Shipley Proposal Writer Playbook ™ In sports and in life, no single playbook prepares us for achieving success in every game or situation. Likewise, there is no silver bullet approach to writing proposals that makes it easy! Luckily, for professional writers or others who contribute content to bids and proposals, there is help. There are best practices and proven approaches to proposal writing that work—that help us create relevant, consistent, compelling, and customer-focused content. The purpose of the Proposal Writer Playbook is to guide proposal contributors through a repeatable approach that simplifies bid and proposal writing. This approach is based on the following principles: Proposal writing is not just about putting words on a page. Bid and proposal writing is about telling a story; solving customer problems; and being persuasive and clear in your sales message. It requires careful planning, precise organization, customer-focused writing, editing, and review and revision—the POWeR TM approach to bid and proposal writing—Plan-Organize-Write-examine-Revise. Writing, without proper planning, is generally a waste of resources. Understanding the Sales Cycle As a writer, it is important to understand where your role fits in the overall business winning cycle. With input from hundreds of companies in dozens of industries, Shipley has established a well-accepted, baseline business development lifecycle framework. This framework consists of the following seven phases:
• Phase 0: Market Segmentation • Phase 1: Long-Term Positioning • Phase 2: Opportunity Assessment • Phase 3: Capture/ Opportunity Planning • Phase 4: Proposal Planning • Phase 5: Proposal Development • Phase 6: Post-Submittal Activities
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