Persuasive business proposals : writing to win more customers, clients, and contracts / Tom Sant.

By:

Sant, Tom

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: New York : AMACOM, c2004.Edition: 2nd edDescription: viii, 248 p. : ill. ; 23 cmISBN:

0814471536
9780814471531

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

651.78 SAN

Online resources:

Table of contents

Contents:

The challenges you face -- A good proposal is hard to find -- Why the Inuit hunt whales and other secrets of customer behavior -- The structure of persuasion -- Developing a client-centered message every time you write -- Understanding the customer : the Cicero principle -- Establishing your credibility -- An overview of the proposal development process -- Writing from the right brain : getting your ideas organized -- Presenting a winning value proposition -- The structure of the letter proposal -- The structure of the formal proposal -- Writing research proposals and proposals for grants -- What to do after you submit -- Writing in the midst of a storm : how to deal with bad news and negative publicity -- Creating a proposal center of excellence -- Proposal metrics : how to measure your success -- Give the reader a KISS! -- Word choice : six traps to avoid -- Sentence structure : maximizing your clarity -- Editing your proposal.

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Standard Loan	Moylish Library Main Collection	651.78 SAN (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		39002100450684

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

With over 40,000 copies sold, the first edition of Persuasive Business Proposals helped many readers construct dynamic, effective proposals. Now in paperback, this fully-revised second edition still gives readers simple, effective techniques for organizing, writing, and delivering proposals while updating the author's winning strategies for today's global business environment. By cutting through the confusion, and providing dozens of real-world examples, this updated version provides step-by-step instructions for crafting value-centered, recipient-specific proposal packages, with all-new discussions on: * How to increase business using new communication channels from e-mail and electronic submissions to PDF, HTML, and others * The Seven Worst Proposal Mistakes illustrated with real-world examples This is an essential book for anyone seeking to win contracts and sell projects." "

Includes index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Preface (p. v)
Section I Why You Need This Book
Chapter 1 The Challenges You Face (p. 3)
Chapter 2 A Good Proposal Is Hard to Find (p. 10)
Section II A Primer on Persuasion
Chapter 3 Why the Inuit Hunt Whales and Other Secrets of Customer Behavior (p. 21)
Chapter 4 The Structure of Persuasion (p. 28)
Chapter 5 Developing a Client-Centered Message Every Time You Write (p. 42)
Chapter 6 Understanding the Customer: The Cicero Principle (p. 55)
Chapter 7 Establishing Your Credibility (p. 72)
Section III How to Manage the Process and Keep Your Sanity
Chapter 8 An Overview of the Proposal Development Process (p. 81)
Chapter 9 Writing from the Right Brain: Getting Your Ideas Organized (p. 98)
Chapter 10 Presenting a Winning Value Proposition (p. 107)
Chapter 11 The Structure of the Letter Proposal (p. 120)
Chapter 12 The Structure of the Formal Proposal (p. 132)
Chapter 13 Writing Research Proposals and Proposals for Grants (p. 174)
Chapter 14 What to Do After You Submit (p. 187)
Chapter 15 Writing in the Midst of a Storm: How to Deal with Bad News and Negative Publicity (p. 194)
Chapter 16 Creating a Proposal Center of Excellence (p. 198)
Chapter 17 Proposal Metrics: How to Measure Your Success (p. 206)
Section IV Writing to Win
Chapter 18 Give the Reader a KISS! (p. 213)
Chapter 19 Word Choice: Six Traps to Avoid (p. 216)
Chapter 20 Sentence Structure: Maximizing Your Clarity (p. 227)
Chapter 21 Editing Your Proposal (p. 232)
Index (p. 243)

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Preface This edition of Persuasive Business Proposals has been thoroughly revised to reflect changes in the world of work that affect proposal writing and, more important, to incorporate lessons I have learned from working with some wonderful clients. The basic principles of persuasion have remained consistent from the first edition onward, but thanks to insightful client feedback I have developed more effective ways to explain those principles. For example, the NOSE pattern that I present in Chapter 5 is an important instance of finding a simpler, more memorable way to communicate the key concept of persuasive structure. Likewise, the characterization of bad writing into the four categories of Fluff, Guff, Geek, and Weasel--an idea that I first presented in The Language of Success--has proved so popular in workshops and speeches that I decided to bring it to Persuasive Business Proposals, too. The use of technology has exploded, moving us from the local area network to the cloud, and by collaborating with clients who are themselves at the forefront of information management I have learned how to use that technology to make the proposal writing task easier. I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to work with proposal experts at Microsoft, Cisco, CIBER, Booz Allen, Thomson Reuters, Qvidian, and other leading high-tech firms. Technology can transform the way we work, as evidenced by the rise of virtual proposal operations on a global scale in recent years. But technology can also exert new pressures on the bidding process and the proposal writer, too. I have tried to address these new realities in this edition. * Excerpted from PERSUASIVE BUSINESS PROPOSALS, 3rd Edition by Tom Sant. Copyright (c) 2012 by Tom Sant. Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://www.amacombooks.org. Excerpted from Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts by Tom Sant All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Tom Sant is the creator of the world's most widely used proposal automation systems: ProposalMaster and RFPMaster.