1.

Identify and define the problem

A. What problem are you trying to solve? Be specific.
B. How big is the problem? In other words, how much does the problem hurt, i.e., how much
is it costing us?
C. When does the problem occur?
D. Where does the problem occur?
E. Why is the problem occurring?
F. If we don't solve the problem, how much will it cost us over the next year? Two years?
Three?
You get the idea. Also, keep in mind that the decisionmaker may not realize that he or she has
a problem. And when you point out that they do, they may (1) want to kill the messenger, (2)
deny that a problem exists, (3) look for someone to blame it on, (4) take a wait and see
attitude or any number of other strategies to maintain a secure, safe and profitable status quo.
The key to presenting a problem within a proposal is to do it in unemotional financial terms.
The problem must be described as logically as possible, and presented as reality. Describing
the problem may be thought of as the "sure foundation" upon which your proposal is based.
The remainder of the proposal must then build upon this foundation. If your foundation is
weak or illogical, then the rest of your proposal will be weak, illogical and will fail to
convince the decisionmaker to fund your proposal.
At the end of the problem description portion of the proposal, the decisionmaker must make
the first of several critical decisions: Do I want to try and solve this problem? Let's take a
moment to look at how most people try to solve problems. Problems are, at best, disruptions
in our daily routines. Problems are annoyances. Most human beings don't want to address or
solve problems. We just want them to go away. But real problems don't go away. If anything,
they get worse. Let's go back to our headache example. Once the decisionmaker realizes he or
she has a headache, they will start looking for an aspirin. They will start their search by
exploring for a "nearby" solution. They may look in their desk. Nope, no aspirin. They may
wander into the next office and say, "Do you have an aspirin?". If they can't find any aspirin
nearby, they may go down the hall. They may end up in your office. It is during this stage of
the problem solving process that they want their problem solved for free.
When they can't get what they want for free, they may re-evaluate how bad their headache is.
If it's bad enough, they will eventually leave the building and buy some aspirin at a local
store. Now, let's translate this analogy into selling your proposal. Once you have described the
problem in your proposal, you then want to describe a solution. In short, you want to be their
"nearby" aspirin provider. You do this by providing the decisionmaker with unbiased
information and a logical plan.
2. Present an effective solution
A. Briefly describe several possible solutions. Give the pros and cons of each. This
demonstrates that you have thought about the problem and have not jumped to recommend
your first "half-baked" idea.
B. Take your best idea and then turn it into a recommendation for a preferred course of action.
C. Explain your plan of action by describing:
1. The specific steps that will have to be taken;
2. Who will be involved;
3. What resources will be needed (both human and technical); and
4. When will the plan be implemented (a time line or Gantt chart is often used to describe
this portion of the proposal).
In short, you want to describe a course of action that will solve the problem. This portion of a
proposal is often referred to as the Technical Section. At this point, you must play the role of
a consulting salesperson helping a customer to find the best pain reliever by providing
information and making an educated recommendation. Note that no costs are mentioned at
this point. Cost descriptions come next. What you want to do at this point is to "sell" your
solution.
Now the decisionmaker must make a second critical decision, that being he or she must
answer the question: Is this the best solution to the problem? If you have done your
homework and you have carefully prepared your solution plan, the resounding answer should
be YES! Once the decisionmaker decides that your solution is what should be done, you must
next announce the price of the solution.
The third section of a proposal is called the Cost Section. The Cost Section is built on the
various items identified in the Technical Section. In other words, you must build a line item
budget for your proposal.
3. Present cost information
A. Break your budget out by the specific steps that will have to be taken
B. Budget for people who will be involved
1. Professional time, internal/external consultants, etc.
2. Support personnel
C. Budget for technology that will be required
1. Equipment
2. Services
D. Detail cost over time (again, a time line or Gantt chart may be used to describe this portion
of the proposal)
Keep this portion of the proposal logical and realistic. Your goal in steps 2 and 3 is to give the
decisionmaker factual information which allows him or her to answer the question: Is this a
cost effective solution?
4. Project Results
Many decisionmakers may acknowledge (1) that a problem exists, (2) that they want to solve
the problem, and (3) that your proposal provides a cost effective solution, but will fail to
move. Therefore, your fourth step is to contrast the cost of not solving the problem with
the cost of solving the problem. This is perhaps the most critical portion of the proposal.
This is where you must give the decisionmaker a "cold blooded" rationale for "investing" in
your solution. You must project a future break-even point where your solution will begin to
save the organization money, i.e., make the organization more profitable. Since most
managers and executives work on a quarterly or yearly profit and loss time frame, their
attitude will always be "the sooner the better." Be careful not to fall into the trap of inflating
your projection. It is better to be seen as being conservative, rather than overly optimistic in
your projections. Step 4 helps the decisionmaker to determine: When will we profit from
this proposal?
5. Ask for the order.
The final page of your proposal should be a permission to start page that approves the project.
This is where you ask the decisionmaker to make his or her final decision... that is to buy. It's
the decision that you have been working up to and without it you have wasted your time. It
prompts the decisionmaker to act and not put you off. The decisionmaker must decide to solve
the problem or not. It's the proverbial "the ball is in your court," now do something. The
decisionmaker may hedge, ask for more information, or present objections. Respond speedily,
giving the decisionmaker only what is asked for, but no more. Don't let them waste your time.
Get a decision. Go or no go. If the proposal is killed, file it away. If the problem gets worse
and upper management starts looking for someone to blame, you have CYA, and can
document that you had a solution, but well, you know.
Which brings us to an important point, don't waste your time trying to solve little problems.
Go for the ones that will make a difference. The ones that are important. The ones that are
causing a lot of pain. Be a problem-solver, and you will build your credibility and reputation
as someone who gets things done.
As a side note, you might think of how your proposed instructional delivery system might be
used by other departments such as accounting or information services, thereby magnifying its
worth to the organization while at the same time developing allies in other areas of the
organization. In short, THINK BIG. Why not, it takes the same amount of time and energy as
thinking small.
Phil

Internal Proposal Topic Memo
Once again, this topic memo is written in preparation for the next assignment, this time an
internal proposal; in this memo you are simply to get the instructor's permission to go ahead
with the topic you have selected for your proposal. In order to get this permission, you need to
describe fully to me the topic you are going to write about.
Problems
The internal proposal is a memo that you as a member of an organization (of any type) write
to a superior proposing a solution to a problem. First, then, you need to examine the various
organizations in which you are involved and think of what is wrong with them or what could
be done better. You may also choose an organization you used to be a member of that had
some problems. You may act as if you still are a part of the organization and as if the
problem is current even though the situation has passed.
A "problem" need not be a disastrous situation; any area of the organization that could be
improved can be regarded as a problem area. But not just any problem will do. The problem
must not be too large--so large that only the highest officers in the organization would be
qualified to address it. Also, the problem cannot be too small--so small that a proposal of just
a few lines would suffice. (The internal proposal must be at least a two-page memo.) For
example, if you want an organization to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade its
computer systems, then a two-page memo will not do the trick. When you want to initiate
major capital expenditures, you first ask superiors to study a problem before proposing
anything. On the other hand, if a solution is obvious and inexpensive--like a new coffee maker
to replace the old one that just quit--then a two-page memo is overkill.
Causes of Problems
Once you have identified a problem, consider as well the causes of the problem, since it is the
causes that your solution should eliminate. For example, if dwindling attendance at chapter
meetings is the problem, various causes could be to blame--morale, communication, conflicts
with other events, and so on. The cause of the problem should determine the solution you
propose. If you cannot remedy the causes of a problem, then you have no proposal to make.
Examples
Possible problems and solutions are many; most do not involve large expenditures. Here are
just a very few examples:
in order to eliminate a problem with intercom etiquette, an employee proposed that a
seminar be held instructing all employees in how to use the new intercom system and
that a list of guidelines be created;
in order to provide battered women with the opportunity to store some of their
belongings during their stay at a women's shelter, an employee proposed that a storage
shed be constructed in the back yard of the shelter;
in order to eliminate confusion and hard feelings concerning holidays, personal days,
and sick days at a company, an employee proposed that the company's policy be
published and distributed to all employees;
in order to eliminate potentially dangerous situations in a mining company, an
employee proposed that all employees be required to attain a basic level of literacy.
Most of the best internal proposals identify procedures that could be changed with little or no
expense in order to make an organization run more efficiently.
Solutions
All proposals must describe a specific, concrete, and tangible method of solving the problem
you identify. If, for example, your organization suffers from poor morale, you must propose
something more than the idea that employees need to exhibit a happier, perkier attitude.
Instead, you must propose a program or policy or change of methods that will result in a
better attitude. In addition, most proposals need to be at least minimally researched: the cost
of products sometimes needs to be determined, for example, or certain statistics showing that
your problem exists might need to be gathered and presented.
Here is an overview of the proposal topic memo in terms of SCAMP:
Style: The purpose of this memo is to get the instructor's permission to go ahead with
your idea for the proposal, so you want to impress your audience that you know what
you are doing and can do a good job on the assignment. In other words, be fairly
formal and direct.
Chunking: Remember to start the message with the four audience-centered elements
of a good business writing introduction: purpose, context, good will, and overview of
what is to come. Break down the message into chunks with heads that correspond to
the main parts of your message. I would expect sections like this: Organization,
Position, Problem, Cause, Solution, and Superior, Cost, Research.
Memos are headed with the standard TO, FROM, DATE, and SUBJECT; check the
pages in Kolin for memo format.
Audience: Your audience is the instructor; when you write the proposal, your
audience will be your superior in an organization. For now, however, your audience is
someone who probably does not know anything about your organization, your position
in the organization, the problem you see, the solution that might fix the problem, etc.
So be sure to keep the information needs of your audience in mind: describe the
subject fully to me. The audience is also wanting to be persuaded that you will do a
good job with this topic.
Message: Describe in different sections the various parts of your proposal topic. Here
are the subjects you want to cover:
1. the organization in which you are involved or were involved;
2. your position in the organization;
3. the problem you have identified for which you think you have a solution;
4. the specific, concrete, tangible solution to the problem you have identified;
5. the audience for the proposal, that is, your superior in the organization;
6. any ancillary topics that might occur to the instructor, such as cost and the time
you think it might take to implement the proposal.
7. research you will have to do in order to make the proposal.
Purpose: Your purpose is to obtain permission to proceed with your internal proposal
topic.