If a business proposal is solicited , it means that the individual or business writing the proposal has been asked to submit a proposal by the prospective client. Any business or individual can send out an RFP, and there are lots of templates available online to help you do this. The RFP would most likely contain an explanation of the situation and ask for help and legal advice. Solicited proposals are generally easier to write because you are given clear guidelines.
With a solicited proposal, you know exactly what the client or customer wants and can tailor your response accordingly. Make sure you read the RFP thoroughly. Not only will this help you to deliver a comprehensive and relevant business proposal, but the RFP will often contain useful information about the criteria being used to make the final decision. Like cold-calling , these proposals are commonly used to try to generate leads.
Unsolicited business proposals should serve as an introduction to your product or service and aim to convince your prospective client that they should be using your service. Obviously, a solicited proposal is far more likely to win new business as the company already has you on their radar. Unsolicited proposals do have their benefits though, the most obvious one being that there is no competition. Some companies, particularly government agencies, actively encourage the submission of unsolicited business proposals.
So it might be worth checking those out and timing your proposal submissions accordingly. A business plan is all about you. The intended reader of this document could be an investor or a bank manager, for example. Therefore, in this document you might discuss how you intend to scale and how you will make and increase profits.
A business proposal is all about them. A business proposal is a document designed to sell your services to someone else. Another way to look at it, is that a business proposal is selling your services to clients and a business plan is selling your business to investors.
The first thing you need to do is gather all of the information you need. Actually, scratch that. The very first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and relax. First things first. So, be methodical and take your time.
Now, what information do you need to write this entire proposal? Basically what this does is allows you to keep track of all of your contacts, appointments and leads. There are tons of CRM providers out there. Once you have gathered all of the relevant information to write the business proposal, you should have everything you need to outline the scope of the project. The scope of a project refers to the amount of work that needs to be completed to satisfy the clients requirements. To complete your scope outline , you need to develop a thorough understanding of what the work is going to involve.
At this point you should also assess how long the project is likely to take and begin taking costs into account. Try not to get too bogged down with details at first. This is where a project plan template can help you outline your project in a structured way.
Well done you! You should already have a good idea of how long the job is going to take you, so factor in your labour costs accordingly. A good rule of thumb is to multiply your estimated labour time by 1.
This way you allow for any unexpected twists and turns in the project. If the amount of time spent on a job iIs likely to vary a construction worker may not know the full extent of a job until work has begun for example then make sure that you include a caveat in your proposal that covers you for this.
This will vary depending on the type of business you are in. To assist the reader in locating specific sections in your business plan, include a table of contents directly following your executive summary. Make sure that the content titles are very broad; in other words, avoid detailed descriptions in your table of contents.
Some people feel that a multi-page plan is too complex to describe in 25 to 50 pages, especially when the business model is very simple such as a one-person landscaping business. While this is sometimes true, the business plan is meant to tell the whole story. Remember this: business plans, like all correspondence are written to the targeted audience.
Many new entrepreneurs think the bank president or BDO will actually read the plan. While the body of the business plan may be up to 50 or more pages and even more for complex structures or needs , the use of an Appendix is invaluable for supplemental information. Need more info? The market analysis section should illustrate your knowledge about your particular industry.
It should also present general highlights and conclusions of any marketing research data you have collected; however, the specific details of your marketing research studies should be moved to the appendix section of your business plan. Without going into detail, this section should include a high-level look at how all of the different elements of your business fit together.
The company description section should include information about the nature of your business as well as list the primary factors that you believe will make your business a success. This section should include your company's organizational structure, details about the ownership of your company, profiles of your management team, and the qualifications of your board of directors.
Marketing is the process of creating customers, and customers are the lifeblood of your business. In this section, the first thing you want to do is define your marketing strategy. There is no single way to approach a marketing strategy; your strategy should be part of an ongoing self-evaluation process and unique to your company. However, there are steps you can follow which will help you think through the strategy you would like to use. What are you selling?
What is your service? In this section, describe your service or product, emphasizing the benefits to potential and current customers. Focus on the areas where you have a distinct advantage. Identify the problem in your target market for which your service or product provides a solution.
A solid UX is valuable in virtually any context — and business proposals are no exception. You need to make things as simple and accessible as possible for the people on the other side of your proposal. That starts with a table of contents. A table of contents will let your potential client know exactly what will be covered in the business proposal. If you're sending your proposal electronically, it helps to include a clickable table of contents that will jump to the different sections of your proposal for easy reading and navigation.
The executive summary details exactly why you're sending the proposal and why your solution is the best for the prospective client. Specificity is key here — why are you the best option for them. Similar to a value proposition, your executive summary outlines the benefits of your company's products or services, and how they can solve your potential client's problem.
After reading your executive summary, the prospect should have a clear idea of how you can help them — even if they don't read the full proposal. Here's what one should look like:. That example thoughtfully and effectively conveys both what the business does as a whole and how it can specifically serve the reader's needs.
Here's what yours shouldn't look like:. This particular example is extremely vague. It doesn't allude to what the reader specifically stands to gain as a result of doing business with Outbound Telecom and fails to actually speak to why it should be considered "the best in its industry. This is where you provide a summary of the issue impacting the potential client.
It provides you with the opportunity to show them you have a clear understanding of their needs and the problem they need help solving. Research, critical thinking, and extra thought are key here. You have to do your homework. Take a holistic look at the specific issues your client is facing that you can help solve. Then, compellingly frame them in a way that sets you up for the next step. Here's where you offer up a strategy for solving the problem. Like the last step, you need to lean into specificity and personalization in this one.
Make sure your proposed solution is customized to the client's needs so they know you've created this proposal specifically for them. Let them know which deliverables you'll provide, the methods you'll use, and a timeframe for when they should expect them. Are you qualified to solve this prospect's problem? Why should they trust you? Use this section to communicate why you're best for the job. Include case studies of client success stories, mention any relevant awards or accreditations to boost your authority.
Pricing is where things can get a bit tricky, as you don't want to under or over-price your product. If you'd like to provide the prospect a few pricing options for their budget, include an optional fee table. Some proposal software offer responsive pricing tables which allow clients to check the products or services they're interested in, and the price will automatically adjust.
This is where you go into detail about the project timeline, pricing, and payment schedules. It's essentially a summary of what you and the client are agreeing to if they accept your proposal.
Make sure you clear the terms and conditions with your own legal team before sending the proposal to the client. Include a signature box for the client to sign and let them know exactly what they're agreeing to when they sign. This is also a chance to include a prompt for the prospect to reach out to you if they have any unanswered questions you can address. There's a lot to keep in mind when writing a business proposal.
Here are a few tips to help you out:. If you want to produce a thoughtful, effective business proposal, you need to have some idea of what you're hoping to achieve with it. So before you dive into writing, outline the major sections of your business proposal and the pertinent information you want to include.
This will ensure you stay focused and your message stays intact as you write. You want your business proposal to capture your prospect's attention and help set you apart from any other ones they might have received. One of the best ways to do that is to include hard, quantitative data that helps stress the value of your business. If you can find some relevant, compelling figures that highlight what you have to offer, you can establish authority and make yourself that much more convincing — it also helps to include visuals such as charts and graphs to enhance your proposal.
Like the previous point, adding social proof lends your proposal another degree of credibility. You can only be so convincing when you're personally talking up how awesome your business is. How Long Should a Proposal Be? Post by Mary Cullen May 20, The Ideal Proposal Length Designing a proposal with just the right length is a classic Goldilocks problem. Ten Pages Proposify discovered that the most common winning proposal length is ten pages According to their audit of 1.
Win More Proposals Learn how to write better proposals in less time that win more business. Tags: Business Proposals. Share on:. Mary founded Instructional Solutions in , and is an internationally recognized business writing trainer and executive writing coach with two decades of experience helping thousands of individuals and businesses master the strategic skill of business writing. She excels at designing customized business writing training programs to maximize productivity, advance business objectives, and convey complex information.
She holds a B.
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