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 Good overall reference material
This book is similar to others on the topic so if you have one book on writing proposals then some of the information will be redundant but a good book to have in your reference library.
Overall an easy read and places the process in a logical progression.
 Excellent book
I had no idea how to write a business proposal. I followed this book to the tee...I now write major proposals for my company and my proposal kicked the ass of a couple of MBA's. There were a lot of red faces when I showed up my with version of a proposal. I essentially went from having no idea how to write a proposal to setting the bar on how to write a proposal, thanks to this excellent book.
Like Eating Your Vegatables...
This book is really good for you... just like eating your vegatables. Unfortunately, its not easily digested. This book provides a great method of preparing strategic proposals. The method is largely based on the Mento "Pyramid Principle" a book which is itself not an easy read (however, it is required reading at McKinsey, BCG, and other major strategy consulting firms. This fact should tell you instantly just how powerful a concept it is). However, if you're willing to hold your nose and chew slowly (I'm not willing to give up on the "eat your vegatables" analogy just yet), you and your proposals will be much more competitive. Since the book is far from an easy read, I'd suggest that you tackle it chapter-by-chapter with some time for rest and contemplation in between (divide it into "bite-sized" pieces, in other words). If you're looking for fast-food proposal fair, I'd like to suggest Robert Kantin's "Proposal Kit For Dummies" which, despite the title, is a terrific book on proposal writing for professionals -- particularly consultants. Overall grade: A-/B+.
An Author Responds
Since my book is mentioned in a couple of these reviews, I thought I would respond.I used Rich Freed's book for years in my consulting practice and MBA classes. It's a great book, and I *highly* recommend it. It's clearly one of the best treatments on writing business proposals available. But comparing my book on proposals to Freed's is like comparing apples and oranges. My book is aimed at people who work in scientific and technical disciplines. Freed's book is written toward business applications. These two books are designed to work in two completely different arenas. Buy this book. As an experienced proposal writer and consultant, I believe it's the best book on writing business proposals. It's truly innovative, and it offers wonderful strategies for winning contracts in highly competitive business environments.
The 2nd Edition Rocks
The first edition of this books is, as the former editor of Consultants' News remarks, "The most comprehensive treatment we've seen," and the second edition is even better, including (for example) important discussions on fees and collaboration. Most important, this book is about far more than writing business proposals. David Maister-like in spirit, it's a superior treatment about how to sell professional services. Although it addresses business proposals, most of the content is important for writing other proposals as well, but like most successful books on proposal writing, it focuses on one of the sub-genres, unlike more general treatments (Johnson-Sheehan's comes to mind) that in their attempts to focus on all proposals, do a poor job of treating specific kinds.
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