Let me use a car analogy for this one. If you are in a car, do you first figure out where you want to go, and then press the accelerator, or do you just start driving before you know where you are going? Obviously, first you establish direction and then velocity, so that you can avoid wrecking into a tree or finding yourself miles from your destination. So, why are so many proposals written without adopting this obvious approach? First, tell your writers what you want them to write; then, ask them to write it.

I have lived through many a proposal where the writers were presented with an outline of the sections they needed to write, and maybe on occasion, a list of the requirements that were meant to be addressed in those sections. Writers are then expected to produce picture perfect content from these measly directions. No way! It just doesn't happen.

Short of having a full blown storyboarding process in place (nice idea, but who reaaally has the time for it?), I like to adopt the storyboarding light approach: use writing guidelines to - you guessed it - give your writers direction on what content they need to produce. Writing guidelines take the form of straightforward questions that, when answered, provide you the following benefits:

• Help your writers focus on the customer and not on your organization
• Conform all writers' content to an order that you chose
• Have all writers treat the same topics at the same level
• Lets the proposal manager decide what is important and where emphasis is required
• Can help address all of the particulars for the requirements to be covered in that section
• Help overcome writer's block by presenting writers with simple questions to answer
• Can help you quickly create a pink team version of your response
• In the early portion of the response, help you keep focus on substance over form

Examples of writing guidelines are:

What makes our approach to this task of value?
Why is our approach unique?
What are our unique strengths?
Why are we doing it this way; does it reduce risk?
What are the benefits of doing it this way?

Many people gripe at having to answer basic questions as opposed to just start writing the finished content. They think that this approach will waste valuable time that could be spent writing the section. However, writing guidelines, when properly implemented, actually save time while improving the final product.  By simply appending writing guidelines underneath section headings and a listing of requirements, writers will have a much clearer picture of what is expected from them and will help prevent another proposal wreck.