Here’s a question I get asked often:

“How do I figure out what to say in my sections when there is so much I could say? Where do I begin?”

The technical folks usually ask it. They are faced with an RFP requirement that is pretty vague, like “Describe your approach to Mission Control Software” or, even …

I realize you have heard this before. I know my clients have (I say it all the time, like a broken record), but I’ll say it again:

Your client buys what you’re selling because she perceives it as having some benefit to her!

That may be obvious.  But here’s something that isn’t so obvious:

You need to point …

In a recent article we talked about how changes in the federal procurement process under the new Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) can affect your proposal efforts, even if you don’t write proposals to the feds. We pointed out that agencies will place more emphasis on performance-based Statements of Work, and basing awards on whether the …

Consider these facts: A few hundred years back, in a town in Europe two families didn’t get along well. Then a boy from one family fell in love with a girl from the other family. There were a few fights between members of the family, and eventually one of the boy’s friends was killed. The …

I’ve talked before about how important it is to come up with a set of themes that run throughout the proposal. How do you come up with these themes? You develop them during a win strategy session. This meeting, held at the beginning of the proposal effort, concentrates on four areas:

Step 1: Identify client concerns. …

Most technical writing is marked by a complete lack of personal pronouns. Probably back in college a professor told you that technical reports had to be objective, dignified and professional, which, somehow, makes personal pronouns taboo.

Forget that advice. A proposal needs to be filled with we, us and our. You need to get across the notion that …

In this issue and the next, I’ll talk about sections in your proposals that often seem tailor-made for waving the company flag and trumpeting how excellent your firm is. In fact, the client often seems to invite you to do that. But beware; dangers lurk in those woods.

A Cautionary Tale

A firm I work with …

One way to make your writing easier to get through is to reduce the size of your sentences. A rule of thumb is that your sentences should be between 12 and 17 words long, on average.

Here’s a suggestion: Run your proposal through your word processor’s grammar checker; you will likely be surprised at the average …

If you’re old enough, you may remember the TV cop show Dragnet that ran in the fifties and then again in the late sixties (if you’re too young, you can see the show now and again on Nick at Night). Its premise was to show what being a cop was really like. No glamour, but …

In past articles we’ve advised against using phrases such as “We have extensive experience,” or “We are uniquely qualified,” and letting it go at that. You may be all those things, but unless you show that you are, the evaluator is left with just your claim.

And that usually won’t be enough.

Substantiate your claims. We like …