Page 22 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

Understanding Generic Structure Logic 13

Situation. This is our understanding of your problem or opportunity.
Objectives. Given that problem or opportunity, these are our objectives for
addressing it.
Methods. Given those objectives, these are our methods for achieving
them.
Qualifications. Given those methods, these are our qualifications for
performing them.
Costs (or Fees). Given those qualifications and methods, this is how much
it will cost.
Benefits. Given our efforts and their associated costs, these are the
benefits or value you will receive.

1.1

T

tur
he generic struc
oposal
e of pr
FIGURE
FIGURE 1.1 The generic structure of proposals s

Slots Speaking to Slots
Although the preceding statements might suggest that your proposal’s argument
flows only one way—from top to bottom—the argument should be so tight that
the logic also can flow from bottom to top:
These are the benefits or value you will receive
considering the costs you will incur
given our qualifications
for performing these methods
that will achieve your objectives
and therefore improve your situation.

Now, I’ve never seen a proposal organized that way, but however the proposal
is organized, every generic structure slot needs to “speak” to all the others. No
slot exists in isolation: Each contributes to your communicating the proposal’s
primary message. In later chapters, I’ll show you specific techniques for assuring
that each slot in your proposal speaks to every other one.

Slots Are Not Necessarily Sections

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been referring to objectives, methods, ben-
efits, and so on, as “slots,” even though many proposals might designate those
2
parts of the proposal by using section headings of the same name. I’ve been