Guest blog post written by Mike Parkinson of 24 Hour Company on how to make sure your graphics get noticed and understood in a proposal.

1. How to Make Your Benefits and Discriminators Stand Out
Mike Parkinson, PPF.APMP, 24 Hour Company
Evaluators and decision makers have fractured attention spans. Your readers want to quickly
understand your solution and know why they should choose you. Your goal is to make it as easy
as possible for evaluators and decision makers to do their job. (I’m sure you can see the
advantages of making your audience happy, right?) Most evaluators are not eager to pour over
every word of your proposal. They would rather be home, at a baseball game, watching TV, or
almost anywhere else doing something else. In fact, most proposals are not read; they are
scored or skimmed.
Here is an easy, effective trick to highlight your benefits and discriminators AND make it easy
for your future client to choose you: use icons and symbols. Icons and symbols also break up
the monotony of page after page of text.
An icon is defined as a representational graphic element that is visually analogous with an
action, concept, or entity. A symbol is a representational graphic element that has a learned
meaning or accepted connotation for an action, concept, or entity.
You can use any image to represent any action, concept, or entity as long as it is logically
relevant. Use your insight into your target audience to establish relevancy. (Stylistically, you can
make your icons and symbols as high-end or simple as needed for your audience.)
With this in mind, be sure to choose imagery that is logically
relevant to “benefits” and “discriminators” while being
congruent with your company, your client, or the subject
matter. (For example, use a lock for IT security and a safe for
financial security. Whatever you choose, make sure your
icons and symbols remain consistent throughout your
proposal.)

2. I highly recommend labeling your icons and symbols directly to avoid confusion (as shown in
the symbols below). Labeling ensures clarity and clarity helps ensure success.
If you are page constrained, another approach is to eliminate labeling and simply use legends
early in your proposal—in context—to communicate whether your content is a benefit or
discriminator. The following is an example of a discriminator symbol used without a legend.
In the end, it is your decision whether or not to use labels or legends; however, apply your
understanding of your future client to determine the right approach. Your goal is to make it as
easy as possible for the evaluators and decision makers to choose you.
Mike Parkinson, PPF.APMP, is an internationally recognized visual communications expert and
award-winning author. He is a partner at 24 Hour Company specializing in bid-winning proposal
graphics. His Billion Dollar Graphics and Get My Graphic websites share tools and best practices
with proposal professionals. Contact Mike at mike@24hrco.com or call 703-533-7209.