Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Tips For Winning Proposal Writing

By Kathleen Watson


Proposals aim at convincing thrifty, busy and skeptic minds that your idea is worth funding or considering. The closest it gets is persuasive writing. Proposal writing should also consider the competitiveness of selection processes. Only the best proposals are funded. If you have to spend time preparing the bid, make it a winning one.

Though the old saying not to judge a book by its cover discourages people from making conclusions, you can be sure that initial vetting takes that direction. The panel does not have all the time to peruse through all the pages of hundreds of proposals. They rely on the executive summary. Make it brilliantly amazing.

An executive summary should intentionally capture your strongest points for the bid. This should be done in a way that captures the imagination of the panel. Make it convincing and arouse curiosity to read through the other pages. A panelist should be forced to read through it twice before bypassing it. A lot of attention is not paid to finer details during the initial stages. The summary should make it quick and easy for the panelist to understand your concept.

Selection panels endeavor to get certain information from the proposals. This information is hinted in the instructions given. As such, your goal should be to provide this information in a precise manner. It means writing a paragraph instead of five that are irrelevant. Wordy text full of buzzword, meaningless shop talk and information that adds no value should be avoided. At this point, the idea that less is more makes a lot of sense.

Imagine the questions in the mind of the panelists and answer them in the best way possible. Answering the questions rightly makes you a good listener. It shows that you can understand instructions and because of your diligence, you will get a reward. Such questions and answers provided must be relevant and factual. The answers should also be easy to understand.

Sponsors rely on past performances to make a decision on the future of a project, plan or implementer. There is a lot of weight placed on evidence of projects successfully completed in the past. Such evidence confirms that you can follow instructions and deliver according to set expectations. This evidence is your referee that you can deliver. The best projects to highlight are those that bear similarity to the one you are biding for. Such evidence beats a litany of narrated yet untested technical ability.

The lowest bidder is not always preferred. There are doubts about his capability to deliver quality and still, other people might present a lower bid. The search is for a person who is most convincing. At the beginning of your proposal, the sponsor should confirm that you are person he has been looking for all through. Standout and be memorable because of what you offer.

A successful application is one that is founded on facts other than opinion. Create a realistic picture or impression of the expected outcome. Be meticulous when preparing the bid including excellent editing and appropriate design. Endeavor to produce an engaging and attractive pitch that will be memorable after the panelists are done reading through thousands of them.




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