Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts

Rating:
Summary: I think Cicero would have been proud...
Review: Engineers like me need to be reminded. Sure the technology we're selling is amazing, but it's not about us. An effective proposal needs to focus on what the customer needs. This is what Tom Sant drives home so effectively in his book, "Persuasive Business Proposals." I've been using (and preaching to my colleagues) Sant's approach for more than ten years and have given away more than 20 copies of his first edition. The new edition is even better than the first.

Focusing on the customer sounds simple enough, but I regularly refer to the examples in Sant's book to get started. I also frequently open the chapter on word choice. It's a useful complement to the proposal tips, and it helps me confidently use words like complement. (Or should it be compliment? It's in the book!)

Sant quotes Cicero in his book to drive home the persuasion point. Hopefully both Cicero and Sant would accept this attempt at a persuasive close: Engineers need help to write persuasively. Persuasive proposals must focus on the readers' needs. Sant's book delivers practical examples for how to meet these needs. "Persuasive Business Proposals" is so well-organized and fun to read that proposal writers will use it as a frequent reference. Ultimately, engineers (who write proposals) simply need sales from winning proposals. Sant's methods are sure to deliver more wins. If you sell, you should read and use this book.

Rating:
Summary: A bottom-line enhancing reader
Review: Now in an updated second edition, Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing To Win More Customers, Clients, And Contracts passes on the practical insights and experience-based wisdom of proposal consultant Tom Saint, a business communications expert whose clients include everything from small entrepreneurial businesses to Global 500 companies (including General Electric, Microsoft, Accenture and other Fortune 500 companies). A "must-have" business writer's guide that scrutinizes the proposal development process; offers a wealth of tips, tricks, techniques; alerts the reader to what common pitfalls to avoid; and then ties it all in with solid advice for instantly hooking the reader's attention with ideas, Persuasive Business Proposals is very highly recommended, bottom-line enhancing reader for any corporate manager seeking to expand a client list and who is faced with increasing competition, shrinking budgets, stiffer governmental regulations.

Rating:
Summary: Great resource for business proposals
Review: This is a great book full of practical advice on how to improve your sales proposals. Most business books tell you what you should be doing. This book tells you how to do it. It covers traditional business proposals and Request for Proposal responses. If you're looking for help with business plans, this isn't a book for you. But if you want to improve your sales proposals and win more business, this book is great! I saw Tom Sant speak at a sales conference last year and he was terrific. I also recommend his email newsletter!

Rating:
Summary: Great resource for business proposals
Review: This is a great book full of practical advice on how to improve your sales proposals. Most business books tell you what you should be doing. This book tells you how to do it. It covers traditional business proposals and Request for Proposal responses. If you're looking for help with business plans, this isn't a book for you. But if you want to improve your sales proposals and win more business, this book is great! I saw Tom Sant speak at a sales conference last year and he was terrific. I also recommend his email newsletter!