The difference between technical writing and proposal writing

The reason that very few writers can do both technical writing and proposal writing well is that they have different goals, methods, expectations, and processes. All writing is not the same. Having experience with one set of goals, methods, expectations, and processes does not guarantee success at the other. In fact, it may increase the odds of failure. 

Technical writers value clarity and accuracy. People must be able to not only understand their instructions, but follow them. Technical writers describe carefully. They help people learn and execute tasks. Their methods and processes emphasize accuracy.

Proposal writers put things in context. A descriptive proposal is a bad proposal. Proposal writers seek the alignment between the RFP, the offering, and pursuit strategy. They position for advantage in a competitive environment where a single winner takes all and defines success. Great proposal writers explain what matters about things instead of simply describing them.  They translate what needs to be known into what matters from the customer’s perspective. They help evaluators learn only what they need to know to make their selection. They write about things that are imprecise, not well defined, unknowable, emotional, and yet vital. They do this competitively.

Even though both are writers, both are writing for a purpose, and both believe they can express what needs to be expressed, very few people can do both types of writing well.

All proposal writing needs to make a point and not simply inform. The points made by proposal writing involve positioning against everything that will impact the evaluators' decision. These typically include how the buyer will benefit from the offering, how the proposal relates to the evaluation criteria, and everything that matters to the customer. Proposal writers tell a story. They also think as much about pursuit strategy as they do the details they are writing about.

Both technical writers and proposal writers need to anticipate the questions their readers will have. However, proposal writers position their answers to put them in the context that gives them the best chance of being selected.

Both technical writers and proposal writers need to understand their reader’s perspective to translate what they want to communicate into terms the reader will best understand. However, proposal writers must anticipate the reader’s reaction and put things into terms that have the best chance of getting selected.

But what about writing the technical proposal? Is a technical writer a better fit for writing the technical proposal? Probably not. The technical proposal is not really about technical sophistication. The two main goals of the technical proposal are to demonstrate that you are the customer's best alternative for achieving their goals and that your claims are trustworthy. While you may not need a technical writer, you probably do need a technical solution architect. And for most companies, a technical writer is not the best person to do the solutioning behind what you want to propose. A technical writer would be a great candidate for documenting what the technical solution is, but might not be the best candidate to convince the customer that your solution is a better match for their needs.

A proposal writer and a technical writer might start with the exact same subject matter to cover, for example a process for doing something. A technical writer will produce a clear and accurate description of what needs to be known in order to execute the process. A proposal writer will produce a rationale based on the subject matter, written from the customer’s perspective, that makes it clear why their approach is the best alternative. Instead of describing the details, the proposal writer will position those details to relate to the decision the customer is going to make. 

Technical writing and proposal writing have different goals, they have different approaches, and they produce very different documents. Where a technical writer communicates what needs to be known in terms the reader can understand, a proposal writer considers how the details relate to the evaluation process and bid strategies, and then articulates what the customer needs to hear to be convinced. 

Is it possible for technical writers and proposal writers to do a good job of both? Possibly. Not all of them can, but there may be some who can do both. The problem is that a good proposal is not enough to win. You need to beat all the other good proposals. And that requires a great proposal writer.

Great proposal writing requires a set of skills that are not only different from technical writing, but in many ways conflict with the skills and goals required for great technical writing. Don't just assume the two are interchangeable. In selecting a proposal writer, your highest priority should be to find someone who understands that great proposal writing is based on what it will take to win and how to structure the writing to achieve it.