Proposal, Don't Miss the Points (Again)!!!

Image Credit: paperlessproposal

Posted by: Albert Weng

The ability to make a (good/ great) proposal is key to create value to the organization, and of course to the one who made it, that means you, and also me.

The key criteria of making a good/ great proposal:

1. Pick a meaningful topic/ subject

Bring up an interesting/ relevant topic, or from an interesting angle that worth second thought.

2. It's YOU, not the document/ material

It's about "making a proposal (pitch), not report a proposal document". Definitely, the proposal is not a self-explained document, and should not be, neither. The rationale of the proposal is a convincing process to get approval on something that's not fully known or yet decided. Therefore, you got to be the master in your own proposal a lot greater than anyone in the world (hey, remember, it's "your" proposal). Make sure those points covered were carefully designed and put together with a compelling story (sound logic to understand, and enough supporting facts, data and numbers) to convince.

3. The AIDA mindset at all time

Follow the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action), tries to get the actions you want every time. You failed, you learned, then you're stronger to make the next trial.

Here's a quote from the post made by Steve (ex-Googler) on assuming the boss is the expert in the topic when making a proposal pitch, very good and useful points made.

"...assume he already knows everything about it. Assume he knows more than you do about it. Even if you have groundbreakingly original ideas in your material, just pretend it’s old hat for him. Write your prose in the succinct, direct, no-explanations way that you would write for a world-leading expert on the material."

There are a few formats of making a proposal, read on the Format for more sharing.

Reference:
對大老闆提案：假設他已經都懂了