How to Write a Business Proposal [Examples + Template]

Different jobs all have a common goal and that is nothing but earning money. To achieve this, all of them must strive to attract potential customers who may be interested in their product or service. If you are an entrepreneur, you know that writing a strong proposal will allow you to reduce the distance between you and your potential customers. From one website design step to another, from website design to customer base building, it is important to convince people that what you are offering is the best market. In order to be one step ahead of the competition with your competitors, we have provided you with tips that will help you write a strong and calculated business proposal. What Is a Business Proposal?

A business proposal is a document designed and arranged to persuade a client to sign an employment contract or use certain services. For example, a photography agency might design a proposal for a company that offers to photograph their products in a new way. This plan can be short or long depending on the information needed to be given about the project. Unlike a business plan, which, like a roadmap, shows how a business is structured, operated, and managed, a business proposal is designed to help sell and reach new customers. There are three types of business proposals to consider that we will address in this article. All three focus on what the problem is with the business, what solutions can be offered, and how much it will cost.

Well, let's look at the three types of business proposals that we mentioned.

Formal proposal written in response to a formal request from your client: This type of business proposal, whether oral or written, must be submitted at the request of your client. If you are asked for such a proposal, you will have the advantage that you will get all the vital customer information and you can write a stronger proposal.

Informal proposal requested by clients. This type of business offer may occur during an occasional conversation or meeting. Once you have received this request, ask the other person questions and gather the necessary information. Because in other words, unlike the previous type, the initial research of the customer is your responsibility.

Unwanted proposal sent to potential customers, even if they did not request it. Unwanted offers can be compared to a popular marketing method called cold calling, in which the seller contacts potential buyers to sell his product or service without any desire to buy from them. By doing extensive market research, you can turn an unwanted business proposal into a good personal offer to get your customers' attention.

How to Write a Business Proposal

Well, we come to the part where we talk about the middle ground. To write a successful business proposal you have to go step by step. Here I will list all the steps for you so that I can go into each one in detail below.

Start with a title page

It does not matter if you are new or in the business of starting a business. The title page of your business proposal is one of the most important parts that you should pay special attention to. On this page, mention the author's name, brand name, company logo, as well as the customer's name and contact information. Add a proposal date and give it a compelling title to differentiate your business from the rest. To create this page, think about how you can make the most of the visual elements. The title should be placed in the front and center, followed by the name, company name, and logo.

Unconscious people are attracted to a beautiful design. So make sure your title page is eye-catching and conveys your message well. Use typography or fonts that are visually appealing. When typing text, make sure the text is aligned and the font size is selected correctly so that the text is both attractive and legible. The choice of font type should be visually appropriate to the tone of your proposal. For example, if you work in the publishing industry, you may want to use a typewriter font to highlight your expertise.

Make a list of your content

The average attention span for a person is up to eight seconds. At this time you will be able to convey a few words to your audience. Add a list to your proposal to make it easier for the reader. This way, they will be able to easily navigate through the various sections of your proposal. Look at your table of contents through a cheat sheet in the form of an outline. The cheat sheet is a term that coders use to refer to a summary of instructions. The list lets your client know exactly how to find everything in your business proposal. This page should list all the main parts of your business offer, from executive summary and pricing to terms and conditions.

Express your proposal with an executive summary

In a business proposal, the executive summary is seen as an overview of your business. In this section, explain why your business offers the best solution to the problem or problem facing your customers. Try to use direct language that is persuasive and states all the key points clearly. Talk about your business by writing a Mission Statement and stating the specific benefits that customers can expect from your product or service. Do this by displaying any clear points in your business, such as attracting new customers per month or achieving significant sales.

Ask the problem in the form of a question

Make sure your company understands the problem. Use understandable language to address the issue. You can explain in simple language what problems your customer is facing or what is the main obstacle in front of them. If you make it clear that the readers' concerns about the problem you are about to address will make them feel closer to your proposal.

Provide a solution

This part of the business proposal is dedicated to how to decide to solve the customer problem. Explain your "how" and "when" offer to the audience. Avoid using industry terms that may be difficult for the reader to understand. At this stage, when you are well aware of the challenges facing your customer's business, you must show that you have the best solution for them in your pocket. Now is the time to turn the solutions that come to your mind into a powerful strategy. When submitting your proposal, it is a good idea to add a timeline that details the timing of each part of your plan. This way, the customer understands when they can expect you to deliver what you promised. For example, if you are dealing with training jobs, you can inform your client step by step, from a pre-consultation session to a concluding session.

Introduce your team

Now that you have addressed the basic problems and needs of your customers and their solutions to them, it is time to introduce them to your team. It does not matter how many people your team consists of, what is important is to introduce your employees with their staff names and photos along with the company name and a short biography about it. You need to pay attention to details such as your level of education, achievements and awards, specific job skills, and other outstanding characteristics that you have.

Having a section about us is not only a good space to introduce your team, but also builds credibility and trust. For example, inserting descriptions of customers who are satisfied with your product or service will help increase the credibility of your business. Dedicate this section to telling your brand's unique story and talking about your values, vision, and goals.

Add pricing options

If you want to avoid any financial confusion, adding a price table is a good solution. Identify the different payment options for each product or service you offer. This will allow your potential customers to quickly find what they are looking for and be informed of the cost immediately. Using an organized structure such as a table where options can be viewed side by side is an effective way to get the customer's attention to your suggestions.

Specify your terms and conditions

If you accept your offer, consider an agreement between you and your customer. This is where you need to deal with details such as the duration of the business transaction, the dates and methods of payment, the project timeline from start to finish, and the cancellation policy. Necessary permissions must also be added in this section. I strongly recommend that you consult with a member of your corporate legal team or an outside lawyer before finalizing your business proposal.

Find a place for signatures

Declare your formality and commitment to the business proposal you have written by adding a special box to sign to your customers. Be sure to include the appropriate space to add the signature date of the parties. Ask a friendly reader to contact you and get your answer if you have any questions.

Business Proposal Ideas

When we talk about writing a proposal, you have to keep in mind that its content usually depends to a large extent on the type of proposal. For example, in an industrial proposal, the main purpose of writing is to improve sales, increase profits or improve organizational productivity, and therefore its content should be in the field of identifying the problem and providing a solution appropriate to this issue. 

In contrast, the university proposal seeks to identify a problem related to the field of study and intends to design a smart and practical solution for it. So its content will be relatively different from the industrial proposal. But regardless of the details of the industrial, academic, start-up proposal or any other title that refers to the proposal, the proposals fall into several general categories, which are: 

Solicited Proposal: This type of proposal is usually written at the request of an organization or institution to better understand a problem and solve it. This type of proposal is always sponsored by the institution and the financial costs and equipment required by the institution will be provided. This type of proposal is also known as a proposal request (RFP or RFQ), which usually has a specific format and includes highly specialized content. 

Unsolicited Proposal: A proposal whose subject matter has been identified by the researcher and who believes that his proposal will apply to the organization in question. In these cases, the researcher has identified a suitable solution to solve a problem by conducting a field study and using his own experiences without request from the organization.

Pre-Proposal: Many managers, professors, and decision-makers ask the researcher to write a pre-proposal to speed up the review of the proposal and summarize the researcher's idea in one article. All the items in the proposal are summarized in the pre-proposal.

Continuation Non-Competing Proposal: A proposal is very large in terms of implementation and is very important for the organization and usually takes a lot of time to implement. The whole project for which the proposal has been prepared may take 4 or 5 years and the whole process is sponsored by the managers. 

Renewal Non-Competing Proposal: Proposals that are submitted as a complement to a large project step by step and as the project progress are known as renewed.

By knowing different types of proposals, here we want to provide you with some business proposal examples and ideas. We hope the following business proposal template will help you in case of writing your offers. 

●      SEO Proposal

●      Web Design Proposal

●      Marketing Proposal

●      Sales Proposal

●      Social Media Proposal

●      Content Marketing Proposal

Conclusion

Each section of a business proposal consists of several sections. To make your work easier, I would like to mention a few important points:

• Visual content: First, be sure to use visual content. From graphs and charts to photos and graphics, use visual content to enhance your proposal. Use images to explain and highlight important information so that the customer does not miss anything. 

• Quantitative data acceptance: At the core of any process is making the right decisions based on the data we obtain by researching it. Statistics such as demographics, market size, monetary figures, and more can give the audience a better understanding and confirm your claim. 

• Write a proposal online: A digital business proposal makes it easy for you to share and receive feedback. You can use audio clips, hyperlinks, and videos to engage readers' minds with your content to make your work more engaging. If you want only some people to see your proposal, you can set a password to protect it. 

• Beware of your typos: Your proposal is a reflection of your business. Therefore, it must look professional and flawless. Edit the final version before submitting and correct any misspellings and bad grammar.

• Remember your brand tone: Branding helps you introduce your business to people and differentiate it from your competitors. Adhere to your brand identity and value throughout the proposal writing process and maintain its communication tone and style.

• Create a call button: After reading the business proposal, the customer wants to know what to do next. Using an attractive call-to-action (CTA), you will be able to persuade your audience to take a specific action or follow the final step to close the deal. 

We hope by this article, you will be able to write the best business proposal possible. By knowing the right definition of a business proposal and following the mentioned steps in this article, you will be able to complete your proposal quickly and professionally. Also, by using the business proposal template and examples that we provide in this work, you can start to write faster and with some ideas in your mind. We believe, using professional and useful tools can be a huge help in this regard. The Bitrix platform can be a good choice for anyone who wants to write a business proposal most easily and comfortably.