A business proposal is one of the most important documents you will need to win new clients, especially B2B clients. Whether you are a freelancer or a business, it is vital to use a professional business proposal template to make your proposal stand out in the crowd and get chosen over the proposals sent by your competitors.
To help you write a top-notch business proposal, we have put together an example of a business proposal template that can give you a guideline on how to create your first successful business proposal.
Before you start writing your business proposal, there are some aspects to keep in mind. First off, you need to study the requirements of your client. Understand your client and make sure you propose a methodology that is able to solve the true problem of your potential new client.
Once you have clearly outlined the needs of your potential new client, start developing a methodology to reach these goals. In order to make sure that your methodology is practical and well-rounded, start by analyzing the benefits, costs, resources involved and time needed to implement your solution.
To have your business proposal selected instead of your competitors, you need to reinforce your strengths by addressing all potential issues and reservations your client might have towards doing business with you. You should also add testimonials and past projects similar to the one your client has. Case studies of how you have helped similar clients is very helpful too.
- Who: who is the person responsible for completing the work, who answers the questions, who interacts with your partner.
- What: what is the purpose of the project/the need of your client, what is the total cost.
- Where: where the work should be delivered.
- How: how will you do the work and how are you going to achieve the key milestones.
- Why: why have you chosen your unique approach and why should your potential business partner choose you.
You can use this formula as a checklist, but also as an inspiration for writing your business proposal.
This is how your business proposal should look like:
- Current situation
- Goals
- Proposed methodology
- Time and cost
- Qualifications
- Reviews
- Benefits
As an overall example of business proposal template, we will impersonate an Advertising Agency that tries to sell their services to potential clients on the market. Here are the sections you should include in your business proposal:
Executive summary………………………………………………1
Who we are ………..………………………………………………1
Current situation………………………………………..………2
Our goals………………………………………………………….3
Proposed methodology…………………………………..……4
Time and cost………………………………………….…… …5
Qualifications …………………………………………………6
Reviews………………………………………………..…..……7
Benefits…………………………………………..….………8
Here is a compelling example of executive summary:
“Our company (name your company) offers marketing services to high-end companies that are looking to capitalize on the marketing trends used in the industry. It is estimated that over 100 million companies from all around the world are willing to work with an advertising agency in order to take their brand to a whole new level.
Our company specializes in a wide range of advertising services, including but not limited to content creation, social media marketing, web design & development, brand planning & identity, art direction, design photography and SEO innovation.
We will offer all of the above services in order to improve your company’s presence on the market and to help you get an unfair advantage in your niche.”
“Our company is a highly experienced advertising agency, with more than 10 years of experience in this industry. We choose to offer our customers the best tools and methods in implementing and planning successful marketing campaigns.
We are proficient and experienced enough to offer solutions that cut through all that mumbo jumbo of regular marketing. We focus solely on results, on increasing our clients’ sales, revenues and improving brand reputation.
“As a new brand in your niche (detail the niche of your potential business partner along with its industry), you want to expand your business and take over the market. That is why you need us to …(here you can detail what you can do for them and say more about the needs of your client).
“Our main goal is to help you get ahead of your competition and to help you to be successful in 2016. “ Detail more using a few short sentences what you can do for your client.
“We can accomplish our goals by doing this and that….” – this section is very important, because this is what your client reads in order to discover what you can practically do for him.”
In this section you need to say that “we can finish the whole project in x amount of weeks” and also detail how much it costs and what extra costs this additions to the project implies.
“We are more than qualified to tackle this project for you. We have the following qualifications….
List here all the qualifications you have and all past projects you have successfully finished.
Add a few reviews from real customers who have worked with you before and were satisfied with your services.
Tell them again why you are the best to work for their company and to help them succeed.
The Bottom Line
Writing a winning business proposal involves using the best business proposal template you can get and creating a professional and attractive business proposal that stands out when your potential client is looking at your proposal and the proposals of your competitors.
If you want your business proposals, quotes, and contracts to stand out and give you the best chance at winning new clients, use ClientPoint Software. It makes creating and formatting professional business proposals, quotes, and contracts fast and easy.