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Hans Tammemagi 
Winning Proposals 

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Cover of Hans Tammemagi: Winning Proposals (ePUB)
Proposals are vital tools of modern business. Many companies would falter without the ability to write proposals that gain funding, venture capital, or grants. Anyone can write a proposal, but writing a winning proposal takes planning, technique, and acquired skill.

This book reveals the secrets of winning proposals and explains the powerful art of persuasion. Readers will learn:


The fundamental elements of a proposal

When to bid and when not to bid for a contract

How to decrease expenses and increase efficiency

How to understand the importance of strong client/firm communication

How to prepare unsolicited proposals


This book takes you far beyond formulas and recipes, and reveals the psychology involved in giving your proposal that special edge for success. Learn fundamental elements of successful proposals and combine them with the power of persuasion — and get results!
€8.49
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Table of Content

Acknowledgments xiii
Preface xv
1 The Fascination of Proposals 1
1. The Importance of Proposals 1
2. Jekyll and Hyde Personality 2
3. The Satisfaction of Proposals 3
4. The Challenge of Competition 4
5. Persuasion 4
6. Persuasion in Business 5
2 To Bid or Not to Bid, That Is the Question 7
1. How to Get Requests for Proposals 7
2. The Request for Proposal (RFP) 9
2.1 Title page 9
2.2 Introduction and background 10
2.3 Scope of work 10
2.4 Schedule 10
2.5 Project budget 10
2.6 Cost of the work 11
2.7 Payment method 11
2.8 Evaluation criteria and contractor selection 11
2.9 Pre-bid meeting 12
2.10 Post-bid interview 13
2.11 Contractual details 13
2.12 Administrative details 13
CONTENTS
VI Winning proposals
3. It’s a Statistical Game 14
4. A Standardized Approach 16
4.1 Technical qualifi cations 18
4.2 Your contract value 19
4.3 Potential profi tability 19
4.4 How do you rate against the competition? 20
4.5 Unique Selling Points (USPs) 20
4.6 Resources to write the proposal 20
4.7 Proposal preparation cost 20
4.8 Spin-off or follow-on business 21
4.9 Enhances strategic plan 21
4.10 Liability or risk 21
4.11 Other factors 22
5. Using the Proposal Decision Form for Follow-Up 22
3 The Power of Persuasion 27
1. A Compliance Professional at Work 28
2. The Basic Principles of Persuasion 31
2.1 Reciprocity or indebtedness 31
2.2 Commitment and consistency 32
2.3 Social copying 33
2.4 Authority 34
2.5 Empathy and trust 35
2.6 Scarcity 35
2.7 Uniqueness 36
4 The Six-Point Guideline for Winning Proposals 39
1. Establish Technical Credibility and Authority 40
2. Use a Client-Centered Approach 41
3. Get the Price Right 45
3.1 Fair price 46
3.2 Approximate budget 47
3.3 Price relative to quality 47
3.4 Competition 47
3.5 Importance to your fi rm 48
Contents VII
4. Write Simply 48
5. Add Unique Selling Points 51
6. Walk the Extra Mile 52
5 The Building Blocks 55
1. Cover Letter 55
2. Cover/Title Page 56
3. Proprietary Notice 58
4. Introduction 60
5. Technical Approach 60
6. Project Team 62
7. Relevant Experience 65
8. Project Budget 67
9. Schedule 70
10. Certifi cations 73
11. Evaluation Criteria
(or Why Your Firm Should Win This Contract) 74
12. Appendixes 74
13. Items to Omit 74
14. Final Review 75
6 Putting It All Together 77
1. Writing Well 77
1.1 Be concise and clear 77
1.2 Avoid jargon 78
1.3 Be specifi c 78
1.4 Be positive 78
1.5 Use lists 78
1.6 Use tables 79
1.7 Use tabs 79
1.8 Use links and transitions 79
1.9 Get personal 79
1.10 Be logical 80
1.11 Find and fi x typos 80
2. Making It Look Good 80
2.1 White space 81
VIII Winning proposals
2.2 Page numbers 82
2.3 Sidebars and boxes 82
2.4 Italics and capitals 82
2.5 Font 82
2.6 Figures and graphics 82
2.7 Color 83
7 Effi ciency Equals Profi t 85
1. What Does It Cost to Prepare a Proposal? 85
2. Standardize Your Proposal Preparation System 87
3. Computer Technology 89
3.1 Databases 89
3.2 Word processing 89
3.3 Local area network 90
3.4 Spreadsheets 90
3.5 The Web 90
3.6 Computer graphics 91
4. The Proposal Team 91
5. The Proposal Preparation Process 93
5.1 Make the decision to bid 93
5.2 Select the team 93
5.3 Hold the initial meeting 93
5.4 Perform the work 97
5.5 Review the draft 97
5.6 Submit the proposal 97
8 The Magic of Personal Contact 99
1. More Persuasion Techniques 100
2. The Interview 101
2.1 Preparing the presentation 102
2.2 Rehearsing the presentation 104
2.3 Giving the presentation 105
2.4 Taking part in discussion 107
2.5 Distributing handouts 108
Contents IX
9 Unsolicited Proposals Are Everywhere 109
1. The Unsolicited Proposal 110
2. Formal Unsolicited Proposals 114
3. The Main Rules 114
3.1 Grab his or her attention 115
3.2 Sell the need for your idea 116
3.3 Be brief 116
3.4 Identify and neutralize negatives 116
3.5 Use all relevant persuasion principles 116
3.6 Build common ground 117
3.7 Do not attack existing beliefs 117
10 The Last Word 119
Bibliography 123
Samples
1 Proposal Decision Form 17
2 A Completed Proposal Decision Form 24
3 Table of contents for a proposal 56
4 Typical cover letter 57
5 An example title page 59
6 Staff summary table 66
7 Cost summary table 71
8 Proposal assignment form 96
Figures
1 Technical Tasks Flowchart 63
2 Corporate Team Organizational Chart 64
3 Project Organizational Chart 65
4 Budget Spreadsheet 69
5 Project Schedule 72

About the author

Hans Tammemagi, Ph D, has taught courses on proposal writing and runs a successful consulting and management firm. Hometown: Pender Island, British Columbia Canada.
Language English ● Format EPUB ● Pages 144 ● ISBN 9781770407169 ● File size 1.9 MB ● Publisher Self-Counsel Press ● City Vancouver ● Country CA ● Published 2012 ● Downloadable 24 months ● Currency EUR ● ID 5383339 ● Copy protection Adobe DRM
Requires a DRM capable ebook reader

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