Advice in making a proposal to getting work to sponsor mba

[seal4913]

I was just hoping to get some advice as to what I can do to make a good proposal. I work for a family owned company and I talked with the President and he told me to write a proposal as to why he should pay for it because at the end of the day he is a business man and needs to see an ROI with the investment.

I figure I would start out with details about the school and the program. I would also need to talk about staying for a certain period of time afterwards because I'm sure he doesn't want to shell out the money just for me to leave.

I am doing research to on what MBA's bring to the company and I will tie that into what the company does speificily. How I can bring what I learned and teach others in the company (mentoring).

Would it be wise to make a statement to the fact that there aren't many workers with this level of eduation and also since i am about half the age of most of the workers with that level of education?

Any advice would be appreciated

[Jon@Admissionado]

I think your thoughts are off to a good start. I would say if I were the CEO, of course I would first want a guarantee that you come back and remain for xxx years. Secondly, I would want CONCRETE proposals. So things that show a deep insight into the company and its problems and challenges. So thinks like "I know that in the next three years we will try to break into the Thai Market. With an MBA I can manage that transition efficiently, and bring in xxxx money" Be SPECIFIC, just like you would be in your essays, because specificity will show that you have actual and enactable ideas. If he can count the dollars at the end of the line, then he might be more convinced to pay your way.

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

I think you have some great initial ideas and Jon has also added some keen insight.

The great thing about building out this ROI argument is that you will get to promote and perhaps agree on a career development plan for you at this firm. Once you have identified the key business areas/projects that you can affect post MBA, you have essentially built yourself a job description that hopefully is broader than the one you have now.

Perhaps also see if there are some existing capital expenditure or investment memos at your firm, so your formatting matches what this executive is used to.

And remember to use the net present value in your model to discount future cash flows from your "MBA effect" back to money in today's value. This is a critical MBA concept and will show you are serious about his request.

[seal4913]

Thank you both for great advice.

One last question I do have is what is too long or too short?

I was thinking of keeping it short as he is the president he dosen't like to spend a lot of time reading things (I know from Director and other Mangers).

[Jon@Admissionado]

I think in that case, you have already answered your own question.

If he likes it short, give it to him like he likes it...

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

I was trained in some great Fortune 100 companies to always get a recommendation to a page, or at least an executive summary to a page. You may need some back up pages for any charts, graphs, or detail. But I would think you could get this kind of rec to one page.

Alex