The Do's and Dont's of Proposal Writing

Listing all of the do's and don'ts of proposal writing would fill a small book. Some of the more important do's and don'ts are:

Do
  • Write a proposal to solve the customer's problems as THEY perceive them, not how YOU perceive them.
  • Don't try to think for the customer. Give the customer everything asked for in the RFP, down to the tiniest detail.
  • Address each and every solicitation requirement, even if it appears to be meaningless on the surface. Remember, evaluators love to eliminate proposals to save time and effort or, sometimes, to help their favorite company.
  • Explain how you will meet each and every requirement in a clear, concise manner.
  • Explain why you are unique but only when you can be convincing and the uniqueness stands up to scrutiny.
  • Give evaluators the material they need to support a decision in your favor.
  • Develop a concise staffing and project management plan and avoid any ambiguities in staffing and personnel qualifications.
  • Rewrite resumes of staff members to specifically address the RFP requirements. Interview proposed staff members to determine the specifics of their experience and its relevance to the requirements.
  • Do not present extraneous or marginal material. If in doubt; it's extraneous. Evaluators hate extraneous material.
  • Tailor your corporate qualifications (and general information) to match the specific requirements of the RFP.
  • Differentiate yourself from your competitors. Know your strengths and weaknesses and your competitors' strength and weaknesses, and write to all four of these points.
  • Find ways to present your solutions as unique while still meeting the requirements of the RFP.
  • Write to the specific benefits of your company, your project team, and your solutions and substantiate each of these.
Don't
  • Postpone the proposal outline refinement and actual writing of the first draft until there isn't enough time to produce a high quality proposal (probably the biggest single problem in proposal writing).
  • Don't get caught in the trap of thinking that your company is the answer to the customer's prayers. Everyone thinks this way but your confidence means nothing unless it's backed up with references, performance data, and facts.
  • If you must boast, prove it in words and with statistics.
  • Don't overuse boilerplate material, and fine tune it to the customer.
  • Don't write a novel; use simple, easy to understand language, avoid long-winded sentences, and run-on paragraphs.

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