CreatingEffectiveProposalsProposalWriting--GuidelinesandHintsCONSULTING第一頁，共十五頁。Re-usingMaterialReusableMaterial--textorgraphicsfromprevious proposalsthataddresssimilarrequirementsDon’tthrowboilerplatetogetherandcallita sectionClients/evaluatorsknowwhenthey’rereading generictext,andresentit!Thoroughlyreviewandmodifyanytextorgraphics youreuseTailorthematerialtotheclientandtheRFPCommonlyreusedmaterial-qualifications,client profiles,resumes,statistics,capabilities,graphicsAlwaysdangeroustoreusetechnical solutions/approaches第二頁，共十五頁。ProposalToneBeginsentenceswiththeclient’sconcernShowunderstandingandempathyofthatconcern

-provethatyouknowtheclient(names,sites,systems)RespondtothatconcernBedirect,confidentandassertive,butnotarrogantGuardagainsttoomanyparagraphsbeginning:

“KPMGunderstands...”or“KPMGrecognizes...”SubstantiateclaimswithstatisticsandexamplesSuperlativesaregenerallybad(can’tbe substantiated)Mixtheuseof“we”and“KPMG”throughout第三頁，共十五頁。ProposalToneExamplesProperExample:“Overthepastseveralyears,theUniversityof Massachusetts,Amhersthasinitiatedabroadreviewof itsadministrativesystems,resultingintheselectionof thePeopleSoftStudentAdministrationSystem.“Based onyourRFP,werecognizethatUMassdesires specific assistancerelatedtothebusinessprocess redesignofyourstudentservices,andfit-gapanalyses fortheseimprovedprocesses.”ImproperExample:

“KPMGisthegloballeaderineverymeaningfuland

quantifiableway.”(!)第四頁，共十五頁。ProposalTenseUse“active”voice-theactorcomesbeforetheverbAvoid“passive”voice-noactor,vague,unresponsiveCorrect:

“KPMGwilldevelopthesystem.”Incorrect:

“Thesystemwillbedeveloped.”

Followthe“truetense”rule,whetherpast,present,

orfutureCorrect:“Thecurrentsysteminterfaceswith...” “Thefuturesystemwillincreaseaccess…”Incorrect:

“Thefuturesysteminterfaceswith…”

第五頁，共十五頁。BulletListsBreakuplengthynarrativeChangeasentencethatlistsmanyitemstoabulletlistAvoidswitchingtense,voice,ortonewithinthelistUseparallelwordingtostarteachbullet

(thesamekindofword-verb,noun,adjective,etc.)CapitalizethefirstwordofeachbulletinthelistIntroducebulletlistwithacolon,thenseparateeach bulletwitheitherasemi-colonornothingExampleofaconsistentbulletlist:“TheNASAsystemwillprovidethefollowingbenefits:IncreasedresponsetimeImprovedcustomerserviceImmediatedataaccess”第六頁，共十五頁。GraphicsAnothergreatwaytobreakupcontinuoustextMucheasiertoreadandreviewDepictprocesses,flows,activitiesbetterthantextCanbetables,matrices,orfull-scalefoldoutsServemanypurposessuchas:Staffing:names,skills,yearsofexperience,org.chartsQualifications:statistics,dates,projects,numbers Workplan:tasks,hours,staffassignedTechnical:diagrams,architectures,systemdesignsTraining:coursestructure,methodologyRFPrequirementscompliancechecklist第七頁，共十五頁。GrammarandPunctuationInsertacommaaftereachelementinaseriesofmorethantwoelements,andinnumbersof 1,000ormoreUsetwospaces:betweennumbersandtitleofsectionheadingsafterperiodsandcolonsUseonespaceaftercommasandsemicolonsReferenceothersectionsoftheproposal whenappropriate,assuch:Insection4.3,“PotentialProblems,”wediscussourriskmanagementpolicies.第八頁，共十五頁。FollowWordConventionsReferto“conventionwordlist”establishedbyProposalCoordinatorHelpsdifferentwriters/sectionssoundconsistentEasesfinaleditingsomewhat(search/replacelist)Whenindoubt,defertoRFP/clientusagePrimeexamples:projectvs.engagementclient/servervs.client-serverUNIXvs.Unixdatabasevs.databaseworkplanvs.workplanRunspellcheckEVERYtimeyouexitafile!第九頁，共十五頁。AdditionalLanguageGuidelinesAvoidusingsuperlatives(“all,every,never”)KPMGLegalalsofrownsonitUse“exceedstherequirements”sparinglyifwereallydo,weshouldexplainhowandwhyAvoidtheambiguous“etc.”attheendofaseriesUsewordsfornumberslessthan10Usenumberswhenreferringtotime,money,distance,orpercentageAvoid“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第十頁，共十五頁。“Support,ProvideandEnsure”MostoverusedwordsinproposalsUsedsomuchtheycanbegintolosetheir meaningSomesuggestedalternatives: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第十一頁，共十五頁。VersionsandRevisionsUseMSWord“Comments”featurefornotestotherevieweroryourself(outstandingissues,holes)HavereviewersuseMSWord“Revisions”featureonsoft-copyeditssoyoucanseethechangesmadetoyourtextAlwaysmaintainacopy(andbackupcopy)ofthemostrecentversionofyourdocumentdifferentversionsfloatingaroundcausenightmaresuseversionnumberingconventionsWhenrevisingtext,havetheRFP/OFShandy第十二頁，共十五頁。SummaryRe-readtheRFP/OFSrequirementsandevaluationcriteriaThinkbeforeyoustartwritingUseoutlinesandgraphicstoorgani