How to Write An Excellent Business Proposal

This article explains how to write a great business proposal to get more projects.

Writing a great business proposal is of great importance to bag new contracts and consequently for growing your business. A business proposal is a form of sales document and it elaborates on how you are going to bring an end to the problems of your clients through your offerings. So, you should take great care in every aspect of a business proposal, like the kind of audience for which it is meant, formatting and the content of the proposal. In this article, we shall explore all the important elements that are required in writing an excellent business proposal, but first, let us discuss the definition of a business proposal as a lot of people confuse a business proposal with a business plan.

A business proposal is a written offer of services catering to a client. A business proposal is not a business plan. In a business plan, the operational and financial objectives of a company are elaborated and are totally different from a business proposal. On the other hand, a business proposal is created in case of a specific request or opportunity and it works to provide solutions for the problems that the client is facing. This may be in the form of an elaborate Request for Proposals (RFP) from large government organizations or even an email from the client requesting your proposal for a specific project. A business proposal will help you to convey to a client how your services can resolve a problem they are facing.

Preparation to be done for writing a great business proposal

The preparation phase is important as it may make or break your business proposal. It helps you to pitch your client why you are the best choice for them to address the issues they are facing. To write an effective business proposal, you need to understand the audience who is going to read your proposal. Hence you should understand in detail what is their role and who is the main decision-maker from the client-side and what are their main concerns. You should also understand the kind of resources they already have and how you can add value to their business. You should never write a generic business proposal but write a specially designed proposal that is suited to each of the requirements of a specific client.

Initial discussions regarding framing the proposal

An effective business proposal is generally begun by conducting an in-depth discussion and you should collect all the necessary information about the problem that the client is facing, their goals and potential solutions. Possible participants in such kind of a discussion may include representatives from sales, operations, and R&D teams. Based on the discussion you have, you should become aware of the exact need of the client and then you can propose a solution for eliminating the problem the client is facing. This is an important part of the proposal as you should propose a solution that fulfills all the needs of the client and also is attractive and competitive than the solutions pitched by your competitors.

Adding value to your offer

You should ask yourself why the client should choose you and based on the discussion you had with your team you should be able to identify how you can add value to your client’s business. You should figure out how you can contribute to the long-term success of your client and what kind of impact will your proposal has on their business. You should also understand that your proposal will be evaluated with a series of competitors and so you need to be aware of what your competitors may offer in their proposals. Your experience and industry knowledge will come handy at this stage and this will help you make a submission that is more attractive than that of your competitors.

Contents of a business proposal

  • The title of your business proposal should be crisp, engaging and should indicate the gist of the entire document. You may also decide the title of your proposal at the end after you have finished writing it if you are unsure about what title to give.
  • Next comes the executive summary of the proposal and it should include all the key information your proposal and should be compelling and lucid in style so that the main points of your proposal are properly highlighted and understood.
  • After this, you need to write the opportunity statement that discusses in detail the problem your client is facing and how your solution is going to solve it. This may be written as per the information provided by the clients as some of the clients have a clear idea regarding their exact problem while some of them may be unsure about the problems they may face. You should write the opportunity statement in such a manner that it conveys to the client that you have fully understood their requirements. You should ensure that your writing is simple and jargon-free, no matter how technical your solution is. An important part of this section is the scope of the solution you are providing as it clarifies what you can deliver to the client.
  • The next section is regarding the deliverables and timeline of your solution. The deliverables should be clearly stated so that the client would know what they can expect, and you should make it a point never to under or over-promise. The timeline specifies the time when the deliverables will be completed, and it may be flexible or strict depending on the client's needs.
  • Now you need to create the budget section of the proposal and it should be accurate and easy to understand. You should try to submit a breakdown of the total budgeted cost so that the client understands the cost of each item involved and this helps in achieving clarity.
  • Last but not least, comes the About Us section that provides your contact information, background information regarding your company, and key personnel working on the project. You can also include past case studies or sample work that is related to the type of project for which the proposal is submitted. Never include this section at the beginning of the proposal.

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Sandeep Trichal is a seasoned professional with experience of more than 8 years in the field of content writing, editing, blogging and developing a content strategy. With extensive exposure in various domains of writing he has the requisite expertise in article writing, blogs, e-mailers, e-books and other forms of writing as per the requirement.

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