Proposal Page Limitations

http://www.bindertek.com/custom-tabs-and-templates.html

I used to hate when RFPs provided page limitations, font sizes, and margin restrictions. Subject matter experts often want to add more information, and with page limitations, we always have to leave something out.
As a proposal writer, organizer, manager, coordinator, and all around "person in charge of proposals," my job is to rein them in. I keep track of not just how many pages are written, but I make sure we have answered all questions completely, written towards the evaluation standards, and the final product fits the restrictions. So page limits drove me crazy.
Then it happened. One day, I began to wish for page limitations! There were no limitations on pages in the proposal, the RFP (Request for Proposal) required massive amounts of information, and they wanted ten copies of the document delivered. There I was searching out binders that would hold 1,000 pages each to fit the technical proposal, and I also had to include the cost proposals as separate documents. The subject matter experts went wild. I couldn't rein them in, and they wanted to provide more information. Heck, they had to provide more information because the questions were so in-depth that each section required dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of pages.

http://www.empireimports.com/filebox.html

Delivering the sealed package required a hand truck and two large boxes; each box reached my upper thigh (I'm 5'2"). We were the first organization to get our proposal in, and the reception desk was shocked. The receptionist rolled their eyes like we were crazy but signed us in. As they were handing over our receipt, the next organization showed up with their delivery. It was as large as ours. These questions could not have been written with small page requirements, so we had to go all out. The next organization came rolling in on the heels of the next one. That organization only had one box. Nobody in the Purchasing Department had realized what they'd done by asking such in-depth questions.
Now I look forward to those required page limitations. It might be extremely difficult to stay within the requirements, but it's a challenge. I am forced into brevity. I have to remove extraneous text! I comb my work pulling out every unnecessary word. "In order to provide..." is ridiculous! "To provide..." takes up less space, removes unnecessary speech, and provides a more succinct document. "We believe we are the very best company for the job," is ludicrous. If we didn't think we were the best company for the job, why would we put in the hard work to submit a bid? Also, if we are the best, adding a descriptor to the adjective (very best) doesn't do us justice. Remove the extra text and instead write, "We are the best company for the job because..." that will add words to the text while providing real information!
College did not adequately prepare me for business writing. We were told that we had to write a specific number of pages, and when I put together papers, I would work hard to respond to write the best possible paper. Finishing a well written 97-page paper and having to add in three pages of text was heartbreaking. I'd add filler, stick in a few more quotes, and I'd be miserable because I put so much work into creating an excellent document only to be told I needed to reach the page requirement. I would have been better prepared for the working world if I'd been told to fully respond to the assignment with no more than 100 pages. Besides, if I'd written 150 pages for my "at least 100 pages" assignment, the teacher would have had to slog through 50 more pages to grade me!
When I have a 100 page requirement for an RFP, the government enjoys receiving only 97 pages. They want information, they want it presented in an easy to read format, and they want to have to read as little as possible. Per an air force CO, proposal reviewers spend approximately 45 seconds on each page. At that rate cutting out three pages will only save them 1.5 minutes, but it will also give them a document that was able to clearly express everything needed without any extra filler or fluff. Without playing with font sizes or margins.
The important thing to remember is that you have to respond completely and fully to each question, and it's a challenge. That's why companies hire me. I am up to that challenge!

PS: I really wanted to include a photo of a submission that my last company subbed for. The federal government required 21 copies, there were multiple binders, and it took a full pick-up truck to hold the entire shipment that had to go from TX to DC!

The Font We Love to Hate

Bad Me... I have no idea where I got this from. I should have published this post when I wrote it last year!

Comic Sans is a font that people get very worked up about.  I like it. However, I think it's over used, and (more importantly) it should never be used for professional situations! It does not belong on a work email (and lets not even talk about how many comic sans folks also put a color on their background and bizarre photos and animated gifs in their sig file. Fine, you like it. I don't. I think the page is cluttered and hideous, and why on earth the Assistant to the CEO or the head of finances would use an email format like that is beyond me (and yes, I've gotten that type of email from folks who represent the firm they work for, some of them being very high up the food chain).

This week Jessica Jones posted about Comic Sans on her blog How About Orange. There was a large debate about how Comic Sans sucks while other folks vehemently defended it. Jessica's post included a link to a game where you could Kill Comic Sans. However, it just kept popping back up again, just like users and lovers of Comic Sans constantly pop up.

Comic Sans is a font that everybody loves to hate, and it is everywhere. People change their default email text to Comic Sans, even on work emails. They use it to post signs on the bathroom door asking people to please remember to flush. They make flyers with it and slap it all over their websites. So why does everybody hate it? It is not a professional looking font. It looks like handwriting, and it doesn't give a clean, polished finish. Using it at home to draw-up the family's cleaning schedule is fun. Sending your kids to school with a small note typed in Comic Sans that reminds them that you love them (and that they should finish their carrots) is cutsie. Sending a memo to your entire corporation using Comic Sans font just looks cheesie. Check out Comic Sans Criminal for a delightful slide show that explains the importance of a font fitting the situation.

I believe that it is followed by Papyrus. A commenter on Jessica's Comic Sans post randomly stated, "When I see Papyrus, I think 'ugh, hippies', and just keep on walking. You know when Papyrus is appropriate? Never, that's when." Why bring up Papyrus for no reason? Font hate - it isn't kept hidden.

Felicia Day updated her Google+ status with a link to commentary on the Comic Sans font. Randomly looking through The Oatmeal site, I ended up on a blog page where Michael Inman posted about the fonts he uses on his site. I don't actually know when this post was written; I just stumbled across it this week.

Do you like the web comic Questionable Content?  I love it.  And the writer, Jeph Jacques, donated a comic to bancomicsans.com because he also hates Comic Sans (scroll down to see Faye ready to punch a bunny)!

http://bancomicsans.com/