Proposals are written offers to solve problems, provide services, or sell equipment. While some proposals are internal, most are external and are critical to generate income for an organization. Whether you are writing a formal or informal proposal, solicited or unsolicited, all proposals have six key components.
1. Which of the following are key components of an informal proposal? Check all that apply.
Budget
Proposal, plan, and schedule
Background, problem, and purpose
Authorization request
2. In order to make your introduction to an informal proposal more persuasive, you can “hook” the reader with a (promise of low costs or speedy results / description of how the project will be managed / description of the credentials and expertise of project leaders) .
3. Which section of a proposal identifies the problem and discusses the goals of the project?
Authorization request
Staffing
Background, problem, and purpose
Consider the scenario, and then answer the question.
Rene is the manager at an event and catering company. He has just received a request for proposal (RFP) for managing the City Arts Festival. The organization that managed the event and all event volunteers in past years has raised its rates considerably and the city can no longer afford to hire them. Rene would like to submit a proposal to manage the City Arts Festival. The proposal will be quite lengthy because the event draws over 200,000 people, spans three days, and has a large budget.
4. Which type of proposal should Rene submit in this situation?
An informal proposal
A formal proposal
A grant proposal
Formal proposals are different from informal proposals in that they are used to respond to large projects and are therefore often longer. Formal proposals contain special components in addition to the six basic components of informal proposals.
5. Which element of formal proposals is similar to that of informal proposals?
Format
Length
Style
Read the scenario, and then answer the question.
You design HR management and payroll software. At a recent networking event, you met the HR manger at a small local accounting firm. You briefly discussed your business with her and would like to follow up with a proposal to help streamline her firm’s HR system.
6. Which type of proposal is most appropriate in this situation?
Informal
Formal
7. What should an effective letter of transmittal include?
A copy of the request for proposal
Competitors’ names and prices
Major features and benefits of the proposal
8. Which of the following components contains a list of all headings and their beginning page numbers?
Table of contents
List of illustrations
Abstract