subject: Do You Set Funds Aside to Develop Future Business? It's a Smart Practice, Especially in This Economy [print this page] Do You Set Funds Aside to Develop Future Business? It's a Smart Practice, Especially in This Economy
Organizations that depend on winning proposals to generate business can be in a particularly vulnerable position without sufficient funds available for proposal development. The question is how much money will you require, and where is it to come from?
Part of the revenue from any project should be set aside for future proposal development. It's a cost of doing business. I've worked for a number of companies in developing business proposals. They were investing in me to help them win proposals to maintain their current and long-term profitability. By setting funds aside, they were covering the costs of the writing. It may be smart to set up a special account to fund new business. This is especially true if you are going to put a lot of money into new proposal development.
I know of companies who have invested several thousand dollars to come up with great proposals. Some of these included not only a written script, but extensive graphics to show how something would look, or a staging model to demonstrate a sales launch. Today it's not unusual to see a website developed for a proposal project.
The question that gets asked today is why should you do this now? Why not wait until the economy improves - or because you have very few discretionary funds to spend on what may turn out to be projects that prove pointless? Frankly, the difficult economy is where you should be spending funds on new business proposals or business projects. At the same time, you need to be very careful in how you allocate funds. In my view, the best way to do this is to keep your proposals as simple as possible. In other words, use your available funds effectively. Do one or two things extremely well and spend money on that. Do not try and spread yourself too thin. And realize that you as the CEO, or owner of the company, may be the one who has to spend the most time on getting those proposals done. That way you keep your expenses in check and may not need outside help.
So invest in your future by continuing to submit proposals to build your business. And since these are tough economic times, keep that proposal as clean and simple as possible. It doesn't need all the bells and whistles, just a presentation that works with the times.
Neil Sawers develops books and e-books on business writing to help you grow your business. The Midwest Book Review calls his book How to Write Proposals, Sales Letters and Reports "a superb easy-to-use guidebook for business writers of all skill and experience levels." You can find more information about this book by going to our website at:=> http://www.how-to-write-proposals.com. While you're there, make sure you download the free chapter on The Discovery Process. It will make a difference to any business writing you do.
