Writing Government Proposals

During my time at Qwilr, I’ve seen THOUSANDS of proposals. Here are 4 proposal plays that the best sellers use to close deals: #1 Lead With Problems Start your proposal by articulating your prospects' problems, ideally in their own words. Using quotes from relevant stakeholders within their organisation will grab your buyers’ attention and show you understand their problems. This immediately demonstrates that this isn’t just a generic pitch – you actually understand them and are focused on their specific issues. Doing this also puts decision-makers in somewhat of a tricky situation. They must either… 1. Disregard the opinions of their team as incorrect 2. Acknowledge they’re facing a problem, but decide not to look for a solution 3. Look for a solution (which you are providing in the rest of your proposal) Most (good) leaders will opt for the latter and will read on to better understand your offering. #2 It's Easy to Digest You MUST ensure your proposal is clear, straightforward and easy to understand. Remember, the folks who will be reviewing your proposal are incredibly busy and don’t have time to decipher endless information, searching for what is relevant for them. If your offer is easy to understand, it’s easier to say yes to. Avoid dense walls of text, and use images, graphics and interactive elements to simplify complex ideas. Always steer away from jargon. While it might showcase a level of expertise, you have to keep in mind that it’s likely a number of people will review your proposal. You need to make sure that EVERYONE will buy in. #3 Make It Relevant Buyers want to know that you’ve helped organisations that look like them, or the type of organisation that they aspire to be. Making sure that your proposal speaks to your buyers’ industry, needs, challenges and objectives will increase the likelihood of engagement Build your case by including concrete data and case studies that resonate with your client’s situation. CAUTION: It can be tempting to litter your proposal with logos and quotations from your “biggest” clients. You should not (always) do this! Instead, focus on featuring logos of similar companies or aspirational peers, not just massive brands. Remember, just because a company is “big” to you, that doesn’t mean your client will care. They want to know you can help THEM! #4 Keep Next Steps Simple It’s essential that you break down your proposal into clear, actionable steps – giving your client a roadmap on how to proceed and what will happen when they sign. You should also educate your champion on how to position the proposal to the buying committee, arming them to sell internally. Meet with them and go through your proposal, asking what needs to be removed and added (for other stakeholders) and how they plan to share it more widely. Want to send proposals that impress buyers and close deals? Try Qwilr for free at https://getqwilr.com

You spent 47 minutes painting their transformation...then refused to send pricing? Fuck that. I mean, the call was perfect, right? You nailed discovery & connected their pain to your solution, so they asked for a proposal. And you said: "Let's jump on a call next week so I can walk you through it." You're not protecting the deal by controlling the narrative. All you're doing is signaling that you don't trust your own value prop. More importantly, you're just wasting everyone's time! Sure, you might be think that if the prospect sees the number without "context," they'll ghost. But if your prospect needs a 30-minute call to understand why your solution is worth the price, you didn't do your job in the first meeting. Meanwhile, your prospect's got three other vendors they're evaluating. Two sent proposals same day. You're making them wait a week for a "pricing walkthrough" that could've been an email. Guess who looks easier to work with? Just send the proposal! But make it impossible to ignore: 1. Break down the flexibility. "I structured this with three tiers based on what we discussed. Tier 2 is what I'd recommend given your timeline, but Tier 1 gets you started faster if budget's tight this quarter." You just gave them options and positioned yourself as helpful. 2. Flag the decision points. "A few places where you'll need to decide: - Implementation: 60 days (standard) or 30 days (accelerated, +$15K). - Training: Self-serve or instructor-led. - Support: Business hours or 24/7." You're showing them you understand their biz & giving them control. 3. Tie pricing to outcomes. "Based on the $2M revenue gap you mentioned, this $150K investment pays for itself in about 4 months. I broke down the ROI on page 3." 4. Make the next step obvious. "I'll check in Friday to answer questions. If you want to move forward, we can get contracts signed by end of next week and kick off implementation the Monday after." You've given them a timeline without pressure. Confident, not desperate. 5. Include a video walkthrough (the gangster move). Record a 90-second Loom walking through the proposal. Your champion is going to forward this internally to people who have zero context. A video lets you control the narrative without being in the room. "Hey [Name], attached is the proposal we discussed. I recorded a quick video breaking down the key points - feel free to share this with your team." You just made your champion's job easier. AND you gave yourself a voice in every internal meeting. Folks, please, please make it easy for your buyers to say yes. If you've done the work upfront - nailed discovery, built trust, connected to real pain - sending pricing shouldn't feel risky. And if you're worried the number will scare them off? You didn't build enough value in the first place. Just send the quote. While you're scheduling your pricing call, your competitor's already in procurement.

Here’s the thing that a lot of people get wrong right off the bat with proposals: they think it’s about proposing a solution. It’s not. A proposal is a test. The client wants to see: do you clearly understand my problem and can you articulate it back to me? If the answer is yes, they will hire you. If it’s no, they won’t. Here’s what I recommend your proposal look like: • 50-60% describing the problem • 20-30% describing the solution • 10-20% covering the legalese, payment terms, etc. Start it like this: • “Your team is heavily misallocating their time and it’s costing you $20K/mo. Here are the three reasons why.” • “Lack of structured management is costing you Y dollars per month. Here is why.” • “Hesitance to restructure your business is costing you Z dollar per month. Here is why.” • “Your bottleneck is thing and it is costing you X amount. Here is why.” • “By not solving thing, you will continue to feel pain and it will eventually result in X outcome. Here is why.” Describe the problem. Then wrap up with a brief solution. Once you show you understand the problem better than anyone else, you win the job.

Designing impactful development projects requires a structured and strategic approach to ensure relevance, feasibility, and sustainability. This document provides a comprehensive guide to project design and proposal writing, equipping practitioners with the skills to develop well-structured proposals that align with donor priorities, organizational goals, and community needs. By integrating evidence-based planning with clear proposal development techniques, this guide enhances the ability to secure funding, articulate objectives, and design projects that deliver measurable results. This document is structured into key sections covering: – Fundamentals of Project Design, defining problem statements, objectives, and theory of change – Proposal Development Process, outlining key components of a compelling funding proposal – Logical Framework Approach, ensuring clear linkages between activities, outputs, and outcomes – Budgeting and Resource Planning, integrating financial considerations into project design – Proposal Writing Techniques, refining structure, language, and presentation for donor engagement Beyond theoretical discussions, this document provides practical tools, case studies, and step-by-step guidance to support professionals in designing and writing successful project proposals. By applying these methodologies, organizations can strengthen their ability to develop high-quality proposals, secure funding, and implement effective development programs.

Giving some feedback on a recent bid, so thought I would share: 1️⃣ They don't care if you are "pleased to submit". I know you think it is polite. But realistically this is a business proposal, cut to the chase. If an organisation is reviewing 20-30 proposals, it is a skim read at best. Superfluous content is just fluff they have to wade through. 2️⃣ Don't state details about THEIR project which they already know. This does not add anything. If there is a title on the header page, they know what it is in reference too. 3️⃣ "We have great expertise in this area, making us an ideal fit." That's nice. But currently just a boastful statement. Tell them WHY! Facts need to be given demonstrating experience, value and the benefits your product or service gave. 4️⃣ Equally a boast of working with certain companies or including previous client logos on a slide deck adds nothing without substance. A future prospect is not impressed because these organisations formed part of your portfolio. But they might be if you detail the work completed, end result or contribution made. 5️⃣ Brevity is always the answer. Write as concisely as possible: greatest amount of detail with the fewest amount of words. There are no prizes for how lengthy your document is, if anything it is more off-putting to a client as it shows you can't communicate well. 6️⃣ The client only cares about themselves, so try not to make your proposal all about YOU. Introduce your business, but remember to explain the benefits you provide because this is the selling point. 7️⃣ Create active links on your website which demonstrate easy access to case studies, company values, accreditations, testimonials etc. It is a case of Show not Tell. We all write about how great we are, but you know what is easier - just to show people. Adds more credibility as well. 8️⃣ Remember, to understand the prospect and where possible have completed adequate research which gives the competitive edge. A boring proposal which is compliant but not compelling, never hits the mark. Ultimately as with all prospecting, you want to stand out. This can be achieved by getting to the point quickly, explaining the value & benefits the client will receive and what the end result will look like for them. #WinningBusiness #BusinessDevelopment #RFP #Bidding ...... ❤️ Hi! I'm Emma. 💰 Winning Business. ♻️ Renewables. 👉 Follow for more.

I looked at over 100 proposals worth over $500K as a B2B buyer. I only remember a few. Here are 4 ways you can set yourself apart (and why most proposals never get looked at): 1. Built for the buying committee - not just the champion Most proposals assume one person makes the decision. That’s rarely true. The best ones were written with execs in mind. Mobile-friendly, easy to skim, and structured like a story, not a spec sheet. The kind of doc I could forward without rewriting a single thing. (like Qwilr!) 2. Helped me sell internally The proposals that stood out made me look good. They included visual slides I could screenshot into a board deck. Framed the problem. Showed the cost of inaction. Made the ROI feel obvious. They gave me language to use with my CFO, not just the vendor’s pitch. 3. AEs tracked engagement and followed up with a purpose Great sellers didn’t “check in.” They followed up based on what I actually did. They knew when I viewed the proposal, which sections got read, and what was skipped. Every email felt relevant—because it was. They weren’t guessing what mattered. They had data. 4. AEs pre-empted objections I hadn’t even voiced yet Before legal asked for terms, I had a friendly breakdown of the key clauses. Before procurement jumped in, I had a clear explanation of how pricing scaled. It felt like the AE knew my internal process better than I did - and helped me get ahead of it. TAKEAWAY: Most proposals are written to present. The best proposals are built to sell. Qwilr turns your proposal into a selling tool—one that’s interactive, trackable, mobile-ready, and designed for the whole buying committee. It helps your champion make the case. And it helps you win deals - even when you’re not in the room. If you want to stand out, build proposals that do more than inform. Build proposals that close.

I am currently supporting a contract doing merit reviews of grant proposals for economic development programs. It has reinforced my practices of strategically designing proposal documents and narrative to make it easy on the reviewer. The proposals are all over the 😣 Part of the problem is the government’s instructions don’t align easily with the evaluation criteria, which has every proposal just a bit different and results in the reviewers hunting all over the application documents to find the information we need to score them. It is painful, tedious, and incredibly inefficient. (BTW – I wrote the proposal that won this work, never thinking I would have to be part of the implementation team.) Here are my takeaways. ✅Zero in on evaluation factors, particularly if the instructions are minimal and/or they don’t align well with the evaluation criteria. ✅If the evaluation criteria calls out specifics, make sure the reviewer can find them easily, and I don’t mean buried in an endless paragraphs and bolded. Put it up front or in a call out. ✅Don’t provide extraneous information that you think is cool. You are just wasting space, distracting the reviewer, and clogging the information pipeline. ✅Don’t make assumptions about anything. You have no idea who is going to be reviewing and scoring, so speak to the novice and the expert. ✅You can’t always assume the reviewer is seeing your other submission documents, either. So, make sure each volume directly addresses it’s specific requirements and evaluation factors, including context as needed and space allows. ✅Last, structure your paragraphs strategically, assuming the reviewer isn’t going to read every word. Put the information most important to the reviewer first, then explain your how and why. 👉Remember you want to make it as easy as possible to find the information they need and articulate their justifications for their scores. Be reviewer friendly. ++++++++ This is exactly what Writing is Easy does. We help make your responses easier to read and score, through carefully crafted language and document design.

Your proposal got skipped because it wasn’t skimmable. Most VAs write proposals like essays. Dense paragraphs. Walls of text. A whole novel about what they can do. And busy founders? They’re reading on their phone. Between meetings. In the Uber. Right before bed. If your proposal isn’t built for that, you’re losing before they even finish reading. Here’s what VAs who are strategic partners know: Proposals don’t win on volume. They win on clarity. Your proposal needs to do three things fast: → Prove you understand the problem → Show you have a clear solution → Make it easy to say yes That’s it. No fluff. No filler. No five-page breakdown of your entire work history. Here’s the framework: → Hook them in under 20 words with their outcome → Mirror their need so they know you actually read the RFP → Validate the pain without making it about you → Promise one result in one sentence → Show your game plan in three bullets max → Offer the upsell when it makes sense → End with a direct ask that creates reply intent One page. Skimmable. Built for mobile. This is how you stop losing proposals to VAs who know how to structure for decision-makers who are moving fast. The full breakdown is in the graphic. Use it on your next pitch. —Monica #TheVAGodmother 🪄 #AskMonicaAnything #TheGlowLab

Proposal Strategy Shift: How Contractors Must Structure Fixed-Price (FP) Proposals Your cost-type proposal template won't win a FP award. Here's what needs to change. This is the last post this week's EO series, and it might be the most valuable one for contractors. Here are the 6 structural changes your proposal team needs to make: 1️⃣ DEMONSTRATE SCOPE MASTERY, NOT EFFORT PLANS Your technical volume must show understanding of the expected outcomes, not just the tasks you'll perform. Link every proposed solution directly to the PWS/SOW deliverable requirements. 2️⃣ BUILD A SOLID BASIS OF ESTIMATE (BOE) Your price must be defensible without a cost build-up for the Government to audit. Your BOE should document how you derived your FP, using historical data, market data, or engineering estimates. Weak BOEs lead to unsuccessful proposal determinations. 3️⃣ PRICE BY DELIVERABLE OR MILESTONE, NOT BY PERIOD Structure your price around the deliverables. A milestone payment schedule tied to accepted deliverables protects both parties and aligns with performance-based contract administration. 4️⃣ EXPLICITLY ALLOCATE AND ADDRESS RISK Include a risk section that identifies what assumptions underlie your price and what risks you are accepting. If government-furnished information or access is required, call it out as a performance risk and explain how you've priced for it. 5️⃣ PROPOSE YOUR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT APPROACH Describe how you'll track deliverable progress, handle corrective action if you fall behind, and interface with the COR for acceptance. This is your quality control narrative, and it needs to be in the proposal. 6️⃣ PRICE INCENTIVE STRUCTURES STRATEGICALLY If the solicitation includes award fee or incentive fee provisions, your proposal must articulate how you will earn those incentives, not just that you intend to. Tie your proposed management plan directly to the performance metrics that drive additional fee. The FP proposals aren't like cost-type proposals with a lump sum at the bottom. They are structured around outcomes, priced with discipline, and managed with transparency. Structuring a FP proposal requires a fundamentally different approach than cost-reimbursement proposals. In a cost-type environment, contractors propose labor categories, hours, and rates, and the Government evaluates the cost realism and technical approach. In a FP environment, contractors must: (1) conduct rigorous BOE work, (2) demonstrate full understanding of scope to justify the price, (3) structure a priced Bill of Deliverables or milestone payment schedule, (4) explicitly address how they will absorb cost risk, and (5) articulate a performance management plan that ties to the Government's acceptance criteria. That's a wrap on this week's EO series. If this content has been valuable, share it, save it, and tag a colleague who needs to see it. Acquisition Solution Experts - Pricing Plans: https://lnkd.in/e-4fiBtU - Book Online: https://lnkd.in/eSP65jbp