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Sneha J

October 28, 2021

How to write a Proposal: Tips for Proposal Writing

Tips for Proposal Writing

8 Essential Elements to Create a Flawless Writing Business Proposal 

The business proposal is a document that you prepare for the prospective client to convince them that your services are a perfect fit for their business. In today’s competitive world, it’s important to build a proposal that stands out, differentiates itself from the others.

Your proposal should help the prospective client to make the decision in your favor, it should influence the customer and convince him/her to invite you for the further process.

Now let’s get rolling and check out the essential elements to create a flawless business proposal that closes deals successfully.

Tips for proposal writing.

Format of your business proposal

Tips for Proposal Writing

1. Proposal cover page: You only get one chance to make a first impression. The cover page of your proposal is the first thing your prospect/sales lead is going to see hence you better make it impressive (it is one of the biggest challenges of the proposal writing). A cover page of your business proposal should look visually appealing, 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

2. Welcome note

The cover letter in your business proposal sets the tone for the rest. It outlines why the solution you are proposing is the most suitable and your company is well prepared to deliver it.

The cover letter of your business proposal has to be highly convincing with a focus on what benefits clients can have using your services. If you can’t get this section right, chances are high that the rest of the content in your proposal will be skipped.

The best practice of writing an impressive pitch is using your prospective client’s words them. This means simply describe the problem they are facing. Your cover letter should include,

  • Opening paragraph
  • Reason for the pitch
  • Showing you understand the problem
  • Baseline metrics ( before and after)
  • Goals

3. Statement of work

This section should include the details about your approach. However, the details should only be about the approach and not about the solution. So ensure you don’t make any common business proposal writing mistakes that can cost your business tremendously.

  • 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.

4. List of deliverables with a realistic timeline

You must break down all the key steps and the timeline for your client. Providing an accurate timeline with deliverables allows you to set the client’s expectations early. That means how and when you will be able to implement your solution.  Include the following information in an implementation plan,

  • List of deliverable
  • Important Milestones
  • Items in scope and not in scope
  • A detailed timeline showing responsibilities

5. Investment table

This is a crucial section because it is about money. Everything else falls in place/as expected, prospective clients will certainly want to know, how much it will cost him/her to accept your offer.

Keep things short and to the point and use a pricing table with a range of options that let your prospect or customer edit the quantities, select the services that best fit their needs, and allow them to customize your solution.

  • Standard package (includes all the services mentioned)
  • Less expensive package (where a client can choose the services)
  • Deluxe package (with extra services)

The right business proposal template comes with a built-in interactive pricing table.

6. Present your expertise

You can fill out this section with the expertise you have, who will be working with him/her, are you a known vendor in the market, whether for all good reasons, etc., the awards you won, the big list of your happy clients.

  • Introduction 
  • Name, faces, and credentials of the people who will be working on the campaign
  • Client benefits

Do not forget to add vision and values because these two aspects have a long-lasting impact beyond the proposal. Clients would pay extra for the reliability factor once they realize you have principles, values, vision; and you stick to those values in all weathers.

7. Proof of past work

In this section, you can make your clients visualize themselves working with you by telling the past clients success stories with similar issues with case studies or client testimonials.

  • Project goal
  • Solution
  • Result

8.  Legal terms

Always keep the contract and your terms and conditions part of your proposal and get them signed together to avoid future conflict.

  • Payment
  • Warranty
  • Termination 
  • Agreement

Related article: Checklist to create a winning a business proposal

Tips for Concluding Your Business Proposal

A business proposal without a close is definitely a missed opportunity. Closing a proposal means summing up all the main points, resolving challenges, and finishing with a flourish.

  • Summarize Key Points: Craft a summary of your proposal, keep it brief. Again remind the prospect about their pain points and how you can fix them. Indeed, these issues were likely covered in your proposal but the closing should include the bullet points or visual examples of your key benefits.
  • Move Them to Actions: A clear call to action because obviously, you can’t expect the buyers to move forward on their own. Tell them exactly what to do next to get your offer. What they can expect to happen and how excited you are to be able to help them. Even if the customer isn’t ready for the sale yet, be sure to keep the prospect on the journey and move forward with a follow-up meeting or a trial period. 
  • Make it easy for a recipient to communicate: Whichever type of communication you choose, make sure you list all in the closeout: email, phone, address, are usual. In certain cases, website addresses and social media accounts will also work.

Wrap Up

So, before you begin writing the first draft of your business proposal refer to this format. I hope this article helped you clear so many doubts about the business proposal.

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