Every business whether B2C or B2B follows the process of persuading customers to spend their money on your services or products. For B2B business, this process typically involves business proposals.

Even though your method and precise structure for your business proposal may be unique to your firm, there is a precise formula you may follow to make things simpler.

Below is our suggested business proposal outline. Every organization is unique and the business proposal needs to be customized to match that; hence, this is more of a guideline than a precise template.

Sample Business Proposal Outline

Your business proposal outline should include the following sections:

 

Cover page

A cover page of your business proposal should look neat and should be easy to read. A good cover page typically includes,

• Name of applying organization and logo
• Project title
• Date
• Contact Information (personal contact name, address, country, phone, email, website)
• Name of the client you are applying to

 

Covering letter

We all are aware of how the attention span is getting shorter and shorter. In the age of TL;DR, if you want to make sure that your sales proposal is grabbing the attention, you need a compelling cover letter. 

A cover letter in the sales proposal ensures you don’t waste those important seconds and creates a quick connection with the prospect. An ideal cover should include,

• Opening paragraph
• Reason for the pitch
• Outline of their pain points
• Benefits of your solution
• Baseline metrics ( before and after)
• Your valuable assets
• Strong CTA

 

Scope of services

With rising competition in the industry, you can’t afford to have a services section in a business proposal that simply lists out the number of services.

The scope of services section in your business proposal shouldn’t just give your prospective clients basic information about what you do, but it should sell you and your services right away. The details should only be about the approach and not about the solution.

• The key here is to give a rough sketch of the method you will use for the execution.
• Include the list of the specific services that are being offered.
• You should be ultra-careful about not going into detail.

 

The timeline

Every successful business proposal template is backed with a solid plan of action- the timeline. The timeline table is one of the most crucial elements in your business proposal. The more realistic it is, the more your prospect can gain clarity of when they can expect to see the result. That’s because

• It describes the steps you will take and how you’ll plan to meet each objective.
• It details the people involved 
• The strategy to accomplish your plan
• The deadlines for each task.

 

The investment table

Cost is always on the potential client’s mind. I mean no matter how much work you put into planning and the time you spend in preparing a business proposal, your potential client will always come hurtling towards the pricing section.

All the portions of your business proposals right from the cover letter to the timeline are interesting to read but they don’t mean a thing if you fail to impress your prospect in the pricing section. Indeed it is the second most important part of your business proposal. 

 

Why work with us

Your about us section is probably one of the most crucial contents of the proposal. Apart from pricing, your agency’s first impression has a lot to do with the purchasing decision- that they glean from the about us section.

This section gives you an opportunity to tell your story to explain to potential clients why they should choose you over your competitors.

Here’s an ideal “why work with us” should include,

• Benefit-Driven Headline
• The story about how you started
• Your mission statement

 

Proof of past work

The purpose of the case study in your business proposal is to tell potential customers how a similar customer succeeded in their business with your services. You can fill out this section with the expertise you have, the awards you won, the big list of your happy clients.

A great case study in your proposal gives prospective clients a real insight into the benefits of your services and also an idea of what it’s like to work with you. In short, it can make your clients visualize themselves working with you. 

 

Terms and conditions

Every successful business proposal template always keeps the contract and your terms and conditions part of your proposal and gets them signed together to avoid future conflict.

By following the above business proposal outline, you will ensure that your proposal meets the potential customer’s expectations.