In today 39 s competitive business environment, your ability to write powerful proposals could mean the life, or death, of your business. When government agencies and large corporations need to buy products or services from an outside source, they often release what is called a request for proposal rfp. To bid for the job, you must submit a proposal, which will explain how your company would meet the client 39 s needs and should convince the client to hire your company, instead of a competitor. Is a scottsdale, arizona consulting firm that helps organizations change their business processes, systems, and other internal structures. Wakefield says that getting their first service contract was not a matter of luck.

We provided a very professional proposal that was well thought through, explains wakefield. And we had people with the specific total quality management and participative management experience this texas based transit organization was looking for. Study the requirements. writing a winning proposal begins with a clear understanding of the client 39 s requirements. As you 39 re reading, ask yourself, what are this company 39 s goals? what is my role in achieving these goals? is the time frame, budget and scope of work reasonable? and if we 39 re awarded the contract, does my company have the time, expertise and resources to complete the project? next, decide whether you want to proceed.

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Preparing this proposal will require a lot of time and effort in research, analysis of the client 39 s needs and writing, and you may decide to wait for a better opportunity. We don 39 t send everybody a proposal who asks for one, because researching and writing a proposal is a fairly expensive process, admits wakefield. Then, we look for projects that have some potential for us strategically, contracts that offer continuing relationships and good networking possibilities. Understand the client. if you don 39 t understand the client 39 s problem, you certainly can 39 t propose a methodology that is going to solve the problem, says shervin freed, coauthor of writing winning business proposals mcgraw hill.

Many times a client or potential client will say, 39 this is what we 39 re looking for. 39 but when you start researching, you find out that isn 39 t what they 39 re looking for at all. Ask people in the organization about their concerns, their operating policies and their management philosophy. Discover if any previous attempts have been made to reach the goals outlined in the rfp and why those earlier solutions didn 39 t work. Ask what they like and dislike about dealing with consultants like yourself and what criteria they 39 ll be using to evaluate your proposal.

You 39 ll also want to get some general information about the organization and the industry it 39 s in. Ask questions like these: how long has the company been in business? who are their major decision makers? what are their main products or services? how is this company better or worse than its competitors? what is the company 39 s financial position? to prepare their proposal, wakefield 39 s company interviewed the senior managers in the client 39 s quality and training amp development departments, as well as a purchasing agent. We learned that our client 39 s goal was to reach a higher level of customer service, explains wakefield. If you 39 re not able to speak with the organization 39 s employees, do some secondary research. Visit the library or check with colleagues who may have worked for the same organization it 39 s worth the effort. This research may save you from proposing a tack that has already been tried or is unacceptable to the client for some other reason.

You may also discover some underlying issues that weren 39 t addressed in the rfp and need to be considered. Develop a methodology. once your client 39 s goals are clearly identified, it 39 s time to develop the steps, or methodology, necessary to reach them. If you 39 re having difficulty with it, use wakefield 39 s suggestion of brainstorming sessions. My partner and i get together and discuss what kinds of things our clients need and in what order, wakefield says. It 39 s going to be different for each of our clients, depending on whether they focus more on customer service or on cost savings. To ensure that your methodology is practical, analyze its costs and benefits, as well as the time and resources it will require. Evaluate the solution. you may have developed a brilliant methodology, but if it 39 s unacceptable to your client, you 39 ll need to find an alternative solution.

You have to know precisely what their background is, and how they look upon this particular project. For example, find out whether the person is financially oriented or operations oriented. You should then describe the benefits of your solution in a way that will receive the most favorable evaluation from the decision maker. You should also evaluate your solution according to criteria outlined in the rfp. For example, if your proposal is being evaluated on price and completion time, a lengthy, expensive solution is unlikely to win your company the contract. Outshine your competitors. don 39 t forget that a proposal is a sales document, designed to persuade the client to hire your company instead of a competitor.