By: Kristina
How often do you actually sit down and review your proposal writing process?
When you write your proposals, do you do it automatically, using the same format, in the same way, without giving it a second thought?
Is proposal writing one of the things that you have to do, but don't particularly enjoy doing?
Are your proposals as successful as you would like them to be?
To help you identify how successful your proposals are and how you can improve, here are a few questions for you: Answer these with a "yes" or "no".
1. Do you have a proposal win ratio of 39% or more?
2. Do you regularly attend debriefing sessions when you lose a bid? Do you implement the feedback you are given?
3. In the last 12 months, have you analysed and overhauled your proposal master document?
4. When writing your proposal, do you hone in on the "specific" needs of your audience or do you make it a general "boiler plate" document?
5. Have you got a systematic way of producing highly personalised, persuasive and templated proposals in a short period of time?
6. Do you often receive feedback from your clients congratulating you on the amazing impression your proposal made on them?
Now that you have answered these questions, how did you go? Did you answer YES to all of them? If you answered NO to any of these questions, it may be time to look at your proposal process and perform a proposal review.
You may need to take a closer look at the individual elements of your proposal and see if they can be improved. In particular, you need to look at the "selling value" of your content, how professional the layout is, as well as the "documentary evidence" that you include in your proposal. You also need to look at how persuasive your writing is and if it needs to be improved.
