Opinion: Wanna write a proposal? Think love letters!

by Olufemi Babalogbon

I like love letters. LOL. They are the typical example of what a proposal should be. The mistakes people make is that they get too serious while writing proposals, so much that they end up with a quasi-accident of a business write up. What is missing in a lot of business proposals is what makes love letters beautiful – the central idea. Yes, a love letter is always clear about its’ central idea, love.

One gets requests to help people write proposals and they are often in a hurry to get a draft. For them, a broad idea of the project is enough to help pen a proposal. It does not work that way. A broad idea of the project is often talking about what you want to do. A proposal must take care of ‘is there no better alternative to what we want to do?’; “why does it matter?’, and most importantly, ‘what is our central idea?’.  The ability to weave answers to these questions in a way that seamlessly communicate the single-mindedness of purpose is very important. From beginning to the end of the document, the central idea must speak to the reader.

While reading a love letter, you are never in doubt of the central idea – it’s saying “I am into you”. The central idea is weaved into every line of thought penned in the letter. Proposal-writers must learn from this. From when I pick a proposal I should be able to understand the central idea. The reader may not have time to read through to the end, but your document must be successful enough to get you a meeting.  In this way, proposal-writing is not mechanics; it is an art of communication. This means, using a template may not work for all purposes. The template must fit not just the purpose, but also the audience.

That takes us to the second key lesson from love letters – the reader. You must have the reader in mind as you craft each line in your proposal. You do not pen it as you see it; you pen it to make the reader see it.  This is generally important in communication, particularly business communication. It is hilarious that some proposals sound like they attempt to teach the reader. LOL. Imagine you receiving a love letter and the writer is teaching you how to love. If a proposal is going to explain so much because the reader does not understand, then it is not meant for that particular reader. You should remember K.I.S.S. – keep it short and simple.

Finally, ask yourself, what would you like to stick longer in the memory of the reader? That is exactly what you should focus on. That is exactly what would yield results. That is exactly what the reader will use as a prefix to your name while saving it on his/her phone. That is exactly what you want to use to introduce yourself when next you call to follow-up. That is exactly your proposal!


Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

Olufemi Babalogbon, a marketing communications/business strategist, writes from Lagos and can be contacted on twitter via @Babalowise

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cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail