TABLE OF CONTENTS Imagine your potential clients staring at a stack of proposals sitting on their desks. They all look the same. Where to start? Wait, one catches their eye; it has an interesting, colorful cover. They open it. They glance at the introductory letter containing a compelling overview of your innovative e-learning solution. They are intrigued; they turn to the table of contents and comment aloud about its effective organization. They quickly glance over the confidentiality statement and understand that your firm has invested a great deal of intellectual capital in this proposal. They decide it is worth reading. They push the others aside and read your firm's proposal cover to cover. This is precisely the reaction you want.
To get this reaction, you need to pay particular attention to the beginning material of your proposal. You need to make sure you have an attractive cover, an effective introductory letter, a confidentiality statement, and a well-organized table of contents. These items are known as Front Matter and can be the difference between having your proposal ignored and having it read with enthusiasm. While the front matter of your proposal may seem boring and perfunctory, it is not.
The front matter of your proposal is an opportunity to impress the client. Just like you want your house to have a nice, impressive entryway, you want your proposal to have nice, well-organized front matter. Usually, a potential client skims through the first few pages of a proposal...
