Proposals: Getting it Right

Source: Accounting Today

In this article, Danielle Lee offers insights from accounting firm marketing directors and a consultant into the best way to prepare and present an engagement proposal. According to these experts, you can speed the proposal process considerably by keeping a proposal template on hand. Although there's a danger of steadily increasing the proposal's bulk as people add to the template, the value is having a consistent, basic proposal from which to build.

One firm keeps its templates and proposals fresh by offering its executives a “toolkit” of words and visuals they can incorporate into their proposals. The firm also provides a proposal “boot camp” each year, during which select staff receive additional software training, and proposal templates are reviewed and compared with those of its competitor.

Consultant Jennifer Wilson, of Convergence Coaching, suggests including an executive summary, referring clients to websites and digital documents to keep the proposal from getting too lengthy, and allowing for 25 percent of the proposal to be about the client rather than about the firm.

The client-focused portion should be personal and conversational in tone, using words like “you” and “yours” when referring to the client. Firms should research potential clients so that their proposals present solutions to prospects' underlying needs or problems.

Once the proposal is prepared, it's important not to neglect the actual presentation. Make sure your team is prepared to deliver a winning presentation. One firm even practices big presentations in a “dress rehearsal.”

For the complete article, read “Not-So-Modest Engagement Proposals.”

From Accounting Today, August 1, 2012, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809.