Suggested Outline for a New-Product Venture Proposal
This outline is to be used in conjunction with the evidence-based procedures for presenting persuasive oral
and written reports.
Think about how the client might evaluate the report. In doing so, it is useful to ask someone to play the
role of a potential investor to seet how they would respond to your report.
Start writing early, then revise, revise, revise, and revise.
The report should be unbiased (and sound unbiased) and it should provide full disclosure. Assume that you
are presenting to a rational Venture Group. Avoid reliance on your opinions.
Management summary. (one page, assume that this is the only page they will read)
1. Benefits (e.g., ROI),
2. Risks of introducing the new product,
3. Recommended actions needed to be taken by the investor
4. How you reached your conclusions.
5. Evidence
_______________________________________________________________________________
Management report
Introduction
Objectives
• Use the procedures for objective setting (explicit, relevant, comprehensive, measurable, and
challenging.
• Stakeholder analysis
Product
• Name and how it was selected
• Show the product: the more concrete, the more convincing; thus a prototype (e.g. from a 3D
printer) is usually better than a photo, a photo is usually better than a drawing, and a drawing is
better than a written description. (See Brief vs. Comprehensive Descriptions)
• Describe the comparative benefits to the consumers.
• Describe specific techniques that you used in designing the product when you think you can
present them in an understandable and convincing way).
• Describe specific techniques for evaluating the product design (e.g., Delphi for screening
designs, in which case you should provide the output from the Delphi program)
• Testing the product.
Marketing Plan
• Price
• Distribution
• Advertising
Forecasting
• Conclusions and sources (published information and any questionnaires that were helpful in
determining what information the target market needs)
• Provide the findings from testing various aspects of your product. Provide full disclosure of the
procedures used including the various approaches use such as analyses of market data, use of
expert judgments, conjoint analysis, judgmental decomposition, and judgmental bootstrapping.
For example, if using a survey of customers, describe
• written procedures used to administer questionnaires,
• questionnaires,
• who was in the sample,
• when the testing was done, and
• how the results were analyzed
• Consider reactions of various stakeholders (e.g., via structured analogies or structured analogies)
Economic analysis of Expected Value and Risk
Describe procedures to calculate expected value and risk.
Reducing potential (and perceived) risks to consumers and company
• Methods used for assessing risk
• Present your code of ethics and describe how it can protect clients
• Dealing with threats from special interest groups and from the government
• Guarantees
Implementation
(Show how the client can implement the plan)
• Timeline
• Contingency plans
Team capabilities
• Persuade the client that your team has the capability to develop and evaluate the new product.
Action steps: Seek agreements on action steps (consider “rejection and retreat?)
Your plan for getting feedback: How many useful ideas can you get via the written and oral presentations??
Updated JSA Nov 18, 2013