Writing persuasive proposals

A bid document is not a technical specification, a price quote or an overview of your company, it's a sales document that should move an opportunity through towards the winning of work.

The decision-makers evaluating the bid will be asking:

• Am I getting what I need? 
• Can they really do it? 
• Does the pricing represent good value? 

The document needs to persuade the decision-makers to respond with a confident 'yes' to all of these questions. 

Your document needs to be structured to persuade the reader and obtain their preference. As a general rule the document content should follow this basic sequence (NOSE).

1. Needs - demonstrate your understanding of the client, their business, their objectives and their requirement.

• Decisions are not always as logical, rational and detailed as we would like to think; they are often quick and based on first impressions. Therefore, what you say first in a bid, the reader will assume reflects are your primary interests and values i.e. you should start with them (the client) and not yourself.

2. Outcomes - identify outcomes and results from meeting their needs.

• These outcomes should be meaningful and valuable to the client. 
• Show a positive business impact of these outcomes e.g. impact on operational efficiency, revenue generation etc. 

3. Solution - Recommend a specific solution.

• Show that you have thought about the requirement and what it means to them and offer something beyond a generic service description. 

4. Evidence - Build credibility by providing examples of where you have done this before.