How to Write a Persuasive Proposal: Convincing Clients

Writing a persuasive proposal can feel intimidating at first. Just keep this in mind; it’s a delicate balance of education and persuasion.

Too much education, and you drown your readers in information overload. They may understand, but they will fail to see the compelling reason to choose you. Too much persuasion, and you come across as salesy and pushy. They may appreciate your argument, but they will feel skeptical.

In this blog, we share the secret to balancing education and persuasion for an influential, page-turning best seller.

Educate First

Begin by educating your readers.  

• Establish Yourself as a Credible Source. Provide relevant, valuable content that addresses your readers specific challenges and showcases your expertise. This builds trust with your readers.
• Focus on Pain Points. Dive deep into the problems your readers face and describe how your features solve them. Educate them on the facts and the potential consequences of inaction.
• Use Data and Statistics. Support your claims by adding a layer of neutrality, as well as measurable benefits. This paints a clear picture of the positive impact your solution will have.

Persuade Second

Create a more compelling narrative that persuades as well as informs. 

• Highlight the Value Proposition. Clearly articulate how your solution will directly benefit the reader's bottom line or improve their situation. This cuts through the technical details noise and demonstrates a deep understanding of their needs.
• Focus on Outcomes. Explain how your solution helps them achieve their desired outcome. For example, increased revenue, improved efficiency, or happier customers. This demonstrates the value beyond the technical specifications.
• Provide a Clear Path to Success. Create a benefits roadmap to success for your readers, section by section. This helps them gradually visualize a prosperous future with you and your offering. 

Add a Touch of Emotion

Add a touch of emotion to humanize your proposal.

• Storytelling is Powerful. Use client stories as narrative scenarios to showcase how your solution has positively impacted others. These stories create an emotional connection with the reader.
• Speak to Their Aspirations. Think of your proposal as a series of stepping stones that lead to the readers goals. This demonstrates exactly how you will help them achieve their dreams and overcome their fears.
• Emphasize the Human Element. Empathizing with their challenges creates a sense of rapport. This builds trust and reminds readers that people, not data, make the decisions.

Emphasize for Impact

Emphasize important words and key phrases for more persuasive oomph.

Give Space to Important Topics

Begin by questioning your use of space. Give important topics, such as digital-first mandates, the right amount of space on the page to develop it. For example, take space to share at least two reasons to accept your digital-first mandates argument. Then, follow that up with some examples that lend your digital-first mandates position more validity.

When you allocate the right amount of space to important topics, you give it textual attention. That textual attention provides strong cues to readers that this is a topic worthy of their attention. That is how you gain your opportunity to engage and persuade.

Use (Relevant) Details

Begin by being selective. Leverage that great data optimization overview from a past proposal, but customize it. Refocus the details on this client's aspirations and frustrations. Look for the relevant arguments and support them with relevant facts and figures.

Providing details about important topics is a cue to readers that they are noteworthy. Yet, too many extraneous details borrowed from past proposals and your narrative feels “cobbled” together. As they read, readers begin to question your attention to detail and your interest in their project.

Repeat and Rephrase Key Topics

Begin by repeating, then rephrase. Repetition emphasizes important topics and noteworthy details.
In fact, studies show that when you repeat a word or phrase, it is more likely to stay in the persons mind. And even convince them of its truth. Repetition also brings structure and rhythm to your writing that readers appreciate, guarding your proposals against skimming.

But repetition is a balance. Too little repetition and you risk the reader won’t pick up on it. Too much repetition and you risk boring evaluators.

Tools for Writing Persuasively

Let’s be honest, finding time to write persuasively can feel like a luxury. So, here are some modern tools that can free up precious time to think and develop more complex, persuasive narratives.

• Content Library. Create reusable content to eliminate repetitive writing and ensure consistency across your proposal.  
• Proposal Templates. Create pre-formatted templates stocked with relevant content to focus on writing, not searching. This also ensures you're allocating enough space to important topics.
• Co-authoring. Leverage co-authoring to write together, eliminate delays, and improve narratives quickly.
• AI Suggestion Tools. Super charge your Content Library with AI suggestions and spend more time on high-impact writing.  

Remember, you're not just selling a product or service; you're offering a solution to a problem. By striking the right balance between education, persuasion and emotion, you're creating a proposal readers understand. And can't help but act on.

Related Article: TechRader ranks XaitPorter as the “Best for Collaboration” for 2024.