Читать книгу Winning Proposals - Hans Tammemagi - Страница 5

Proposals are fascinating creatures. I am intrigued by the proposal’s enormous importance and the wide role it plays, not only in the business sector but in every sector of our lives. Yet few understand the proposal and the principles of persuasion that are at its foundation.

Society is changing. As heavy industry and resource production decrease, the service sector is growing in importance — and so grows the significance of the proposal. Virtually all parts of the service sector use the formal, competitive proposal as the means of soliciting and offering work. Proposals have become one of the main tools of modern business. A proposal is both a sales presentation and a marketing tool. Without the ability to write winning proposals, many companies would cease to operate.

Millions of proposals are requested and submitted each year in North America and cover such diverse services as installation of pollution control devices, safety and management training courses, landscaping and interior decoration, surveys of consumer product usage, reviews of cultural behavior, building of bridges and other infrastructure, filling of potholes, and so on. All levels of government and most parts of the private sector rely on the competitive proposal as the principal means of awarding contracts. Several billion dollars of goods and services are procured annually using proposals.

In this growing information age, consulting firms are proliferating, and their very existence — be they engineering, environmental, or business management firms — depends on proposals. Any single company might write from a few dozen to several hundred proposals each year. Thus, the lifeblood of a consulting firm is the proposal.

But the importance of the proposal extends much further. In today’s business world, virtually all firms and organizations that offer a service or product must submit descriptions to their clients of what they have to offer and why that service or product is necessary. To survive, they must present persuasive proposals. At universities, professors must submit grant proposals to obtain research grants. Hospitals must present proposals to federal and state governments to receive operating funds, capital for a new wing, or a new MRI unit. Charitable organizations must convince the public to offer financial support so they can carry out their good works.

Although this book deals primarily with the formal, written proposal, it is important to recognize that proposals play a vital role in all aspects of our lives. Life is a contest of wits. In this increasingly competitive world, we must sell our ideas, our concepts, and our dreams better than the next person. As Robert Louis Stevenson stated: “Everyone lives by selling something.” Our selling ability — that is, our persuasion skill — has a great bearing on our general success in life.