Click to edit Master title style,Click to edit Master text styles,Second level,Third level,Fourth level,Fifth level,C O N S U L T I N G,Proposal Writing,Creating Effective Proposals,Proposal Writing-Guidelines and Hints,C O N S U L T I N G,Re-usingMaterial,ReusableMaterial-textorgraphicsfrompreviousproposalsthataddresssimilarrequirements,Dont,throwboilerplatetogetherandcallitasection,Clients/evaluatorsknowwhentheyrereadinggenerictext,andresentit!,Thoroughlyreviewandmodifyanytextorgraphicsyoureuse,TailorthematerialtotheclientandtheRFP,Commonlyreusedmaterial-qualifications,clientprofiles,resumes,statistics,capabilities,graphics,Alwaysdangeroustoreusetechnicalsolutions/approaches,ProposalTone,Beginsentenceswiththeclientsconcern,Showunderstandingandempathyofthatconcern,-,provethatyouknowtheclient(names,sites,systems),Respondtothatconcern,Bedirect,confidentandassertive,butnotarrogant,Guardagainsttoomanyparagraphsbeginning:,“,“KPMGunderstands.”or,“,“KPMGrecognizes.”,Substantiateclaimswithstatisticsandexamples,Superlativesaregenerallybad(cantbesubstantiated),Mixtheuseof,“,“we,”,”and,“,“KPMG”throughout,ProposalToneExamples,ProperExample:,“,Overthepastseveralyears,theUniversityofMassachusetts,Amhersthasinitiatedabroadreviewofitsadministrativesystems,resultingintheselectionofthePeopleSoftStudentAdministrationSystem,.,“,BasedonyourRFP,werecognizethatUMassdesiresspecificassistancerelatedtothebusinessprocessredesignofyourstudentservices,andfit-gapanalysesfortheseimprovedprocesses.,”,”,ImproperExample:,“KPMGisthegloballeaderineverymeaningfulandquantifiableway.”(!),ProposalTense,Use,“,“active”voice-theactorcomesbeforetheverb,Avoid,“,“passive,”,”voice-noactor,vague,unresponsive,Correct:,“,“KPMGwilldevelopthesystem.”,Incorrect:,“,“Thesystemwillbedeveloped.,”,”,Followthe,“,“truetense,”,”rule,whetherpast,present,orfuture,Correct:,“Thecurrentsysteminterfaceswith.,”,”,“,“Thefuturesystemwillincreaseaccess,”,Incorrect:,“,“Thefuturesysteminterfaceswith,”,”,BulletLists,Breakuplengthynarrative,Changeasentencethatlistsmanyitemstoabulletlist,Avoidswitchingtense,voice,ortonewithinthelist,Useparallelwordingtostarteachbullet(thesamekindofword-verb,noun,adjective,etc.),Capitalizethefirstwordofeachbulletinthelist,Introducebulletlistwithacolon,thenseparateeachbulletwitheitherasemi-colonornothing,Exampleofaconsistentbulletlist:,“TheNASAsystemwillprovidethefollowingbenefits:,Increasedresponsetime,Improvedcustomerservice,Immediatedataaccess,”,”,Graphics,Anothergreatwaytobreakupcontinuoustext,Mucheasiertoreadandreview,Depictprocesses,flows,activitiesbetterthantext,Canbetables,matrices,orfull-scalefoldouts,Servemanypurposessuchas:,Staffing:names,skills,yearsofexperience,org.charts,Qualifications:statistics,dates,projects,numbers,Workplan:tasks,hours,staffassigned,Technical:diagrams,architectures,systemdesigns,Training:coursestructure,methodology,RFPrequirementscompliancechecklist,GrammarandPunctuation,Insertacommaaftereachelementinaseriesofmorethantwoelements,andinnumbersof1,000ormore,Usetwospaces:,betweennumbersandtitleofsectionheadings,afterperiodsandcolons,Useonespaceaftercommasandsemicolons,Referenceothersectionsoftheproposalwhenappropriate,assuch:,Insection4.3,“,“PotentialProblems,”,”wediscussourriskmanagementpolicies.,FollowWordConventions,Referto,“,“conventionwordlist,”,”establishedbyProposalCoordinator,Helpsdifferentwriters/sectionssoundconsistent,Easesfinaleditingsomewhat(search/replacelist),Whenindoubt,defertoRFP/clientusage,Primeexamples:,projectvs.engagement,client/servervs.client-server,UNIXvs.Unix,databasevs.database,workplanvs.workplan,RunspellcheckEVERYtimeyouexitafile!,AdditionalLanguageGuidelines,Avoidusingsuperlatives(,“,“all,every,never,”,”),KPMGLegalalsofrownsonit,Use“exceedstherequirements,”,”sparingly,ifwereallydo,weshouldexplainhowandwhy,Avoidtheambiguous“etc.,”,”attheendofaseries,Usewordsfornumberslessthan10,Usenumberswhenreferringtotime,money,distance,orpercentage,Avoid“i.e.,”,”and“e.g.,”,”-use“forexample,”,”,Avoid“via,”,”-use“through,”,”or“using,”,”,Knowdifferencebetween“its,”,”and“it,s,”,”,“KPMGstaff,”,”issingular,“personnel,”,”areplural;“datum,”,”issingular,“data,”,”areplural,“Support,ProvideandEnsure,”,”,Mostoverused wordsin proposals,Usedsomuchthey can beginto losetheir meaning,Somesuggested alternatives:,advocate,affirm,aid,approve,assist,confirm,control,convey,demonstrate,develop,direct,effect,enable,encourage,enhance,establish,execute,facilitate,favor,improve,leadto,maintain,manage,monitor,obtain,offer,perform,promote,resultin,strengthen,verify,VersionsandRevisions,UseMS Word,“,“Comments”feature for notestotherevieweroryourself(outstanding issues,holes),Havereviewers use MS Word“Revisions”feature on soft-copyedits soyoucanseethechangesmade toyour text,Always maintaina copy(andbackup copy)ofthemostrecentversionof yourdocument,different versions floatingaround causenightmares,useversionnumbering conventions,Whenrevising text,havetheRFP/OFShandy,Summary,Re-readtheRFP/OFSrequirementsandevaluationcriteria,Think befor