If you’re sending out multiple proposals, you could probably benefit from using CRM (customer relationship management) software.
If the amount of time spent on a job Is 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.
People often get confused between these two documents, but they’re actually very different.
Why use “for the purpose of” when “for” will do? Why use “in the event of” when “if” is all you really need?
Step 2 – Sketch out the scope of the project.
This section is all about familiarising the client with your business. You want your reader to feel like they know you and your company well.
There’s plenty of space to explain the phases of your project and your overall methodology. There are also pages for introducing your team and including testimonials.
As a general rule, you want to keep it as short and succinct as possible, while still providing all of the necessary information and detail.
This being said, if you fear the fee might seem too high to your potential client, you might decide to break out the individual components of the budget—for example: social media services, $700; web copywriting $1,500—or create a few different tiers of pricing with different services contained in each. The second approach might not work for all types of businesses or proposal requests, but it may be worth considering if you’re worried about your overall fee appearing steep.
Ultimately, your best bet is to be straightforward, clear, and stick to the details, but you also shouldn't be afraid to tailor your writing to your audience so that your client feels that the proposal has truly been created with their business in mind.
So, now that we've gone through all of the steps to show you how to write a business proposal, let's discuss some examples. As you go through the writing process, you might find it's helpful to consult external resources to review business proposal samples or templates and see how other businesses have structured these types of documents. Specifically, it might be even more helpful to review business proposal examples that relate to your particular industry—such as marketing, advertising, or finance.
Before you dive into determining how to write a business proposal that will give you a competitive edge, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Step 6: Budget
Writing a business proposal can seem overwhelming at first, as it requires you to provide information about your company and its services as they relate specifically to what your prospect needs. As you go through the process again and again, however, it will become easier and easier to write a succinct and effective business proposal.
This being said, there are a few best practices you can keep in mind to help you as you get started:
Although this may not be necessary for a shorter business proposal, a title page can help with the general organization, flow, and professional feel of your document.
This being said, as you go through the lifecycle of your business, you'll begin to accumulate a library of business proposals that you can continuously reference and use to develop your pitching strategy and writing process based on proposals that have and have not worked. And, hopefully, by taking the time to invest in this business proposal process, you'll be winning the work you need to grow your business.
Once you've introduced your business and why you're the right fit for the client you're submitting the proposal to (a quasi-cover letter), you'll want to next create a table of contents. Like any typical table of contents, this section will simply outline what the client can expect to find in the remainder of the proposal. You'll include all of the sections that we'll cover below, simply laid out as we just did above.
Before you dive into determining how to write a business proposal that will give you a competitive edge, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Luckily, even though your process and the exact format for your business proposal can be unique to your company, there is also a general formula you can follow to make things easier, especially the first few times you write a proposal.
5. Err on the side of brevity.
Why are you the best fit for the job the client needs to be accomplished?
Although you might feel the urge to show off your language skills while trying to impress a client, when you’re writing a business proposal, tour best bet to win business is to be clear, concise, and direct. You won't want to use overly flowery language or anything that could possibly be misconstrued.
Template Lab offers both Word and PDF versions of their templates—and these business proposal samples will include sections more appropriate for RFPs including terms and conditions, scheduling, and points of contact.
For a solicited proposal or RFP, you may want to reference a business proposal example that specifically operates under the assumption that you've been asked for this proposal. In this case, you may check out one of the downloadable RFP templates from Template Lab.
So, now that we've gone through all of the steps to show you how to write a business proposal, let's discuss some examples. As you go through the writing process, you might find it's helpful to consult external resources to review business proposal samples or templates and see how other businesses have structured these types of documents. Specifically, it might be even more helpful to review business proposal examples that relate to your particular industry—such as marketing, advertising, or finance.
If you don't have any additional information to include, don't worry—you can end your business proposal with the conclusion section.
This section will nest inside the project details section, but it’s an essential step on its own.
If you're looking for a general business proposal example, you might consult BPlan, which offers advice, examples, and templates for the documents that are required to plan and operate a small business. In the BPlan sample, BPlan breaks their example into three overarching parts—a problem statement, a proposed solution, and a pricing estimate. This may be a good place to start if you're writing a business proposal for the first time and need a simple, general example to follow.
RFP sample
Your proposal recipient doesn’t get merely an idea of your plan, of course—they get proposed deliverables. You'll outline your proposed deliverables here with in-depth descriptions of each (that might include quantities or the scope of services, depending on the kind of business you run). You never want to assume a client is on the same page as you with expectations, because if you’re not aligned, they might think you over-promised and under-delivered. Therefore, this is the section where you'll want to go into the most detail.
You'll want to make sure your proposal is straightforward and easy to understand, with no room for misinterpretation around what you say you’ll do or deliver.
Why are you the best fit for the job the client needs to be accomplished?
Template Lab offers both Word and PDF versions of their templates—and these business proposal samples will include sections more appropriate for RFPs including terms and conditions, scheduling, and points of contact.
Your proposal should next define your success and be specific about your deliverables (i.e. any actual content you’ll deliver to the client). This includes outlining your delivery date, the number of words, pages, amount of site code, or any other quantity of product you plan to produce and hand over.
However, there are good proposals and bad proposals. If you want to snag all the jobs you can, you’ll need to learn how to write a work proposal well and consistently. Don’t know how to write a service proposal? Here’s a rundown.
Deliverables matter, whether someone’s delivering a marketing pitch or talking about real, physical products.
Every good proposal also needs a quick summary of the requirements of the job and your proposed solutions. Restating things in this way shows that you understand the job at hand and have already come up with a general project outline that you can deliver on. It’s one thing to say you can handle a job
Step three: define your success criteria and all deliverables
One great way you can fast-track the proposal writing process is to use a freelancer tool suite like Bonsai. Our proposal tool, in particular, is a phenomenal resource that allows you to create, send and track various proposals to clients professionally and easily
Firstly, define your problem at the beginning of the proposal – this should be what you write immediately after your cordial introduction. Your client isn’t looking to mince words. State what you aim to provide their business by showing a problem or gap in their coverage. Then, show that you understand the problem by explaining how it hurts their business model. This creates an opportunity that you can use.В
Keep this well organized and summarize at the bottom of the section so the client can skim when returning to the proposal if they are considering multiple.
In a way, your proposal sets the tone and stakes for a given project. A good proposal more often precedes a lucrative and reputation-boosting job than not. So learning how to write a work proposal or job proposal is critical.