You need to draft a business proposal when you offer products or services to another business. You might draft a business proposal in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP), which businesses send out when they have a particular problem they need help with. A business proposal should identify the problem, propose a solution, and explain why you are the best person to solve the problem. A business proposal is not a business plan.
1-Read the Request for Proposal carefully:
You might submit a business proposal in response to receiving an RFP. Large businesses send out RFPs when they need goods or services.
Example: A business that is being sued may send RFPs to different law firms, asking them to submit a business proposal. Alternately, the government could send out an RFP when they need to buy supplies of a product. The RFP should contain certain information which you must fully understand before drafting your business proposal.
2-Ask questions: You want your business proposal to respond to the client’s actual needs. This means fully understanding the client and clearing up any confusion in the RFP. You should always step into the client’s shoes and try to see the problem from their perspective.
To help in this process, you should call and get answers to the following:
Whether prior attempts were made to address the problem. Why did they fail?
What criteria the client will use when evaluating a business proposal.
Whether the organization has any concerns.
The organization’s operating policies. You want to make sure your proposal is consistent with these policies
3-Format your document:
You want your business proposal to be readable. This means that the font should be in a size and style that the reader is comfortable with. Generally, you can use Times New Roman 12 point.
You can also look for sample proposals used in your industry. Type “business proposal sample” and then “your industry” into your favorite search engine.
4-Add a cover page:
You should have a cover to your business proposal.
The title page should include the following information:
Your name,
Your company’s name,
The name of the person you are submitting the proposal to,
The date you submitted the proposal at.
5-Introduce the problem or business need:
A business proposal identifies a problem and proposes a solution. Accordingly, you should begin by identifying the client’s problem in simple and clear language.
Example, you could write, “Mathis Gyms is in need of Accounting and Payroll Services as the business continues to grow and hires more employees. Currently, all accounting is done by management, which must devote increasing amounts of time to accounting. By outsourcing this task, management can focus on other business priorities, such as marketing and entering new markets.
6-Define any key terms:
Although your business proposal should be written in simple and clear language, there may be terms that you need to define for the reader. Remember that you might submit your business proposal to a purchasing department that understands industry jargon. However, the person who makes the ultimate decision might not be as familiar with industry terms. You can draft the business proposal first and then go through to identify any terms that might be unclear to the reader.
7-Propose a detailed solution:
After identifying a problem, you must tell the reader how you intend to solve the problem. Try to be as detailed as possible. Typically, your solution will be to offer your goods or services to the potential client.
For example, you could write: “Acme Accounting specializes in Accounting and Payroll Services for growing small and mid-sized businesses. We can provide complete service in the following areas: ledger maintenance, inventory account balancing and standard pay period check origination."
8-Explain the benefits of your solution:
There may be different ways to solve a problem, so you want to explain why your reason is the best. You can use bullet points to list out the benefits. Common benefits include a cost savings to the business, confidentiality, and professional expertise.Remember to justify your expected benefits with evidence.
Example: You could rely on studies that show the benefits of following your proposed solution: A former client could offer testimony that you saved their business money.
9-Lay out your task schedule:
You need to explain the timeline for completing tasks.This is preliminary information that could change in the future, but it is important to give the reader some idea of how you will go about executing your proposal.
10-Add a conclusion:
In the conclusion, you should restate the benefits of your proposal. You might also want to include a deadline for the prospective client to respond and hire you. However, some businesses have moved away from deadlines, so you should look at other business proposals used in your industry to see what is standard. Also remember to encourage the client to contact you with questions and to visit your website if they would like to see more information about your business.
11-Revise and add references to your business proposal:
Set aside your draft for a day or two and then review it. Look for typos and dropped words. Also play close attention to your numbers and details and make sure they are accurate.
You also should review the RFP and any other correspondence. Make sure your business proposal isn’t missing anything requested by the client.
Shorten the proposal, if necessary. Ideally, someone should be able to read your business proposal in eight minutes. If it takes longer than that, then try to move as much material into an appendix.
