It’s pretty fundamental if you want to write a great proposal that you identify the real message you want the readers to remember, and to put it across succinctly. I read an inspiring example recently of a business who’d done precisely that with their writing – albeit in a different context – and thought you might enjoy it.
NetApp, a data management company, used to have a 12-page corporate expenses policy. They’ve just re-written it. Into three lines:
‘We’re a frugal company. But don’t show up dog-tired just to save a few bucks. Use your common sense.’
So, which is more likely to actually get read in full – the twelve pages or the one paragraph? Which is going to be more memorable? If only more proposal writing used such a ‘common sense’ approach…!