Proposals –That Guide Clients and RFP Projects with Visionary Roadmaps

Crafting a Visionary Proposal Experience for Clients and RFP Projects

I recently won my very first RFP proposal. I had never applied to one before. This article is about what I believe I did right, and to share some tips for how your agency can step up its game to create a kick-ass proposal that shines!

As I implied, I am super thrilled about this opportunity. I recently stepped up my own game and changed my entire proposal writing process. I moved my proposal from Microsoft Word into PowerPoint. My Microsoft Word version has always been super detailed, but what PowerPoint offered me was the opportunity to present a well-designed, detailed proposal that not only looks beautiful, has necessary details, and tells a visual story that combines my brand with the agency which I am applying to work with, but also says ¨hey! look what I can do for you! ¨

As a designer, I have always believed that packaging is everything and for me, this recent upgrade has proven to be a game changer.

Let′s be clear, I am not meaning to imply that a beautiful proposal that is empty in thought will win. Rather, packaging must make a good first impression and include all the details a project lead wants and needs to see. Think of it like this, the reader needs to be able to follow your breadcrumbs and get an experience, know where to start, feel seen and heard, and when your proposal is compared next to the stack of others it stands out. That was my goal.

10 Breadcrumb Tips for Creating a Winning Proposal

Once you have a template version of your winning proposal, it can be customized for different project proposals with different clients.

1) Charting Your Course to Triumph

If your goal is to send a PDF, then what software you use is insignificant. The benefit of PowerPoint is you can treat it like a design program that can create professional-looking designs and presentations; whereas, Microsoft Word is more limited, and using Excel can be tricky regarding readability if the content is not structured well.

2) Aesthetics of Achievement: I cannot say this enough! Whitespace. Whitespace. Whitespace! It is imperative to use whitespace to balance the content. Otherwise, your proposal or presentation will be noisy and designed with too much distraction. Think of it like this. Your goal is to drop breadcrumbs that lead the reader down a path telling the story of what your team will do for their project and why you are the best one to do it.

3) Elevate Your Proposals with Headers: Start by creating headers to define each section. These will serve to build out your outline. Once you have all your headers, you can go back to populate each section.

4) Craft a Winning Edge, Be Personal: Write an intro letter that highlights a few items you want the potential client to know.

5) Tell a Story: Approach your proposal like a story. There is an introduction, multiple chapters (sections) that describe all the project details from the client′s perspective and from yours, as a vendor, and add a summary.

6) Designing for the Future, Details Matter: For each section you add, ask yourself what details are necessary for the potential client to know about this section. Describe the details from start to finish and use hierarchy and logic so the information can be easily followed. Sections should always include the project scope, budget, timeline, payment method, project schedule, and so on.

7) Don′t Forget to Include Your Brand: Make sure your brand is woven into your proposal. This could be done by adding your logo to the cover page, using color, typography, and visuals.

8) Their Agency Should Be the Hero of Your Story: It is important to show the potential client or project team that you understand the project′s scope, topic, and what their agency does. You can do this in multiple ways:

• Create a visual cover page that weaves your brand with the project′s focus.
• Include a section about the project′s organization and scope from the potential client's perspective.
• Include a section about the project′s audience.

9) Be Flexible: If you think there are multiple ways you can approach the project, offer the potential client the options and explain to them the pluses and minuses of each way. ?It shows the client you are thinking about them and their needs. Ways you can help make their lives easier. Chances are your competitor has not done this and it might be the thing that helps you stand out.

10) Leave Them With a Memorable End: The summary, this is where you get to shine! Write a simple section about your company, add links you want them to see, and include your resume (if it would add social proof).

The above are some general tips that I use when creating proposals.

However, our proposal development service includes many more details than described in this newsletter. If you are struggling with making your proposals shine, consider hiring BRAIT Studio to design a template you can use for all your project proposals.

Our proposal template design services include:

1. Start with one of your team's proposals and transform it into a PowerPoint template.
2. Design a cover page with your logo, brand colors, and photos.
3. Design an intro page.
4. Pull in your brand and identity across the template cover-to-cover.
5. Build out each section.
6. Organize each section into detailed, logical, and readable information.
7. Build in chronological order, clear and easy-to-follow tables for the project timeline, schedule, and payment schedule.
8. If useful, create SWOTs, and infographics, add icons, tables, charts, and/or any other design element, which will contribute to making your proposal stand out from your competitors.
9. Build out any necessary sections based on the RFP, to show you are paying attention to their agency mission, and project′s mission, and to provide a comprehensive experience.
10. Design the summary section.

Need help with creating a detailed branded proposal template? BRAIT Studio can help! Schedule a free 15-minute call to discuss.