Some years ago, a client asked Marcy Steinberg, founder of Cynosure Communications, what her “hit rate” was—the percentage of proposals she worked on that won the work or made it to the next level of competition. It was in compiling that data that Marcy realized that she must have a winning writing method, because every proposal or award application she personally wrote (for herself), and almost every one she wrote with a client team committed to participating fully in her process, won. With that eye-opener, Marcy decided to map out her process, and try to identify her “secret.”

Well, it’s not magic, and it’s not a secret. It is based on asking the right questions, hearing and understanding the true relevance of the answers, and writing in a style that allows the intended audience to also hear and understand the relevance of the message—to his or her interests.

Marcy is currently researching her second book, which will be called—what else?—Writing to Win^SM. It will include not only her process and the nuts and bolts of making it work, but, like The Inside Scoop, also plenty of direct feedback from the people who judge those things that one must write to win. Such things may include grants, jobs, promotions, scholarships, awards, admissions, certifications, and, of course, proposals.

If you have an idea for a topic that should be included in the “things one must write to win,” please contact Marcy. Contact her also if know of a good person to interview for feedback in one of the above areas, or if you have a question you think Marcy should include when she interviews such people.

Until the book is written (and it will take some time, since there are many people to interview yet), Marcy’s Writing to Win^SM process is available through attending her seminars, reading her articles, bringing her in to train your staff, or contracting her assistance on the next project where writing will be a major determinant in your win.

Proposals
Proposals that win—they are what every provider of professional services must master, particularly those who compete regularly in the public sector. Cynosure Communications brings a win rate to its clients of more than 80 percent of all proposals and more than 90 percent for those in which all key team members participate in the Write to Win process from start to finish. That rate approaches 100 percent when removing from consideration projects that were never awarded.

Marcy Steinberg, founding principal of Cynosure Communications, has both journalism and technical writing in her background, which is where she honed the Writing to Win^SM skills of asking, hearing, understanding relevance, and using the style that the lets the reader “hear” and understand relevance.

Marcy also brings to the proposal writing process the opinions and feedback she has obtained from more than 100 people who regularly evaluate scores of proposals in their hiring and firm selection processes. Their answers to her questions are found in her new book, The Inside Scoop: Proposals and Interviews from the Clients Perspective, and they under gird the approach she and her company use when helping clients bring their proposal “hit rates” into the 80 to 100 percent range.

Awards and Scholarships
Applying the same Write to Win approach that has proven so successful in business and design proposals, Cynosure Communications has helped clients prepare winning submittals for education and arts grants, industry and professional awards, scholarships, and international, state, and local honors recognizing companies, employees and volunteers for their work. If you seek a scholarship or if there is a person or firm you want to recognize through an awards process that requires a written submittal or presentation, contact Cynosure Communications .

Resumes and Profiles
Resumes do different things at different points in your career. They get you hired into a company. Then, they may help your company get hired for projects on which you are your company’s selling team member. They will play roles in getting you a speaking engagement, a teaching position, or a seat on a judging panel you’d like to serve on. You’ll tailor your resume when seeking a board position or an election in your local government. Reporters writing about you or your company will want to see it. So will publishers when you write your first book, or editors when you submit a journal article or white paper. If you might ever do any of these things, or if you might ever be tempted to follow-up when a headhunter calls, keep your resume current, and maintain a history that allows you to completely revamp it for any number of applications. When you’re ready to overhaul your personal promotion material—your resume—contact us.