Successful Proposal Section Checklist - Dan Safford Associates. A couple of years ago, a client of mine asked for a checklist for a good proposal section.
Because a lot of people have asked me for one since, I figured I might as well publish it. So, here it is. Note: This is a pretty generic list. It cannot address whether the content of the section is accurate. That’s up to the proposal manager, the section writer and the reviewer. Responsiveness to the solicitation documents and/or specified customer requirements. Does the section meet all the requirements called out in the RFP (SOW, spec, etc.)? Persuasiveness of the proposal. Does the proposal section demonstrate that we understand the customer’s problem? Readability of the proposal. Is the proposal easy to read by a non-specialist (limited use of jargon and jargon well defined)? That should do it. For help with your About Dan Safford Dan Safford and his team at the Proposal Training Center helps companies improve their proposal win rates through hands-on training and speaking engagements.
Proposal Guidelines. This document has presented the format for design proposals.
In the proposal, you must have the following sections: summary, objectives, plan of action, management plan, and references. Proposal evaluations will be weighted equally between a management review and a technical review. Also considered will be the quality of the writing. Back to Top References Bolt, Bruce A., Earthquakes (New York: W. Bolt, Bruce A., Earthquakes and Geological Discovery (New York: Scientific American Library, 1993). Proposal Sample: here’s a typical project proposal... Below is a typical business proposal template taken from one of the Proposal Packs available from my favorite proposal tools site, ProposalKit.com.
These stand-alone Proposal Packs were created for just about any type of proposal you can imagine: business proposals, grant proposals, technical proposals, project proposals, sales proposals, and many more. They are stand-alone sets of proposal templates designed using industry standard guidelines. Each Proposal Pack includes a large collection of fully-formatted downloadable MS-Word templates with layout and graphics already done. You just fill in the blanks and easily create business proposals, from 3-pagers to full-blown 100-pagers. When I first discovered these ProposalKit.com. Here are a few points that impressed me about this sample template: What is request for proposal (RFP)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Suggestion for Writing a Good Proposal : Grants & Contract Services.
Gathered from a NSF Grants Conference "A good proposal is a good idea, well expressed, with a clear indication of methods for pursuing the idea, evaluating the findings, and making them known to all who need to know.
" Funding Basic Research is about funding the best, brightest, and clearest of IDEAS. A good proposal tells a story that is good enough to be of interest to a large audience, not just specialists in the field. Steps in Proposal Writing: Carefully read the Program Announcement. Steps in Project Development: What do you intend to do? It is very important that you not forget the first three steps! Pitfalls often seen in poor proposals: The reviewer may say, "This is a good idea, well done, but who cares? " You will sell yourself short if your proposal speaks only to other specialists. Do yourself a favor - both before and during the writing of the proposal, keep the guidelines from the program announcement in front of you. How to Write a Great Proposal. Q: In my line of work -- consulting and sales -- I am asked to write a lot of proposals.
I may be doing something wrong because I strike out too often, it seems to me. Is there an actual format or trick to proposals? -- Ben A: Like you -- like many small-business owners, really -- I too have drafted plenty of proposals, for new books, media projects, speaking engagements and so on. (I am happy to report that I have a pretty decent batting average.) A great proposal does two things. And remember, once you get to the proposal stage of any project, you are really in the running. So don't blow it. For starters, do not have any typos in your proposal. A trend I have noticed recently, and in fact have adopted and used to great effect, is using PowerPoint instead of Word for proposals.