WRITING A BUSINESS PROPOSAL – 10 TIPS TO NOTE BEFORE STARTING

 WRITING A BUSINESS PROPOSAL – 10 TIPS TO NOTE BEFORE STARTING

What is a business proposal?

Simply put, a business proposal can be regarded as a document, either digital or otherwise, which is curated by a business enterprise or organisation for the sole aim of intricately describing its products and/or services to clients or prospective sponsors.

Similarly, a business proposal can be regarded as a written offer from a seller, business enterprise or corporation to a prospective sponsor.

The business proposal aims to aptly describe the products, service or organisation and 1)In the case of a prospective sponsor – the proposal ought to be convincing enough to draw some sort of investment or funding from the sponsor and 2)In the case of a prospective customer – the proposal ought to be convincing enough to make the buyer to purchase goods from the enterprise.

Why is a Business Proposal Important?

A business proposal is important for quite a number of reasons, some of which include;

• It attracts sponsors and customers to a brand or business enterprise.
• It helps the company or enterprise to identify its strengths and weaknesses both in the competitive market and as an organisation or enterprise.
• It helps organisations and corporations to set realistic goals and objectives, and it helps them achieve these goals, that is, via the funding and purchases which may emerge if the proposal sits well with its readers.
• It helps an organisation or business enterprise to keep track of its expenses and/or profit for a particular period of time.

Important Tips to Note When Writing a Business Proposal.

From the aforementioned points, it is clear that a business proposal has a high level of influence on the development plan of a business enterprise or corporation. This simply means that a business proposal ought to be as detailed and convincing as possible.

For this to happen, the writer of the proposal ought to take careful measures and follow useful tips when constructing a proposal. Hence, a convincing and detailed business proposal can be provided via the adherence to the following tips:

Conduct proper research:

The importance of research in any form of writing can never be overemphasised. Hence, when creating a business proposal, it is highly vital for the writer to conduct in-depth research regarding the following aspects or areas:

• The current trends in the market and the level of influence that it may have, both directly and indirectly, on the prospective sponsor or buyer.
• The ways in which a particular trend can be incorporated into the objectives or goals of the company, and,
• The ways in which that particular trend can be achieved by the company.

Be as detailed as possible:

The first step in making a proposal convincing is some sort of understanding from the reader(s). In other words, the reader has to first of all understand the contents of the proposal before it can prove to be convincing. Hence, in order to make the proposal as detailed as possible, the writer ought to:

• Construct the words in plain English and avoid the excessive use of ambiguous English.
• Break down the mathematical diagrams, tables or presentations in the proposal to the layman’s understanding.

Make the proposal look pictorially attractive:

Never underestimate the importance of good pictures and a properly designed proposal layout. Hence, in order to make the proposal enticing and eye-catching in the eyes of the reader, the writer ought to:

• Add colourful pictures to the sections in the proposal.
• Give the layout of the proposal to be pictorially attractive and colourful.

Create a problem for the reader and provide the fastest solution to the problem:

Proposals automatically become more convincing to the prospective sponsor or buyer when he/she is presented with a pressing problem and a solution to that particular problem.

Hence, this tip also borders greatly on proper research. Instead of appealing to the readers to patronise the brand or fund the business, the writer ought to appeal to the reader’s interests. Be very explicit about what the reader(s) will benefit from that particular project, objective or goal.

Set the company apart from its competitors:

When composing a business proposal, it is vital for the writer to tell the reader(s) the different attributes which may set the company apart from its competitors. While providing these attributes, it is vital for the writer to make these attributes look convincing in the eyes of the sponsor.

Hence, the writer can set the business or company apart from that of its competitors by carrying out tips.

• Providing distinct and favourable benefits for the sponsor(s) or buyer – that is, a benefit that is unknown to other competitors.
• Providing, in detail, other distinct attributes which the company or enterprise may have.

Be Direct:

It is vital for the writer of the proposal to direct what he/she wants the prospective sponsor(s) or buyer(s) to do. For instance, if you, as a writer of a proposal, want a sponsor for a company project, the bulk of the proposal should revolve around the project and the reasons why the sponsor will benefit from such a project. Oftentimes, if the writer dwells on other elements, like the possible success of the company, so much, the sponsor may tend to lose interest.

Do not write more than you have to:

Simply put, it is vital for the writer of the proposal to be as concise as possible. In a situation where the writer was not directly asked by the investor, sponsor or even the buyer to provide a business proposal, they may not devote an unusual amount of time to reading or going through the proposal. Thus, it is important for the writer to state only what is expected and nothing more. This can be carried out through the following means:

• Draft an outline stating all the points which may seem necessary for the proposal.
• Pick out the points which are the most important and place them at the beginning of the proposal, not at the middle or the end.
• Read and re-read in order to make sure that the proposal is not coated with unnecessary jargon

Include Contact Information:

One of the most common mistakes which proposal writers make is that they fail to provide the contact information of the company or enterprise in the proposal. This seems like a small error, but it could lead to grave consequences, like little or no response from the prospective client or sponsor.

The contact information in this context need not be the address of the enterprise alone. It can be the main line or main telephone number of the enterprise, as well as the social media handles of the enterprise.

Proofread Thoroughly:

One of the easiest ways to convince people is to make a good first impression. When it comes to business proposals and writing as a whole, the best way to make a good first impression is by providing carefully constructed sentences and correct spellings for the readers.

Hence, after composing the business proposal, the writer needs to proofread the piece over and over again and make sure that it is free from errors before sending it out to the prospective sponsor(s) or buyer(s). This way, they will be able to read and understand the contents provided in the proposal more easily and happily, knowing that you took the time to go through the content before sending it to them.

Send out the proposal electronically:

Formerly, letters, appeals, and other business-related content were sent out to sponsor(s) or buyer(s) through different means. Examples of such means could include the post office, directly to the home address of the person and so on.

However, these modes of delivery often take months or even a year before they reach their destination, and the receiver may end up discarding the content instead of reading it. However, the high advancement in technology has made everything easier and much faster.

In addition to that, since most people are always with their phones and always looking through their emails and social media handles, it will be difficult to ignore requests or letters. Hence, the writer and sender of the business proposal is advised to send the business proposal directly to the email of the prospective buyer or sponsor.

Conclusion 

Now that you know about writing a business proposal,10 tips to note before starting, it is also important to have a good understanding of your client’s needs by identifying the problem and bringing up possible solutions. Your business proposal should include significant elements that will benefit you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this point. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to drop them in the comment section. We’ll be glad to have them.