Chapter 1. Writing an Introduction for a Proposal
1.1 Section Title
Background
You work for Webify, a company that offers web development and enhancement services. Webify specializes in working for small nonprofits and public organizations such as independent schools and small towns, which cannot support their own web development team. As a new member of the customer engagement team, you have been assigned to seek out new business opportunities and submit them to your director, Michael Hwang, for consideration.
You have found that the Village of Martin’s Additions, a small municipality in Maryland, is seeking to update its website. The town has posted an RFP (Document 16.1), and you believe your company should submit a proposal for the job. You share the RFP with Michael Hwang, who agrees that it is a good fit.
“This is very promising,” he tells you. “I’m going to get our proposal writing team to start pulling together the details based on this RFP. They can use our boilerplate for company overview, history, and so on, and they can run the scheduling and budgeting numbers for this project.”
“Great!” you respond, assuming it’s time to get back to work searching for new RFPs.
“Since you uncovered this lead, I want you to take on another important part of the proposal.”
“Sure,” you say. “How can I help?”
“We don’t want the proposal to be all about us,” he says. “We want to let the customer know that we understand them and their needs. So I want you to read between the lines of the RFP and visit the town’s website,” he says (Document 16.2). “Figure out how to define the problem or opportunity they are facing. Explain how the problem probably arose and the solution we can provide.”
“Absolutely,” you say. “How do you want me to present this information?”
“Draft a proposal introduction that will engage the customer. Let them know that we understand and are committed to their needs.”
Download the document below, and then begin your assignment.
Your Assignment
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the case background and documents, complete the assignment below. Your instructor will tell you how he or she would like you to submit your work.
- Draft an introduction for the proposal. As noted by Michael Hwang, the specifics of the proposal (budget, schedule, etc.) aren’t part of the introduction; you should focus on projecting the customer focus that he described.
- Write a brief memo to Michael Hwang summarizing what you think is the main purpose of the proposal. Include a list of suggested sections that the proposal should have.