HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PROPOSAL

HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PROPOSAL

The steps involved in writing a business proposal are as follows.

1.       Study the Requirement

2.       Understand the client

3.       Develop a Methodology

4.       Evaluate the solution

5.       Outshine your competitors

6.       Write the proposal

1.       Study the Requirements:-

Writing a winning proposal begins with a clear understanding of the client’s requirements. read the required format for the proposal thoroughly. As you’re reading,  as yourself, what are the company goals? What is my role in achieving these goals? is the time frame, budget and scope of work reasonable? And if we are awarded the contract, does my company have the time, expertise and resources to complete the project?

Next, decide whether you want to proceed. Preparing this proposal will require a lot of time and effort in research, analysis of the client’s needs and writing, and you may decide to wait for a better opportunity.

2.       Understanding the Client.

If you don’t understand the clients problem, you certainly can’t propose a methodology that is going to solve the problem,  “says Shervin Freed, co author of Writing Winning Business Proposals (McGraw-Hill) ” many times a client or potential client will say, ‘’This is what we’re looking for.’ But when you start researching, you find out that isn’t what they’re looking for at all.’’

The best way to understand what the client really needs is to talk with them. Ask people in the organization about their concerns, their operating policies and their management philosophy. Discover if any previous attempt have been made to reach the goals outlined in the required format for proposal and why those earlier solution didn’t work. Ask what they like and dislike about dealing with consultants like yourself and what criteria they’ll be using to evaluate your proposal.

You’ll also want to get some general information about the organization and the industry it’s in. ask questions like these: How long has the company been in business? Who are their major decision makers? What is the company’s financial position?

To prepare their proposal, we  learn that our client’s goal which for instance was to reach a higher level of customer service, ””And they wanted to do that by changing the management process.

If you are not able to speak with the organization’s employees, do some secondary research. Visit the library or check with colleagues who may have worked for the same organization; it’s worth the effort. This research may save you from proposing a tack that has been tried or is unacceptable to the client for some other reason. You may also discover some underlying issues that weren’t addressed in the required format for the proposal and need to be considered.

3.       Develop a Methodology

Once your client’s goals are identified, it’s time to develop the steps, or methodology, necessary to reach them. If you’re have difficulty with it, use experts suggestion of brainstorming sessions. This is were you and your partner meet together and discuss what kind of things our clients need and in what order.  We then custom-design a intervention that is specific to their organization.

To ensure that your methodology is practical, analyze its cost and benefits, as well as the time and resources it will require.

4.       Evaluate the solution

You may have developed a brilliant methodology, but if it’s unacceptable to your client, you’ll need to find an alternative solution. “You have to understand the decision maker’s orientation,” explains freed. “You have to know precisely what their background is, and how they look upon this particular project. For example, find out wheter the person is being financially oriented or operations oriented.” You should then describe the benefits of your solution in a way that receive the most favorable evaluation from the decision maker.

You should also evaluate your solution according to criteria outlined in the required format for the proposal. For example, if your proposal is being evaluated on price and completion time, a lengthy, expensive solution is unlikely to win your company the contract.

5.       Outshine Your Competitors.

Don’t forget that a proposal is a sales document, designed to persuade the client to hire your company instead of a competitor. So make certain your proposal  reinforces your company’s strengths and addresses any potential reservations the client may have about hiring you.

“If  your competition is a company that is much larger than yours, then you’ve got to show your strengths, “Maybe you specialize in the client’s field or can focus intensely on solving their problem.”

To properly present your strengths, you must know how you stack up against the competition. If you’re lucky, the client will divulge your competitors’ names, describe what they’re like to work with and offer an opinion of your competitor’s abilities.

6.       Write the Proposal.

Now that you’ve completed the fist five steps. Most of the work is done. All that left is assembling the information into a proposal format, so we’ll be referring back to the work you completed in the previous steps.

In a situation where by there is no specification of the format to write the proposal, the following heading are used.

A.      Current Situation.

Explain the background or problem that motivated the organization to issue an RFP. This section will be compiled from the background information outlined in the RFP, as well as from the research you performed in Step 2.

B.      Goals.

Clearly explain the goals of your proposal. You formulated these in Step 2.  Based on the specification and your understanding of the organization and their problems.

C.      Proposed Methodology.

Describe each of the recommended steps, developed in step 3, that will lead the organization to meeting their goals.

D.      Time and Cost.

Thoroughly explain the time and cost requirements for each step in the methodology, based on your calculations from Step 3. This section should also specify how you will be billing the client, and when payment will be expected.

E.       Qualifications.

Fully describe why yours is the best company for this job. This information will be based on your competitive strengths and the proposal’s evaluation criteria, which you developed in Step 5.

F.       Benefits.

Discuss the many benefits the client will receive by implementing your recommendations. This section is based on the benefits identified in Step 4.

7.       Apply the Finishing Touches.

Review the proposal carefully to ensure it completely fulfills the requirements set out in the RFP. Make sure the information is arranged logically and that it fully addresses each of the decision maker’s concerns. Finally, have someone you trust to proofread the proposal to catch spelling and grammatical errors.

Many contracts are awarded solely on the quality of the proposal, so don’t let sloppy writing  or careless mistakes ruin and otherwise terrific proposal.

“to me, good writing is symptomatic of your abilities,” says Freed. “poor writing and poor and poor grammar would make me ask, ’How good can these people be if they can’t even express themselves intelligently?”

To make sure that the completed proposal looks as professional as possible, print it on quality paper and have the final copy professionally bound. Then get ready to put  your proposed solution into action.