The Ultimate SF330 Guide (with Microsoft Word Template)

If you’ve ever proposed on Federal, or even state, A/E contracts…you’ve probably run into the Standard Form 330 (SF330). People often struggle with the SF330. But you don’t have to. In this post, I’m going to explain: I’m not going to go over much of the obvious. Instead, I’ll answer common questions and give you […]

Why I Never Shy Away From Using Photos In Proposal Resumes

There is an age-old debate about whether you should include photos of staff members in their resumes. You see, someone could look at the photo and decide (just by their appearance) that they do not want to work with that person. And your firm could lose a valuable contract as a result. I’m here to […]

How Clients Read Your Proposals

Have you ever felt this way? You see…sometimes I just want to grab people by the shoulders and SHAKE them. It’s not because I’m evil or out to punish people. It’s just that sometimes assumptions are lodged so very deeply in our brains that I can’t think of any other way to possibly shake them […]

Proposal Win Rate | Why Winning All The Bids Doesn’t Make You A Winner

Like many firms in the A/E/C industry, the firm I work at is experiencing an uptick in business. We’ve got a lot of work and we’re hiring (If you know any schedulers or claims analysts looking, please…please send me an email). But there is one thing we’re experiencing that I never have before. For the […]

Project Proposal Images | Graphics For A/E/C Proposals

The best graphic to put into your proposal is one that is custom made to address the client’s needs. We all know that. However, sometimes we can either use a little help getting started or find ourselves looking for some stock solutions. Here are five places you can find stock imagery and graphics for your […]

Tactical Debrief | Effective Debriefing Techniques To Win A Contract

You submitted a proposal and lost. Now it’s up to you to figure out what happened. So, what do you do? You ask for a debrief. An agency head of construction management recently told me that he was relieved to just finish up the award of 54 contracts and the conducting of 76 debriefs. Wow. […]

Technical Proposal Writing | How To Write A Technical Proposal Management Plan

Each RFP you see will give you instruction on what is to be in your proposal. Sometimes it will ask for what’s called a “management plan.” This can sometimes trip technical writers up, but writing a management plan isn’t really that hard. In fact, once you get used to writing them, you may end up […]

Proposal Writing Format – My Proposal Writing Formula

Now that we understand some basic rules governing proposal writing and the different sections of a proposal, let’s look at the basic formula for how to write a proposal. Let’s learn the proposal writing format. The Proposal Writing Format The formula is, in essence, a story. Stories have always been a very effective tool for […]

Business Proposal Templates: What You Need To Know

If you are new to writing business proposals, you would benefit from a business proposal template. Free Business Proposal Templates I’ve provided links for different proposal templates that you can download for free. However, these won’t be as helpful as you think because they are often missing critical pieces. Plus, they often provide a design […]

Proposal Structure: The Sections Your Proposal Will Need

Your proposal structure will contain several sections. Your proposal may have some or all of these sections depending on what information your client asks for. Let’s explore what a proposal format might look like by getting to know the sections you might include in your proposal. The 3 Primary Sections In Your Proposal Structure Most […]