In my experience, clients carefully read four parts of most proposals: the cover letter (“the invitation”), the approach section (“How can you help me?”), the resumes (“Who are you?”), and the cost or budget section (“And, just how much will this cost me?”). While the pretty pictures of your projects and descriptions of your work are certainly interesting to most clients, nothing is more interesting to a client reader than the client’s own project or problem. As a result, one of the most important sections of any proposal that we write is the Approach Section.
The Approach Section, in fact, distinguishes a proposal from a statement of qualifications (SOQ). An SOQ asks for information about your firm and your experience. A proposal asks for an approach to doing the work requested and/or solving the problem described. Experience in a proposal, while important, has a different purpose than qualifying your firm. In a proposal, experience proves that you can do what you said you could in the approach.
The first step in writing any good approach section is to carefully read the RFP. Most RFPs are written with clear instructions regarding the information for which the client is looking; sometimes, there are even clear instructions on how the client wants you to organize that information. Read it, clarify it, underline it, and follow it. While writers need to bring their creative writing skills to the cover letter, writers need different skills for the approach section. Approach sections require the very best expository or descriptive writing.
If the RFP asks “how” your team will resolve a problem or accomplish a key scope of work, it’s important to really write about what your team plans to do and how this approach will resolve the problem or accomplish the work. Anytime you read the word “how”, this should be a clue that the reader expects to know what you are going to do and how it will meet his need. Too often, when I read an approach section, the section starts with statements of experience or skill: “XYZ has extensive experience in this type of work, and we are excited to bring this experience to your project.” The writer then spends considerable proposal “real estate” describing this experience, even though it’s usually also described elsewhere in the proposal.
Approach sections generally should not include details of your experience, your awards, or even client testimonials. Rather, the approach section should detail how you are going to do the work. The key evaluation criterion for any approach section is “responsiveness.” Does your approach to the work respond to the client’s stated problem, need, or request?
Any large document, like an approach section of a major proposal, can seem daunting when one considers writing it all at once. Fortunately, for most proposals, an Approach section can be logically segmented into prompts to make it easier to write, and coincidentally, easier to read. Generally, the section should be organized chronologically in clear subsections, or should follow the structure dictated by the “prompts” in the RFP. The first step in writing the approach section is to find the logical structure and define the “bundles” of information. These bundles – or subsections – can reflect the logical stages of the work (such as Schematic Design Activities, Design Development Activities, etc. ), or they might reflect logical topics that need to be discussed (such as Quality Management, Safety, Communication, etc.). A writer might even organize the section spatially, bundling content around sections of the site, floors of the building, or areas of the facility.
The writer can then add opening and closing sections to the beginning and end of the approach section. These might be “Approach Philosophy” in the beginning and “Concluding Thoughts” at the end.
Like the entire document, each subsection should have its own logical organization. In fact, a savvy writer creates a common organizational template for each subsection of the overall approach. This establishes a rhythm and flow to the reader, and it makes the writing much faster and easier. There are several common organizational structures a writer might use for a subsection, including:
Problem, Cause, Criteria, Solution: What’s the problem? What caused the problem? What are the solution criteria? What is your solution?
Vision, Process, Result: What’s the aspiration or vision for the work? How are we going to get there? When we do this, what’s the positive result?
Knowledge, Resources, Solution: What do we have to know in order to deal with the challenge? What help or resources do we need to be successful? What’s the solution we need to bring to the challenge that will meet the client’s goals and objectives?
One other way I make these sections easier to write is to borrow from my work as a presentation coach (writing and presenting are, after all, both communication skills). When speakers are having difficulty outlining parts of a presentation, I direct them to always use a four part outline: What are you going to do for the client to solve the problem? Why is it important to do that? How are you going to get it done? Can you prove that this approach will work?
The “What” becomes the topic paragraph for the subsection. If the subsection were about an early project process such as Partnering, I might start with the following:
“The most important first step in any project is the Initial Partnering Session. Our team will hold a partnering session during the first week after Notice to Proceed that will set the stage for project success.”
The “Why” provides the value proposition for the “What.”
For example, I might write, “A well executed partnering session can save a project like yours millions of dollars by avoiding changes and claims while dramatically increasing end user satisfaction. In partnering, we establish the rules of engagement for all team members, integrating team goals so we are all working cohesively toward the same delivery goals.”
The “How” refers to the “guts” of the subsection. Fortunately, since the writer wishes to describe the approach to a scope of work, the logic of the work dictates the logic of the subsection. Each subsection might be organized around the sequential steps it takes to resolve the problem or complete the scope of work. The easiest way to determine this organization is to refer back to “Project Management 101” – the good, old Work Breakdown Structure or WBS. A WBS details discrete tasks that in order lead to scope completion, a step-by-step XX to accomplish the work. The writer can use a WBS to organize each subsection of the Approach.
For example, continuing my partnering subsection, I’d organize this subsection chronologically by the logical, sequential tasks needed to accomplish a successful partnering: identify participants, plan agenda, provide facilitation, and document results.
The “Proof” can be examples from projects where the “How” worked. Remember, these should not be detailed project descriptions, but rather, short statements illustrating success.
For example, “Leaders at Fort XX have found this approach so valuable, they work with us to use it on all projects kicked off at this very busy military training installation.”
Each subsection should stick to its topic and its outline. This keeps writers from including too much in the subsection and keeps readers “on point.” Far from being constraining, using a logical, predictable outline helps the writer be more creative and helps the reader understand the finer points of the narrative.
There are certainly many more ways to write an approach section, and I’m sure many of my readers have extensive experience to share as well. My goal with this short blog is to propose ideas to make the whole writing process easier so readers can clearly understand the value your team brings to the project.
When writing the approach, writers need to think like readers. In today’s economy, clients receive numerous proposals – 20, 30, 40 for a single project. As a result, readers need to review multiple proposals very quickly. Yours needs to stand out by being easy to read and telling a clear, cohesive story. Far from making your proposal more mechanized or simplistic, these logical organizational techniques will make your Approach Section easier to absorb and eminently more memorable.
No comments:
Post a Comment