Using Sample Business Proposals To Write Solid Business Offers

There’s not a business on the planet that couldn’t use a new customer. Particularly in the moody economics of this day and age, learn-as-you-go business proposals simply aren’t going to cut it. Forget about improvising and pick up a sample business proposal and use it as a template to create a great business proposal to secure new customers.

The first step of any writing endeavor should always be pre-writing. Don’t be concerned about the quality of your writing — what you are going to be writing now is purely for your benefit; they’re not going to see this, so relax and do it your own way. Through pre-writing we can start to see exactly what services we want to offer, what goals you can realistically achieve, and what qualifies you for this position more than the next worker.

Think carefully about your business proposal. Divide your goals into several steps, taking notes the entire time on what will be necessary to accomplish each step. Finally, write down each step and organize them so the reader can see that, by using your services, they will inevitably be led to the goal you defined when you were pre-writing.

Now, write a cover letter to place at the top of your proposal. It should be short, so use only two to three paragraphs and simply state the major points of your proposal, i.e. “Our company will assist your business by delivering x, y, and z services. We serve X number of businesses in the region.” Though there is nothing wrong with elaborating, keep it simple so you don’t overwhelm your actual business proposal.

Next up: write the business proposal proper. Typically, proposals are sectioned into five parts: first stating what you do and who you are in an executive summary, a declaration of work stating the services you actually plan on providing, steps to take to reach this goal, reasons why you are more qualified than the next business, and finally the payment arrangements and terms of your contract.

Again, this is only the first draft, so take it easy on yourself and write what you would like your client to know. Imagine your target seated at the table with you. What could you tell them that would convince them to hire you?

Quality is not important at this stage. The only thing you need to worry about with the first draft is simply getting that proposal written according to correct proposal structure. Word changes, spelling and grammar fixes and combing for redundancies can all be done later.

Think about your contract terms and pricing. Look into similar companies to your own and see what they charge. If you have to find out you’re overcharging people, it’s best to do so when you’re in front of a computer screen by yourself rather than when you’re sitting down to discuss business with your client.

When you have finished your first draft, you can begin the rewriting stage. Get a friend to read through your proposal so you can find any typo trouble or glaring errors. If there was anything you wanted to change or fix or if you wanted to add another section, do that now before continuing to the final stages.

If you’ve never tried role-playing, now might be a good time to start. Put on your client’s shoes for a few minutes and think about how they might react to your proposal as it’s written now. Can you think of anything they might complain about? Does something in the proposal seem likely to make them hesitant? Come up with tons of reasons they could refuse you, and then think of counterarguments to calm their worries.

Building a business proposal on your own might seem like hard work, and it is — but if you find a sample business proposal to use as a template, the pieces will fall into place faster than you might think. Use the above suggestions and you’ll be able to churn out intriguing business proposals that will lead clients to you over the long haul.

If you are going to write your own business proposal, it’s a good idea to find a sample business proposal that will serve as a starting point. Download sample business proposals from a web site with real world examples, so you are sure to get genuine proposals that have been tested.