1. While everyone who is involved with the project should contribute information, input, and criticism — stick with one good writer. This keeps the style consistent while making sure you include all key information.
2. Write in plain language. Bureaucrats are people, too! Keep it simple and clear. Drop any industry jargon and acronyms. Have someone outside your industry review it for clarity.
3. Keep it short. Long-winded, rambling proposals will lose your reader's interest and send them reaching for the next in the stack.
4. Keep things energetic and positive. This doesn't mean cramming your proposal with flowery adjectives. But point to strengths and ways to counter weaknesses. Use active verbs — "We'll market to plumbers" is more powerful than "Our market will be plumbers". And vary sentence length to keep things moving.
Do You Have Goals or Accomplishments?