Tips for writing proposals

Nov 23, 2011

Ploughing through proposals isn't the most exciting job in the world. Making your potential customer's life a little easier is bound to win you a few extra points - however stringent the assessment system.

Writing the proposal is the last thing you do. Putting time into the planning process means you write faster, you write better and you write less.
Work out what your customer’s underlying concerns are. And structure your answers around them.
Start each section with a statement that incorporates one of your key messages. And links their issues and goals to your solutions, features and benefits.
Customise without reinventing the wheel. Use standard pieces but tailor them to answer the concerns of this customer.
Replace your terminology with the customer’s terminology.
Use captions, titles, subtitles and pull quotes – anything that breaks up the page and draws the eye to your key messages.
Use bulleted lists. They help to simplify the information and draw attention to important benefits.
Make a human connection with the reader. Avoid outdated formalities and use “we/our” and “you/your”. Be businesslike yet personal.
Be ruthless in getting rid of every unnecessary word or sentence.
You’ve probably got several different people contributing to the proposal - make sure the tone and messaging work consistently across the whole document.

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