TACKLING THE REVIEW

The more your proposal is reviewed, the better it will get. This may seem an obvious point, but it is often the case that the review stage is dropped so that the contributors have time to complete their allotted sections. It is far better to present a proposal that is generally correct, coherent and persuasive than one that has every detail nailed down somewhere within a mass of ill-arranged and unchecked paperwork.

Reviews of proposals too often concentrate on the content as written, not how the message can be improved. Of course, we need to ensure that our facts are correct and that we have covered all the risks. But we also need to ensure that the arguments we are making, such as “Why buy from us?” and “Why should you take the action I recommend?” are being expressed in a way that will get results. While reading the examples in this book, I'm sure many of the mistakes jumped out at you. You can recognise a badly made point or a paragraph not aimed at the correct audience as easily as spotting a spelling error. If you apply that mindset the next time you review a proposal then you will be able to tune the text to its maximum effectiveness.

I have previously mentioned the benefit of mentally reading the proposal ‘aloud’. Try to imagine what each potential reader would think and the questions he or she might ask.