I have just finished a book by Alan Weiss on writing proposals.  It has made me stop to think about my own processes and how proposals were done in various places I have been too.  At times during the reading, I just shook my head over the mistakes I had experienced with proposals.

When we were first starting down this entrepreneurial computer tract, we got onto an e-mail list requesting proposals from the state government.  It sounded logical at the time.  What a waste of time (and I would have known it if I would have read the book sooner).  Large firms, and not our small start-up, are geared toward utilizing these type of requests.

A company I have since become familiar with knows how to get the contracts.  It was fascinating to have dinner with the owner, and he talked about the failures he has had in his business life.  From those failures, he built a company and maintains a personal relationship with the right people, and he is also able to grab independent minded computer professionals to fill those contracts the people come to him for.

My most successful project has been with a gentleman who just wanted to build a better system than he was forced to use at his work.  He came to me via a recommendation.  So in this modern day world of texting, e-mailing, and social media, the personal relationships still matter when getting your foot in the door and getting your proposal approved.