The short answer to the
question above is VERY!! I've already written a couple of articles about
this, but it bears repeating:
How the proposal looks is extremely important, especially when you consider a couple of important facts.
Number
one, studies have shown that almost half of your readers—in fact, half
of the human race—takes in and processes information better if it is
presented visually, in concepts that are rendered graphically. The
other half processes information more efficiently when it's presented
in text. That's the way people's brains are wired.
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Click on the button
below to see a list of typical proposal messages and the
corresponding graphics that can best convey them.
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Yet,
most proposals are primarily text-based. In fact, I'd say that most
proposals—most business documents, for that matter—are 90% text, and
the rest pictures or other graphical elements.
Look
at this from a purely information-processing perspective. When you
write a proposal that is mostly text, you're making it easy for just
one-half of your readers to take in what you are trying to tell them.
The other half—the 50% that has a harder time processing text—is being
ignored. In essence, you're making it harder for them to get what
you're saying, which will make it harder for them to buy what you're
selling.
Okay, that's one fact that has a bearing on how important the visual presentation is. Here's another:
People
today are extremely busy. They don't have time to read every word of
every page that's in every document they have to read. So, what do they
do? They scan. When they turn a page, they look for something on that
page that can give them an idea as to what the rest of the words are
all about. If they don't find that there, they skim, looking for
something to grab their attention.
They're
looking for some kernel of interest they can grab onto that will compel
them to read further. Graphics offers them that. A graphical element
will help them understand what you're saying so they won't have to read
the whole page. Oh, maybe a few will read the whole page, but I'll
guarantee you that most of your evaluators will not.
You
can help these busy people by giving them graphics that clearly capture
the essence of what the words are saying. And you can help the people
who process information easier when they see it graphically by going to
the trouble of giving them clear, well-thought out images that make
your point.
