Finding the Right Proposal Length - EP080

How long should your proposal be? Yes, you want to give evaluators all the information they need so you score the maximum points. But there's a fine line between adding the right amount of detail and overwhelming your reader! So, how do you describe what you do, how you do it and why it's important in a concise, accessible way? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I'm sharing my top four tips for finding the right proposal length, challenging you to create a balance between providing sufficient detail and making your response easy to read and evaluate. I explain why it's crucial to stay on topic and avoid wordiness, describing how to eliminate any information that isn't necessary and cautioning you against including upsells as a way to differentiate your business. Listen in for insight on writing your RFP response at the most appropriate reading level and learn how to keep your content relevant by building a mini-outline for each question before you begin! Key Takeaways How to create a balance between providing sufficient detail and keeping your proposal readable The benefit of putting together a response template with a mini-outline for each question My top 4 tips for finding the right proposal length Stay on topic Ask yourself, 'So what?' Eliminate anything that isn't relevant Avoid wordiness The art of describing what you do, how you do it and why it's important in a concise and readable way Why you shouldn't try to differentiate yourself with upsells in a proposal My why-what-how approach to layering an answer in your RFP response Why most proposals should be written at a sixth- or seventh-grade reading level How to use the readability function in Word (and teach your technical writers to use it too) Connect with Lisa Lisa's Website Lisa on Twitter Lisa on Facebook Lisa on LinkedIn The RFP Success Company on YouTube The RFP Success Community on LinkedIn Subscribe on iTunes Email [email protected] Resources How to Access the Readability Function in Word The RFP Success Book by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Institute