What is Technical Proposal Writing and How to Do It
Technical proposal writing requires an understanding of the proposed solution, your audience, and the main pain points. Writing the technical content of a proposal can be overwhelming and time consuming, but done well, it can result in a new project and/or client. Read on for tips to create your best technical proposal writing.
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What is technical proposal writing?
Technical proposal writing requires transforming technical details into a persuasive, proposal pitching your solution or offerings. A key difference between technical proposal writing and other forms of technical writing is that the technical content must also sell. Many companies miss this step when creating technical proposals, which results in lower win rates.
Depending on the nature of the proposal, the technical writing might encompass only a small section of the proposal or the entirety of the document.
It is important to note that for the purposes of this article, we are referring to technical proposal writing for external projects, which means that the proposal is being sent to a buyer outside of the organization.
If you are proposing a solution for an internal project, most of the concepts still apply, but remember that your internal audience may have different goals and expectations than a buyer at an outside company.
Creating Good Technical Proposal Writing
Accurately scope project
The technical content of any proposal is most often related to the scope of the services or products to be provided. When creating this content, it is critical that you accurately scope and describe the work you will perform, including what is out of scope. Examples of sections to include in the scope of work include:
Overview of process/approach. Here you include how you will approach the projects that you are proposal. So for example, many companies have a few main phases for their technical offerings, such as Discovery, Design, Implementation, and Training. In this section, you would introduce your approach by introducing these ideas and why this type of approach is beneficial. If you are selling products, then use this section to introduce your product and describe how you will ensure they receive the product and are able to successfully use it.
Implementation plan (if applicable). If you are using a phased approach like described in the last bullet, the Implementation Plan is where you describe what happens within each phase and provide an estimated schedule. You can also attach projected hours to each phase if you are including hourly rates as part of your pricing model (but list the actual prices in the pricing section, not the technical sales section).
Deliverables. Deliverables are any items that you will be providing to the customer. The deliverables are industry and project specific, but they should always be clear and valuable to the recipient.
Equipment and supply of products (if applicable). If you will need any special equipment (especially if you need this to calculate the total cost or pass the cost to the customer), then this will need to be included in the proposal. Examples include building materials for construction projects and possibly shipping information.
Description of what’s in scope/out of scope. This is an essential section to reduce scope creep (see below) and ensure alignment on the project expectations. The easiest way to include these two sections is to have a section of the proposal titled “In Scope” and list bullets with everything included within the project. Then add a subsection titled “Out of Scope” and list bullets with anything not included. For example, if you develop a website, in-scope may include web design but website copywriting is out of scope.
Description of what the client will need to provide. Most projects require some sort of input from the customer. If you need specific information from the client (like website copy mentioned above), then you will list that in this section here. You might also require approvals before moving on to the next phase and commitments to attend weekly status check-ins to address any issues. Always list out exactly what you will need from the client in this section so they fully understand the level of effort required for them to achieve the result they want from the project.
Communication process (may also be included in the first bullet). For complex projects (which is the case for most technical proposals), it’s best to have a section that directly addresses communication. For example, some companies require customers to communicate only with the designated point of contact. Others have a few customer support representatives dedicated to the project. Some companies have a project manager who sends out weekly updates. It depends on your specific business, but clearly outline how the customer can contact you and when they will hear from you (and how!) so there is no confusion once the project starts.
The format and layout of this section will vary based on your offering and how you present information in your proposal, but in general, you can follow this format to get started.
Reduce Scope Creep in Your Proposal
It is important to remember that what you write in the proposal is what you are ultimately responsible to provide. Many times the proposal becomes part of the final contract, and if you commit to something in the proposal, the customer will expect to see that during the project. Try to avoid any gray areas that could lead to confusion.
This is the benefit of including a specific plan in key sections, such as In Scope and Out of Scope, to limit scope creep and ensure both you and the buyer are on the same page. Write out exactly what you will be doing, when, and what the customer will need to do in order to achieve success.
The key to reducing scope creep and maintaining customer satisfaction is clarity on what exactly will be happening once the project starts. The earlier you can share this information (i.e. in the proposal), the better the project will go.
Know your audience
The ultimate goal of a technical proposal is to convince the audience of the proposal (i.e. the buyer) to approve the project and work with your company. These means that your technical proposal should always be focused on the buyer and their goals and how your technical solution helps them to achieve those goals.
Another key factor in writing for your audience is to remember that not every person evaluating your proposal has experience with your particular solution. This means that you should write as if the audience has a very limited understanding of what you do and explain in detail, without overwhelming them with industry jargon and technical terms.
Write as if you’re explaining your offer to a friend in a completely different industry because that might be the level of knowledge that your audience has of your offering.
Address their need and why you’re a good fit
Similar to the audience step, it is important to spell out why your company is best suited to solve this particular problem. While it may seem obvious to you based on what you offer, evaluators often have many proposals they need to review, and it’s easy for the content to blend together. If you connect the dots for them, you avoid confusion and position your company as the best solution to their specific challenge.
Include visuals
It’s very easy for a proposal to become very content-heavy, and evaluators may miss a key point if it’s buried in your content. Instead, make sure to include visuals of key points throughout your proposal. This is especially true for highly technical sections that are hard to explain in writing. Where possible, include a diagram, demo, flowchart, process overview, or any other graphic or visual representation to make your point. Not only will it make your content clearer, but if an evaluator is skimming, they will see the visual first and pause to learn more.
Download the *FREE* Technical Proposal Writing Playbook to improve your proposals today!
Technical Proposal Writing for RFPs
If you’re responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) all of the tips in this article apply with one major exception: you should always follow the RFP outline and instructions exactly. That means that you will often be answering questions about your solution rather than creating a detailed technical or project approach section of your proposal. When this happens, you might not have a clear section to include an In Scope or Out of Scope section. Instead, you can include the content where it makes sense or add redlines as part of the contract if it’s unclear what is in scope or out of scope.
In general, public sector (i.e. government) RFPs are stricter about what can be included compared to commercial RFPs. If you are unfamiliar with RFPs, it’s recommended that you learn the basics so you have a clear strategy overall and can align your technical content with that strategy.
Proposal Writing Tips
Avoid too much jargon
For technical proposal writing, you must avoid including too much jargon. If you’re writing about a solution or product that is highly technical, it can be difficult to not include jargon, but you should try to limit it where possible. If you do include jargon, explain what it means. For example, if you use an acronym, spell out the acronym and it’s definition (unless it’s something that is common knowledge, such as wi-fi). This will help to avoid confusion and allow any evaluators who aren’t experts to learn more about what you do.
Follow their format
Creating a technical proposal can be hard, but, thankfully, most organizations require a specific format for you to follow when creating your proposal. If they don’t provide one, you can create your own. However, you should try to include the following sections:
Cover letter/executive summary. The goal is to have a section at the beginning that introduces your company, your offering, and your unique value.
Solution/Product overview. This is where you will include the technical sections outlined above.
Company overview. Keep this brief and possibly combine it with the next section (Qualifications). Here your writing the background section of your organization, what you do, and why you are best positioned to solve the customer’s challenges.
Qualifications. Qualifications is all about your company and what makes you the best choice for the buyer. The Qualifications section is where you would describe your company’s past successes, highlight any persuasive case studies, showcase noteworthy statistics (i.e. projects completed, customer satisfaction score, etc.), and other information that really helps buyers to trust that you can do what you’re proposing.
Pricing. Pricing should be placed near the end of the proposal after you’ve done all of the hard work of showing why you are the best choice.
References/Past Experience. You can end with references or a few case studies to establish more trust and end on a persuasive note.
Key Takeaway
As you can see, there are a lot of key steps to writing a strong technical proposal.
However, if you focus on writing content for the buyer, clearly outlining your solution, and show why your company is the best choice, you will find that your technical proposal performs well.
If you need a bit more help writing strong technical proposal content, check out our trainings for a deeper dive into what to do.
Updated on June 28, 2022
