YOUR BRAND
IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER
November 2024
Fact 1: Professional-looking business proposals may help you win more work.
Fact 2: Unprofessional-looking documents may have an undesirable effect on your proposal outcomes.
The importance of a proposal document lies in its ability to effortlessly convey complex concepts or solutions to prospective clients’ problems. From a visual communications perspective, this is done using effective branding and strategic visual and content design.
Poor visual design might be the document equivalent of bad body language in person-to-person communication. So much can be said without actually being said. Miss the mark on visual communication, especially when pitching for new work when the all-important ‘first impression’ is still in play, and you could pay dearly.
The proposal selection process can be brutal. It requires the judgement of another person or persons to ascertain if your firm is up to the task. This is when you DO NOT want your documents to fail you.
To help you wrap your head around this, below are some cause-and-effect examples of bad design and communication:
Cause
Potential perception
Potential effect
Cluttered-looking document
• You / your firm look disorganised
• You don’t appear competent
Lost opportunity
Errors or spelling mistakes
• You / your firm looks sloppy
• You appear not to care
Lost opportunity
Outdated branding
• You are behind the curve
• You lack attention to detail
Lost opportunity
Difficult to find / read content
• You appear as a bad communicator
• You don’t appear up to the task
Lost opportunity
If you don't create an effective proposal for your prospective client, how will they believe you might do the engagement well?
Instead, give them a reason to hire you.
Good branding
The goal of your visual branding is to create a positive emotional connection between the client and the brand. Good branding will resonate with its audience and send a message of trust and competence in your business. When creating proposals, attention to detail is key, as the quality of your brand and visual execution is being judged even before the words are read. Be sure to make the first impression a good one.
Don’t make them work for it
Be effective. Clear and concise visual design ensures the reader is not working hard to interpret your communication.
Be persuasive. Breaking down key information into a visual ‘snapshot’ at the front end of your proposal goes a long way to answering some questions the reader may have early in the process. This might come in the form of an infographic or highlight boxes with feature text.
Be logical. Your proposal should have a clear and logical flow. Along with easy-to-follow sections throughout, use typographical hierarchy to help the reader find information efficiently.
Be graphical. Use diagrams, charts, tables or infographics to display complex data or concepts.
Personalise
Build a better rapport by personalising your proposal.
A proposal that isn't personalised, feels like you haven’t taken the time to understand and empathise with your client’s pain points and specific requirements. Make emotional connections with your readers for better engagement.
Win themes
Identify win themes at the planning stage of your proposal. Win themes help you be persuasive in your proposal by highlighting your unique abilities and demonstrating why you are the best choice to solve your prospective client’s pain points. Ensure your win themes are not lost in the body of the content. Rather, pull them out as feature quotes or weave them into larger text areas, such as headings or intro text.
Effective templates
Your firm should have well-designed templates that are easy to use and provide powerful outcomes.
Well-designed templates and template ecosystems allow for pre-existing content to be easily compiled into the proposal while allowing for bespoke content to be added. Good templates don't cost the earth; they can pay for themselves with only one proposal win under your belt.
Fact 3: The cost of updating your branding or proposal templates pales into insignificance compared to the work you could be missing out on.
Imagine … a $1.5 million job goes by the wayside because the effectiveness of your visual brand, template or design execution was lacking.
Staying in front of the curve is not only imperative in a competitive market, it's common sense.
November 2024
Fact 1: Professional-looking business proposals may help you win more work.
Fact 2: Unprofessional-looking documents may have an undesirable effect on your proposal outcomes.
The importance of a proposal document lies in its ability to effortlessly convey complex concepts or solutions to prospective clients’ problems. From a visual communications perspective, this is done using effective branding and strategic visual and content design.
Poor visual design might be the document equivalent of bad body language in person-to-person communication. So much can be said without actually being said. Miss the mark on visual communication, especially when pitching for new work when the all-important ‘first impression’ is still in play, and you could pay dearly.
The proposal selection process can be brutal. It requires the judgement of another person or persons to ascertain if your firm is up to the task. This is when you DO NOT want your documents to fail you.
To help you wrap your head around this, below are some cause-and-effect examples of bad design and communication:
Cause
Potential perception
Potential effect
Cluttered-looking document
• You / your firm look disorganised
• You don’t appear competent
Lost opportunity
Errors or spelling mistakes
• You / your firm looks sloppy
• You appear not to care
Lost opportunity
Outdated branding
• You are behind the curve
• You lack attention to detail
Lost opportunity
Difficult to find / read content
• You appear as a bad communicator
• You don’t appear up to the task
Lost opportunity
If you don't create an effective proposal for your prospective client, how will they believe you might do the engagement well?
Instead, give them a reason to hire you.
Good branding
The goal of your visual branding is to create a positive emotional connection between the client and the brand. Good branding will resonate with its audience and send a message of trust and competence in your business. When creating proposals, attention to detail is key, as the quality of your brand and visual execution is being judged even before the words are read. Be sure to make the first impression a good one.
Don’t make them work for it
Be effective. Clear and concise visual design ensures the reader is not working hard to interpret your communication.
Be persuasive. Breaking down key information into a visual ‘snapshot’ at the front end of your proposal goes a long way to answering some questions the reader may have early in the process. This might come in the form of an infographic or highlight boxes with feature text.
Be logical. Your proposal should have a clear and logical flow. Along with easy-to-follow sections throughout, use typographical hierarchy to help the reader find information efficiently.
Be graphical. Use diagrams, charts, tables or infographics to display complex data or concepts.
Personalise
Build a better rapport by personalising your proposal.
A proposal that isn't personalised, feels like you haven’t taken the time to understand and empathise with your client’s pain points and specific requirements. Make emotional connections with your readers for better engagement.
Win themes
Identify win themes at the planning stage of your proposal. Win themes help you be persuasive in your proposal by highlighting your unique abilities and demonstrating why you are the best choice to solve your prospective client’s pain points. Ensure your win themes are not lost in the body of the content. Rather, pull them out as feature quotes or weave them into larger text areas, such as headings or intro text.
Effective templates
Your firm should have well-designed templates that are easy to use and provide powerful outcomes.
Well-designed templates and template ecosystems allow for pre-existing content to be easily compiled into the proposal while allowing for bespoke content to be added. Good templates don't cost the earth; they can pay for themselves with only one proposal win under your belt.
Fact 3: The cost of updating your branding or proposal templates pales into insignificance compared to the work you could be missing out on.
Imagine … a $1.5 million job goes by the wayside because the effectiveness of your visual brand, template or design execution was lacking.
Staying in front of the curve is not only imperative in a competitive market, it's common sense.
