Page 53 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

44 Writing Winning Business Proposals

Lack of Benefits

Benefits

FIGURE 3.17 When compared to the lack of benefits, benefits will look even more beneficial.
F IGURE 3.17 When c ompar ed t o the lack of benefi ts , benefi ts will look ev en mor e benefi cial .

The Baseline Logic and Your Value Proposition

In using the baseline logic, you are identifying and aligning key elements of your
value proposition. As you probably know, your value proposition is a concise
statement of your offering. As such, it contains at least five elements:

1. Where I am now: S1, my current situation
2. Where I want to be: my desired result(s), S2, as expressed by your project’s
objective(s)
3. When I will get there (the duration of your project)
4. How much it will cost (your fees and expenses)
5. The benefits (B) of achieving my desired result(s)

The first, second, and fifth of these elements are part of the baseline logic, which
you can readily see within the partial value proposition developed for a major airline
(Figure 3.18). Clearly, your value proposition is vitally important as you are discuss-
ing with me major elements of your proposed project. It is the executive summary
of the executive summary of your offering. As such, you can use the elements of the
baseline logic in a follow-up email or conversation that can help you confirm that
you and I agree on the foundational elements of your potential offering.

The Relationship Among the Generic Structure Slots,

the Baseline Logic, and Your Proposed Project

Figure 3.19 provides a high-level summary of what I have been discussing in this
and the previous chapter. The foundation of Figure 3.19 is the baseline logic,
on top of which are mapped the six generic structure slots, and those slots are
sequenced based upon what your project proposes to do: