Tuesday 17 May 2016

Tips For Winning Proposal Writing

By Kathleen Watson


Proposals aim at convincing thrifty, busy and skeptic minds that your idea is worth funding or considering. The closest it gets is persuasive writing. Proposal writing should also consider the competitiveness of selection processes. Only the best proposals are funded. If you have to spend time preparing the bid, make it a winning one.

The world is dissuaded from judging books by their covers. However, there are situations where this adage is rendered irrelevant. When a selection panel is faced with thousands of papers to peruse, they begin skimming through the proposals. This is the trend during initial stages. To be on their path, provide an executive summary. It should highlight the points that make your bid attractive.

An executive summary should be a single page that highlights all your strongest points. Give the reader a reason to peruse beyond the front page. Convince the panel that you are the best selection. It will give a winning first impression that enables your paper to pass the initial stage where attention is not on details. Make it easy for a reader to understand your idea and buy it.

Selection panels endeavor to get certain information from the proposals. This information is hinted in the instructions given. As such, your goal should be to provide this information in a precise manner. It means writing a paragraph instead of five that are irrelevant. Wordy text full of buzzword, meaningless shop talk and information that adds no value should be avoided. At this point, the idea that less is more makes a lot of sense.

Imagine the questions in the mind of the panelists and answer them in the best way possible. Answering the questions rightly makes you a good listener. It shows that you can understand instructions and because of your diligence, you will get a reward. Such questions and answers provided must be relevant and factual. The answers should also be easy to understand.

Sponsors rely on past performances to make a decision on the future of a project, plan or implementer. There is a lot of weight placed on evidence of projects successfully completed in the past. Such evidence confirms that you can follow instructions and deliver according to set expectations. This evidence is your referee that you can deliver. The best projects to highlight are those that bear similarity to the one you are biding for. Such evidence beats a litany of narrated yet untested technical ability.

The lowest bidder is not always preferred. There are doubts about his capability to deliver quality and still, other people might present a lower bid. The search is for a person who is most convincing. At the beginning of your proposal, the sponsor should confirm that you are person he has been looking for all through. Standout and be memorable because of what you offer.

A successful application is one that is founded on facts other than opinion. Create a realistic picture or impression of the expected outcome. Be meticulous when preparing the bid including excellent editing and appropriate design. Endeavor to produce an engaging and attractive pitch that will be memorable after the panelists are done reading through thousands of them.




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