Handbook for Writing Proposals
By Robert J. Hamper, L. Sue BaughThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 McGraw-Hill
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-07-174648-9
Contents
Introduction1 Where to Begin2 9-Step Proposal Process: An Overview3 Selecting the Bid and Choosing the Proposal Team4 Finding Your Unique Selling Point5 Developing Your Program Design6 Writing the Front Matter and Executive Summary7 Producing Your Proposal8 Making Client PresentationsAppendixesAppendix A: Sample Executive SummaryAppendix B: Sample ProposalAppendix C: Sample Résumé BoilerplatesAppendix D: Brief Guide to International Business EnglishAppendix E: Frequently Confused WordsAppendix F: Frequently Misspelled WordsIndex
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Where to Begin
Opportunities and Pitfalls
Types of Proposals
Internal Proposals
Solicited Proposals
Unsolicited Proposals
Sole-Source Contracts
Request for Information and Request for Quote
Four Key Questions
Your Planning Process
Your Company Mission
Your Business Plan
Your Marketing Plan
Summary of the Planning Process
Locating New Business
Government and Private Agencies/Nonprofit Groups
Industry Sources
Networks
Which Jobs to Target
Management Responsibility
Bid-Decision Criteria
When Not to Write a Proposal
Characteristics of a Winning Proposal
Nicolle Herras, a manager at Integrated Medical Systems, studied a request forproposal that had arrived on her desk that morning. Everett Hospital, a localcare facility, had a growing number of patients who did not speak English. Thehospital staff was having trouble finding translators for all the differentlanguages the patients spoke. This lack of communication resulted in poortreatment and follow-up efforts. The hospital management was seeking a high-techsolution to the problem.
Ms. Herras called her boss, Mr. Hardin Tagore, and told him about the request.
"Mr. Tagore, this is right in line with our revised company mission to developinteractive communication interfaces. We've got the systems, expertise, anddatabases to solve their problems. And I think we have an excellent shot atfollow-up projects working with their satellite care facilities. Our competitorswouldn't be able to offer as complete a package."
"I know Everett's IT director," Mr. Tagore said. "He's wanted to update theirin-house and external communication facilities for some time. Let's meet laterthis week after I get a bid/no-bid decision on this RFP. Meanwhile, see if youcan put together a good proposal team."
Ms. Herras had only one reservation in going after the job. Two of the peopleshe had in mind for the proposal team were new hires. They had limitedexperience in developing proposals at the corporate level. Well, she thought,this will be their chance to learn.
* * *
George Lee's marketing firm had been hit hard by a downturn in the economy.Searching for new business and new ideas, he noticed hundreds of little "green"companies springing up across the country that had no idea how to get theirmessage across to potential customers. Here was a niche his company could fill.He explained his idea to his writing staff.
"We can target green energy and home renovation firms—we know the mostabout those fields. Our proposal has to convince these companies that puttingmoney into targeted marketing materials can yield big returns. We haveexperience with some of the green energy fields and the target customers forthis niche. Let's propose a partnership that combines the green companies'products and our media savvy."
* * *
Linda Valdez spread the requests for proposals across her desk. Her informationtechnology company was new to the marketplace, so it made sense to try for anyand all jobs her firm might win. There was a telecom company contract for marketdata analyses, a municipal study to examine traffic pattern flows to improvesafety measures, and a corporate contract to develop inventory software for thecompany's international offices.
Her staff would be stretched a little thin on the corporate job, and they didn'treally know the government process very well. But they could probably do thework with luck and long hours.
"What if we get more than one of these jobs?" her finance officer asked.
"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Linda said.
Opportunities and Pitfalls
These three scenarios illustrate some of the most common opportunities andpitfalls of proposal writing. In the first scenario, the firm has targeted theright market and has the required skills and expertise. But the proposal-writingteam is not experienced in responding to a high-level request. If the new hiresdon't learn in time, the company will lose out in the bidding war.
The second scenario represents a good match of company skills and client needs.Since many "green" firms are startups, their management is likely to make costlymistakes in marketing their services. However, Lee's firm is developing anunsolicited proposal. Their task is to convince clients that the firm'sexpertise and services can provide exactly what clients need. If the team doesits homework, this firm has a good chance of creating a new client base.
The third scenario describes one of the most tempting pitfalls that new and evenexperienced companies encounter: shoot at every target in sight and hope you hitat least one. Valdez has made little effort to match client needs with hercompany's services and skills. Even if a proposal is accepted, she has no way toassure the client that her firm can do the job within the proposed time andbudget. If her firm has more than one proposal accepted, Valdez may not haveenough staff to do any job well. At the very least, her company will waste a lotof time, money, and effort writing proposals for jobs they have little chance ofwinning or of completing to the client's satisfaction.
Types of Proposals
A proposal is primarily a sophisticated sales and marketing piece you develop todefine a client's problem and/or opportunities and to sell the client on yourability to provide solutions and strategies to their satisfaction. To begin,let's look at the types of proposals you or your company may write. Proposalsgenerally fall into four categories: internal, solicited, unsolicited, and sole-source.
Internal Proposals
Internal proposals are written within a company by a particular division,department, group, or individual to persuade top management to support an ideaor project. For example, the product line manager may write a proposal toautomate a particular assembly process. Even though these proposals are forinternal consumption only, they follow the same principles as proposals writtenfor outside companies or agencies.
Solicited Proposals
Sometimes, a company is formally invited to submit a proposal. They receive arequest for proposal (RFP), request for quotation (RFQ), or bid invitation. Theclient has a particular project or problem and is looking for outside help toget the job done. The RFP or bid invitation outlines the requirements andcriteria for the job. The client selects a supplier on the basis of a firm'srecommended program, qualifications, and projected costs.
Unsolicited Proposals
Unsolicited proposals are the most risky to write. They may require considerabletime and effort to develop with no guarantee that a client will be interested inthe product or service offered. For example, a firm may develop a new program orconcept, such as a new accounting method, and then must persuade clients tocontract for the service.
Because the client has not requested the proposal, the firm must compete with aclient's internal operations and other businesses for the client's attention andacceptance. On the other hand, these proposals are a way to generate newbusiness for a company. As a rule, however, companies do not write unsolicitedproposals unless they have solid reasons to believe they can win the client'sbusiness.
Sole-Source Contracts
In some instances, a government agency, private firm, or association willcontract with only one company to supply a product or service. This practice isknown as a sole-source contract and is generally established when a company hasan outstanding record of reliability and performance. Such a company mightsubmit a proposal for a sole-source contract not to compete for a job but simplyto comply with regulations. The format is often standardized and requiresdetailed information about the product, delivery schedules, and pricing.
Your marketing research should be able to tell you when a supposedly opencontract RFP is actually "wired," or targeted, for a specific company. Thismeans that your firm has little or no chance of winning the contract, and youwould be wise not to submit a proposal.
Request for Information and Request for Quote
There are a couple of variations of a formal RFP that you might want to consideranswering. At times a client may send out a request for information (RFI) or arequest for quote (RFQ).
RFI.
A client may start the RFP process with a request for information. Basically,the client wants to find out:
Whether the requirements for a job they need to have done are reasonable.
Whether the appropriate technology for the job exists.
Whether solutions the client is considering are realistic.
Whether you and other firms can meet the requirements of the job.
The client may ask you to point out potential problems, evaluate the availabletechnology, and critique the client's project goals, schedules, and costestimates. Because an RFI often leads to an RFP, you should consider respondingto the client's inquiry. In many cases, the document you develop for the RFI canserve as your core materials for the RFP.
RFQ.
In a request for quote, the client provides more detailed requirements thanthose found in an RFP and may even specify how those requirements are to be met.You would be asked to supply specific quotes for each part of thework—including staffing, benchmarks, and a detailed breakdown of projectedhours and costs. Like an RFP, a written RFQ is considered binding on your firm,unless the client's requirements change.
Exhibit 1.1 summarizes these four types of proposals and theircharacteristics.
Four Key Questions
When it comes to developing winning proposals, it doesn't matter whether yourcompany is a Fortune 500 firm or the newest venture on the block. You still needto answer four basic questions:
How do you set up your planning process?
How do you elicit requests for proposals (RFPs) or locate job opportunities?
How do you choose which jobs your firm should target?
How do you write a winning proposal?
Your Planning Process
It may come as a surprise that the key to eliciting RFPs or locating jobopportunities is not to hire a professional proposal writer but first to developyour company planning process. Without your planning process firmly in place,you will find it hard to write winning proposals and follow through on them. Thecompany planning process creates a hierarchy of plans:
EXHIBIT 1.1Proposals and Their Characteristics
Internal Proposals
Proposal written within a company by a particular division, department, group,or individual in the firm; it may be solicited or unsolicited.
Advantages—those preparing the proposal know the firm's needsand the management structure; communication may be easier and decisions mademore quickly than with outside clients.
Disadvantages—the proposal must compete for scarce resourceswith other company business; if the proposal loses its management champion, theproject may be canceled.
Solicited Proposal
Proposal written in response to an RFP from a potential client.
Advantages—client is requesting a proposal, and the firm canselect which RFPs to answer based on resources, expertise, previous experience,and time/cost calculations.
Disadvantages—if the firm's bid/no-bid decision-making processis flawed, the firm may expend valuable resources researching, writing, andpresenting the proposal with little chance of winning the job.
Unsolicited Proposal
Proposal that a company initiates without an RFP and sends to potential clientsin an effort to obtain new business.
Advantages—the firm can introduce itself to a wide range ofcompanies; the same proposal can be sent to many firms, thus conserving companyresources.
Disadvantages—proposals are not tailored to individualcompanies; the firm may get more business than it can successfully handle.
Sole-Source Contracts
Primarily government projects that are tied to a specific firm; the RFP is sentnot to request a competitive bid but to elicit detailed information on theproduct or services to be supplied in order to satisfy government regulations.
Advantages—the firm contracted to do the work knows when thework will be coming in and the specifications; no resources are required to winthe contract.
Disadvantages—an outside firm responding to the RFP has littleor no chance of winning the contract away from the company currently doing thework. If the contract is awarded to the bidding firm, they may have to use thespecifications and parameters of the prior contractor.
Company mission
Company business plan
Company marketing plan
Once your planning process is in place, you can revise, update, and change yourplans to meet changes in the internal and external environments. The planningcycle gives your company the flexibility to meet client needs and to stay onestep ahead of the competition.
Your Company Mission
The company mission defines what kind of firm you want the company to be, whatbusiness you are in, and what your broad-range goals are. If you define yourmission too narrowly, it can restrict your firm's growth. If you define themission too broadly, it can take the company in too many directions.
The role of the company mission is clear: Until you know what business you arein and what you want to achieve, you can't plan for the future.
Your Business Plan
The business plan is the master plan that serves as the basis for all otherplans in the company. It is a written document—prepared by topmanagement—that covers all aspects of your business. Developing the plangives you a chance to identify your firm's problems, opportunities, strengths,and weaknesses. The resulting business plan contains the company missionstatement, agreed-upon goals and strategies for the company, market forecasts,new product development, pro forma financial statements, and many other aspectsof the business.
Your Marketing Plan
Once the company's mission statement and business plan are set, you need todevelop the marketing plan, or strategy. This plan supports the objectives ofthe business plan and helps the company achieve its goals and increase itsprofitability.
In today's economy, a well-defined marketing plan can serve as a blueprint toguide your firm as you seek to make the most of new business opportunities. Themarketing plan can help you zero in on a target market, or niche, thatemphasizes your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses. For example, a computermanufacturer may find that its current target customers are switching fromdesktop to notebook computers. The marketing plan can help the companyreposition itself either to switch to the notebook product line or to find newmarkets for the desktop models.
In effect, you develop a marketing plan to narrow the field of potential clientsto those you can serve exceptionally well, thus cultivating a reputation as aproblem-solving firm. This approach can increase your chances of success for anyproposal you write.
With a marketing strategy, your emphasis changes from simply selling products orservices to selling service to clients, a subtle but powerful shift inphilosophy. This requires that you research your clients to discover what needsor problems they have that you are uniquely qualified to help them fulfillor solve, those jobs that no one else can do as well as you can. Theapproach changes from, "Here are the services and skills we provide," to, "Hereare how our services and skills can help to solve your problems andassist your growth."
Finally, a marketing strategy helps you take a longer view of business cyclesand enables you to develop contingency plans for anticipating and responding tochange. In today's global economy, national and international competition bothwithin an industry and between industries is going to get a lot tougher.Everything from political systems to workplace technology to personal skills isundergoing rapid, unprecedented change. To survive, companies must use theirmarketing strategies to spot the opportunities that change brings and to adaptquickly, imaginatively, and effectively to new circumstances.
Summary of the Planning Process
In summary, a mission statement, business plan, and marketing plan enable youto:
Identify what kind of firm you want to have, the type of business you are in,and what your overall goals and objectives are.
Define your company's main product lines.
Identify the company's strengths and weaknesses.
Identify market niches in which your firm has an advantage over thecompetition.
Identify potential clients within those niches and how you can help solvethose clients' problems.
Develop contingency plans to anticipate and adapt to a rapidly changingmarketplace.
It is well worth your time to learn the planning process for your firm, whetheryou are a one-person sole proprietorship or part of a multinational corporateteam.
(Continues...)
(Continues...)Excerpted from Handbook for Writing Proposals by Robert J. Hamper, L. Sue Baugh. Copyright © 2011 by McGraw-Hill. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..
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