Proposal Writing Blog Series, Day 1: Writing the Cover Letter

This is part of a five-day blog series on how to write a winning proposal. It will go discuss actually writing the proposal. If you want to get more in-depth information, examples, and what to do before the proposal, check out my “How to Write a Winning Proposal” handbook.

After you have made the decision to submit a proposal, dissected the RFP bit-by-bit, and done extensive research, it is time to write the proposal.

The first thing the organization will see is the Cover Letter, or Letter of Transmittal. As with the Executive Summary, which I will go into more detail when we reach that section, I recommend working on the cover letter after you have finished the body of the proposal. The reason being that the Executive Summary summarizes the main points of each section, and the cover letter is a mini-Executive Summary. It should only be one page, and written so you instantly grab the reader’s attention. Imagine how many proposal he/she reads during the RFP process.

Also, multiple people will be reading your proposal, so the person reading the management approach might not be the same person reading your technical solution. The cover letter is a great way for all the people involved to get the gist of the entire proposal without having to read each section in detail. If the cover letter is impressive, they will want to flip to read the rest of the proposal. Here is a great way to write the cover letter:

The first paragraph should let the reader know you understand the issue the organization is trying to solve. Do not go into a canned response thanking them. It will be done by the majority of the submitters. Instead, show that your company fully understands the issue by summarizing the problem they are trying to resolve.

The second paragraph should be a high-level and brief overview of the way your team will solve their problem. Additionally, it should stress how your solution is unique and will not be able to be done by anyone but you.

If you are responding to a RFP, write the RFP details, like the name, solicitation number, and any pertinent information.

At the end, always finish with a call of action. For instance, something like “Please contact Ms. X if you have any questions or want us to present our solution to your group.”

Now that I am talking about writing the proposal, I will continue emphasizing this point from time-to-time. Please do not forget to have ample time to edit. You do not have to be the best Writer if you are a great Editor. As long as you get down the bulk of the proposal, and you take the time to edit, then you should be fine.

Before you are done with the cover letter and the other proposal sections, ensure that you spell check, and that the organization’s and COTR’s names are correct. Also, that it adheres to the RFP’s formatting rules.