The invitation to write a proposal may be a milestone in the sales cycle—an opportunity to get one step closer to a client and a new project.

The best proposal, though, is one you don’t have to write. A competitive field reduces the odds of landing the business. So, if possible, sidestep the formal proposal process entirely.

The best proposal, though, is one you don’t have to write.

It’s less costly to write a letter confirming your services than to prepare a formal document proposing your services. Consultants rarely ask clients to award them the business without a formal proposal, so distinguish yourself and ask whether you can start the work using a letter of confirmation. What do you have to lose?

A confirmation letter differs from a proposal in that it describes what you will do, rather than what you are proposing to do. The confirmation letter describes the project objective, scope, schedule, fees, and results, just like a proposal.

But since it’s not subject to competitive bidding, many other elements of a proposal may not be needed, such as a long list of qualifications, case studies, and detailed descriptions of your firm. Most importantly, the confirmation letter approach ends the sales cycle in your favor.

In one case, a client asked a consultant how to create an improved process for communication between the client’s engineering and manufacturing departments. The client intended to ask three other firms the same question and then solicit proposals.

Armed with just a white board and a marker, the first consultant led a multi-hour discussion with the client team. That discussion helped the client and the consultant dig out the real problem between the two groups, work through a potential plan for solving it, and create a tentative schedule.

At the end of the meeting, the consultant asked for twenty-four hours to solidify the work of the group and prepare a confirmation letter. The client agreed and, the next day, awarded the work to the consultant on the strength of the previous day’s discussion, the planned approach to the project, and the confirmation letter.

Twelve Tips for Writing a Winning Proposal

For those times that drafting a proposal is inevitable, here are twelve points to keep in mind.

1. Create a powerful, but concise executive summary.

Decision makers start with and focus on the executive summary, so create this section with that fact in mind. When writing the executive summary, assume the reader knows little or nothing about the proposed project.

2. Quantify the results the client can expect.

Some consultants create proposals that overemphasize their consulting process and methodologies. Most clients buy results, not tools or methodologies.

3. Be generous with your ideas.

You may fear that revealing your ideas about how to solve a problem during the proposal process could result in clients taking those ideas and completing the project themselves. In rare cases, that may happen. But you’ll have more success if you don’t hoard your ideas. Use them to show clients how your team thinks and approaches problems.

4. Size does matter.

Keep your proposals as short as possible, while meeting the client’s request. Think quality, not quantity.

5. Focus on the client.

Many proposals begin with a long discussion of the consulting firm, its qualifications, and history. Focus your proposal on the client’s needs first, and then describe your firm’s capabilities. Remember, clients only care about how you’ll address their issues, so show them how you’ll do that.

6. Beware of best practices.

The client may view your liberal use of “best practices” as a convenient crutch. Instead of relying on answers that worked for someone else, find the blend of outstanding practices and innovative solutions that fit your client’s needs.

7. Be accurate.

If you are using client data to support aspects of your proposal, double and triple check that information. It’s easy for ‘facts’ to be misunderstood and misused in a proposal. You’ll risk turning a winning proposal into a loser if you present inaccurate data to the client.

8. Sweat every detail.

Watch for typos, use high-quality materials, and make sure the right people receive the proposal on time.

9. Rewrite your resume for every proposal.

Highlight the skills in your resume that demonstrate your qualifications for the project at hand. Your boilerplate resume is rarely up to the task.

10. Finish early.

Let your proposal sit for a day once you’ve completed the final draft, and then reread it completely before sending it to the client. You can easily lose perspective when you work on a proposal continuously. Take a breather from it. You’re likely to come up with some new ideas that enhance your work and you may find errors that you missed earlier.

11. Let your personality shine through.

Give clients a sense of the culture of your firm and your style of working. The traditional, stilted language of many consulting proposals doesn’t help clients answer the all-important question: what will it be like to work with these consultants?

12. Don’t let your claims outdistance your capabilities.

Some proposals tout the expertise of the consulting firm by referring to past successes with similar projects. These testaments to past achievements are important, but be sure the capabilities of the proposed consulting team can live up to the firm’s claims.

The proposal is a crucial step in the consulting sales cycle, and that isn’t likely to change. A great proposal can be decisive in winning a project, while a poor one can cause you to lose a project, even if everything else in the sales process has gone flawlessly. Use these guidelines to a write a killer proposal every time. （http://mindshareconsulting.com/how-to-write-a-killer-proposal/）