Creating Effective Proposals Proposal Basics C O N S U L T I N G The Big Picture “The obvious is obvious…only after it’s obvious” What Makes a Good Proposal? Is directed to the right audience Offers a low-risk, well-substantiated solution to a real (not always stated) need Is easy to understand Shows (not claims) competence Offers distinct benefits over others Better, faster, cheaper Impresses evaluators Provides tangible value What Makes a Bad Proposal? Hard to understand/hard to score Not responsive and pliant Fails to petence Solves the wrong problem Offers an unproven or risky solution Not differentiated from petition Claims are not believable Grammatical errors/general sloppiness Why Are So Many Proposals Bad? They are produced mittees They are produced under pressure They show an anxiety to win The proposal staff is mitted and/or poorly prepared The message is unclear or lacking KPMG did not listen to the customer KPMG listened to the wrong people Unsubstantiated claims Ailments of Proposals MOTION SICKNESS - jumps too quickly from point to point and is difficult to follow SENILITY - the same old stuff AMNESIA - important points omitted STERILITY - ideas not conceived NARCISSISM - too much horn blowing SCARLET FEVER - excessive use of red GOITER - blown up in the wrong places CONSTIPATION - there may be something here, but it simply refuses e out Proposals Answer 9 Basic Questions Who are we? What are we selling? Why are we selling it? How is it better than petition? How are we going to execute it? How are we going to manage it? Why are we qualified to do it? How much is our price? Can we do it within cost and on schedule? Six Basic Proposal Principles You never get a second chance to make a first impression A good proposal will not always win, but a poor one will almost always lose Bus. Development is doing your homework (studying); proposals are taking the test Proposal Management is where democracy stops Evaluators expect to see quality re