If you celebrate Christmas, how early do you put up your tree? There is one thing everyone around these parts knows: to cut down your own tree, Clark Griswold style… you must get a permit early.
If you celebrate Christmas, how early do you put up your tree? There is one thing everyone around these parts knows: to cut down your own tree, Clark Griswold style…you must get a permit early.
Like, before Halloween early.
It takes a lot of effort and time to plan so far ahead, but the time investment and the early planning are worth it. Putting in the extra effort up front can be super rewarding in the end.
The same is true in business, too. Take style guides, for instance. They take a lot of time upfront to create. But they are so worth it, eventually.
Therefore, it frees the editor from focusing on spelling, punctuation, grammar, and naming conventions so they can focus on the content. It also keeps everyone on the team on the same page throughout the project. Your style guide should include:
Proposal-specific naming conventions based on the client’s documents
Official project name and abbreviated project name
Client’s name and abbreviated name
Commonly used words
Unit abbreviations
Rules for numeral use
How to highlight missing information
The proposal coordinator should prepare the style guide, the proposal manager should approve it, and the entire proposal team should receive a copy before kick-off.
Are you using style guides in your proposals? Why or why not? Let me know. I love to hear your thoughts!
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