Proposal Writing Articles

Proposal Writing: Stop Struggling and Start Succeeding

Many people struggle with writing. And, because of that, they waste a lot of time, become frustrated, and do not get the results they want or expect from their proposals. 

Let me share with you several reasons why so many business professionals struggle with their writing.

Let’s talk about "how" we communicate.

We communicate in only two ways - verbally and nonverbally.

The word "verbal" means written and spoken. A lot of people think the word "verbal" only means spoken.

 That's not true. The word "verbal" means written and spoken.

The verbal part includes the words you use and the tone you project with your words. If people do not understand those words, that communication will go nowhere. If your readers understand those words, then the tone you use - how you say it - might become more important than the words.

The nonverbal signals we send with our body language reveals much more than the actual words we use. When we slam doors with frowns on our faces and let out exasperated sighs of disgust, we are letting people know we are not happy. We don’t say a word, but people get the message.

Another example of nonverbal signals is eye contact.

Have you ever walked into someone's office and said, "Hey Joe. I've got a great idea”?

Joe responds in a low, monotone pestered sounding voice, "Yeah, go ahead. Tell me about it."

And, Joe never looks at you. He continues looking down at the pile of papers he was working on.

Or, he gets up from the desk by placing both hands flat on the desk to push himself up. Once he's up, he folds his arms behind his back (I guess that's so he doesn't hit you).

Then he starts pacing. While he paces, he checks the floor, checks the ceiling tiles, looks out the window to see if anyone stole his car, and finally checks his watch to make sure he brought it with him.

All this while, he never looks at you. Does that mean he's not listening? No!

He hears every word you say. How does that make you feel?

Right! About one inch tall.

What is communication?

Communication means caring and sharing. Do you get the feeling Joe cares about you? He is showing you that he cares about himself, not you. He is not sharing any of himself with you.

Volumes of evidence show how nonverbals affect communication.

For a moment, let's focus on how the nonverbals affect your writing.

When you write a proposal, do you have the benefit of these nonverbal signals? No. We've wiped out more than half your ability to communicate.

Now do you understand why writing becomes so difficult?

We have grown so accustomed to communicating by using the nonverbals of our body language. We become frustrated when we cannot communicate as effectively on paper.

This is also why you would prefer to talk to someone, rather than write them a memo or letter.

In speech, you have the benefit of reading that person's nonverbals or having them read yours.

In writing, we must rely on words and tone. That's it - words and tone.

You do have some nonverbals. If you wrote an important letter to a customer in pencil, wrinkled it while putting it in the envelope, spilled coffee on it while you were writing it, misspelled the person's name, and sent it four weeks late, I think that's nonverbal.

For the most part, when you write, you do not have the benefit of nonverbal signals. That's one reason why writing is so tough.

So, what do you do to make up for the non-verbal part of writing?

1. Become intimate with your clients wants, needs, desires, and expectations. That means studying their RFPs, listening to them during on-site visits or telephone conversations, and learning as much about them as you can by as many means as you can.
2. Build your proposals around their wants, needs, desires, and expectations.
3. Take special pains to ensure your proposals are clear, concise, complete, correct, and conversational. Avoid making the process of reading your proposal a tough, time-consuming, task for your clients.

As your read, communication means caring and sharing. Care enough about your clients’ time and effort to communicate effectively. Share a little bit of your time and effort to ensure your proposals work for your clients as well as yourself.

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