Page 27 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

18 Writing Winning Business Proposals

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F FIGURE 2.1 The baseline logic c
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he baseline logi
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will be realized (or at least closer to its realization), or we will know whether we even
have a problem or an opportunity. In each case, we will have or know something
more than we had or knew before. And we will be better off because of it; we will
benefit and gain value from reaching our desired result, S2, by the end of your pro-
posed project.
We are here, we want to be over there, and we’ll benefit when we get there. That
simple idea needs to function as the baseline of your proposal—and of your thinking
about your proposal to me. That idea has a logic to it, a fundamental logic, a baseline
logic. And that idea, that baseline logic, needs to drive the argument of your pro-
posal: “You are here, and we understand that ‘here’ is or might not be desirable. You
want to be somewhere else instead, which is more desirable. Once we help you to be
that somewhere else, you will enjoy the benefits of being there.”
Although all this certainly isn’t rocket science, only a minority of proposal writers
understand this logic, and far fewer know how to test for and apply it. Most proposals
are illogical at their core because the writers don’t understand the baseline logic, and
even when they do, they don’t know how to convey that understanding clearly to me.
They don’t know how to take advantage of that logic to increase the persuasiveness of
their presentations and documents. Illogical thinking reduces your probability of win-
ning, and, if you should win, it dramatically reduces your likelihood of conducting a
successful engagement. This baseline logic—or, if you prefer, this problem definition or
analytical framework—is the basis for a meaningful and persuasive exchange of ideas.
Here I should express two cautionary notes. First, there are times when I, your
potential client, am not clear about this baseline logic. I’m not clear about my