Making a Proposal Easy to Read, Skim, and Evaluate

Proposals often suffer from long sentences, vague headings, passive voice, and misplaced tasks in the wrong sections. This video introduces a three-step process: consider the client’s perspective, identify what convinces them, and make it obvious. You’ll learn how to spot common writing issues, shift “project understanding” away from work plans, and collaborate with colleagues constructively—even if you don’t control their draft.

If you found the first video in this series helpful, make sure you watch this. Michele takes the next steps in improving the raw content received from the technical contributors by editing, reorganizing, and refining the win strategy. Watch this unpersuasive and overwritten Project Understanding be transformed into a powerful introductory section of a proposal that presents this consultant as the ideal team to do the work.

This is the third video in this series. We get to watch as Michele finishes the Project Understanding piece and applies branding standards using a proposal template. Summaries make the proposal easier to evaluate, with helpful graphics, callouts, and descriptive headings. We watch as the final product takes shape, bringing together all the resources obtained through a less than perfect lead up to submission. This video provides valuable insight into making proposal magic happen even when time is short and the team can't devote the ideal level of commitment.

In this important and timely video, you’ll learn how to mirror the buyer’s rubric in your headings, write two-sentence section summaries, build a one-page compliance matrix, place evidence beside claims, design machine-readable tables, and avoid layout traps that confuse algorithms. We’ll finish with an in-house AI pre-flight checklist you can run before submission. Make it easier to find, verify, and score what matters. For teams competing in technical services today.