Here are my 8 top tips for writing proposals. Do you do them?
- AGREE EVERYTHING VERBALLY. Your proposal should be a confirmation not exploration. It should confirm what you’ve already agreed verbally, not explore new stuff
- PRE-AGREE HEADINGS. Before you write it, agree with the customer the headings/structure of your proposal. That way, it’s relevant, tailored, short, easier to read (them) and write (you)
- BRILLIANT FIRST IMPRESSION. All your first impressions must impress: your covering email, proposal attachment’s filename, look and feel, title (see point 4)
- PRIORITY #1 ON PAGE #1. Your title must include the customer’s #1 priority. After all, which sounds better – "Our proposal" or "How we’ll save you £20million in tax?"
- EASY TO ACCEPT. State what the customer has to do, to accept it – "sign page 3" etc
- CLEAR TIMELINE. Show key milestones, deliverables and deadlines
- EASY TO READ. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Lots of headings. Lots of white space
- USE SPELLCHECK. Customers want to see professionalism. So DON’T make any smelling piss-takes
Action Point
For your next proposal, use all 8 Tips. Month #5’s videos contain an hour of my doing a deep-dive on all these tips and more. Get them here