“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

In the last post, we discussed objectives being the building blocks of a proposal. Once you have identified these blocks you need to put into words a plan to achieve your objectives. These have to be in the shape of action steps that need to be taken. It may appear to be a simple step , however this is where the “copy paste” functionality is used the most.

For example, if a client requests a psychometric assessment proposal for their organization, the methodology would be different for every company. The reason for this is, that methodology is directly influenced by objectives and given that the objectives of each organization are unique this calls for different set of action items.

When setting action items, make sure you outline them clearly and define each step to the next. The reader may look at them and  think that the process is either simple or missing critical steps which may lead to confusion about the process. This could in turn, lead to the proposal not being accepted or creating expectations which may not be met.

For a methodology to be successful in relating to the client, the exact process to achieve the outlined goals needs to identify major objectives, create detailed action items, set time frames and clear deliverables. This process is often overlooked or not given the attention it needs for creating a successful business proposal. By developing a clear and focused methodology you make it easier to outline actions that need to be taken and allows the client to understand how you plan to achieve your milestones and targets.