This training covers detailed methods for outlining within the proposal sections to ensure they are fully compliant and responsive, brainstorming properly as a group and individually to develop proposal section content, infusing proper structure and flow into your proposal sections, and implementing the correct writing processes and proposal section planning techniques. But this course reaches beyond mere compliance.
You will learn the science of proposal persuasion through creating a mental picture in Government evaluators’ minds, and telling different types of stories appropriate for proposals to make a dry proposal medium come alive and capture their imaginations.
You will acquire techniques and tools that will transform even the most reluctant non-professional writers into prolific and effective proposal writers. You will be able to bring this information to your company to provide just-in-time training to your Subject Matter Experts (SME) to produce better proposal sections, reducing the time you spend on rewriting proposals and reducing your stress.
This workshop is 40 percent lecture, 50 percent exercises, and 10 percent discussion. The workshop exercises will double your proposal writing speed, and will drastically improve the quality of your proposal content by giving you more time to polish it. The results will be astounding, making technical writing easier, less time-consuming, and even enjoyable.
The experts who teach our course are highly experienced, currently practicing proposal professionals whose decades of successful experience in Government acquisition and training allow them to offer valuable insights to our students. Our instructors can answer tough questions as they come up during the course. They can also tailor the material to their students’ specific challenges, and share their experience based on the most current realities. Check our instructor’s bios on our About Us page.
Upcoming Classes
Writing Persuasive Government Proposals
OST Global Solutions 7361 Calhoun Place, Suite 560, Rockville, MD, United StatesThis proposal writing course shows how to develop compliant and highly persuasive proposal sections in half the time, to increase your Government proposals' win probability. Learn to outline within the proposal sections for compliance and responsiveness, brainstorm as a group and individually to develop proposal section content, infuse proper structure and flow into your sections, and implement the correct writing process. Learn proposal persuasion techniques.
Course Details
Remote Attendance: This course is available via GoToMeeting with live video feed. The price per seat is the same as in-person participation. Many of our students save on travel costs and attend from other locations.
Professional Certification: This is Core Curriculum class that provides 2 units (2 days) towards Bid & Proposal Academy Certification. By attending this class, you will receive 3 CEUs or more towards your APMP certification, or PDUs towards your PMP (check with the PMI on what they will honor). At the end of this course, you will get a Certificate of Completion.
Who should attend this course: Proposal managers, capture managers, proposal writers, technical writers, proposal coordinators, proposal department directors, company executives and senior managers, business developers, business owners, project personnel that contributes to proposal writing process, and anyone else in the federal business development profession who would like to write better, faster for proposal, sales, and marketing purposes.
Course materials: Course workbook, handouts, templates, forms, and checklists.
Course Curriculum
Learning Objectives
Upon course completion, the participants will have learned and be able to put into practice:
- Understanding the goals of proposal compliance and persuasion.
- Analyzing the RFP requirements applicable for your proposal section.
- Determining writing focus.
- Infusing persuasive argument structure.
- Annotating a proposal section.
- Shifting the unhelpful beliefs about proposal writing.
- Positively impacting proposal team’s and individual performance psychology.
- Brainstorming and planning a section in a group and individually.
- Speed-writing proposal sections.
- Successfully managing writer’s block.
- Understanding the elements of proposal persuasion and how to apply them effectively.
- Being able to develop at least one of the 11 types of proposal story.
- Applying four steps for developing a metaphor.
- Editing proposal section for content, structure, grammar, and spelling.
- Applying readability metrics to your proposal sections.
Day 1 Highlights
Module 1: Introduction
- Introductions and learning objectives.
- Importance of compliance and persuasion in proposal writing.
- Class roadmap.
Module 2: Detailed Outlining Within Sections
- Understanding compliance at the section level.
- How to analyze RFP requirements for proposal section.
- First steps of outlining proposal sections to be compliant and compelling.
Exercise: Analyze the requirements for the practice section, determine section focus, and identify key components.
Module 3: Infusing Flow for Higher Persuasion
- Annotating proposal sections.
- Understanding proposal content flow for higher persuasion.
- Infusing proper proposal section flow to form a compelling argument.
- 8Ws and their order.
Exercise: Annotate a proposal section outline.
Module 4: Proposal Speed-Writing System
- Three elements of the proposal speed-writing system.
Module 5: Overcoming Unhelpful Beliefs about Government Proposal Writing
- The psychology of performance.
- Questions to uncover self-limiting beliefs about writing.
- Myths and truths of Government proposal writing.
- Seven techniques to resolve specific psychological hang-ups and overcome self-limiting beliefs.
- Where dealing with psychology fits in the proposal process.
Discussion: Apply concepts learned in class to the unhelpful personal beliefs and discuss ways to overcome them.
Module 6: Stage 1 of the Correct Proposal Writing Process
- Correct writing process to write better and faster.
- Stage 1 of the correct writing process, and where it fits in the capture and proposal process.
- Intelligence gathering to answer the 8Ws.
- Three steps for successful group brainstorming.
- Helping your group become more creative in generating ideas.
- Tools and techniques for brainstorming individually and preparing to write.
Exercises: Brainstorming in a group. Brainstorm individually and plan the actions.
Module 7: Stage 2 of the Correct Writing Process
- Stage 2 of the correct writing process.
- The main secret to writing Government proposals fast and well.
- Writing rules.
- Speed-writing tools.
- Where Stage 2 fits in the capture and proposal process.
Exercise: Speed-write the proposal section.
Day 2 Highlights
Module 8: Beating the Writer’s Block
- Elements of proposal writing procrastination.
- Four categories of methods to break free from the writer’s block and help your proposal team.
- How to manage writing time.
Discussion: Methodologies participants will use to deal with their writer’s block.
Module 9: The Dark Art of Proposal Persuasion
- The dark art of proposal persuasion.
- Proposal language: what sells.
- The anatomy of proposal persuasion.
- Understanding Government evaluators’ individual drivers.
- Proper structure of the argument for better proposal persuasion.
Discussion: Integrate the material learned in the module and apply to the specific customer situations.
Module 10: Use of Story in Proposals
- How to use story that makes boring proposal writing come alive.
- Elements of a strong proposal story.
- Eleven story types appropriate in a Government proposal.
Exercise: Develop a story for the practice proposal section.
Module 11: Harnessing the Power of Metaphor
- Types of metaphors.
- Metaphor rules.
- Four steps for building an effective metaphor appropriate for Government proposals, and useful during the capture process.
Exercise: Create a metaphor for the practice proposal section.
Module 12: Stage 3 of the Correct Writing Process
- Stage 3 of the correct proposal writing process.
- Where Stage 3 fits in the proposal process.
- OST’s four-part proposal editing checklist.
- Exercise: Apply editing checklist parts 1 and 2 to the proposal section draft.
Module 13: Copy Editing and Editing Automation
- How to configure and apply proposal editing tools.
- Readability and its tools.
- How to avoid sentence bloaters and reduce wordiness.
- Enemies of clear proposal writing.
- Language that kills proposal persuasion.
- Configuring MS Word for editing.
- Writing efficiencies in MS Word.
- Additional editing tools and techniques for proposal editing automation.
Exercises: Configure MS Word. Watch the editing demo. Apply editing checklist parts 3 and 4 to finalize the draft.
Module 14: Summary and Recap
- How It All Maps to the Proposal Process.
- Summary.
- Recap.
Seating is limited!
Cancellations & Rescheduling Policy
Cancellation notification must be received 10 business days prior to the training date. Upon notification, your registration fee will be refunded less a $100 non-refundable processing fee. Any cancellations beyond the 10 business days are non-refundable, but the course fee can be applied towards another training course, webinar, or an OST Global Solutions training product. No refunds will be made for the cancellation of a rescheduled course. Courses need to be rescheduled at least 24 hours in advance because we have to print the materials. As we constantly update the materials, they cannot be reused for another class. If a registrant didn’t request to reschedule and simply doesn’t show up on the day of the class, they forfeit the ability to reschedule. Attendee substitutions may be made at any time. Payment must be received prior to the course date. No-shows are liable for the full class fee.
Additional Information
If you would like to discuss whether this class is right for you or have any other questions, please call (301) 384-3350 during normal business hours.
Other Types of Payment
If you’d like to receive an invoice and pay by check, please send an email to [email protected]*.
*All payments must be received prior to the course start date.