A business proposal has the potential to win or destroy your chances of securing a new important client. In the competitive B2B environment, people engaged in B2B sales will often find themselves in the situation of creating a formal business proposal to be presented to a potential customer before a deal can be made. Ironically, very few companies know what a business proposal is all about, not to mention knowing how to correctly write one.
So, what is a Business Proposal?
In simple terms, a business proposal is a request a B2B company can get from an individual or a business. This request is needed as a document and should contain the services, benefits, and pricing offered to the client. While a business proposal can either be solicited or unsolicited, it is important as a business owner to master this tool in order to dramatically increase your company’s chances of converting all those precious leads into long-term clients.
What a Business Proposal is not?
A business proposal is not a business plan. Yes, you should pull out some information from your business plan when designing a business proposal. However, do not confuse the two. A business proposal has the purpose of promoting your business services to a potential client, while a business plan has the purpose of giving you a vision, clarifying directions and attracting new partners.
How to Write a Business Proposal
Writing your own business proposal is usually not very difficult. However, before looking at the elements you need to include in your business proposal, it is important to outline the 3 Ps of a business proposal:
Keep these three aspects in mind when writing your business proposal. A simple way to start writing your proposal is by using a free business proposal templates that available online and on this website. Here at ClientPoint we have created the most powerful business proposal creation tools to make it really fast and easy to create incredibly impressive business proposals. To get a free demo of our business proposal creation software, please click here
Next, format your business proposal the right way. Here’s how.
For starters, start with a title page. Write your name, your company’s name, the name of your potential business partner and list the date.
A table of contents is a nice touch to a business proposal. Because clients who receive business proposals from tens or even hundreds of companies want to save time, they will probably read only the table of contents and the summary. This is why this part and the following section containing the executive summary are the most important parts of a well-designed, successful business proposal.
A table of contents has the role of making the document easier to scan and to make it look more professional.
As stated above, the executive summary is probably the only part most of your potential business partners might read. That is why you need to make it top-notch. This section includes a briefing of your entire proposal. Additionally, do not forget to list your client’s requirements if you know them and explain how you can solve them and why your company is the most qualified to help your client to achieve their company’s goals.
Here is a great resource that should help you to write a high-quality executive summary: https://articles.bplans.com/writing-an-executive-summary/.
This is by far the longest section of your business proposal. The procedures section includes the solution offered, delivery times, milestones, quality, methodology, qualifications, schedule and reviews. Here is what you should discuss in this section:
- Problem: outline the problem your client faces. This is the section where you need to determine exactly why your client needs your services. Fully grasp the issue you are trying to solve and show your potential partner that you understand the problem he is facing.
- Methodology: in this section you can start promoting your services and detailing the strategies and procedures you are planning to use in order to tackle the problem your client has. Get into details and get deeper into the problem by offering a complete solution that does not only meet the needs of your client, but also exceeds his wildest expectations. However, in this section you should try to avoid using too much jargon and going to deep into details.
- Qualifications and reviews: in this section you can start bragging about your past results and your present qualifications. This is a very important section of your business proposal, because this is where you are trying to convince your potential partner that you are the most qualified for the job.
Here you can mention relevant education, past projects completed successfully, years of experience, qualifications, training, certifications and reviews. You can add one or two shorts reviews from your previous customers to brag about your efficiency and superiority.
- Schedule: this is where you need to get specific with your client and tell him exactly how you are planning to solve his problem, how much it will take and what other deadlines you need to set. Make sure you do this section right in order to start your business collaboration correctly.
- Cost and other legal matters: in this section you should try to assess the overall costs and clearly express all legal matters that are necessary for completing the project. Add a section titled “Fee Summary” and another one named “Fee Schedule” to make things easier to read.
- Benefits: the last and final section of your business proposal should be the section called “Benefits of Working with us”. This is your final hook, so don’t be afraid to give everything you’ve got to make your potential customers interested in working with you. Impress them and they will certainly reward you.
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