Proposal Writing Articles

Proposal Writing: How To Get Your Proposals To Sell For You

Proposal Writing becomes easier, more powerful and more productive when you follow some easy tips your English teacher never told you.

REDEFINE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF A TOPIC SENTENCE

Your Topic Sentence is your first paragraph.

Your first paragraph is your Topic Sentence.

Your first paragraph, your Topic Sentence should never be more than two sentences. Never!

Forget what your English teachers said. You are writing a business document, not a term paper.

This becomes even more critical in Proposal Writing.

That's where you prove to the readers or evaluators that your Proposal will far exceed their expectations.

That Topic Sentence has five jobs to perform.

The Topic Sentence must:

• Introduce your understanding of your client's goals
• Create interest in your approach to their needs
• Establish a positive working relationship
• Narrow the scope of the project
• Serve as an Executive Summary

If you can successfully complete the first four jobs of a Topic Sentence, you automatically accomplish the fifth job.

By reading your Topic Sentence, your readers will decide if they are going to read the rest of the document, route it to someone more closely aligned with the project, or reject it as not meeting their standards.

Proposal writing uses Topic Sentences in three areas.

Transmittal Letter (When needed)
Executive Summary
Paragraphs introducing new sections

If you can create a powerful Topic Sentence using one sentence,
do so.

For example, consider the following Topic Sentences.

"This proposal will show Hinkle Dinkle Manufacturing Company proven practices we use to get your project constructed on time, under or on budget, and with minimal disruption of your normal business operations."

Would that attract the attention of the evaluator? I think so.

If you prefer a two sentence topic Sentence, consider the following:

"This proposal will show Hinkle Dinkle Manufacturing Company proven practices that will meet or exceed RFP #12345's stated requirements.

BobBuilders guarantees to get your project constructed on time, under or on budget and with minimal disruption of your normal business operations."

PAIR YOUR PARAGRAPHS
Now that your Topic Sentence has your readers hooked, you now
move on to the Body of the proposal.

The Body of a proposal contains the information your readers or evaluators want to see.

Here, they expect details, graphics, and explanations.

Your second paragraph would then logically follow the claim you made in your Topic Sentence.

"Our confidence in offering our guarantee derives from similar successes in achieving client goals in major, well-know projects such as:"

Are you starting to build credibility and interest in your approach to their needs? I think so.

Now for the "pairing your paragraphs" part.

Again, your English teachers never told you this but you gain major points with this concept.

NO PARAGRAPH YOU EVER WRITE SHOULD EXCEED FIVE SENTENCES.

You may have 10 sentences worth of information.

Big deal! Your readers psychologically and subconsciously don't want them.

White space sells.

Your job is to take the most important information in those 10 sentences and skinny it down to no more than five sentences.

Remember, the Paragraph Police will be watching.

FOLLOW THE LAW OF AVERAGES WITH PARAGRAPHS

The LAW OF AVERAGES states, "average 18 words per sentence."

The important word in this helpful hint is "average." That does not mean every sentence must be 18 words long.

I tell participants in my business writing workshops that I would bet them $10.00 that their average is 20 - 24 words.

If they are technically oriented, government oriented, legally oriented, or academically oriented, that average shoots upwards to the 28 - 30 word average.

Using shorter sentences will help your readers read your writing faster, understand it easier, and remember it better.

I feel confident most of you have heard the expression, "in 25
words or less..."

"In 25 words or less, tell us why we should send you to Hawaii."

Please understand the importance of this concept. Do you understand they are giving you the first seven words?

"You should send me to Hawaii because..."

If you take the first seven words they give you, you must then state your reason in 18 words! If you're following the math here, 7 and 18 equals 25.

For e-mail, that average should be 15 words per sentence.

The reason for that average is that many, if not most, of your readers are not really "reading" your e-mails. They are skimming and scanning them on a computer screen. Or, even worse, they are trying to view your messages on a PDA.

Help your readers understand and remember your messages by presenting them information in an easy-to read, easy-to-scan format.

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