Customer Reviews

Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The second edition of Sant's book picks up where the original left off. It's well-writen, easy to follow and nicely organized. I've written more proposals in my day than I care to admit, but I found Sant's advice added to my own knowledge and my proposal writing efforts got measurably better.

After the introductory material, Sant goes into a discussion of how to use the tools of persuasion in a written document. His advice is clear and readers may find tips that they've forgotten, or never knew.

He then describes how to manage a proposal process from beginning to end, and finishes the book with some rules on writing and language that make a proposal even more powerful.

Sant uses lots of examples and sample proposals to illustrate his points, which brings his concepts to life for the reader.

Overall, the book is a great read. If you write proposals, you should have this book on your shelf.

Michael McLaughlin, coauthor with Jay Conrad Levinson, Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants.

Engineers like me need to be reminded. Sure the technology we're selling is amazing, but it's not about us. An effective proposal needs to focus on what the customer needs. This is what Tom Sant drives home so effectively in his book, "Persuasive Business Proposals." I've been using (and preaching to my colleagues) Sant's approach for more than ten years and have given away more than 20 copies of his first edition. The new edition is even better than the first.

Focusing on the customer sounds simple enough, but I regularly refer to the examples in Sant's book to get started. I also frequently open the chapter on word choice. It's a useful complement to the proposal tips, and it helps me confidently use words like complement. (Or should it be compliment? It's in the book!)

Sant quotes Cicero in his book to drive home the persuasion point. Hopefully both Cicero and Sant would accept this attempt at a persuasive close: Engineers need help to write persuasively. Persuasive proposals must focus on the readers' needs. Sant's book delivers practical examples for how to meet these needs. "Persuasive Business Proposals" is so well-organized and fun to read that proposal writers will use it as a frequent reference. Ultimately, engineers (who write proposals) simply need sales from winning proposals. Sant's methods are sure to deliver more wins. If you sell, you should read and use this book.

This is a great book full of practical advice on how to improve your sales proposals. Most business books tell you what you should be doing. This book tells you how to do it. It covers traditional business proposals and Request for Proposal responses. If you're looking for help with business plans, this isn't a book for you. But if you want to improve your sales proposals and win more business, this book is great! I saw Tom Sant speak at a sales conference last year and he was terrific. I also recommend his email newsletter!

I have read many business books in my career and I was expecting this to be yet another "how to" book about the mechanics of writing. Boy was I wrong. Yes, writing techniques are covered thoroughly in Section IV. But first, you are firmly grounded in the customer point of view and the art of persuasion, learn how to distinguish between those "deals" you should go after and those you should forego, and gain insight into methods for organizing your thoughts and the whole proposal writing process. Before closing, the author leaves you with metrics to analyze and measure the success of your proposals so that you can incorporate "lessons learned" into future proposals.

I was looking for ways to improve my proposals but ended up with so much more... in fact, after reading this book, I plan to be more discriminating in responding to RFPs and when I do, I will use the techniques Tom offers in this book to make them more specific,customer-focused,and concise. I recommend this book to any person who is involved in the proposal process and wants to improve the effectiveness of their proposals.

Tom shows you in a clear and distinct manner how to convey to customers the value you can provide them. He demonstrates via numerous real-life examples how to make your proposal appealing to the different types of customers that will review them (purchasing agent, technical buyer, manager, president, ceo, and the like). He also makes you rethink how you conduct your sales call so you can gather the necessary information to make custom-tailor, value-driven proposals instead of generic boilerplates. The book reflects Tom's years of successfully working with sales forces and their customers worldwide to develop proposals that justify the solution and value proposition.

This is the Best Book Ever on Persuasion. No, I'm not exaggerating.

"Persuasive Business Proposals" only claims to be about, well, business proposals, but the advice on persuasion is useful to everybody -- I use it every time I need to use the written word to persuade others. I spent four years working as a business and technical writer, and during that time, I referenced Mr. Sant's original edition of "Persuasive Business Proposals" on a daily basis. But even after I moved on to a new career, I continue to use his persuasive tips and information every time I write. I've developed a reputation in my office -- colleagues and superiors always come to me to write important documents -- everything ranging from proposals to grant requests to cover letters. They come to me because these techniques work. I know they work -- hell, I've written three book proposals based on Mr. Sant's techniques and each book sold to publishers.

His persuasive strategies work. The specific methods he teaches are powerful and effective. As soon as I saw that Mr. Sant had a new, revised edition of the book, I bought a copy, and now I keep it next to my computer. Trust me, folks, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT book you'll ever buy, because it is useful for nearly anything you do that involves words. Personally, I've used it more often than anything else on my shelf -- dictionary and thesaurus included.

Highly recommended.

For ten years Tom Sant's book has been a classic in business communication. It provided the clearest and most effective means of writing a winning sales proposal. This book gives you a clear structure to follow. It has step by step instructions on how to make a more persuasive proposal. The 2nd edition adds chapters of new content like the chapter on decision making which helped me to think about how my customers choose a vendor. I especially liked Chapter 15 that talks about how to deal with bad news. Another new chapter gave me a blueprint for setting up a proposal center at our company. Best of all, there are new samples of proposal writing that you can use instantly. This is a solid business book. Buy it and you'll use it.

If you write proposals, or employ those who do, you need this book. Tom Sant is the Michael Jordan of proposals (although not as tall) and this book can help you write better proposals.

Tom's emphasis on the executive summary, methodology for structuring the document and ability to write about this complex subject in the correct tone set this book apart form all of the other books on the market. Of particular interest to those who have read many books on proposals should be the chapter on editing your proposal.

An unexpected by-product of this book is that you will find it helpful for all of your business communications. I've used Tom's NOSE structure successfully in many different areas.

This book is every bit as good as others say it is. There is a reason that Tom Sant is the only one name in the proposal game.

I bought this book to help the small custom software firm that I work for improve the way we do business. I felt like we were losing way too many jobs and the more I thought about it, I felt our proposals may be the culprit. After reading this book, I realized that I was right. The great news is that this book is laid out very well and easy to apply immediately to the way you do business. I can't count the number of "a-ha" moments I had while reading this.

It seems we tend to write proposals based on what we've seen of other proposals. And it turns out those other proposals weren't very good either. One of many useful elements of this book is the way it lays out exactly what sections a proposal should have and what order they should be in to be most persuasive.

Lastly, what I took away from this book and the reason I recommend it is that it is just a very solid business writing primer as well. The structure for writing persuasively is worth the price of the book in and of itself. Highly recommend.

When my manager told me to be prepared to get involved with proposal writing, I chose this book as my initial `self-study' effort. After reading it, and using it to help me analyze some of my company's old, new, and draft proposals, I am convinced that my choice of proposal books was right on target. I now have a detailed, indexed, and cross-referenced 85+-page reference document of my personal notes and observations of the book that is never far away and is often used.

The book is organized into four sections that take the reader through a logical progression that has a lot to offer both experienced and inexperienced proposal persons: 1) Why You Need This Book, 2) A Primer on Persuasion, 3) How to Manage the Process and Keep Your Sanity, and 4) Writing to Win. Sant's humor and natural writing style combined with his extensive experiences to produce a book that is as pleasurable to read as it is informative. If you are involved in any way with business proposals, you will be well-served to buy, read, and keep handy this outstanding book.