ERBUT

The whole purpose of a bid proposal is to persuade your would-be customer that you’re the best company for the job. A little bragging helps, but make sure it’s the right kind.

How do you do that? By tooting your horn about the successes you’ve enabled for similar customers, not by endlessly repeating, “We’re number one.”

For example, it’s great if your firm has been named, say, this year’s “Top cloud-based consultant for small business.” Instead of bragging about your title, however, you’ll impress your prospect more by saying something like this:

“We recently enabled an organization similar to yours to save $1 million a year by streamlining its operations through cloud-based services. This helped us earn the title of ‘Top cloud-based consultant for small business.’ ”

In the same way, instead of pointing out that you’re the country’s largest provider of online business training, say something like this:

“We help more than 250 companies just like yours across the country sharpen their business skills and stay up to date through online training.”

In other words, when you brag in a bid, make it more about “you, you, you” than “me, me, me.”