Practicing Organization Development: A Guide for Leading Change: A Third Edition

CREATING PROPOSALS THAT CLOSE BUSINESS

Let us begin with the parameters of what proposals can legitimately and pragmatically do and not do. Proposals can and should do the following:

• Stipulate the outcomes of the project;

• Describe how progress will be measured;

• Establish accountabilities;

• Set the intended start and stop dates;

• Provide methodologies to be employed;

• Explain options available to the client;

Figure 8.3. Conceptual Agreement as the Key to Closing New Business

• Convey the value of the project;

• Detail the terms and conditions of payment of fees and reimbursements;

• Serve as an ongoing template for the project; ...