How to write business proposals that gets your prospect's attention.

Your prospects of landing a new customer may be made or broken by a business proposal. If you write a good one, you’ll almost certainly get their business. Even if you’re providing the most excellent service available, you can lose out if you write a bad one.

Writing a business proposal is relatively simple, depending on your sector and whether or not you’re giving a product or service. In this article, we will provide you with complete detail on how to write one.

What is a business proposal?

A business proposal is a sales document designed to encourage potential consumers to purchase from you. A business proposal is a document used in various sectors to help market multiple goods and services.

Everything starts with a company proposition, from selling carpets to corporate software solutions and social media marketing. Apart from industry differences, the primary distinction is between solicited and unsolicited business proposals.

Solicited business proposal: These are sent when you have a relationship with a possible buyer and they are interested in what you’re offering. In most cases, the buyer will request a proposal.

Unsolicited proposals: These are sent without the explicit request of someone who could be interested in what you’re offering.

The basic structure of a business proposal

Building a proposal is similar to constructing a home. While basic features are always required, like the foundation, a house differs depending on its location and the architect’s or homeowner’s choices.

Similarly, the components of a proposal might differ depending on the industry, firm size, and various other criteria. Like any other piece of writing, a well-written proposal begins with gathering information and identifying the difficulties that your potential customer is attempting to solve.

How to write your business proposal.

The majority of individuals believe that composing a business proposal is tedious and time-consuming. They are, for the most part, correct. It’s all about presenting your product or service so that the customer says yes and pays you money or invest.

There’s no artistic flair involved in creating a business proposal. However, there is a technique to make proposal writing more accessible and efficient to get your potential customer onboard faster.

In the sections that follow, you will learn how to write a business proposal by focusing on preparation and utilizing the correct tools to make it simpler to write.

If you follow these easy techniques, you can construct a business proposal with less work and maximum results. Let’s begin.

Introduction:

You should provide a brief description of what your company does in introducing your business proposal. It should also describe what makes your company different from the competition.

Your intro should also include a self-confident claim like;

Why do you think your company is the best to perform a particular task, whether it’s a one-time project or a long-term arrangement.
A summary of what they will benefit from in working with you or becoming your customer.

It is essential to be comprehensive without being overly wordy in business proposal introductions. Don’t feel obligated to elaborate on your proposal in detail, and don’t share every detail about your company’s history or lines of business. Keep your introduction short.

You’ll want to establish a table of contents once you’ve introduced your company and why you’re the best match for the customer to whom you’re sending the proposal. Like any other table of contents, this section will summarise what the client may anticipate discovering in the rest of the proposal.

If you’re submitting an electronic proposal, make the table of contents clickable so the customer may hop from section to section by clicking the links inside the table of contents.

Executive summary:

Next, you should always include an executive summary in your business proposal that outlines the solutions your products or services bring to your prospect. This approach demonstrates that you understand your client.

The Executive summary should not provide an overview of your whole business proposal, despite the word “summary” in the title. Instead, this part should function as your value proposition or elevator pitch.

The executive summary will be used to build a strong argument for why your organization is the most excellent fit for your prospect’s requirements.

You also include;

your skills
areas of experience
similar challenges you’ve handled
and competitive advantages you provide

Try to connect the above points to show how you will be able to assist your potential client’s firm in succeeding.

Project Details:

The project details should be a detailed step-by-step description of how your company will tackle the potential customer’s projects. Your prospect should be able to visualize these steps so that they will know what you will be doing and how you are doing it.

You’ll begin by outlining your advice, solution, or method to serving the customer in this section.

As you go deeper into your explanation, your primary aim will be to persuade the customer that you’re bringing something unique to the table. Demonstrate that you made this plan just for them, based on their needs and any challenges.

It’s now time for you to provide a detailed description of;

the solution you propose
the tactics you’ll use to implement it (Step-By-Step)
and any other details relating to your company’s recommended approach.

Milestones and deliverables:

This part will be nested within the project details section, although it is a necessary step in and of itself. Of course, the proposal recipient doesn’t only receive an overview of your strategy; they also get a list of potential deliverables.

Here you’ll list your potential deliverables and provide detailed explanations of each. You should also include a realistic timeline on each step so your prospect can also update their expectations.

Note: You should never assume a client’s expectations are aligned with yours because, most times, that might not be the case. Don’t over-promise or shallow-promise. Always be realistic with your capabilities in order to build trust with your prospect.

Budgeting:

There’s no getting around the reality that pricing projects aren’t enjoyable or straightforward. After all, you have to strike a balance between earning what you’re worth and demonstrating value while also avoiding scaring away potential clients or being outbid by a rival with a lower price.

However, because a budget or price section is an essential aspect of every company proposal, you should plan your pricing approach ahead of time before diving into the details. With these considerations in mind, once you’ve figured out how to structure your price, you’ll spell it down along with the total cost for the scope of work you’ve outlined.

Concluding the proposal

Finally, your conclusion should summarise your knowledge of the project, potential solutions, and the scope of work (and associated expenses). This section should be your final chance to make a strong argument in your company proposal. Reiterate what you’re going to accomplish and why it’ll be better than your rivals’ ideas.

Bottom-Line

Although there are countless templates to follow, writing a business proposal gets easier when you follow the above approach. But if you don’t have the time or resources to write one, consider using a more sophisticated readymade template to guide you.

Using a readymade template can increase your chances of winning the customer over by 80%. Most of these templates are written by top industry experts and are carefully drafted using effective psychological techniques to persuade your prospect.