Page 8 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

Preface vii

This Edition

In its first two editions, Writing Winning Business Proposals sold 50 percent more
copies than its nearest “competitor” and almost four times the number of copies
that publishers normally consider a bestseller—not for novels, of course, but for
books of its kind. Those figures attest to the relatively wide readership WWBP
has enjoyed. More important, the book’s sales have made possible this third edi-
tion and therefore the opportunity to continue to improve on the previous two.
Specifically, this third edition includes four kinds of improvements:

1. The chapters have been considerably revised, not so much to change the
overall content but to improve how that content is delivered—how it teaches
you to think about and develop your proposals. During the eight years between
editions, the slide deck used in the training program has been revised a dozen
times. Although the concepts did not change, the slides themselves changed
considerably, helping participants to understand those concepts more quickly
and to apply them more strategically. WWBP has been similarly revised. For
example, those who have read (or have taught from) the previous edition will
note that the visuals in Chapter 9 now clearly indicate how a background
section can be quickly constructed from the cells of the Logics Worksheet.
2. Related to the above, every visual has been redrawn, again to provide
additional clarity about the concepts and how they fit together during the
proposal-development process. 2
3. Two new appendices have been added. Appendix G, “Reading RFPs,” discusses
important strategies for responding to Requests for Proposals. Appedix H, “A
Worksheet for Qualifying Your Lead,” includes criteria for determining your
positioning and, based on that positioning, a forecast of your prospects for
winning.
4. Substantial learning materials are now available for download that
heretofore could be obtained only through the two-day training course. To
access these downloads, visit: http://web.me.com/rfreed/Writing_Winning
_Business_Proposals/Home.html. As of this writing, the downloads include:
◉ The Logics, Psychologics, and Themes Development Worksheets, which
should be printed in landscape in 11˝ × 17˝ or A4 (or larger—for example,
poster size, which is ideal for team use). The previous edition contained
only the individual cells of the Logics and Psychologics Worksheets; this
download includes the complete worksheets.
◉ A handbook for completing every cell on every worksheet
◉ Guidelines for conducting Red Team Reviews

◉ A discussion of deliverables and benefits and the differences between them

◉ A glossary listing all the key terms in this book