Proposals Are Persuasive Plans
You cannot write a successful proposal until you
1. Fully understand your audience’s needs/
problems and why solving them is important
2. Formulate a careful, detailed plan of action
3. Prove beyond doubt that you have the logic,
time, equipment, and personnel to solve the
problem
4. Can match your timetable and budget with
your reader’s
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Proposals
 Plan your proposals and consider your
goals carefully
 Proposals carry the obligation and force
of a legal document
When incorporated within a proposal that
your reader accepts, your goals become
part of a legally binding agreement
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Writing a Successful Proposal
Guidelines
1. Approach it as a problem-solving activity
2. Regard your audience as skeptical readers
3. Research your proposal thoroughly
4. Scout out what your competitors are doing
5. Prove that your proposal is workable
6. Be sure your proposal is financially realistic
7. Package your proposal attractively
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Document Design and
Your Proposal
Overall design and layout play a major role in the
acceptance by an audience
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Double-check to make sure it looks professional
Organize your proposal into sections
Use headings
Insert extra space between sections
Use a professional-looking and easy-to-read font and type
size
 Include easy-to-follow lists
 Clearly label visuals and insert where most appropriate
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Internal Proposals
Typical topics include
 Purchasing new or more advanced equipment
 Obtaining document security software and training on
how to use it
 Recruiting new employees or retraining current ones
to learn a new technique or process
 Eliminating a dangerous condition or reducing an
environmental risk
 Improving communication within or between
departments
 Revising a policy to improve customer service
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Internal Proposals
Anticipate and resolve reader problems
1. Realize that your reader may feel threatened by your plan
2. Take into account that your reader may have
predetermined ways of doing things
3. Keep in mind that your boss may have to take your
proposal further up the organizational ladder for
commentary and, eventually, approval
4. Consider the implications of your plan for other offices or
sections in your company
5. Accept that although you draft the proposal, it may not
bear your name
6. Never submit an internal proposal that offers an idea you
think will work but relies on someone else to supply the
specific details on how it will work
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Organization of
an Internal Proposal
 The Purpose of the Proposal
– State briefly why you think specific change is necessary now, define
problem succinctly and emphasize your plan to solve that problem
 The Problem
– Provide proof that a problem exists
 The Solution or Plan
– Describe the change you propose and want approved
– Tie solution to the problem you have just documented
 The Conclusion
– Concisely remind readers that
 Problem is ongoing and serious
 The reason for change is justified
 Action needs to be taken
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Documenting a Problem in a Proposal
Guidelines
 Avoid vague and unsupported generalizations
 Provide quantifiable details
 Indicate how many employees (or work-hours) are
involved or how many customers are
inconvenienced by a procedure or condition
 Verify how widespread a problem is or how
frequently it occurs; cite specific occasions
 Relate the problem to an organization’s image,
reputation, or influence
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Proposing the Solution or Plan
 Tie your solution directly to the problem
 Supply details to show
– The plan is workable, and it is cost effective
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Typical Questions Readers Will Ask
 How does this proposal meet our company’s
special requirements?
 Does the writer understand our problem?
 Can the writer deliver the services it promises?
 Can the job be completed on time?
 Is the budget reasonable and realistic?
 What assurance does the writer offer that the job
will be done exactly as proposed?
 How has the writer demonstrated his/her
worthiness?
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Writing Winning Proposals
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Keep in mind that a proposal presents a
plan to a decision maker for his or her
approval
To win approval, your proposal must be
1.
2.
3.
4.
Realistic
Carefully researched
Highly persuasive
Visual appealing and easy to follow
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√ Revision Checklist
 Identified a realistic problem, one that is restricted and
relevant to my topic and my audience’s needs
 Tried effectively to convince audience that the problem
exists and needs to be solved
 Used headings, white space, lists, and professionallooking font to make proposal visual attractive and reader
friendly
 Incorporated quantifiable details demonstrating the scope
and importance of the problem
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√ Revision Checklist
 Persuasively emphasized benefits of solving the problem
according to the proposal; incorporated “you attitude”
throughout
 Offered a solution that can be realistically implemented—
that is, it is both appropriate and feasible for audience
 Wrote clearly so audience can understand how and why my
proposal would work
 Researched background of problem
 Double-checked proposals to catch errors, omissions, and
inconsistencies
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