Eng 209/WI Business Writing

Module 5: Avoiding Biased Language/Writing Sales Proposals

Mod 5 Introduction

 Mod 5 Readings Mod 5 Activities Mod 5 Discussion Mod 5 WA

 Modules
Module 5 Introduction

Welcome to our newest module, which helps you to write effective sales proposals, a written offer to provide goods and/or services critical to the survival of many businesses. We'll also continue what we learned in module 4 about creating effective visual aids.  This module also introduces you to bias language and ways to avoid it so that you can accomplish the goal of communication in business (which, as you know, is to get our readers to do what we want them to do the first time and to promote goodwill.)
 

In his article, Customer Driven Proposals, business executive Bob Kantin says that a proposal is critical to the success of the sales professional and the organization. It represents the culmination of all selling activities: rapport building, sales calls, demonstrations, letters and presentations. A winning proposal generates revenues to cover the cost of sales, creates a profit, and continues the existence of the organization. Furthermore, the content and quality of a sales proposal is equally important because it:

  1. Stays in front of a buyer long after the sales professional is gone
  2. Sells in the absence of the sales professional
  3. Communicates all aspects of the sale
  4. Gives the sales professional's internal contact a document to sell within the buyer's organization
  5. Reaches the final decision-maker, even when the sales professional cannot

A proposal directly reflects the sales professional's and the selling organization's abilities and the concern for delivering quality. 

In today's competitive world, can anyone afford to jeopardize even one sale with a poor quality proposal?

OBJECTIVES

The following learning objectives explain the skills and behaviors you will acquire if you complete this module as assigned.

When you've completed Module 5, you should be able to:  

  1. Prepare sales proposals
  2. Review and prepare effective visual aids in business documents
Copy Right Statement: The fair use, according the 1996 Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia, of materials presented on this Web site is permitted for noncommercial and classroom purposes. This site may be mirrored, intact including these notices, on any server with the public access and may be linked to any other Web pages. The material here is a set of lecture notes prepared from various sources. Where I have drawn from the works of others, I make absolutely no claim to copyright.  This page is intended for the educational use of my students only.  Send mail to phurley@hawaii.edu with questions or comments about these web pages.