Writing a strong and effective business proposal is important to share all of your business’s value with clients. Business proposals are created for a specific opportunity or request. Perhaps your client is interested in hiring your company for a particular job or continuously. A business proposal highlights how you can meet the client’s needs, clarifying how you can resolve the client’s problems.
If the idea of writing a business proposal seems overwhelming, or you do not know where to start, InPrime Legal can help. InPrime Legal provides business customers with expert legal advice for an affordable monthly fee, including writing business proposals and other legal documents. We will also discuss tips for writing a business proposal below.
Preparing to Write a Business Proposal
A well-written business proposal will show your potential customer the value of your goods or services. In this tutorial, we explain how to write an effective business proposal. The first step in writing a business proposal is preparation. Preparation is one of the most important parts of writing a business proposal. Remember that generic business proposals are not helpful to the reader.
The client does not have time to interpret how you can bring value. That is the job of the business proposal. The main question guiding your preparation should the client choose you. How does your business’s solution increase the client’s long-term success likelihood? How can you prove your trustworthiness and effectiveness through the business proposal? As you prepare to write a business proposal, you should consider several different questions:
- What is my business’s role?
- Who is the decision-maker of whether to hire my business?
- What are the main concerns of the decision-maker?
- What support or resources do the decision-makers already have?
- Are the decision-makers familiar with your company or solution
- What is the client’s industry background
Writing Style Matters
The contents of your business proposal will play a pivotal role, but the writing style is also crucial. Your proposal needs to be persuasive and use strong, convincing language to present your business concept. Including positive phrasing or words as to your proposals appeal and will read well in general. Balance out the positive language with realistic content. The content needs to be accurate and precise, limiting vague statements. Assume that the person or people reading your proposal will be extremely busy and remove any unnecessary sentences or words that will not add value to your reader. Your business proposal should include active, not passive, phrasing.
Writing a Proposal Title
The title of your business proposal is important. It should be a one-line summary of the entire proposal that is engaging and interesting. Think about the audience who will be reading your business proposal. Imagine what type of title they would like to read. The title will make a first impression and should be persuasive and appropriate to the client reading it.
Writing an Executive Summary for the Proposal
Next, you will need to write an executive summary. Remember that your client will be a busy professional and may not have time to read through the entire proposal. That is why your executive summary is so important and should synthesize all of the crucial information in your business proposal.
Writing the Opportunity Statement
In the opening statement, your goal should be to show that you understand the unique problem that your client is facing. It should also show how you can address that problem effectively. The person reading your business proposal needs to feel that you understand their issues and have a sense of trust that you can fulfill their needs.
Deliverables and Timeline
The deliverables and timeline should address more specific aspects of the business proposal. In the section, you will provide details about how the specific business solutions will unfold. Make sure you identify the deliverables so the client knows what he or she can expect to have accomplished or received. Deliverables should be as specific as possible. Additionally, the project’s timeline should be reasonable and clear.
Proposal Budget
The budget is one of the most important aspects of the business proposal. Sometimes executives are concerned about pricing and will read the budget section first and then return to read the rest of the proposal. When possible, a fixed price quote can be your best option. Sometimes clients are overwhelmed by hourly projects because it is difficult to estimate how much they will cost. If you give a fixed rate quote, try to break down the overall cost to show the client your solutions and the value of your services.
The “About Us” Section
Readers of business proposals want to feel like they can trust you and your company. An “about us” section gives the reader information that personalizes you and your business. Think about your audience and tell the story of why your business is uniquely suited to work with them. You may want to include sample work, statistics, or case studies into your company’s background.
Adding Graphics and Design
In many cases, adding salt pool designs and graphics can help your reader understand your proposal. Make sure your graphics are well-designed and not so elaborate that they detract from the overall proposal. If you are unfamiliar with graphics, we recommend working with a graphic designer to ensure that the graphics are high quality, which adds to your proposal.
Need a Non-Exclusive Sales Representation Agreement? We Can Help
Do you need to draft an effective business proposal? InPrime Legal is here to help. We represent small to medium-sized businesses by offering our affordable prepaid attorney services. In exchange for a monthly fee, we provide clients with excellent legal representation. Instead of paying pricing legal fees by the hour, you can obtain the legal help you need for an affordable monthly price.
One of our skilled in-network attorneys can help you draft the business proposal you need along with other essential legal contracts and documents. We guarantee a return on your investment. Contact InPrime Legal today to schedule your free consultation to learn more about our services.