal. When we were satisfied, we submitted it.

After following up several times with the buyer, a letter was received. We had not been awarded the contract. Damn!

Had we not met the specification?
Did we exceed the available budget?
Was our proposed schedule missing the target delivery dates?
Did we have a poor track record?

No on all the above.

It turns out that the buyer, as a publicly funded body didn't want to waste tax payers money by funding a service that was already commercially viable. How did they know it was commercially viable? Because my client's tender response (and that of a competitor) showed it was.

Why the client didn't realise this was the case before issuing the ITT? They had met with my client and had knowledge of our solution before we put pen to paper. Why ask us to spend all that time telling us that this project was coming up to bid, then asking us to bid, when they knew they would be funding a commericial service?

It was qualified, yet still the buyer didn't buy. Just because they didn't do their homework properly on what they could fund or not and let the bidding organisations know.

At least no tax payers money was wasted. Just my clients in preparing and putting together the bid. But a public sector organisation that can't do it's job properly is wasting public money.

Qualification...better proposals...better win rate

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:17:00 +0000

Once we have an opportunity we need to decide whether it is a viable one for us to actively pursue. Having meetings with clients, preparing a written proposal, travelling to a presentation and all the other costs of gaining business are just one aspect. It may be that the opportunity isn't quite right for you - it may not be your core competence or could be a distraction from a more important project or prospect. Maybe you know that your competition is in prime position for this piece of work and you feel that this project "has their name" all over it and that it simply isn't worth you writing a proposal..

So how do you decide whether to bid or not? The danger is that you make an emotional decision to bid and write a proposal, even though it may not be the right opportunity for the business, after all you have put in the effort to find or create the lead. You should go through this process even if a client organisation has given you a "hot" lead and asked you to respond to their RFP or tender document.

You need to qualify your lead all the way through the sales process - from the initial prospecting to just before the submission of the proposal. At Learn to Write Proposals we have our Bid Qualification Toolkit to help you make those decisions and it helps you in two ways.

Firstly, the Bid Qualification Engine helps you measure the probability of your success in a particular opportunity, but this isn't a one-time thing that might stop your business development in its tracks...every time you qualify the opportunity you are identifying strengths and weaknesses in your capture planning strategy. Identifying weaknesses in you position (and the potential impact of those weaknesses) early on in the business development process helps you overcome them and make your proposal and position stronger.

Secondly, the Bid/No-Bid matrix helps you make an objective decision about the viability of an opportunity.

Any sort of formal qualifying process is important and should be done regularly throughout the development process. Why? Because it will help inform you about your progress and also will help you if your bid is unsuccessful and an analysis and report has to be made of what went wrong. If you can show that you followed a structured process of identifying potential problems and mitigating them, it helps feed into improving how you go about writing business proposals and winning work.

What to do to win more business...and proposals

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:31:00 +0000

It's the obvious question...what do I really have to do in order to win the work.

You may think that you are doing everything right. You've done your homework, worked up a relationship with the client, done your bid/no bid analysis and qualified the opportunity. Everything seems good...but sometimes we get caught up in things and forget the basics.

Basics such as answering the questions. Maybe this blog entry should be entitled what doesn't win work because this is about something that can sometimes get overlooked. There is more than one large organisation out there who spent a lot of time, effort and money preparing the groundwork for a large piece of work that they thought that they would have a good chance of winning, yet not only did they not get the work, they were dismissed by the commissioning organisation at the pre-qualification stage.

Why? That's easy - they didn't answer the questions properly. It's unusual to be writing a proposal and not refer to the RFP to make sure that the proposal is answering the questions - not so unusual that the questions aren't answered fully or in a persuasive manner - but a PQQ is often left to a junior member of the team who just cuts and pastes from other documents. It can be a costly error to not even get invited to tender for an opportunity that suits your business strategy.

The moral of this story. Take care and take time to check that what you are doing is in fact what you were supposed to be doing.

Prepare in advance. Prepare your PQQ questions. Use proposal templates so that your documents look professional and are structured to tell a compelling story. And have your boilerplate answers ready - and then be prepared to customise those answers to ensure you highlight benefits and provide a genuine solution to the client.

How can Learn to Write Proposals help? we have a dedicated Pre-Qualification Questionnaire tool to help you prepare your answers in advance. We have proposal template packs plus guides, tools and training to help to deliver persuasive and value-packed proposals to your clients.

How do you write a business proposal?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0000

I enjoy asking and answering questions about proposal writing and some of these are often quite complex. I recently had the opportunity in a very short space of time to and write an answer to this question...which really gets straight to the point:

How does one write a proposal? Are there any specific guidelines or format to follow?

Here is my one minute answer - trying to think about what a proposal really is about:

There are a lot of things to consider when writing a proposal. The most important thing is that you have to remember that the proposal is about the customer not about you - and that you are trying to persuade them to buy your products and services.

So make your proposal persuasive - that means demonstrating you credibility, showing the value of your services and if you can provide evidence that you can do what you say.

The easiest trap to fall in when writing a proposal for the first time is to say "I can do this" and "this is what I've done before". Yes, that's important but not as much as writing about what problem the client has and how you intend to solve it.

Put a one or two page Executive Summary at the start of your proposal - some people aren't going to want to read 10, 20 or more pages - they read the beginning and skim the rest if you're lucky. More likely they just skim the beginning! So get you key selling points across here.

For details on what makes a killer executive summary - look here:

Match you solutions to what the client need is. Show that you can fix a problem and back it up (use examples of previous clients if you have them).

Go through each of your products or services one by one, listing in a table the features and benefits. Use colourful graphics - showing the before and after use of your products - again visuals will help you a lot here. If you are unsure about graphics ask a graphic designer for help.

With you pricing try and show some return on investment. Show the hidden costs and consequences to the client of they choose to do nothing.

Providing evidence of your capability is a key to persuasion. If you have a testimonial from a previous client saying how great your product is other customers will buy it.

Just a thought about the format issue. Check the request for proposal (if you received one) from the client and match their document structure and answer their questions. If you need a proposal template get one for free here:

http://www.learntowriteproposals.com/LTWP-Forums/LTWP-Forums/Proposal-Sales-and-Business-Questions/Learn-to-Write-Proposals-free-proposal-template.html

Hope this helps - these are just some quick thoughts. If you want more information on proposal writing and business proposal resources, including ready to go templates and more, then please visit http://www.learntowriteproposals.com

Taking pride in writing a business proposal well

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:49:00 +0000

I mentioned recently about a couple of posts from Seth Godin...here's the second. Her reminded me of a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.:

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”

And this is the case when writing a business proposal. Why do the minimum? Why respond lazily with cut and paste from an old proposal? Why rush and make zero effort to explain to the client why they should choose you?

Whether you are writing a two-page letter proposal; whether you are responding to a complex request for proposal (RFP) or invitation to tender (ITT); whether you are using a proposal template or sending a proposition in an email...there's no reason why you shouldn't make the effort to do your job well.

Making the effort will be rewarded. It's a better proposal. It's a happier client. It will get you more business. That's why Learn to Write Proposals give you tools, training and heko to empower you to create better proposals that you can be proud of.

Have a question about how to make a better proposal? Why not ask it in our forum?
Need to write a proposal and don't know where to start? Try a proposal template pack?
Want formal training and to get a certificate for your training records? Take out a lifetime memmbership or subscription?

Be prepared with a business proposal templates

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Responding to a request for proposal or indeed needing to write a proactive business proposal means that you need to concentrate on your proposal content. Be prepared for it by creating a proposal template with your logo and corporate infromation ready to go. Set out the structure and the styles of the document so that you think about your solution. It's a useful way to be ready every time your need a professional looking sales document.

And what to put in the solution. Here's our quick persuasive formula:

Customer need +
Your solution +
Explicit benefits +
Clear value +
Evidence of credibility
=
Persuasion

We'll talk about some of these in more detail in our next blog entries.

In the meantime, if you need to write a proposal and want a formatted and structured proposal template then check out the Learn to Write Proposals' "Proposal Template Packs". Each pack includes different templates, guidance text and a free copy of out Getting Started Proposal Guide.

Content and presentation in a business proposal...a little more

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Thanks once again to Seth Godin for a couple of interesting posts in his blog recently.

Here's the first, which I found relevant to my recent post on content and presentation in a business proposal which re-inforces the idea that presentation sends a message about the type of business that you are. It's relevant for all your business writing, whether it's a report or whether you are preparing a business proposal template, or have to respond to an RFP:

Type tells a story

If you write it down, we're going to judge it.

Not just the words, we're going to judge you even before we read the words. The typography you use, whether it's a handwritten note or a glossy brochure, sends a message.

Some typefaces are judged in a similar way by most people you're addressing (Times Roman in a Word document or Helvetica on a street sign or Myriad Pro on a website) but even when you choose something as simple as a typeface, be prepared for people to misunderstand you.

If you send me a flyer with dated, cheesy or overused type, it's like showing up in a leisure suit for a first date. If your website looks like Geocities or some scammy info marketer, I won't even stay long enough to read it.

Like a wardrobe, I think a few simple guidelines can save amateurs like us a lot of time:

1. Invest some time and money up front to come up with a house style that actually looks the way you want it to, one that tells the story you want to tell. Hire a designer, put in some effort. A headline font, a body font, one or two extras. That's your outfit, just like the four suits you rotate through your closet.

2. "What does this remind you of?" No need to be a pioneer (unless that's the story you want me remember). Find a combination of typefaces that remind your chosen audience of the sort of organization you want to remind them of. Hint: italic wedding invitation fonts in the body of your email remind me of nothing except other people who have wasted my time...

3. Be consistent. Don't change it when you get bored. Don't change it when your staff gets bored. Change it when the accountant and marketing guys tell you it's not working any longer.

Tone and style in your business proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:27:00 +0000

With the initial publication of the Learn to Write Proposals Style Guide (henceforth to be known as the “Guide”) we, the author and publisher of the aforementioned Guide are conscious that we may be seen as incorrectly encouraging the use of an overly-formal writing style that enforces strict and traditional rules of English Grammar, an approach which, in the first instance, is of little or no use in the formation of beneficial arguments and secondly, is completely incoherent to the reader through the writing and use of poorly constructed, rambling sentences and…zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Then again, tone’s well….important, isn’t it? Bidding for some work, getting the message across – easy! Let’s just put down on paper the top-drawer deal that we’d tell people as if they were stood in front of us. Nice and informal. They’ll feel right at home. Way better than that fancy stuff, innit?

Once again, I say that your words are there to communicate clearly and shouldn’t get in the way of your message. There is a happy medium somewhere between the overly formal and informal. Remember the person who is on the receiving end of your document and reading it - put yourself in their place and imagine the flow of words to them. The chances are that you’ll find a conventional and conversational style (not writing legalise and not dumbing down) will allow you to get your message across almost every time.

Proposals are about persuasion, but also they are communicating that persuasive message. That's why it's important to understand som basics of language - how to use words, grammar and punctuation, tone and style. That's why we have our Style Guide...to help you understand how to best use language to create persuasive business proposals.

Content and presentation in a business proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:03:00 +0000

When you are writing a business, either a proactive proposal or responding to an RFP (request for proposal), how important is a good looking document?

That is, aside from the content how much difference does it make if your proposal looks tidy, well laid out and professional?

The answer is very important. Though good presentation alone won't win you any work, poor presentation may very well lose you business.

A proposal you send to a client represents you and your buiness. Is the message that you want to communicate one of lack of attention to detail, cutting corners and sloppiness. That's what you are doing if you send a poor quality document, with poor formating, layout and bad (or no) graphics.

Or would you rather let the client know that you care about quality, pay attention to detai and have put some effort into their proposal?

Proposals can be high pressure to get completed in time, that's why you should prepare in advance and have a proposal template that allows you to concentrate on writing proposal content, not on layout. Configure styles and numbering so that you don't waste valuable proposal time configuring or fixing your document.

If your Word skils aren't great or you are in a hurry, then why not use a template pack from Learn to Write Proposals? We have a variety to choose from all with letter proposal template, formal proposal template, cover letter templates with all styles pre-configured. Plus we include guidance text and a free copy of our Getting Started Proposal Guide.

This is what Patricia C said about our proposal template packs:

"When I said that I liked the templates pack, this includes the absolutely BRILLIANT e-guide to writing a proposal. This gets straight to the nitty-gritty in a way which means I think I just might make the deadline!"

Get one here now.

How many pages in a business proposal?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:49:00 +0000

I've been preparing a few proposals recently that have asked for a limit on the number of pages that you are allowed to submit.

Why does anybody insist on a certain number of pages? They do it to try and make a fair choice, without having to plough through mountains of content. To focus the response on what's important.

But to be fair, allow each supplier to fairly express themsleves. Some proposals can easily be short, but a proposal should have a natural length based on its complexity and the number of questions that need answering. Sure, have a guide for a number of pages, but really if you ask for an eight page response and have twenty questions to answer , then how can anyone answer any of those questions adequately?

Do the procurement people only allow the first eight pages? Would they discount the proposal because it went a couple of pages over, even if it was clearly the best? Maybe, maybe not. It may depend on the formality of the procurement. If in doubt ask the question and be prepared to start editing.

Big proposals for the small guy

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:35:00 +0000

More and more businesses have to write proposals, but are their proposal skills getting better?

In the UK the government wants government departments and local authorities to support small businesses by giving them opportunities to win work. But are small businesses in any position to either respond to invitations to tender (either independently or through consortia), competing against larger businesses with more experience in public sector tendering?

It's unlikely, isn't it?

Yet more and more, businesses have to respond to business opportunities with written proposals and they don't have the skills.

So businesses actually lose out, because they can't handle the procurement process and nothing changes. How to change this status quo? Either businesses get outside assistance, improve their skills or procurement becomes simplified which shows no sign of happening.

So if you need to get up to speed quickly to create better proposals, getting skills why not look at Learn to Write Proposals...tools, templates and training to get you ready for the hurdles of procurement.

10 ways to make your proposal easier to understand

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Many proposals are complex, but there is no good reason to over complicate. Try and simplify your arguments and proposition so that buyers can easily understand it and see the benefits of it.

Here are some suggestions how:

Use easy to understand words. OK - this might seem obvious, but how many times have the technical team supplied content that is completely undecipherable? Make sure everyone reading the proposal understands it.
Know your audience. Following on from number 1; use the language and style appropriate to the people who will be reading your proposal.
Use diagrams. It's an old chestnut, but a picture really can be worth a thousand words. Use appropriate diagrams to support your explanations in the text.
Keep the diagrams easy to understand. As with words, keep them simple. Use more than one diagram if they start getting over complicated.
Be explicit about the benefits. Don't assume that the client will jump to the same conclusions you will. Explain why your proposal is better for them.
Don't use 100 words when 10 will do. If you can get your message across in fewer words do.
Have a point to each section of the proposal. Use a win theme statement at the start of each section to explain the key message and benefits contained in that section.
Use a compliance matrix. Even if the client doesn't ask for one, a table showing that you meet or exceed the requirements shows the client immediately that your proposed solution will do everything they ask.
Present your pricing sensibly. Break down your pricing into sensible elements that reflect what you are going to provide. Have you ever received a bill and wondered how they came up with it? Don't let the client fell that way about your proposal.
Be consistent with terminology. Don't assume everyone knows everything. If you use TLAs (three letter abbreviations) or other specialist terms, then don't be afraid to provide a glossary or explanations in footnotes. You never know who will end up reading it.

Getting the proposal writing skills to do the job...part two

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Supported with an individual development plan these are all successful ways that help create an informed and skilled workforce. The BD-Institute’s Capability Maturity Model for Business Development (http://www.bd-institute.org/) is a long document, supported by many hours of research that shows that success results from better processes used consistently across a team.

Within smaller businesses though, it doesn’t always seem possible to put these processes in place due to time and budgetary constraints; and of course, in small businesses there isn’t usually the need for that level of process. But using some of the best practice that big businesses use is surely an advantage for small businesses too.

It also makes us re-think our earlier questions. Where would you get the skills to handle that increase in required knowledge? And how do you do it in a way that supports learners preferred methods of learning?

Ultimately we need to support proposal skills development within small business Learners are often motivated by doing and having to write a proposal to a strict deadline only increases that motivation, especially when there is new business involved. So we need ways that learners can get access to the information they need quickly and in an appropriate manner.

What is needed is a solution that provides a repository of knowledge that’s available in various forms – informal advice, resources to get you creating your proposal and indeed formal training.

There are knowledge banks of proposal information out there, that give you information. At the high level you can undertake a formal accreditation process with the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (http://www.apmp.org/). Members of this organisation are usually professional proposal managers, writers or proposal consultants, but it is an excellent professional support with an extensive knowledge base of proposal related content.

But for small businesses this level of information isn’t always appropriate. At Learn to Write Proposals (http://www.learntowriteproposals.com) we provide resources to get small businesses creating better proposals quicker through various means of knowledge transfer.

Your ideal situation should try and encompass elements of different solutions – external perspectives, internal experience and support for structured and informal learning.

Community-led informal learning is available to anyone who wishes to join the community through forums, blogs and twitter. Have a question? Then just ask. For the more theoretical learners we have a knowledge base of content accessible an online proposal and business writing guide whilst the pragmatists have access to tools and templates to get directly involved in the proposal creation process. There’s also an e-learning course with a certificate for those looking for a more formal learning path with a certificate for your training records.

There are other resources available online and offline of course, and no-one should ever underestimate the un-documented knowledge held within the collective experience of an organisation. But remember that your development is best served by multiple learning strategies, not just information retrieval related to one specific task.

Getting the proposal writing skills to do the job...part one

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Learning can be a funny thing. We’ve all experienced it with varying results during our school years and we have varying reactions whenever we have to undergo any form of work-based training. How many of us really want to site through another manual handling session?

These are of course, two very different parts of the learning experience. Learning suggests gaining new knowledge skills and experiences often without context. Training sounds more corporate – and it suggests learning a specific work related task.

Our desire to learn and take on new skills as adults is often directly related to our experiences in education earlier in our lives, yet the type of learning we do in the workplace is completely different. It’s usually a lot easier to contextualise the learning experience because job specific training is usually related to a specific task that either makes us able to do our existing job easier or helps us progress into a new job.

And how do we learn? It really depends on the role and type of organisation as well as the preferred learning styles of the individual. In larger organisations with a dedicated training department or training manager, it may be taken care of for you. But what about the micro-, small- or medium-sized business? Lot’s of learning takes place in smaller businesses and though some is formalized, much of it could be classed as informal learning.

Let’s give this some context. Many small businesses are familiar with having to develop proposals. Yet, when someone is introduced to their first proposal, and asked to get a response out to the client in two weeks the chances are they didn’t know what to do. Without worrying about the quality of that proposal, the chances are that the proposal will have made it to the client.

So where did the knowledge for how to write the proposal come from? Those same smaller businesses that don’t have dedicated training departments are unlikely to have dedicated bid teams either, yet the transfer of knowledge takes place. It may be that the first time proposal writer, who didn’t know where to start read some old proposals or asked an old hand in the office how to do it. Maybe they bought a book or did a search on Google for some help – informal knowledge transfer that helps but isn’t quantified in any way.

There’s often an assumption that big businesses know how to do things properly, so let’s ask ourselves what would happen in those businesses in the same circumstances? If a skills gap has been identified there needs to be a business case to spend money to fix it. That would usually be one of three options:

    * Sending the employee on an external specialist training workshop or course
    * Providing training on an internal program
    * Bring in a consultant to bridge the knowledge gap and leave a legacy of knowledge behind once they have finished

There may also be other initiatives such as mentoring programs r availability of a knowledge bank with support and training resources such as e-learning content.

New Learn to Write Proposals Website

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:18:00 +0000

After a reasonable amount of head scratching, we are able to launch our new website.

We have a new look and feel, more member content including an enhanced online proposal guide and "Write Winning Proposals" - our online e-learning course.

We also have various subscriber options available, as well as our lifetime membership.

One of the best features is our new community forum - it's free to register and discuss anything on Learn to Write Proposals or anything proposal, sales or business related. Ask questions, get advice, comment on the Learn to Write Proposals blog - it's up to you.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Services for proposal development

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Big companies have large strategic teams to help them develop high-quality proposals with all the bells and whistles.

But what about smaller companies, you know your product and what services you can offer, but you sometimes need help putting the sales message together or creating a powerful document.

So where do you go if you don't have a dedicated graphic designer, or need a proposal professional?

Well, the first stop for resources and training should be Learn to Write Proposals, of course! And with our new and much improved website on the way, you will find everything you are looking for to improve you knowledge and develop your words into winning proposals.

But what about developing graphics? Here are two great resources, depending on your circumstances and location.

1 - BizGraphics On Demand
Outside the UK or if your budget doesn't stretch to hiring someone. It's a searchable library of businesss graphics you can edit in PowerPoint and import into other programmes. Simple

2 - http://www.designquotes.co.uk/
Use a simple briefing form and design quotes will broker quotes for you from graphic designers registered with the site. What makes this one different, is that they'll try and find ones local for you. That's a great USP for this kind of service.So if you've had a bad experience working with frelancers in India and want that face-to-face working relationship give it a try.

There's no specific section for proposal graphics, but there is one for business report design.

Oh, and they also do the same for web design too.

Are your proposals fit for purpose?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:08:00 +0000

I hope not.

"Fit for purpose" is a dreadful phrase that screams mediocrity and belies a complete lack of aspiration.

It says "just get the job done, don't try and do more than you have to".

"Fit for purpose" is the war cry of those who don't want to do better.

It's OK to not want something over-engineered, but why not request and engineer the best possible within your constraints?

When you write a proposal, do you use "fit for purpose" as a winning strategy? Or indeed as one of your win themes?

When trying to win work we need to try our best, to excel, to rise far above "fit for purpose".

Everyone can produce a product "fit for purpose". What can you do to add something extra?

Yes, there is a financial cost to doing more than the bare minimum. But how many successful businesses are surviving because they aim to be fit for a King, not just fit for purpose.

If you compete only on price, remember that one day, someone will start doing the same "fit for purpose" thing you do for less.

Go beyond the minimum and demonstrate the value of being better.

Book review: Mike Parkinson, Do-it-Yourself Billion Dollar Business Graphics

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:19:00 +0000

3 Fast and Easy Steps to Turn Your Text and Ideas Into Graphics That Sell

Every once in a while you come across something that influences the way you work. Something that gives you not just the theory but provides you with the methods to do something in a better way. It's even rarer to find something that gives you the kind of visual ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Well, that's what Mike Parkinson has done here. You could say that being a book about graphics that the visual ideas of course should be there, but that's missing the point. Let me explain.

This book is not about pictures. It's about effective communication and how to increase the effectiveness of communication. Once you realise that, this book will influence and improve the way you produce your proposals.

I should point out as well, that this is not specifically a guide for professional graphic designers, though I think that there are many graphic designers out there who would benefit from reading it. It's for anyone who wants to improve written communications and that means everyone who writes proposals. Don't think that because "you do the words and the graphics guy does the graphics" that this isn't for you. It is.

The first section of the book is about the power of graphics and after fours years studying fine arts and over 20 years experience developing effective graphics Parkinson knows what he is saying. Reading this, you know that the book is based not just on experience and intuition, but solid research and empirical evidence.

Next, Parkinson explains the lifecycle of a graphic and how the two elements of a graphic, (surface or cognitive and subsurface or emotional)are connected. It's why a successful graphic works on multiple levels,communicating hard information, yet in a way we find appealing. So how do you know what is appealing and what information to communicate? We need to move from the abstract and into the practical and fortunately Parkinson has a method for us to follow. This is the key for how even the most visually illiterate wordsmith can think about creating high quality briefs for a graphic artist or select the most appropriate library graphics.

There are three steps to the method, each with their own process.

The first step, the P.A.Q.S. process is about ensuring that you have the information to do what is required:

    * Primary Objective: what's the required action after the graphic has been viewed?
    * Audience: who are they and what do they want?
    * Questions: What does the audience need to know from looking at this graphic?
    * Subject Matter: What you need to know to answer the questions!

There's more too it that that of course, which is why each part of the process is covered in detail with lots of examples.

Step two covers how to conceptualise graphics and Parkinson describes four different methods for conceptualising graphics. Never again will you be stuck for inspiration or wonder "I have no idea how to describe this". He also looks at some design techniques - how to present graphics well.

The third step is about rendering your graphics. There are more tips and rules and pages of every graphic type you can possibly imagine for you to learn from.

There's a fun little quiz at the end, plus a glossary and a link to a virtual CD of free examples of business graphics which makes this one of the most comprehensive resources of its type. It's also easy to understand and implement ideas that will improve your proposals.

All in all this book is excellent value and delivers more than expected. If you thought that graphics were a black art only accessible to artistic Photoshop gurus, then DIY Billion Dollar Business Graphics will open your eyes to a whole new world of effective communication.

Buy DIY Billion Dollar Business Graphics at Billion Dollar Graphics

Free consultancy or a business proposal?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:34:00 +0000

It's a trick used by some businesses that need a problem solving, but don't have real cash to solve the problem, or no real intention of starting a procurement.

What's the trick? To request business proposals from qualified organisations on how to solve their particular problem. They'll even have suppliers come in and talk about the problem, potential solutions and write those solutions in sales documents and proposals...all at the expense of the supplier, of course...and the buyer will never have any real intention of spending any money.

These organisations think they can take the advise of an expert and implement what they can do even though they obviously haven't got the capability. If they had they wouldn't find themselves with the problem in the first place.

Many organisations have found themselves dealing with non-buyers such as this. But what can you do about it, as a business responding to a request for information?

One key thing is not to give the family farm away in your bid. One way to do this when it seems that the organisation is after free consultancy is to make the consultancy subject to a proposal itself. This has two benefits. Firstly, you get paid for the consultancy work and secondly you find out if the buyer is serious about buying. The consultancy project helps define the specification for the major components of the project.

The other way round the problem is to ensure that your solution can demonstrate so much value that they can't afford not to do it...and make sure that there are components of the service that are proprietary - so they can't do it themselves.

Lastly, remember to qualify every opportunity throughout the sales process. Find out what the project budget is...if there isn't one, or it hasn't even been discussed, then that's a first sign that the organisation is fishing for ideas. Don't respond to a proposal at this stage - offer support in putting together a business case, but if they can't sign off 5 days consultancy to help define the project and put together a return on investment, they aren't going to spend big on a larger project either.

If you aren't sure how to qualify your opportunities, then get the Learn to Write Proposals Prospect Qualification Toolkit.

Contronyms, dangling modifiers and confusion. Keep them away from your business proposal.

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:25:00 +0000

writing business proposals, business development, sales documents, proposals, tenders, bids, learn to write proposals, how to write a proposal, example of proposals, samples of proposals, proposal template free, response rfp, proposal letter, example proposals, written proposal, write a proposal, proposals templates, capture planning, executive summary

At Learn to Write Proposals we often make the same point - a proposal is designed to communicate and persuade. In order to do that you need to write clearly, so that the people reading your proposal, tender or sales document understand it.

OK - that much is simple and straightforward, isn't it? Though it's surprising how often the simple things get ignored!

It usually happens when we use overly technical language that is familiar to us, but not the client.

Sometimes though we can use perfectly innocent words, that might be taken out of context. Again, this is usually due to ambiguous writing and using such things as dangling modifiers where a word modifies the meaning of a sentence. These tend to be amusing:

"After being set alight for 10 minutes, John went to check on the barbecue"

But they cause a problem - they draw attention to the words and not the message.

Sometimes the words themselves are the problem, when they can mean completely different things:

"Jane decided it was time to trim the Christmas tree".

Is Jane adding to the tree or taking away. These words are contronyms - words that have different meaning. Usually the context for your writing in your proposal will make it clear, but don't make assumptions.

Remember that when you say these words your tone, inflection and context carry meaning that doesn't always make it onto the paper, so think carefully about your writing style and choice of words. Always write for your audience and their level of language and remember, you are trying to persuade - don't let the words get in the way of your communication.

Other contronyms:

Buckle - to secure or to collapse
Lease - to lend or to borrow
Out - to remove or to make public
Sanction - to permit or to restrict
Screen - to hide or to show
Weather - endure or decay

Lots more here.

Are your proposals fit for purpose?

noreply@blogger.com (Learn to Write Proposals) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:27:00 +0000