We deal with the presentation of information everyday of the week. As designers and developers for both online and offline mediums we pride ourselves on the knowledge and expertise we employ when working for clients, however the same cannot be said for all companies. No matter what industry you are in, or how large or how small your company is each of us deal with the presentation of information everyday. In business we all use letterheads for example because they give the right impression, and allow us to present information professionally. However one of the most important aspects of "information presentation" is often neglected and overlooked with a "we can make do" and "we'll use what we have always used" type attitude being adopted by many senior managers, which undoubtedly results in lost sales and lost opportunities.

The presentation of information during the tendering and quotation process is perhaps one of the most critical aspects involved in winning that new contract. How you present your Company most certainly reflects directly on your business, its professionalism and also your understanding of your client's needs and wants. What have you done to address these key issues? If your answer is nothing, Proposal Kit could be just what you are looking for.

I'm extremely pleased to review a product that promises to revolutionise the way many businesses present themselves. Proposal Kit should allow businesses to present themselves much more professionally. It should allow businesses to win more business and to estimate projects more effectively and protect them contractually once they have secured this work.

Proposal Kit Pro 8 by Cyber Sea, Inc. includes the following specific sections:

• Proposal Pack Classic
  • Includes over 70 proposal documents
  • Includes proposal how-to documentation
  • Includes original artwork graphics
• Proposal Pack Plain text
  • Includes over 70 proposal documents
• Contract Pack Pro
  • Includes over 80 contracts and agreements
  • Over 260 pages of contract material
  • Contracts designed specifically for technical projects such as web sites, CD-ROMs, video, SEO, graphic design, video, hardware, networking, software, consulting and more. A complete contract management solution
  • Includes Canadian web & CD design contracts
  • Includes UK web & CD design contracts
  • Includes Australia web & CD design contracts
• Sample Proposals Vol 1
  • 5 complete sample proposals (PDF format)
  • Includes 75 pages of actual sample proposals
• Sample Proposals Vol 2
  • 5 complete sample proposals (PDF format)
  • Includes 49 pages of actual sample proposals
• Estimate Pack
  • Includes estimate & costing spreadsheets
  • General project estimates
  • Web site estimates
  • CD-ROM estimates
  • Video estimates
  • Includes 5 sample spreadsheets
  • Includes estimate fine tuning spreadsheet
  • Includes web site page count worksheet
  • Includes expense report spreadsheet
• Web Plan Kit
  • Includes 72 question interview worksheet
  • Includes HTML and Flash sample web sites
  • Includes template web site
  • Includes complex system site diagrams
  • Includes page and site layout diagrams
  • Includes "Performance Marketing" diagrams
  • Includes CD-ROM presentation diagram
  • Pro version also includes editable diagrams
  • in Visio & Concept Draw formats
  • Includes page count estimate worksheet
  • Includes site design checklist
  • Includes search engine checklist
  • Includes project milestone checklist
  • Includes "Burning Your Own Professional CD-ROM" article. Subtitled - "How not to get burned"
  • Includes e-commerce and fraud protection tips
  • Includes marketing tips checklist
  • Includes site maintenance tips checklist
  • Includes project notes worksheet
  • Includes site design tips
  • Includes site design and development guidelines
  • Includes appendix of additional resources

That's an extremely long list of items included, and you'll review, use and learn from almost all of them, or at least I did. I would recommend that anyone purchasing Proposal Kit Pro also purchase the Proposal Kit Wizard as in my opinion the Wizard is what really makes Proposal Kit stand out from the crowd. It will also save you an awful lot of time and energy as much of the work associated with quotation preparation is automated.

Once installed, and installation is a breeze, you will first of all wonder at just want you have purchased, as you'll have directories filled with word files, spreadsheets, Visio diagrams, etc. and at first look it can look a little daunting. This is because what you have in effect purchased is a whole wealth of knowledge and experience all documented and easy to navigate, and yes I did say easy to navigate around, your first impulse is to rush in and look at all manner of directory item, however if you simply open the first directory and click on the html page entitled OpenProposalKitPro.htm you'll be presented with an easy to navigate solution that allows you to quickly and easily locate documents of interest.

As with any software solution of this nature, your first major challenge is in customising the software to suit you and your business, and this means that you'll need to spend a few days preparing all the required documentation that will then be included within your quotations, if you wish, such things as company history, portfolio, qualifications type documents all need to be loaded into your favourite word processor and customised with your content. Once customised all you really ever need do is keep each document up-to-date with your own information.

Having customised your documents the task of tendering, and the preparation of tenders becomes extremely easy, whilst presenting information in an extremely professional way. Utilising the wizard you simply enter you clients details, select which documents you want included in the tender and click a few buttons and word compiles all of the documents in to their own directory, it inserts customer details and any custom tag information you wish and it also compiles one master proposal document. Once the wizard has finished all that is left for you to do is the insert specific project details, and submit it to your client.

With such a versatile tool as this it is possible that the software pays for itself within the first one or two tenders that you prepare, just with the time it saves you and all I have talked about it the proposal kit itself. The estimating kit contains a great spreadsheet that will allow you to quickly and easily prepare costs, the web plan it kit contains some great documents with the interview questionnaire a particular favourite of mine.

If your company doesn't have a suitable contract then look no further the contract kit contains all manner of contract no matter what aspect of the Internet you are involved with. The cost of contracts of this nature and quality would no doubt cost a single organisation many thousands of dollars, yet here they are in a software package costing just a few hundred dollars.

If you are at all serious about your business and the image it presents to your customers, then I would suggest that you invest in your own copy of Proposal Kit Pro 8 complete with the Proposal Pack Wizard. The cost of the software is nothing compared with the time it will save your company, the additional sales that you will make and with the impression it will make on your customers and potential future customers.

Visit the Cyber Sea Website and read the latest news about Proposal Kit.