The Winning Bid, 2nd Edition

13

Proposals

Using bid writing skills in proactive selling processes

THIS CHAPTER COVERS:

•  What is a proposal?

•  How to construct an effective proposal

•  Presentation and delivery of your proposal

•  Follow-up

What is a proposal?

Right at the start of this book, I introduced the concept of a proposal being a proactive sales document. Unlike a bid, which is produced in response to a tender or set of instructions from the buyer, a proposal is created by the seller, to address a perceived or acknowledged customer need. When you write a proposal, you are effectively creating a business case for meeting that need.

In some cases, the document will be expected: perhaps when a face-to-face meeting or telephone conversation has gone well and ...