Presenter: Conni Billé A proposal can be terrifying. If it is off-base, you probably just wrote yourself off the candidate list. What if you propose something too expensive? What if you underestimate the complexity of the project and quote a price that is too low? Conni will share some approaches that should make you feel more comfortable and confident when writing a proposal.

1. Proposals – What to Say, How to Say It,
and How Much to Charge
Constance Billé
+1.215.285.8136
cmbille@aol.com
Society for Technical Communication - Philadelphia Metro Chapter
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2. Outline
• Proposal Structure
• Cost Estimation
• Pricing
• Related Documents
• Request for Proposal
• Letter of Agreement
• Statement of Work
• Master Services Agreement
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3. You Get a Request
 They are a bit vague
 They ask for solutions
 They want deliverables
 They want results
$
 They have a number in mind
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4. Scary Stuff
Estimation of the cost of a proposed project.
• The manager has to budget and spend wisely to get
what the organization needs
• The vendor has to make a living while delivering agreedupon work (perhaps using a new tool or technique) at an
agreed-upon price

5. Concerns on Both Sides
CLIENTS
• What concerns does the
client have?
VENDORS
• What concerns does
the vendor have?
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6. Client: Worry, worry, worry
Am I asking for the right thing?
Is this the right vendor?
What will “it” look like?
How much does it cost?
Do I have / will I get / the budget?
Will I get a good product?
Will I get it when I need it?
How can I protect myself?
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7. Vendor: Worry, worry, worry
Do I know all the options?
I’ve never done it like that before. Will it work?
How long will it take? How much will it cost?
How much should I charge?
How can I control costs?
Who should be on the team?
Have I accounted for everything?
Will they change their mind mid-way through?
How can I protect myself?
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8. You Respond
 You are selling!
 Focus on the prospect
 Show that you understand them!
 Talk to them first and LISTEN
 The answer to “Can you…?” is “Yes!”
 But remember my mantra . . .
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9. “Don’t give them what
they ask for, give them
what they need.”
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10. You Can Do It! Propose!
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11. Proposal Structure
1. Statement of Understanding
CURRENT STATUS
[Company], an iconic American brand, has been undergoing significant
organizational change of late. In the last few years, the company has
experienced turnover and dispersion within its workforce, with 8,000
employees now spread across the globe. In addition, the demographic
profile of that workforce has changed.
PROBLEM
The transition to a younger, global workforce has been accompanied by
the departure of senior leaders who exemplified the [Company’s] internal
brand; creating a general concern that the organization's internal culture
– as distinct from its external brand identity – has lost its clarity. Human
Resources recognizes the need for an internal program to promote the
[Company’s] unique cultural identity.
WE CAN HELP
From years of working with global customer service organizations, [our
company] experience indicates that this . . . [your analysis and solution].
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12. Proposal Structure
2. Project Outline
2. Suggested Project Outline
Phase I: Discovery
The project begins with XXX getting a full understanding of . . .. .
Process
Suggested activities include:
• Review existing collateral
• Select existing data for measurement of impact,
• Conduct interviews
• Produce a report .
Deliverables
Discovery findings report
Phase II: Task Force Meeting
A task force consisting of representatives from Operations, Marketing, HR, …
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13. Proposal Structure
3. Development Process
3. Development Process
Suggested Development Process
• A weekly conference call to . . .
• Outline an overall design . . .
• Receive any templates or graphics to be used or
adapted
• Each week develop a first draft of one unit
• Upon draft approval develop media storyboard. . .
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14. Proposal Structure
4. Deliverables
4. Deliverables
Eight modules of materials including
• Facilitator Guide in Word format
• Presentation in PowerPoint format
• Participant Guide in PowerPoint format
• Four Web-based self-instructional modules . . .
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15. Proposal Structure
5. Timeline
5. Timeline
Here is a suggested timeline to reach your target date of xxxx, in which case
activities must commence by XXX.
Activity
Unit1First Draft
Completed
Week 3
Unit 2 First Draft
Week 4
Unit 3 First Draft
Week 5
Unit 4 First Draft
Week 6
Pilot
Week10
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16. Proposal Structure
6. Roles & Responsibilities (Optional)
6. Roles & Responsibilities
Modules
One
Two
Three
Four
FINAL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
DRAFT
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROVE
DRAFT
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROVE
DRAFT
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROVE
DRAFT
REVIEW
REVISE
9
10
APPROVE
DELIVER
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17. Proposal Structure
7. Pricing
7. Pricing
For delivery of eight modules as specified above,
not including any on-site photography, travel or incidental
expenses incurred in the production of the deliverables
outlined above;
fees do not include any printing, photography, or
telecommunications expenses.
$100,000 USD
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18. Proposal Structure
8. Payment Schedule
8. Payment Schedule
The price is quoted in US Dollars according to the following schedule
Upon signing Letter of Agreement
$25,000
Upon approval of outline
$25,000
Upon approval of first draft
$25,000
Upon delivery
$25,000
TOTAL
$100,000
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19. Proposal Structure
9. Appendix
9. Appendix
•
•
•
•
Company Experience
Project Team Biographies
Work Samples / Project Descriptions
Client Endorsements
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20. Cost Estimation
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21. Manage the Mix
WHO
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22. What goes into estimating cost?
•
•
•
•
•
Tasks
Time
Team
Technology
Experience and benchmarks. e.g., Storyboard
or wireframe analysis (pages, frames, videos,
graphics, audio, minutes, etc.)
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23. Assembling the Team
Who do you ask?
What do you know about them?
Have you worked with them before?
Are they available? Are they reliable?
Employee? Contractor? Sub-contractor?
Rates
• Employee
• Contractor
• Sub-contractor
• Hourly?
• Per diem?
• Per deliverable?
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24. Pricing
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25. Cost Estimation
• Assemble project team with all needed skills
• Breakdown phases and tasks
• Add communication & coordination
• Assign hours to everything
• Know personnel rates
• Base on known units
• Go high on unknowns
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26. What goes into determining price?
•
•
•
•
Cost estimation
Business overhead and margin
Competition
Prospect
• Size, resources
• Expectations
• Authority level
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27. Start with the Known
• Start with known cost elements
• Do some homework on the unknown
• Cover your overhead and the “X” factor which gets
bigger with . . .
• More Unknowns
• Longer timeline
• More people involved
• More regulation or bureaucracy
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28. “Cost +” Pricing
Conceptualize the design
Define deliverables
How many screens, pages, illustrations
Categorize components – e.g. how many “simple” vs
“complex” interactives
Estimate effort and timeline for each step of process
Describe process & project roles / staffing
Define how many review/revision iterations
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29. Price Presentation
Bundled price?
Per deliverable?
Retainer?
Set time effort limit – then hourly charges
Note exclusions – travel, out-of-pocket, printing, etc
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30. Pricing
Address These Issues in Pricing
 New technique or technology
 Time frame – team size, skill
PRICE
 Complexity
 Not too low
TALENT
TECHNIQUE
 Not too high
 Value independent of effort
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31. Tasks, Hours, Rates
Rate1
CLIENT
$125
Activity
Who
Hrs
Charge
Rate2
$150
TOTALS
DISCOVERY
Confer with team on project
Lead
20
$3,000
Confer with team on project
Person B
20
$2,500
Confer with team on project
Person A
20
$3,000
Review internal docs
Person A
6
$750
Review data of impact
Person A
6
$750
Intview(8 )svc /learng needs Person A
10
$1,250
Rapid design meeting
Lead
6
$900
Rapid design meeting
Person B
6
$750
Rapid design meeting
Person A
6
$900
Develop specifications
Person B
8
$1,000
TOTAL DISCOVERY PHASE
$14,800
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32. Project Plan
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33. Manage Expectations
QUALITY
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34. Task Precedence – PERT chart

35. Task Time Line GANTT Chart
Week1
Week2
Week 3
Week 4
Week5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11 Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15 Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19 Week 20
July
July
July
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Sept
Sept
Sept
Sept
Oct
Oct
Oct
Oct
Nov
Nov
Nov
Nov
Design
Document
REVIEW
APPROV
Templates
REVIEW
APPROV
REVISE
APPROV
Design
Dec
Discovery
Part 1
REVIEW
REVISE
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROV
Part 2
REVIEW
REVISE
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROV
Part 3
REVIEW
REVISE
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROV
Part 4
REVIEW
REVISE
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROV
Part 5
REVIEW
REVISE
REVIEW
REVISE
APPROV
Beta Class
Delivery
BETA
Review/Approv
e
REVIEW
Production/
Class
Logistics
Delivery
LAUNCH
key
VENDOR
CLIENT
Some tasks allow “slide”. . . . some do not
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36. Other Documents
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37. Request for Proposal
• Know the rules for competition
• Follow the stated structure
• Meet deadline
• Interview or Q&A is Important
• Use third party endorsement / prizes
• Use Affirmative Advantages for government and
nonprofit proposals
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38. Letter of Agreement
• A contract with mutual obligations
• Signed and dated by both parties
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39. Statement of Work (SOW)
More detailed than proposal
Roles & responsibilities
Use non-disclosure agreement to protect proprietary
information
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40. Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• For on-going contracts, such as annual renewal of a
program
• Makes it much easier to write a Statement of Work
• The SOW refers to the MSA
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41. THANK YOU!
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