Page 154 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

Writing the Situation and Objectives Slots 145

Component Content

1. Story/S 1 ‡ What is the history, the external and internal factors
(including the triggering event), that caused the problem or
opportunity?
‡ What is the problem or opportunity?
‡ What are its effects and “lack of benefits”?
‡ What, if anything, has been done to solve the problem or
realize the opportunity? Has this attempt exacerbated the
situation?

2. Questions ‡ What questions must be answered to address or solve the
prospect’s problem or realize the prospect’s opportunity?
(derived from deliverables)

3. Closing/S 2 ‡ Transition from Questions Component
‡ Bridge to methods slot
‡ Engagement objective(s) (expression of S 2 )
‡ Briefly stated benefits

FIGURE 9.1 The three components of the situation slott

FI GU RE 9 . 1 T he thr ee c omponents o f the situa tion slo

is a story about our organization and our current situation. That situation has a
history—a past that led to and a present that is affected by the problem or oppor-
tunity and, implicitly, a future that will result in our problem or opportunity
being addressed, solved, or realized. We have a sense of immediacy about our
story, and we want our potential consultants to share it.
You be the judge. Here are two sentences that began the situation slots in pro-
posals I received when I was working in the health care industry. Which has more
power, more force, more reader interest?

◉ Mercy is a 300-bed hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
◉ As Mercy grew to 300 beds, its business objectives began to change.

The first sentence contains unnecessary (and redundant) information: I already
know that Mercy is a hospital in Chicago, since the proposal was addressed to
Mercy in the first place and I went to work there almost every day. That sentence
also portrays all the research abilities and problem-solving skills of a fourth-
grader. It demonstrates only that you can find information from an annual report
or a company brochure; it doesn’t offer you a good opportunity to begin demon-
strating your understanding of my, the reader’s, situation. But even all that doesn’t
get to the heart of the matter. The plain truth is that the first sentence is dead.