Writing a winning proposal is one part black magic, another systematic formula. We’ve oscillated from short & terse to long and didactic proposals waxing ad nauseum about our qualifications. All in a relentless search for that sweet spot of proposal perfection. Some missed the mark completely, others were spot on.

As one of the biz dev leads at Exygy, I write a lot of proposals. For the most part, it’s a fun and challenging process. One of the biggest challenges — however — is accurately and consistently conveying an empathetic, creative response to a project. E.g., our excitement about working with “Awesome Organization” gets lost in a discussion of budgets, timelines, and process.

Recently, I’ve realized there’s a lot of room for growth in our proposal process. Rather than just droning on and rearticulating what we think we know we have an opportunity to show our creative approach from the beginning. So, why not change the formula?

Magna Carta… Holy Website

Job applicants applying for their dream job will create a unique website to demonstrate their experience and commitment. Exygy could – with a small investment – create a proposal website to demonstrate our qualifications. We could also use a tool like Prezi to create an online interactive video proposal.

Walk the Walk

If you build on WordPress, why not try building your site using the content management you plan to use for the client. Use the 2013 theme, add a page item for each component of your proposal. Add content, enable comments, and walk the talk.

The Proposal Video

Kickstarter is killing it with this — and there are lots of funny, engaging videos out there. For a minimal amount of production work, a good narrative, and some whiteboards I think a pretty compelling video proposal could be put together. This could be particularly useful or remote clients that aren’t afforded the luxury of in person meetings.

Infographic, Infohuzzah!

Make a big ol’ infographic. This, especially if you have a rockstar infographic designer. Hell, this guy proposed to his girlfriend with an infographic and since web dev projects are a lot like dating before marrying, this seems like a solid way to prove your stuff before popping the question.

Of course there are many instances where a proposal needs to have the standard budget, timeline, scope of work, executive summary — and maybe these new ways of proposals can still be supplemented by them — but I think that there is a lot of room for some out of the box thinking here when we are responding to projects. The research and vetting of a project should be a fun explorative process; one that demonstrates the same amount of excitement that we have for the project. Chances are that the clients will like the welcomed, creative approach to a project.

Do you have any good examples of alternatives to proposals? We are going to try a new approach for proposals and we’ll share our experiences. I challenge you to do the same.