Proposals that win business

Is your conversion rate from proposal into confirmed business sufficient to justify all the work involved in writing a proposal? Do you write proposals and then your client tells you "we can't afford that!"?

See proposals as investments. Choose carefully what you invest your time and effort into. Decide based on the 3 Ps.

• Probability
• Profitability
• Potential

Great proposals start with a great brief. Most client briefs are not great. So we need to turn it into a great brief. We need to focus on the benefits and value the client will enjoy. We need to understand how the proposal will be evaluated. Achieving standout from competitors is vital.

I've reviewed many of my clients' proposals and have found 10 common mistakes being made. Five of those mistakes are:

1. Proposals written in answer to briefs you are very unlikely to win.

2. Proposals which are too focused on YOU, not on THEM.

3. An information dump with no persuasive structure.

4. Failing to offer a compelling value proposition and persuasive business case.

5. Poorly written: full of jargon, gobbledegook, too technical. irrelevant content with no standout of key issues.

Our workshop "Proposals that win business" lifts the lid on poor proposals and will enable you to raise your game.