Page 231 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

222 Writing Winning Business Proposals

qualifications are allotted 15. Obviously, you should adjust the allotments on the
basis of your proposal situation. In a given situation, for example, qualifications
may need to be weighted more heavily than methods.
You also may be able to use the rating guide to help me and my colleagues to
establish evaluation criteria, if I haven’t already done so, or to revise those crite-
ria if it’s in your interest to do so. That is, you may find it opportune and helpful
to discuss the guide with me. As a result, you may have a clearer idea of what I
expect and of what you need to deliver.
In the Introduction, I challenged you to work hard to understand the concepts
and principles presented. None of these concepts and principles is particularly
difficult to understand. But using them intelligently and well takes effort and
practice. Now I challenge you to work hard to practice them, to implement them,
remembering that most successful business developers are made, not born.
Practice never makes perfect, because perfect doesn’t exist. But practice does lead
to continuous improvement. You’ve already improved; continue to do so.

The Proposal Development Process

Note: Many of the following steps are iterative, and many of them are cotermi-
nous. And all of the terms used are in the downloadable glossary at http://web
.me.com/rfreed/Writing_Winning_Business_Proposals/Home.html.

0. Qualify the Lead by using the explicit criteria referred to in Appendix H
as well as those criteria implicitly suggested on the Logics and Psychologics
Worksheets.
Proposal Logics
1. Use the Logics Worksheet to create and test the baseline logic (S1 → S2 → B).
(Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.)
A. Specify the current situation (S1), which includes the potential client’s
problem or opportunity, the triggering event that brought the problem or
opportunity to awareness, the effects of the existing problem or the effects
of not capitalizing on the opportunity, and the lack of benefits. (Logics
Worksheet, Cell 2.)
B. Given that current situation, specify the desired result or results (S2) that
your proposed project will achieve. S2 can be one or a combination of three
kinds: insight, a plan, or an implemented plan. Your project’s objectives
always express the desired results (Logics Worksheet, Cells 3 and 5).
C. Given the current situation and desired result, specify the deliverables that
you will produce to achieve the desired result (Logics Worksheet, Cell 5).