Many consultants lose assignments because they do not put enough time, creative thought and preparation into writing winning proposals. Some years ago, I had the opportunity to review hundreds of proposals which technical consultants had submitted to the Asian Development Bank. I was amazed at just how bad the majority of these proposals were. My observations indicate that even now many consultants could benefit from upgrading the quality and presentation of their proposals. A winning proposal is the culmination of all your marketing efforts to date.
Successful consultants are superb proposal writers.
They put their effort only into creating winning proposals, not into those that lose. Starting to work on an assignment without a clear understanding of the scope of work between the client and consultant is one of the greatest causes for later client dissatisfaction. What the client wants is not always clear. Successful consultants spend the time needed to precisely define the scope and terms of the assignment with the client. They then commit this to paper prior to ever starting work.