Proposal writing

Proposal writing can be likened to storytelling. The art of proposal writing lies in the ability to tell a story. Every proposal is a story with a goal, and its effectiveness derives from the ability of the storyteller to tell that story well. In this and future articles, we will consider how proposals are like stories and how they can be told right. Also, we will review how to use case studies in proposal writing, and we will examine elements of a good proposal.

Let’s begin by analysing the key elements of a story. First, there is the plot; second, there is a conflict; third, the setting; and fourth, a point of view. A story must have a good plot – a beginning, a middle, and an end. The plot has to do with how the interrelated sequence of events in the story are arranged to develop the main idea. The conflict is the dominant challenge that faces the main character of the story. The setting concerns the time and place in which the story takes place. And point of view deals with the perspective from which the story is told. Having explained the key elements of the story, we will now move on to examine how they relate to the proposal.

The proposal must have a good plot, just like the story. There must be a beginning, a middle, and an end. There must also be a logical and coherent development of the main idea of the proposal. In the plot of the proposal, the business challenge encounters the solution being proposed; the middle of the story narrates how the relationship between them develops, and the end of the narration indicates the fruit of that relationship, which is a satisfactory and expected conclusion. Additionally, the conflict of the story is represented in the proposal by whatever action or project is being proposed. This is invaluable because the conflict is the dominant challenge that the proposer seeks to overcome, the business challenge for which a solution is being presented.

In a story, you have a main character who is the protagonist. In a proposal, the main character is the product being offered while the antagonist is the customer’s problem that requires a solution. Please note that if the audience cannot connect with the characters, the story will fail. In other words, the characters must be believable. So also, if the client cannot connect with the product, or is not convinced that they have a problem that needs fixing, the proposal is bound to fail. Through the vividness of the characters, the client must come to an appreciation of the reality of the challenges faced as well as an appreciation of the benefits of the proposed solutions, and that can move them to action.

The setting has to do with time and place of the story’s happening; in a proposal, it is the context within which the proposal is written. This context is usually determined by the origin, the audience, and the intention of the proposal. What I mean is that depending on its origin, a proposal is wither solicited or unsolicited. Depending on its audience, a proposal is either internal or external to the company, and depending on its intention, it could be a planning, research, or sales proposal.

In the story, the point of view deals with the perspective from which the story is told; similarly, in the proposal, the point of view, or the perspective from which the story is told must always be that of the customer or intended audience. Recall that the goal of the proposal is to persuade, and the proposer must show that they truly know the targeted persons and their needs to speak to their hearts. In other words, the story of the proposal must be told from the perspective of the audience. The thing of knowing your audience whom you’re going to be writing to is critically important. You need to think through this as much as possible while gathering as much information as possible about the people that will read the document. Again, that will guide your ideas and choice of vocabulary. The proposer needs to avoid needlessly complicating words and sentence structures – keeping it simple has always worked! If you keep your sentences short and easy to read, your audience will more easily connect to your writeup.

Other things to keep in mind as you write your proposal are the following: look after the tone. This means that you must be careful how you come across in your writing. Without knowing it, some are rude or blunt or too direct in their word choices. Also, start from the beginning – don’t assume that your audience knows what you’re talking about or referring to. Be explicit and ensure there is a logical flow. More to that, avoid exaggeration – the truth always shows up. You don’t want to be seen as a double-faced person. Then, share other stories – those about your successes, your past clients, what worked, etc. This leads you to using case studies in your proposals. Research has it that those who use case studies in their proposals usually develop partnerships more quickly with their prospects than those who do not.

Why are case studies important in proposal writing? That’s because they are a lot like stories. There is a general format that introduces your clients, describes the problems they had and then wraps up the proposal by mentioning the solution provided. Remember, your clients are the highlights of these stories, and your services or products are the solutions to the problems they are facing. To succeed in telling these stories, you should pick past clients who you believe are the right brand for your business and are keen to share the results you’ve given them. They should also be eager to speak of your role in helping them solve a problem. This kind of recommendation from your client can go a long way to getting you a big contract or job because oftentimes people like to work with referrals. When A knows that B has used C’s services and everything went well, A is more disposed to also engage C. That’s the point. Again, the art of writing convincing case studies is to stay away from the ‘salesy’ path by going easy on your advertorial content.

A future article will continue to explore the topic of proposal writing.