Created 31/7/2011 07:25:14 AM

After studying 140 pages of Richard C. Freed’s “Writing Winning Business Proposals”, I found the book useful not just for my assignments and studies, but also enough valuable to write a review about it. But before going with my review I got 1 great point and 7 seven useful lessons that I’d like to share with you and have your comments for my first dialogue in this period.

Freed has a strategic point of view on writing business proposals. When you compare his book’s main theme that is called “baseline logic”, you may find a clear similarity to the main tasks of Strategic Management: developing a strategic vision & mission, goal setting, crafting, implementing & executing, evaluating & reviewing the strategy (Bourgeois & Brodwin, 1984). He goes with “current situation”, “desired results”, and the “benefits”. The “evaluating & reviewing” element may be missed in his initial formula, but he has fixed the problem (the missed item) by evolving his “Pyramid Principle” clearly apparent on pages 78-90. Perhaps he could cover the topic of “controlling” the outputs in a better manner on page 73. 

7 great lessons that I learned from Freed, is his useful job on reminding me the reasons of failure (and success) of my past proposals. I concentrated on them and found them useful to apply in my next proposals:

1. Too often, proposals are unsuccessful because the proposers assume they are selling to organizations rather than to individuals.

2. Most proposals are illogical at their core because the writers don’t understand the baseline logic.

3. Usually the proposers indicate only the benefits of having the plan implemented. What they fail to realize, or at least to communicate, is that the quality of the communication often depends on the quality of the plan.

4. Many proposals fail to sell and many projects fail to succeed because proposers and buyers have not defined (and achieved consensus on) the overriding questions.

5. As a proposer I should offer something more than technical expertise or a logically constructed methodology, more than elegant-sounding resumes or qualifications. I should convince my client that I want to work with him.

6. The clients aren’t really buying our product or service; they are buying what that product or service delivers—benefits.

7. The secret of creating outstanding, creative proposals is: “Collaboration”. We should put collaboration into practice for the benefit of our clients.

I’ve captured many other technical details on winning proposal writing that I hope to cover them in my next dialogues. 

 

References:

Bourgeois, L. J. and Brodwin D. R. (1984). Strategic Implementation, Strategic Management Journal 5, pp. 241-264.

Freed R. C. & et. al. (2003). Writing Winning Business Proposals, NY: McGraw-Hill, pp. 1-140.