Customer Reviews

The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All I can say is that I no longer pull my hair out when a client says "send me a proposal". I have a form, which I received in this book that helps me create proposals in less than an hour (that's if I have to so some research) or I can use a proposal I previously created and just "critique it". In the past year, since the book was recommended to me, I have not been asked once to provide a "larger" proposal... this one page has been "it".

My clients don't believe how e-z it is to use, until they try it themselves. I highly recommend this book for you to write proposals that will get read, because they're short, sweet, thorough and to the point. Why not 5 stars? I found the beginning of the book a little boring. Once he got into the "guts" of the proposal making, I couldn't wait to finish.

Although it's a fast read, the One-Page Proposal is a breath of fresh air offering a new perspective on a topic others have written about in "predictable" ways.

I was so excited when I discovered this that I immediately e-mailed 20 of my friends and told them to immediately order it, and I've recommended it to all of my clients.

The One-Page Proposal gave me a totally new perspective on of my least favorite tasks. It showed me how wrong my previous approach to preparing proposals had been. It showed me how to build my proposal around what my client really wanted, rather than what I wanted to sell.

Chapter 4, "The Road Map--Putting It All Together," presents the new model of the proposal with easy-to-follow clarity. You'll learn how to spend your time planning your proposal, identifying your prospect's needs, and making it easy for them to say yes. Excerpts and annotated samples drive each lesson home.

This is not a superficial, "formula" book. It doesn't do the work for you. Rather, it teaches you how to do the work better and more efficiently. It will change the way you think about and prepare future proposals. You'll soon be preparing more proposals in less time--and enjoying the resulting additional profits.

You'll learn that proposals are not sales "closers," but can be "door-openers" to new opportunities.

I've consulted with hundreds of clients and written 37 books with a total circulation of 1.6 million copies--and I'm erasing my old proposal template and have turned into a Patrick Riley One-Page convert.

Like a previous reviewer, I did the 'Better Together' promotion which paired Patrick Riley's "One-Page Proposal" with Tom Sant's book. How good is Riley's book? Five pages into it, I literally pitched Sant's book. Nothing against Mr. Sant's work. I was just so smitten with Riley's approach and take on things that I didn't want a competing model to diminish the clarity of it.

I have to say, Riley crafts a real "you had me at hello" moment with a riveting opening tale of how he first was introduced to the method: by none other than Adnan Khashoggi. That's what gives the method its credibility. You have to imagine a guy like Khashoggi getting bombarded with proposals, most of them long, overwrought, wordsmithed to death and - more often than not - completely ignored by their target. Khashoggi's message? "You want to get my attention, here's how."

Riley ends the book by showing you the one-page proposal sent to Judith Regan about writing a book for her publishing house, i.e., the book that you're holding in your hands. It goes without saying: the Regan pitch was another successful proposal.

So, this is more than just another boring how-to business cookbook. Any work that manages to weave together Adnan Khashoggi with Judith Regan definitely has my attention. Patrick Riley deserves your attention, too. His book is worth your time and money.

This book really cuts to the chase by showing you one means of putting information together in a way that senior manangement at many firms want to see it. It doesn't advocate skipping out on researching all the details of a standard proposal, but it does say that most of what constitutes a typical proposal today is way too much information for a decision document. Mr. Riley makes a good case for telegraphing the information down to the bare essentials of what is needed to make a decision. The rest of the detail one typically finds in a proposal will find its way into the appropriate hands once the proposal has been accepted, but is only IN a proposal now to back up the core arguments! I enjoyed Mr. Riley's method of laying out the idea, and while I found the name-dropping a bit excessive at times, on the whole think that the worth of what he is attempting to get across far exceeds the pain caused by such small matters.

Ultra successful entrepreneur and business leader, Patrick Riley, has carved out a masterpiece with this book. He's also done what true geniuses have a knack for doing; he's taken the complicated and made it simple.

"The One-Page Proposal" is NOT just for sales and business people, but let's start there.

How many of us have, at one time or another, submitted proposals (solicited and/or unsolicited) that were written out over numerous pages, complete with graphics and all the bells and whistles, and thought, "Wow - this has got to impress my prospect", only to find out we didn't even make the first cut?

I know many sales and business people who now cringe at the thought of even being asked to submit a proposal because, quite frankly, they know they are going to spend hours and hours writing it, and then not even have it seriously considered.

This is where Patrick Riley comes in.

He will show you how to "craft" - and I do mean craft - a one-page proposal which is incredibly persuasive. Never again will sales and business people who read this book be trapped into writing long, mind-bending proposals that don't get read (and, the author, early in the book, explains why it is that so many of these types of proposals never do get read) and, instead, will be the person who stands out above the crowd.

But, as Mr. Riley advises us; don't confuse briefness with a lack of preparation. He lays out a game plan for research and preparation. The more you know in advance, the easier it is for your one-page proposal to be a winner.

As alluded to earlier, this book is not just for the salesperson asked to submit proposals, or for the business person trying to find a financial backer. It's for anyone and everyone!

What a valuable gift to give to your children looking to find a job. They will have the "unfair advantage" in their job search. It will be difficult for anyone to compete with their one-page job proposal (please do not confuse it with a resume; it's an entirely different "animal").

The person starting low on the totem pole in their company can utilize the one-page proposal to submit their ideas and begin the process of advancement through adding value.

"The One-Page Proposal" is a complete communication tool. It is benefits-oriented (the "other person's" benefits, which is what is important) and self-clarifying.

I was glued to practically every page of this book By the way, one terrific thing he (or the publisher) decided to do is to format it giant-sized in shape, while only 100 pages in length. This makes it very easy to read, and with lots of room for highlighting and note-taking, of which I know I did plenty. And, the examples of actual one-page proposals in the back are excellent, and very duplicable.

"The One-Page Proposal" will occupy a space right near my computer, as I'll refer to it continually throughout the rest of my business career. Meanwhile, I'll most likely by a lot of them to give as gifts.

This book, plain and simply, is a winner!

I did the "Better Together" promotion and I have to say it was worth it. When you partner this book with Sant's book, you really get a nice blend of complexity and simplicity in delivery.

This book is an easy read and lays out clearly why and when to use a one-page proposal. The difference between this book and Sant's is that Sant's is about how to develop a proposal from a potential client requirement that needs you to do some work for them. Riley's book is more for if you want to propose something to someone that isn't soliciting the help. Like if you felt an unused portion of land near your house would make a nice park. Then buy this book to learn how to pitch your local government and make that project happen. It's not that you couldn't use a one-page proposal for a potential client that solicits a bid from you, but I found the one-pager to be more beneficial for pitching ideas to people within my company and to potential clients that I had an idea for but they didn't come looking for my help.

I recommend this book, but overall recommend buying it with the Sant book because the two together have given me a confidence to write proposals that I couldn't have imagined and business hasn't been better.

I stumbled upon this at the Chicago Public Library. After reading it and returning it I didn't think much of it. For some reason, however, it stuck with me.

After Amazon delivered it I remembered why it stuck with me: the concept is perfect for putting down just the parts of an idea or project you need to remember and those you need to convey. It is perfect in its simplicity.

I use this format extensively and find that it helps both me and the reader stay focused on the key points. I highly recommend both the method and the book. This, Tom Sant's Persuasive Business Proposals and Powerful Proposals by David G. Pugh and Terry R. Bacon may be the only books on proposal anyone needs!

Well, I'm done writing 10-15 page proposals that are just glanced thru. The One-Page Proposal provides a methodology to concisely present your complete proposal on one page. It saves you time in the proposal process and provides your potential client with a very focused proposal. I rate this one a winner and am now using this exclusively for client proposals. It works and it saves time!

An outstanding communication tool for life and business to help turn ideas into reality

TARGET: TO WRITE A COMPELLING REVIEW THAT DEMONSTRATES THE ONE-PAGE PROPOSAL (OPP) FORMAT

-To increase my OPP process understanding by practicing what is taught in the book
-To inspire readers to give me their feedback about this review

Today's world is a fast-moving, ever-changing, and information-saturated one that is highly competitive, and can be potentially very frustrating for those who do not know how to compete in it. Time and timing are key factors when it comes to influencing today's decision-makers, who have been nurtured by thirty-second headline news bits and three-minute microwave meals. If you cannot capture a modern decision-maker's attention and compel him/her to action in the time it takes to read a one-page document, your fleeting opportunity may be lost forever.

Patrick G. Riley, after learning about the OPP in the mid-80s from Adnan Khashoggi, one of the richest men in the world, practiced and improved on the OPP in building his multi-million dollar business career. After reflecting on his OPP successes, and about all the potential successes lost in ineffective business proposals and weak personal appeals for action, Riley wrote this book to teach the OPP process to an international audience.

If you think that the terms 'decision-maker' and 'one-page proposal' imply only a business environment, you are mistaken and needlessly limiting the positive influence this book can have on your life. If you think the OPP is a new concept, our country's history proves otherwise: the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the Arecibo interstellar message broadcast into space on 16 November 1974. I initially started reading what I thought was a book about an alternative to the traditional voluminous business proposal. I soon discovered a fact-based approach to organizing my ideas for virtually any situation in which I need someone to take some specific action on my behalf.

FINANCIAL: The costs start with the time it takes you to read this review. Add in the cost of the book should you choose to buy it, and then the time investment to read and study it. Finally, if you decide the OPP process can help you achieve success, you will take additional time to practice and become proficient with the OPP process.

STATUS: I have noticed many opportunities to use the OPP process personally and professionally. My experience in writing this review has convinced me that the OPP process is sound, and the format is effective and easily adaptable.

ACTION: For readers to reflect upon this review (format and content), decide whether it was helpful and effective, and give me your feedback (voting and commenting on Amazon.com).

This is a thin book, and it is easy to read. It definitely has good ideas, and I have already put them to use. If you can get one good idea from each "encounter," you are ahead of the game.

What do decision makers read, how do they want it presented? That is the subject of this book. Quality and bervity are preferred to quantity for certin types of proposals. This is a concept that can bring significant value, if properly applied. I do recommend this book.