By Andy Derrick, Head of Sales
Let’s face it, there’s nothing particularly fun or easy about writing proposals. You’ve got a hot lead and you’re anxious to close the deal, but before your prospect will sign on the dotted line, you’ve got to provide them with the details of why they should use you, how you’ll manage the work and what it will cost.
Days of work can be lost to proposal writing, responding to RFPs, with hours hunched over a calculator doing sums and time spent on conference calls between teams to suss out who’s suited to what job and how this can fit into a project plan.
At the end of the process, you are left a shell of the expert business person you once were; buzzed on coffee and sugary snacks and vowing you’ll never do a proposal like that again. Until the next one lands on your desk, and you start the cycle once more.
Well, I’m here to tell you that proposals need not be that way ever again.
The Proteus OS proposal module offers users flexibility, consistency, speed and cost savings when creating a proposal that not only reduces stress and pressure but delivers strong proposals that are sure to secure projects.
So, block out a manageable amount of time in your schedule (no more than a couple of hours) and build a winning proposal using a tried and tested model. Find out how, below:
Follow a template
First impressions count, and prospective clients can be impressed early on with a clearly formatted, neat and presentable proposal. They don’t want to see a mix of fonts, styles and inconsistencies which not only make the document look sloppy but make it look like you don’t take your work seriously.
With Proteus’ proposal module, you can develop several templates using your brand’s guidelines. This offers two clear benefits; speed and consistency. The templates are pre-configured with all the standard sections required and placeholders for all the key components that need to be developed including research, data and testimonials.
Not only does this speed up the often-lengthy process, but all proposals will have 100% consistency. Every document produced across a company will be the same and follow the same format. Music to your marketing director’s ears.
Backed by data
The bulk of your project will be made up of your project plan, who’s delivering this and importantly, how much it is likely to cost. The inner workings of this can lead to countless spreadsheets, number crunching on calculators and a back and forth on email to line up the right team.
Proteus simplifies all three of these tasks by using 100% consistent data from a number of databases. The cost estimate is built using a cost, time, resource (CTR) structure, bringing in costs (or charge out rates) from agreed contracts. All that needs to be added is the quantity for each and Proteus will do the numbers.
Developing a project team using Proteus’ resource planning tool and up-to-date CVs stored in a consistent format, speeds this process up considerably. The project plan can be built from the CTRs which allows for the structure to be developed at the click of a button and then accurate timing added – even integrating with your work scope. Once converted as a project, your plan will even align with the project to keep you, your progress and your costs in check.
Intelligent integration
Proteus is fully integrated with cloud-based systems, Microsoft 365 and G-Suite. Proposal templates which are built in Word or Docs and accessed from Proteus, allows all Proteus components to be added to the document without using the cut and paste function.
The proposal also becomes a live document, that can be viewed and edited by colleagues and contributors with the most up-to-date changes at every stage. This integration gives the full functionality of controlling the template, permissions, revisions of Proteus, and the full online collaboration and features of Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
For more information on the Proteus Proposal Module download the datasheet here: https://proteus-work.com/proposal-module-datasheet