A
proposal can be made in a meeting, in a one-on-one conversations, with
a memo, or with a formal report. A proposal could also be made in
an email, with a formal, PowerPoint supported presentation, or on
a DVD. For that matter, a proposal could be delivered as an
instant message or tweet!
Often, those who've requested the proposal will specify that be
delivered in a particular format. Whatever the format chosen,
the proposal will conform to the requirements of that document or
event.
Regardless of the communication method, any proposal must provide
the ideas and evidence required for business decision-making:
1. A clear statement of the proposed action.
The
amount of detail will vary with the situation and selected format.
An email might provide the propsal as a single sentence,
while a formal report might include a full implementation calendar.
Often, a proposal format is selected because of the amount of
detail that it can provide. If the audience needs little detail,
a shorter document will be appropriate.
2. Persuasive reasons to adopt the proposal.
There
might be only one reason, or there might be several. However many
reasons there are, each one should be supported with
3. Action steps requested
The
requested action is not merely a restatement of the proposed action,
although in a very brief, informal proposal there might be only one
action step being requested. For example, a sales associate might
call her supervisor with a simple proposal that asks for a single
action step: "Let me start phoning my clients on Tuesday rather
than Monday."
Sometimes, the proposal is so complicated that the first step is
actually to discuss the evidence, brainstorm implementation issues, or
determine what other information will be needed before a decision can
be made. After a formal proposal, the audience is often invited
to engage in discussion as the next action step.
Most proposals are somewhere in between, and the specific action being
requested of the immediate audience will be included at the spot
appropriate to the document or event. A letter will always close with an action paragraph, for instance, or a meeting will end with a round of "who does what by when."
In addition, the proposal will include at least a summary of
action being requested of others. An proposal delivered to
the board of directors might, for example, list all
the new responsibilities the program would require for each business
function. In more complete proposals, a full plan of action for
the entire marketing roll-out or plant reconfiguration might be
included.
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