Acquire the necessary skills to win business through proposals, bids, tenders, and presentations-this hands-on guide is your partner for success. You have in your hands the collected knowledge and skills of the professional proposal writer. Proposal writing is a profession, a growing and increasingly important one and an essential part of a broader group of business development professionals who plan and execute strategies for businesses who want to obtain new customers. Proposal writers have a professional organization, the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and their best practices are the foundation for this book. Proposal writing is a skill you can learn, practice, and master, you can even go through a professional certification process to prove your mastery. “Writing Business Bids & Proposals for Dummies” is your no-nonsense guide to finding out what professional proposal writers know and for applying it to your own business. If you're a small- to medium-size business owner, a first-time proposal writer in a medium-size company, or a sales representative, you know that a written proposal (printed or electronic) is still a common, personal, and effective way to win business. Written in plain English, “Writing Business Bids & Proposals for Dummies” will help you to: • Know the difference between reactive proposals (the RFP or request for proposal) and proactive proposals • Focus on the customer by going beyond their requirements to address their true needs • Know your competition through research and analysis • Write persuasively to develop a winning business proposal • Plan and use a repeatable proposal process • Incorporate a lessons learned aspect to your proposal process • Use tools and templates to accelerate your proposals • Motivate and lead your proposal team to ensure they're on the same page • Use graphics to enhance your proposals • Learn ways to automate your proposal development process • And a whole lot more Additionally, you'll gain access to ten templates for building a proposal, find out ten common misconceptions about bids and proposals, and add a compiled list of online resources to your toolset.
