Proposal writing is a task that most professionals face at some point in their careers. However, many never realize that it is a skill that can be perfected, resulting in a boost to both their company's bottom line and personal careers.
In this book, consultants David Pugh and Terry Bacon offer a step-by-step guide to this often-overlooked task.
The first four chapters focus on the essence of the proposal by examining the purpose, audience, and organization. These sections also develop the idea of the customer-oriented proposal, addressing the usefulness of identifying the customer's underlying needs.
The authors analyze what it takes to make a successful proposal by looking at winning and losing examples, and then the proposal process itself—timing, "containing chaos," and the final review. The authors feel that while many companies invest in developing professional proposal writing skills, they fall short when it comes to actually carrying out these skills.
The final chapter suggests that organizations incorporate a kind of postmortem on continuous improvements after the proposal has been delivered. This stage includes client and internal reviews as well as lessons learned.—Mallory Stark