B2B documents | Proof Communications

Research findings that will improve your tender and proposal writing

September 8, 2020

B2B documents, How to win business, Proposal writing, Writing tips

If you have responsibility for writing your company’s tenders and proposals, then you’ll know that the process includes having conversations with the prospective client well in advance of the Request for Tender (RFT) or Request or Proposal (RFP) being issued. While attending sales meetings may not be part of your role, the information your sales person or team uncovers at meetings with your prospective clients is fundamental for the value proposition and content in your tender or proposal response. You…

Research findings that will improve your tender and proposal writing was last modified on September 8th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

How to Proofread like a Professional

August 25, 2020

B2B documents, Editing, Proofreading tips, Typos

Some things in life are just plain wrong. Referring to a week at home as a ‘staycation’, and believing macramé will ever look good on your living room wall are both sure signs of going over to the dark side, for example. In a business scenario, publishing important documents without first conducting a thorough proofread is about as dark as it gets. Shame on anyone for thinking a ‘quick read over’ will do. It won’t. Use these seven top tips…

How to Proofread like a Professional was last modified on August 25th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

Your response to a Request for Tender

July 30, 2020

B2B documents, Government Tenders, Tender writing tips

What does the Tenderer really want? How to ask questions during the Tender process. Once you’ve read all the Request for Tender (RFT) documents supplied by the client, the chances are that you will have many questions! First, clients want the best possible responses to their RFTs. Sometimes they are open to potential tenderers making enquiries as this helps them to correct any omissions and / or errors in their RFTs, clarify the conditions of tendering or refine the scope of…

Your response to a Request for Tender was last modified on July 30th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

Beware! Typos can lead you astray. (Or why all roads don’t lead to Rome.)

July 16, 2020

B2B documents, Editing, English language, Typos

There’s no doubt that seemingly small typos can have a big effect. This month, for example, brought disturbing news of a Philippines journalist sent to gaol after correction of a typo in an article originally published in 2012 saw her convicted of cyberlibel. But typos don’t always have to appear in print to be damaging. There’s plenty of other ways they can cause havoc, too. Take the relatively recent case of Luigi Rimonti, a spry 81-year-old Italian who for many…

Beware! Typos can lead you astray. (Or why all roads don’t lead to Rome.) was last modified on July 16th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

Top 10 tips for writing Tenders and Proposals

July 14, 2020

B2B documents, Government Tenders, Tender writing tips

If we’re honest, tender writing or proposal writing is something most businesses would prefer to avoid. Writing a tender or a proposal takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why getting help is worthwhile. We’ve written hundreds of tenders and proposals for businesses pitching to public and private companies and government organisations. Despite the hopes of many businesses, especially professional services firms, tendering hasn’t yet gone out of fashion. If you’re challenged by a tender or proposal, here are our Top 10 pointers…

Top 10 tips for writing Tenders and Proposals was last modified on July 14th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

Filler Instinct

July 7, 2020

B2B documents, Blogs, Editing, Writing tips

Written business content needs to be free of filler words. Filler words (and phrases, for that matter) are those that you can safely jettison to make your key points sharper and your message easier to digest. But what’s so bad about a filler word? Hear ‘filler word’ and think ‘empty calories’ – they have the same effect. Like something that tastes good for about a nanosecond but which is ultimately unsatisfying (and does nothing for your hips). Filler words use…

Filler Instinct was last modified on July 7th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

How to proofread tricky words

July 2, 2020

B2B documents, Editing, Proofreading tips

They say English is the world’s most difficult language to learn. And proofreading certainly has its challenges. The English language may be blessed with many words, but quite a few set out to trip us up. Here are some of the most common words that even the best English writers confuse and which are important to look out for when proofreading. Unique Many businesses like to think of themselves as the most unique in their industry. But ‘unique’ means truly…

How to proofread tricky words was last modified on July 2nd, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

The ‘write’ words

June 25, 2020

B2B documents, Blogs, Writing tips

Do you have to write business documents for your organisation? Even the world’s best-selling writers struggle from time to time and rely on revision (and editors) to improve their drafts. They know that it takes time to write a good document, and that they don’t have to be word perfect first time round. Help! I’ve got writer’s block Facing a blank sheet of paper (or screen) is very intimidating. It’s not unusual for experienced writers to suffer from writer’s block,…

The ‘write’ words was last modified on June 25th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team

Proofreading Stakeholder Documents

June 18, 2020

B2B documents, Proofreading tips

You may be surprised to learn that in long, complex business documents, such as annual reports, financial statements, bids and proposals, PDSs and reports, typos are actually rare. In a typical 150 page annual report, for example, we usually find only a handful of spelling mistakes, even in the 70 pages or so of very dense, copy-heavy financial statements. What’s more common, however, is inconsistency in how phrases, titles and financial terms are presented. This is usually due to different…

Proofreading Stakeholder Documents was last modified on June 18th, 2020 by Proof Communications Team