Index copyrights, 145 cost per page, 250­251 cost to win / value of wins ratio, 249­250 cover letters, 146­148 criticism, preempting, 240­241 customer satisfaction, 247, 252­253 Damasio, Antonio, 31 dangling participles, 104 Darwin, Charles, 31 data dump approach, 17­18 debriefings, 242­243 decision makers, 6­8, 90­92 decision making, 57­64 emotions in, 31 estimating rate of return for, 62­64 quantification of impact in, 74 recognition heuristic for, 58­60 single-factor, 60­62 strategies and techniques for, 57­58 Dell, 59 Descartes' Error (Antonio Damasio), 31 detail-oriented personality type, 80 development phase (editing), 222 diagrams, 66­67 differentiators aligning customer values and, 71­74 in answers to RFP questions, 170­171 in client-centered messages, 54 linking value proposition to, 67­68 in oral proposals, 239 and proprietary information, 145 types of, 69­70 digital proposals, 224­225 documented experience, 176­177 draft proposals, 204­206 drop dead date, 199­200 early submissions, 145 editing, 208­223 of answers to RFP questions, 171 checklist for, 221­223 in color team approach, 216­221 in development process, 206 excellence as goal of, 208­209 five-step process for, 209­213 and measuring readability, 213­216 effective value, 65­68 effort, level of, 191­194 equipment, as differentiator, 70 estimation heuristic, 63 evaluation(s), 90, 200, 219­220 evaluative writing, 27­29 evaluators, 90­92, 141, 143, 221 evidence, 175­180 case studies as, 177­179 in letter proposals, 130­131 in NOSE pattern, 34­36 in resumes, 179­180 and types of proof, 175­177 for value propositions, 71 executive summary, 151­157 from cognitive web, 121­123 sample, 11­13, 121­123, 153­157 tips for writing, 151­152 expert audiences, 89 expertise, level of, 83­89 experts, 181­182, 260 277 facilities, 70, 262­263 Federal Acquisition Guideline (FAR), 230, 243 Festinger, Leon, 41 Five Whys technique, 118 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, 215 Flesch Reading Ease, 215 Fluff (language), 94­95 focus, maintaining (in oral proposals), 239 follow-up questions, 240 formal conclusions, 241 formal proposals, 141­145, see also body of formal proposal; business case format, readability and, 216 formatting, 267­268 frame of reference (for proposal), 87 funding for proposal centers, 265 gatekeepers, 91­92, 143, 269 Geek (language), 95­96 General Services Administration, 230 Gigerenzer, Gerd, 57, 58, 63 goals, customer, 48­53 criteria for, 49­50 linking solutions to, 164­166 priorities of, 53 types of, 50­53 in value propositions, 68­69 Gold Team, 217 good proposals, 3­10 benefits of, 19 characteristics of, 3­6 methods to avoid writing, 16­19 recognizing, 11­15 value of, 6­10 granular RFPs, 265­268 graphics, 87, 226­229 graphics experts, 260 Grice, Paul, 23 GSA Schedule 70, 59 Guff (language), 95, 100 American Management Association www.amanet.org