| Acknowledgments |
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xiii | |
| Introduction |
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1 | (6) |
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Chapter 1 The Power of the A+ Proposal |
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7 | (16) |
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The Proposal: The Make or Break Move |
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8 | (1) |
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How to Put the "Power" into Your Proposals |
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9 | (1) |
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Be Compliant: Powerful Proposals Give Customers What They Request |
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10 | (2) |
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Be Responsive: Powerful Proposals Address Customers' Needs, Key Issues, Values, and Goals |
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12 | (1) |
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What Proposals Reveal About You |
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12 | (3) |
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Six Key Elements of High-Quality Proposals |
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15 | (3) |
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16 | (1) |
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16 | (1) |
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16 | (1) |
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17 | (1) |
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17 | (1) |
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17 | (1) |
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Evaluating Proposals: The Best and the Worst |
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18 | (4) |
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22 | (1) |
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Chapter 2 A Simple Notion: A Proposal Must Sell, Not Just Tell |
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23 | (19) |
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The DNA of Proposals: How Organizations Buy Products and Services |
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24 | (1) |
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24 | (1) |
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24 | (1) |
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25 | (1) |
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25 | (1) |
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How Buying Decisions Are Made |
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26 | (1) |
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They Won't Buy, Unless You Sell |
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27 | (1) |
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Powerful Proposals: Simple, Clear, and Precise |
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27 | (2) |
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Four Compelling Questions Every Proposal Must Answer |
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29 | (11) |
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29 | (4) |
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33 | (1) |
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34 | (4) |
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38 | (2) |
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40 | (2) |
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Chapter 3 Getting Your Message Across: Technical Proposals for Every Reader |
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42 | (13) |
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The Competitive Advantage: Reader-Friendly Proposals That Sell |
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42 | (2) |
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44 | (1) |
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45 | (2) |
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47 | (1) |
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48 | (1) |
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Two Messages, One Proposal |
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49 | (1) |
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Double-Exposure Techniques |
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49 | (5) |
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54 | (1) |
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Chapter 4 Selling the Benefits: Customer-Oriented Proposals |
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55 | (13) |
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Why Steak Without Sizzle Is Not Enough |
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55 | (1) |
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Customer-Oriented Proposals |
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56 | (1) |
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57 | (1) |
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57 | (2) |
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59 | (2) |
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Reading the Customer's Mind: The "You" Proposal |
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61 | (1) |
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Five Essential Components of a Customer-Focused Proposal |
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62 | (1) |
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Uncover and Respond to the Customer's Underlying Need |
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62 | (1) |
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Address All of the Requirements and Requests |
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63 | (1) |
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63 | (2) |
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Emphasize Benefits, Especially Intangible Ones |
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65 | (1) |
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Develop an Effective Proposal Strategy |
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66 | (1) |
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67 | (1) |
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Chapter 5 What It Takes to Win: Credibility, Acceptability, and Preference |
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68 | (21) |
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69 | (1) |
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70 | (1) |
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71 | (1) |
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72 | (1) |
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73 | (1) |
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Establishing Acceptability |
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74 | (1) |
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75 | (1) |
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76 | (2) |
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Conducive Political Environment |
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78 | (1) |
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79 | (1) |
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80 | (2) |
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82 | (2) |
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84 | (3) |
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87 | (2) |
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Chapter 6 Winning Executive Summaries: Your Most Powerful Selling Tool |
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89 | (35) |
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The State of the Art: High-Tech Summaries |
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91 | (1) |
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A Powerful Executive Summary: Focus on the Benefits |
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92 | (1) |
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Preparing to Create an Executive Summary |
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93 | (1) |
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Develop Your Win Strategy |
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94 | (1) |
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Build a Compelling Story Line |
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95 | (2) |
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97 | (3) |
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How to Design an Executive Summary with Impact |
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100 | (1) |
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Brochure Format: Your Best Sales Tool |
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101 | (3) |
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Issues-Driven Executive Summary |
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104 | (2) |
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Ad-Style Executive Summary |
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106 | (3) |
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Four-Page Executive Summary |
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109 | (1) |
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Product-Emulation Executive Summary |
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110 | (1) |
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Customer-Empathy Executive Summary |
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111 | (2) |
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Living Executive Summary: An Evolving Sales Tool |
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113 | (1) |
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113 | (9) |
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Executive Summary Quality Check |
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122 | (1) |
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123 | (1) |
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Chapter 7 Timing Is Everything: Positioning to Win |
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124 | (11) |
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How to Position Your Company to Be a Key Player |
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124 | (1) |
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Begin Early: Build Relationships, Develop Influence, and Win the Customer |
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125 | (7) |
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Creating a Companywide "Can-Do" Attitude |
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132 | (2) |
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134 | (1) |
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Chapter 8 Proposal Management: The Art of Containing Chaos |
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135 | (17) |
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Front-Loading the Effort: Plan and Design |
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137 | (2) |
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139 | (2) |
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Planning for and Conducting a Superior Kickoff Meeting |
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141 | (1) |
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142 | (1) |
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Lay the Foundation: Proposal Planning |
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143 | (2) |
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Establish Credibility: The Process |
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145 | (1) |
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A Failed Kickoff: Danger Ahead |
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146 | (1) |
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Revising for Quality: The Final Touches |
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147 | (3) |
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150 | (2) |
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Chapter 9 Getting It Written, Getting It Right: Guide to Creating Compelling Proposals |
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152 | (20) |
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The Seven-Step Section Development Process |
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153 | (18) |
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Step 1 Determine the Content |
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153 | (1) |
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Step 2 Organize the Content |
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153 | (2) |
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Step 3 Develop the Themes |
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155 | (3) |
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Step 4 Develop the Visuals |
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158 | (5) |
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Step 5 Develop the Proofs |
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163 | (2) |
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165 | (1) |
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165 | (6) |
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171 | (1) |
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Chapter 10 The Review Process: Making Sure the Power Is in the Proposal |
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172 | (33) |
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The Role of Reviews in the Proposal Process |
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174 | (2) |
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Themes and Visuals: The Contributions of the Pink Team |
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176 | (1) |
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177 | (5) |
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182 | (8) |
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Applying the Pink Team Review to the Final Draft |
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190 | (1) |
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Does It Have What It Takes: The Red Team Review |
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190 | (1) |
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Who Is Needed: Selecting Team Members |
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191 | (1) |
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192 | (1) |
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192 | (3) |
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195 | (9) |
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204 | (1) |
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Chapter 11 Learning Forward: Win or Lose Protocols for Continuous Improvement |
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205 | (12) |
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Administering the Protocols |
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206 | (6) |
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212 | (1) |
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212 | (1) |
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213 | (1) |
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Improvement/Implementation Plan |
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213 | (2) |
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215 | (2) |
| Appendix A The Ultimate Weapon: Maximize Proposal Effectiveness with Techies Who Can Sell |
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217 | (8) |
| Challenges for Readers |
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225 | (1) |
| Appendix B Models of Issue-Driven and Ad-Style Executive Summaries |
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226 | (17) |
| Index |
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243 | (10) |
| About the Authors |
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253 | |
