Doing It Yourself: Three Tips to Leverage Your Experts

In our Better Proposal Writing series, we have covered Proposal section introductions, approach narratives, substantiation, and benefit statements. As we conclude our series we answer the age-old question: what do I do if my team just cannot write?

Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. Even with the right coaching and training, some people struggle with putting together solid content. How can Proposal professionals work with their teams to get the inputs necessary and then build compelling narrative? Here are three tips to allow you to create great content in a time effective manner.

tip 1: use annotated mockups

In our free ebook on proposal writing I provide details on using annotated mock-ups to develop proposal content. In short, an AMU is an outline, bullet-based approach designed to focus on IDEAS, not structure or narrative.

The advantage of using this with challenging writers is self explanatory. Contributors focus on the solutions and key ideas of their sections. It frees them of the fear and anxiety of crafting perfect sentences. Instead, they are able to think about the solution and corroborating evidence.

After a technical review to ensure accuracy, Proposal professionals can then take the AMU content to create the compelling, well-structured proposal narrative necessary for a winning bid. This approach allows proposal writers to put the structural meat on the critical idea-focused bones the technical experts provided.

tip 2: interviews

Sometimes our subject matter gurus are responsible for an enormous amount of work during their “day jobs.” As such, they often find it difficult to find room in their hectic schedules to write proposal content, even with AMUs. In these situations, proposal professionals need to make sure their bid includes contributions from these experts. How can we do this?

High-quality proposal writers can sit down with a SME and conduct an interview to get the key information out of their heads and onto paper. First, the writer asks a series of questions to the expert. For example, they can ask for a step-by-step description of how to do things, what technologies are used, how to communicate with the client, alternative approaches and their shortcomings, or other relevant areas of exploration. Second, the writer sits down and develops narrative around the information from the interview. Then, the writer sends the draft to the SME to make sure it accurately captures the technical approach. The second and third steps repeat as the sides iteratively work through any issues.

This approach allows the proposal writer to get the right information from the experts without taking up too much of the SME’s time. It often leads to an improved product up front because an experienced writer is working the content from the beginning. In organizations with significant proposal resources, or on “must-win” bids where the team can bring in specialized proposal writing consultants, this approach is a great way to get the job done.

tip 3: do it yourself!

Unfortunately, especially in small organizations, this might be your only recourse if your experts are too busy. It is often a daunting proposition – how can I write on something I know little (if anything) about? There are four key steps you can take for help:

1. Look at What Your Company Has Written Previously. As I have written about elsewhere, I am not a fan of using boilerplate. If your organization is mature enough to have a “building block” repository, use that as the foundation of your section. If not, and you have previous proposal material, it should serve as secondary source material. Basically, a writer should use it to inform the content they are creating, not serve as a “drop-in” solution to the section. Therefore, I highly recommend combining this step with digging for material describe in step 2.
2. Do Your Own Research. The internet is a vast treasure trove of information for the proposal writer. For most topics, basic approaches and technological information are available online through industry-specific publications and websites, academic institutions, and general sources like Wikipedia. Use those sources and craft narrative around the requirements. At this stage it can be a bit general – you can refine it through the steps below.
3. A “Mini Interview.” Once you have the basic framework constructed, ask your SMEs to answer very particular points. Go through the document and see what additional (especially opportunity- or company-specific) information you require to make the section better. Compose a pointed e-mail to ask the relevant SME(s) for the information you need. Be sure to make this a short request – five questions maximum. Then, take those answers and weave them into your narrative.
4. Make Sure You Have the Right Reviewers. Make sure you have a pink, or ideally a pre-pink, team review with the applicable experts. Ask them to review not only for accuracy but to add in why this approach is the right way to go, what is missing, and how you can strengthen the section overall.

Using this approach, proposal writers can often put together high-quality content without the everyday input of experts. It maximizes the SME’s usefulness and time commitment by making them responsible for making suggested corrections instead of creating content. For most people, improving other people’s content is easier than creating it on one’s own, especially if writing is not his or her forte.

conclusion

Throughout this series I have tried to identify simple, actionable tips to make proposal writing easier and more successful. In the end, good proposal writing is a simple combination of putting together the right client, corporate, and technical information in a clear, compliant, compelling manner. I hope these tips help improve people’s writing capabilities across the board and make your efforts less stressful and more successful. Happy writing!