Carl Dickson

Here is a list of words and phrases that you should not use in your proposals and the reasons why. We usually focus on the things you should say in your proposals. But sometimes it's helpful to see what you should not say. We see these all the time. Some writers use them out of habit. Sometimes they think sales copy is supposed to sound like that. Sometimes they are just getting warmed up by using words they imagine are routine. Sometimes people even put them on the cover! How many of these are in your proposals? Phrase Reason to Avoid It We understand Don’t tell the customer that you understand. Demonstrate your understanding by explaining what they will get, the trade-offs involved, and how they will benefit. The results will demonstrate that you understand. Even if the customer asks you to describe your understanding, you should speak in terms of how what you do, provide, or deliver will meet their needs. You can do this without ever even using the word "understand." We believe, think, or feel Who cares? The customer doesn’t care what you think. Take whatever you were about to say and turn it into a statement of what the customer will get or what you will do or deliver. We intend to Either you do it, or you don’t. Who cares what your intentions are? We are devoted to This is just another way of saying you intend to. Our highest priority This like saying it’s your greatest intention. We hope That’s like saying you intend to but you’re not sure you’ll be able to. We desire your business Of course you do! But your proposal should not be about your needs, it should be about the customer’s needs. We are committed Customers don’t want your commitment, they want results. We are pleased to submit Of course you are! Does that phrase do anything other than waste the evaluator’s time and attention? We are quality focused This is another way of stating your intentions. Instead of focusing on quality, deliver it. We will strive, try, or attempt Customers don’t want you to try, they want you to deliver We will If it is something that you do (in the present tense) then just do it. We would be honored This is just another way of saying how you feel and talking about yourself instead of making it about the customer. We can provide Either you provide it, or you don’t. Our mission is to This is just another way of stating your intention. We value Instead of valuing it, deliver it. State-of-the-art This is overused and not credible. The right choice Prove it. Uniquely qualified Prove it. Best of breed/class Prove it. Premier, world class, world-renowned Unprovable. Using it is wasting the evaluator's attention. Dedicated to Your dedication is not relevant to whether you have delivered or not. Leading company, leading edge, leading provider, industry leader, pioneers, etc. Overused and not believable. Don’t damage your credibility by using it. Top-quality Is there any other kind? Full service What exactly does that mean and is it credible? Comprehensive solutions As opposed to? Fast growing Your ability to take a customer’s money quickly is not exactly a selling point to the customer. Trustworthy I don’t know about you, but when I hear a salesperson say that I tend to run away. Customer first This is not believable. Everyone knows there are limits to what you will do for your customers. Don’t strain your credibility.

When you haven’t done your homework and don’t have the knowledge you need to write a good proposal, sometimes you just have to fake it. Obviously it would be better to do your homework and have the information you need to write a great proposal, and if you want to win that's what you should do. But sometimes it's just about surviving your proposal ordeal and making your deadline. Here are some strategies to help. How to fake competitive analysis What do you do when the RFP is released and you don’t know who the competition is? Sometimes you can find out if they release a “Bidders List” of people who received the RFP. If they don’t offer one, ask for it (sometimes they wait for someone to ask before issuing one). If that fails and you have no idea who might be bidding against you, one thing you can do is bid against the usual suspects. You know the companies that you normally compete with, so just assume they’re bidding. You don’t have to name names in your proposal. But you can ghost against types of companies or approaches. You can structure your themes based on whether you assume that you’ll be above, below, or in the middle of the average for pricing and capabilities. You can stress the advantages of your approach over the approaches taken by “others.” If you are really in the dark about the competition, you can create categorizations that all companies fit into and then explain why your approach is superior to each of those categories. How to fake themes A theme in a proposal is a statement of how you will benefit the customer or the reason why the customer should select you. They typically run throughout the various sections of the proposal and combine to provide a persuasive message or story. They should be carefully selected to correspond to any evaluation criteria provided in the RFP. You often have to rely on people who understand the client or the solution to identify themes for the proposal. Unfortunately, most people aren’t very good at writing theme statements. And if you are resorting to doing the proposal The Wrong Way™, you probably don’t have much time to perfect theme statements. Here are a couple things you can do to quickly and easily enhance your proposal: Features and Benefits Tables – A two-column table that lists the features of your approach and corresponding benefits to the customer. Provide your subject matter experts with a blank table to fill in. Features Benefits to the Customer Redundant hardware Improved reliability, less downtime, immediate problem response Off-the-shelf components Lower development and integration costs, faster implementation, demonstrated reliability, vendor support Requirements Response Table — If you provide authors with a blank Features and Benefits table, you’ll probably get features filled in and Benefits left blank. People who have trouble writing theme statements tend to have trouble articulating how the customer will benefit from a feature. Here is another format you can try: RFP Requirement Features and Benefits of Our Approach Redundant hardware Our approach provides for a fully redundant standby server that can be activated simply by turning it on. This will ensure reliability, less downtime, and immediate problem response. Off-the-shelf components All of the hardware in our approach consists of off-the-shelf components. This ensures lower development and integration costs, faster implementation, and demonstrated reliability. With this format, if they don’t fully complete the benefits response, you’ll still be in good shape. If you have to, you can even delete the word “Benefits” from the heading. Themes vs. Differentiators A differentiator is a type of theme that shows how your offering is different from your competitors. It is a reason to select you instead of them, and is sometimes called a unique selling point. Understanding the difference between them is important to winning. However, when doing a proposal The Wrong Way™, you may be lucky if you have any themes, let alone any differentiators. If you don’t know who the competition is and can’t differentiate yourself from them, talk about the benefits of having what the customer is requesting instead of the benefits of what you will provide over the others. If you can’t sound unique, at least you can sound beneficial. How to fake client awareness To consistently win proposals, you must have more client awareness than is found in the RFP. To win a proposal, you should: Solve the customer’s problems, especially the ones that aren’t in the RFP and your competition doesn’t know about. Provide features they want but aren’t in the RFP. Align with their long-term, big picture goals. Fulfill the evaluator’s individual and personal agendas. To accomplish these things, you need to know your customer. If you are doing a proposal The Wrong Way™, the odds are that you don’t have this kind of insight, but are bidding anyway. If you have the time, look up any kind of strategic goals, mission statements, or other documents related to the customer on the web. Find out if any problems about them have been reported or if they have been criticized in the press. Then talk about them in your proposal as if you understand. Don’t repeat the criticism or be too specific – your customer may not agree with the statements. But do show that your proposal will solve issues like the ones you found out about and let the customer draw their own conclusions. If you don’t have any insight or time for research, then talk about building a flexible, robust foundation. Talk about establishing a capability that will not tie their hands and will enable them to rapidly respond as the future unfolds. Emphasize your willingness to work with them as a partner. Talk about how you have experience working with similar customers, in similar environments, on similar projects (even if you don’t name any) and that, therefore, you understand. Likewise, talk about how you will be able to anticipate problems and mitigate risks (even if you don’t provide any examples). If none of that helps, then talk about bringing fresh insights and new ideas. How to fake risk mitigation Many RFPs ask you to describe how you will mitigate risks during performance. A proper risk mitigation strategy would involve an analysis of the work being done. It might include a table like the following: How we will mitigate the risks of: Summary of Our Approach Benefits of Our Approach Schedule slippage Not meeting the specifications Not performing within budget Insufficient staffing Safety issues But since you are doing a proposal The Wrong Way, you don’t have time for that. Instead, create an exhibit similar to this one: Our risk mitigation efforts will specifically address: Schedule slippage Not meeting the specifications Not performing within budget Insufficient staffing Safety issues You can also summarize your approach as addressing risk planning, assessment, handling, and monitoring. By citing the use of items like metrics and performance measurements, without actually identifying them, you can sound like you understand risk mitigation without knowing anything about how to apply it to the project. Turning problems into assets Are you at a complete loss as to how to differentiate yourself from the competition? Is there nothing unique or special about your solution? When in doubt, take your biggest problem in the proposal and make it your biggest strength. Are you having trouble meeting a requirement? Make that requirement the reason why the customer should select you. Does this approach sound counter-intuitive? It does several things for you. If you are having trouble with the requirement, the odds are good that others are too. You project confidence instead of weakness in a difficult area. Also, it forces you to overcome the difficulty. If you can’t be strong, at least it can prevent you from being weak.

Great proposal writing is not about finding magic words to persuade the reader. Great proposal writing is simply about helping people make a decision. Proposal writing does not require expertise in the dark art of sales. Proposal writing that is helpful and credible is good. Proposal writing that is full of the kind of unsubstantiated claims you see in ads will do more harm than good. Customers read proposals to determine what their best alternative is. The most difficult part of proposal writing is not being descriptive. When you are the customer, you don't want to read about a vendor describing themselves. You want to read about what that vendor can do for you and what makes it your best alternative. Great proposal writing is written from the customer's perspective instead of your own. To dramatically improve your proposal writing: Ask yourself, “What does the customer want out of this section?” and then give it to them. Think about what you do when you read someone else’s proposal. When someone reads a proposal section, they are on a mission. There are certain things they want to find out in order to decide whether they want what you are proposing more than what your competitors are proposing. Ask yourself what questions the customer will have, and then write directly to them. It may help if instead of writing, you imagine what you would say to them if they were sitting across from you. Instead of writing around what they need to know, go directly to it. Don’t worry about writing style or word choice. Speak to them in your own voice as if you were having a conversation with them. Ask yourself, "What would a skeptical customer worry about in this section?" and then address it. Think about how skeptical you can get when a sales person is trying to sell you something. Part of the reason why customers want a proposal is that they want you to answer their questions and give them all of the information they need to make a decision. When they read what you submit, those questions are at the top of their mind. They are not reading to hear what you have to say, they are looking for answers to those questions. Don’t try to hide from any difficulties, risks, or issues. The customer knows they are there and wants to know if you can handle them. If you don’t address them, they will probably reach the natural conclusion that you can’t. Take each of your headings and turn them into statements. Headings like “Management Plan,” “Staffing Plan,” or “Experience” don’t say anything. Turn them into statements like: [YourName]’s proven management team will carefully oversee our performance. Our dedicated recruiters are already knowledgeable of the local labor market and prepared to staff the project. Our 20 years of experience makes us better prepared than our competitors to solve any issues that may arise during the project. Those headings may be longer, but they actually say something. They also help you write the section because now you have something to substantiate. Give them something better. Don’t just describe whatever it is you are proposing. Show how it is better. Better than what they have. Better than what your competitors offer. Better than average. Better in any way you can think of. If they ask for something basic, give them something better. If they simply want you to show up on time, then show up early, have a back-up in case you are late, or talk about how in 10 years, you’ve never been late. Just don’t simply say that you’ll show up on time the way they asked, because that’s what everyone else will say. You’ve got to give them something better, even if it’s just a better reason to believe you’ll do what you say. Explain “Why.” Most bad proposal writing is descriptive. It simply describes the company or the offering. Maybe it’s because when people read the RFP and it says to “describe your approach” they think that is what they are supposed to do. Maybe that’s understandable. But look at it from the customer’s perspective. When you read someone’s approach in a proposal, what you are really looking for is to understand why they do it that way. Are they going through the motions, or do they really understand the impact of what they are doing? Is there a benefit to the customer? Reading proposals can get really, really boring. Sometimes the reader just wants to know “why” it matters. You can greatly improve your proposal writing without becoming an expert writer or salesperson, simply by focusing on “why.”

When I sit down to review a proposal, I often find myself making the same recommendations and corrections that I have made on hundreds of other proposals. When I present the results of my review, sometimes the proposal writers are embarrassed and I like to point out how common these problems are. They appear in all proposals, including those by the largest, most successful firms. By learning how to catch these mistakes and fix them, you can ensure that your proposals are much better than the average seen by the typical evaluator. Mistake #1: Not Being RFP Compliant It’s pretty basic, but if you haven’t complied with the RFP instructions and other requirements, the customer may not read any further. Some customers specifically look for non-com*liance so they can throw out proposals and make their evaluation easier. So look at what you have written and ask yourself if your followed the instructions and whether you can find the response to every RFP requirement in your proposal. If you can’t find it, then you are not compliant. Sometimes all you need to do to fix it is to add the keywords used by the customer in the RFP to your proposal. Mistake #2: Merely Complying With the RFP Does your proposal offer something that the customer will want more than any competing offer? When you describe your offering, are you merely fulfilling the RFP requirements, or are you providing them with something better than the competition? What differentiates your offering? RFP compliance is so important that some companies obsess on it to the point where that's all they achieve. Other companies incorrectly assume that exceeding the RFP requirements has to increase the cost of your offering. When your proposal is merely compliant, what you are really doing is competing on nothing but price. Mistake #3: Not Optimizing Against the Evaluation Criteria If you are writing a proposal in response to a written RFP with a formal evaluation process, ask yourself how the customer is going to score your bid. Will your proposal achieve the maximum score possible? If not, you may need to add to your proposal, change the terminology, or change your points of emphasis so that they are better aligned with the evaluation criteria. Mistake #4: Failing to Pass the “So What?” Test When the customer reads “we are pleased to submit” or “our company was founded in 19xx," will the customer say “so what?” Look at everything you have written, and ask what the customer gets out of it. If the customer doesn't get anything out of it, then why should they care? If it doesn't pass the "So What?" test, re-write it until it matters. Mistake #5: Not Saying Why the Customer Should Select You Does what you have written clearly articulate why the customer should select you? The RFP evaluator must look at competing proposals and select the best one. Does your proposal say why they should select you? Mistake #6: Not Thinking About What It Will Take to Win Does the proposal achieve what is necessary to win? What do you have to do or achieve in writing in order to win the proposal? Ask yourself whether the proposal you have written achieves those things. This should be your primary measure of the quality of your proposal. Mistake #7: Making It All About You Is it all about you or is it all about the customer? If every sentence starts with “We” or the name of your company, that's a good sign that you’re writing about yourself. Instead you should talk about the results, what the customer will get out of what you are offering, and how it will benefit or impact the customer. When you talk to a salesperson, you don’t want him to talk about himself, you want him to talk about how the purchase will impact you. This is true even when you have to talk about your qualifications. It’s not your experience that matters, it’s about how your experience will result in something beneficial to the customer. So make sure that everything you have written is about what the customer wants to hear, and not about you or what you want to say. Mistake #8: Stating a Universal Truth Does it state a universal truth before presenting your approach? For example, does it say something like “Quality is absolutely vital to success. Therefore we…” or “According to the Council of Accepted Experts, quality is vital.” Writers, especially those with technical backgrounds, sometimes like to put their claims in context or appeal to some accepted authority before they start writing. Often, they never get around to saying what they'll actually do or deliver, for example, how they'll deliver quality. Instead of stating some universal truth that applies equally to your competitors as it does to you, you should be showing that your approach delivers what you say is so important. It is much better to say “Our approach delivers the quality that is vital to success by...” or “Our approach implements the recommendations of the Council of Accepted Experts by…” Mistake #9: Not Owning the Result People often write in terms of things “happening” instead of saying things like “our approach delivers.” You should take ownership of the results when you work on a project. Instead of “if you select us, we’ll do the work, and you’ll get the results” you should say “if you select us you will benefit from the results we deliver” or “if you select us the results we deliver will have the following benefits for you…” The benefits to the customer are benefits that you provide. It’s not bragging or ego. In proposal writing it’s logical and necessary to show the link between your offering and the results. It’s also not the way a lot of people normally write. You should review what you have written to see if you can rewrite any of the results so that you can take ownership of them. Mistake #10: Building to the Finish People want their claims to be credible. So they often carefully craft a proof that shows how each item leads up to their conclusion, which they deliver at the end. This is the exact reverse of the way you should write your proposals. People evaluating proposals do not want to have to read or puzzle through the whole thing to figure out what you are saying about your offering. Instead, you should tell them the conclusion you want them to reach first, then provide the supporting points that substantiate that conclusion. When reading your proposal, they should see a statement about the result or benefit you will offer them followed by how it will be achieved or delivered. Otherwise, they have no reason to keep reading.

The first thing a proposal evaluator does is figure out how to evaluate your proposal. They may have forms, criteria, policies, and occasionally even training to guide them, but at its heart, what they have to do is figure out how to score everybody. They have to figure out how to apply the evaluation criteria, using the forms and policies of the evaluation process to your bid. You can help in your proposal, by telling them what is important, what will cause problems, where the sources of risk are, how you’ve mitigated those risks, and what will result from a contractor who hasn’t. Essentially, what you have to do is educate the evaluator. Be subtle, and never patronize. Don’t tell them how to do their job, but do show that you understand the issues. Keep in mind that some evaluators will be technical, some not. Some will be managers, some will not. Some will have familiarity with the program, some may not. If there is a feature in your proposal that is important, make it the first thing they see, and tell them why it is important. Avoid patronizing by making it a statement of your understanding. “We do … because we understand the importance of … This ensures that any risk of … is mitigated. We have made this a key feature of our proposal because we understand that any approach that does not include … represents a source of unmitigated risk.” Etc., etc. Make sure that along the way you build the case that you are the only one in existence who could possibly do the job and if they select anyone else they will experience nothing but problems and be exposed to endless risk. You can achieve this by a process of elimination. Target each competitor and every alternative approach. At every turn, show the benefits of your approach and the problems inherent in any other. Do this in the context of educating someone who may not realize they need educating. They know you’re a biased source so don’t be afraid to state your case --- just make sure you support it. Done properly, what you will do is make their jobs easier by showing them how to apply the evaluation criteria to your proposal. After reading your proposal, it should be clear how the evaluation criteria should be applied and where you should get points. Lots of points. Make this more clear then the competition and you win. It’s that simple. Unless your price is unrealistic ;-)

A good proposal answers the customer’s questions. A proposal done The Wrong Way sometimes has to avoid them. One reason is that if you somehow win the proposal, someone’s going to have to live up to any promises made. A good proposal wins because of those promises. Doing a proposal The Wrong Way might mean avoiding promises. A good proposal avoids using passive voice. A proposal done The Wrong Way sneaks it in. In passive voice, instead of a noun performing the action, the subject receives the action or is acted upon. With passive voice, you can say that something will happen, or that the project will start, or software gets written without saying who will do it. Avoid using passive voice because it weakens the statements in your proposal. Strive for clarity. But, when you get into trouble, sneak it in to obfuscate what you’re saying. If the rest of your proposal is clearly written, it may not tarnish your credibility. Another way to avoid commitment is to talk about your capabilities and experience instead of what you will do. Talk about how much you like marriage and kids, but don’t talk about dates or your plans for the honeymoon. Talk about the criteria that you will use to make decisions, and list the things you will take into consideration. Talk about having processes for getting things done without saying what the steps are. Talk about the benefits that will result without saying how you will deliver them. Talk about all the things that you can do for the customer, without saying what, when, or how you will do them. In all likelihood, this is completely true, since most companies will do anything the customer pays them for, and after award you can figure out what is included and what is an extra charge. Finally, promise both sides. Say that you will involve the customer in decision making, but will not require any effort on their part. Offer them a single point of contact, but empower everyone on the project to solve the customer’s problems. Offer to hire all of the incumbent staff, but only if the customer likes them. You should separate conflicting statements by at least a paragraph, instead of putting them in the same sentence like we have done. Worded properly, you should not even be able to tell that there is a conflict

Writers around the world agree... it's nearly impossible to edit your own writing. We tend to fall in love with our words the moment they burst onto the screen and, as you know, love is blind. Obviously a professional proofreader/copy editor is the ideal solution. It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village of helpers to nurture a masterpiece like the one you're writing. But what if you can't afford it or you're under deadline pressure with no time for a second opinion? This is not a happy situation, but in a pinch you can edit your own material. Here's how: After you've finished the piece and spell-checked it, give it a rest. Wait as long as you can -- sleep on it, if possible -- before coming back and proofing it for errors you missed the first time. Re-read it at least ten times. Then read it backwards, last sentence to first. Be ruthless. Whittle convoluted thoughts down into the fewest words without losing the meaning. For example, "She received the support of 21 senators among those senators who were present for the vote" becomes, "Twenty-one senators voted for her." Root out passive statements and flip them into active ones. Your Microsoft Word spell checker has a feature that will tell you how many passive sentences are in a document. It even tells you what grade level your piece is written for. Hint: Aim as low as possible - below grade eight if you can. (To activate this feature, check the box beside "show readability statistics" on the Spelling and Grammar options page). One idea per sentence, please. You will immediately understand why when you read the following lead from a published news story: "Carlos Manuel Geronimo Alfonseca, one of the supposedly confessed authors of the murder of the Senator, told journalists at the New City courthouse when he was being taken back to his cell after being questioned by Judge Nelson Rodriguez on the day of his hearing that he was not the person who wore the mask when the Senator was killed." Come again? Check the math. In economics stories especially, it's easy to drop a zero and even easier to duplicate somebody else's mistakes. Double check for double meanings. For example, the following site description recently turned up in an ad for casinograpevine.com: "The Casino News Portal for Women that Men Can't Resist!" So it's a portal for women who are irresistible to the opposite sex or... ? Keep an eagle eye open for the little oopsy-daisies we all make. Typing "you" instead of "your" is a common one. So is using "that" instead of "who". Example: "All the people THAT proofread their stories carefully win Pulitzer Prizes." Find out what style manual/guidelines are used by the publication you're writing for and be sure your piece agrees with them. Now do the first item on this list again. I can't tell you how many times I've caught my own bloopers or found a better way to phrase something on the 15th or 20th pass! So that's how, in an emergency, you can do your own editing. Sure, working without an editor can have its upside. It means never having to say, "You messed with my art, you creep!" But the downside is that you will probably overlook mistakes that the "village" would have caught. Whenever possible, get a talented friend or a professional editor or even an English major to lend an eyeball. Believe me, they aren't nearly as in love with your words as you are!

Complex business deals must be put into writing. The legal form for this is the contract. However, the document that seeks to influence the decision whether to sign the contract is the proposal. Proposals are produced through a process that is often complex and can involve many people. It is easy to forget that the proposal process is about getting the right black ink on paper. In fact, it is often the part of the process that involves writing that fills people with dread --- especially those who don't have any experience with proposal writing. When you ask them to write a proposal, suddenly people with solid expertise and otherwise good problem solving skills have no idea how to proceed. You can tell them to write about the benefits, or why what you offer should matter to the customer, but while they understand your words, they still don't know how to get the black ink on paper. The most common request we get is for samples. Even though the sample may be for a different customer in a different set of circumstances, and even though it could totally steer them down the wrong path, some people crave seeing a sample. I've come to realize this is because they are not confident about choosing words and putting it into writing. Over the years, we have refined our own proposal writing skills. We often find ourselves following the same patterns, over and over again, to articulate to the decision-maker what matters about what they are reading. Proposal writing really is this simple Often people are intimidated by writing because they are focusing on the wrong things. It's not format, style, choice of words, or even grammar that is critical to success. All you need to do is give the reader the information they need to make their choice. If you have read the RFP, outlined your section, and know what you are supposed to write about, but are still having trouble putting black ink on paper, here is what you should do: Tell the customer what you are going to do for them. Just make a statement that sums it up, as if you were discussing it with them. Tell them how or why what you are going to do will deliver/ensure/provide/result in what they want Do this in every sentence. If you are not sure what words to pick or what style to write in, don't worry. Any sentence that does these two things is a good proposal sentence. At the paragraph level, do this first. Then provide any supporting details. Never build to the end. Always be upfront. If you need to state a fact or provide a description and can't link it directly to what they want in the same sentence, split it into two sentences. But make sure you always link everything in your proposal to what they want. Intermediate proposal writing for those who want to win It is not enough to deliver something that the customer wants. You have to deliver something that the customer wants more than any other option available to them. This usually comes down to them wanting you more than they want your competition. To achieve this, you must anticipate the attributes of your competition, and make sure that you give them better reasons to want what you are offering. If you have a written RFP that includes instructions and evaluation criteria, first make sure that you comply with all instructions and requirements. Step one in winning is to not be disqualified. Next, focus on the evaluation criteria. While proposals are written, they are often not read. Instead, they are scored. If the customer will follow a written set of evaluation criteria, make sure that you score well against it. Get graphic. Think about presentation. If you can replace words with graphics, it is usually better to do so. The more attractive the document, the more likely the customer will put the effort into reading it. Advanced proposal writing, for those who are willing to invest in winning Advanced proposal writing has nothing to do with writing. It is all about preparation. In order to write about how you will deliver what they want better than the competition, you have to know a lot about the customer and more than a little about the competition. Advanced proposal writing is about doing your homework long before the writing starts so that you have this information available. While you are gathering this information, there is something else you need to do. Develop a relationship with the customer. People buy from those they know and trust. If your relationship is solid, the proposal document is secondary to winning. Advanced proposal writing is about winning before the writing even

Your proposal should be written from the customer’s perspective. When you receive a proposal, it is natural to see what you are being offered — what you are going to get. You may not want to read at all, but if you must, the last thing you probably want to read is a contractor who does nothing but talk about themselves. And yet most proposals are written this way. It is easy for us to write about ourselves. It is difficult for us to write from someone else’s perspective. And yet that is what separates great proposal writing from poor proposal writing. A Simple 2-Step Process for Proposal Writing To write from the customer’s perspective, there are only two things you need to do: Identify what matters to the customer, such as what result they are looking for or a benefit they would like. This should come first and not last. Write about the customer and what they are going to get — not about describing your own company. The customer should come first and not your own company. Ideally, you should do this in every single sentence. At a minimum, you should introduce each paragraph this way. If you have a graphic, a table, or a response to detailed specifications, then you should use this technique to introduce them and put them in context. As easy as these two steps are to describe, you may struggle a bit when you try to follow them. When the customer’s RFP asks for qualifications, your instinct will be to describe yourself. Instead you should explain what the customer can expect or will get as a result of your qualifications. Assessing the Quality of Your Proposal Writing Here are some signs that you have fallen back on old habits and can improve what you have written: You can’t find where it says why it matters to the customer. To fix it, add what the result or benefit is to the customer. At the very least, give them a reason to care. You haven’t given them a reason to select you. They are not going to select you because of your qualifications or the features of your offering. They are going to select you because of what your qualifications or features mean, will result in, or lead to. Make sure you state that to complete the thought and give them a reason to select you. Every sentence starts with your company name, “we,” or “our.” To fix this you need to flip the order of the sentence and clean up the wording. It’s harder than it sounds. But when you are done the sentence will be about what they are going to get because of the qualification, feature, or attribute your company brings instead of being about your company. Your instinct will be to improve your proposal writing by adding detail. But you can’t break the habit of talking about yourself by doing it in more detail. So while adding detail may be good, it won’t take you from good to great. To do that you need to change the perspective. You can also use the list above like levels in a maturity model to assess the over quality of your proposal writing. Instead of thinking of writing as an “art,” it gives you a better framework to assess and measure quality. The Real Test for Proposal Writing Quality When you write something that doesn’t do the things described above, save a copy. Then work on it until you achieve each item, and compare it to the original. Make sure that you look at it from the perspective of someone receiving multiple proposals who has to select one as the winner. Which one looks like it demonstrates better understanding? Which one promises to deliver better value? Which would you choose?