How to write a business proposal

You need the following on a business proposal:

• Your business details
• Your contact information
• The client’s business detail
• The client’s contact information
• Proposal date
• Proposal number
• Project Overview
• Goals
• Your methodology
• Timeline
• Items/services provided
• Pricing (including tax if applicable)
• Terms and Conditions
• Any relevant notes

Other things that you can include on a business proposal include:

• Any relevant qualifications including any certifications
• Benefits to hiring you for your services
• Proof in the form of testimonials or past works

As you’ll be trying to impress likely a large company or even a government body, you want something that looks professional. Keep in mind that this might be the first time that the buyer has come into contact with your business.

Download one of our free business proposal templates in MS Word or Excel to help you create your business proposal. 

Proposal software like Bookipi can be used to create and send proposals to potential clients. All of the design is done for you. All you need to do is add in your information, customize your branding and send a business proposal to your potential client.

Often, large companies or government bodies will send a Request For Proposal (RFP). 

A RFP will usually detail the timeline, budget and scope of the project. RFPs also outline any necessary requirements for the project.  RFPs are a good place to begin assessing the project.  In order to win the project, it’s best to look beyond the RFP.

When you get an RFP, you should start by asking the following:

• What are the company’s goals?
• How can my business help them in a way that is better than another’s business
• What is something unique I have that others who are applying do not have (Unique Selling Point)?
• Am I in the best position to meet the project scope, budget and timelines?

Just as they are assessing you, you are also assessing them and whether this project will benefit you.

Proposals can take a lot of time and effort to create.  You’d need to decide whether it is worth you going through that process of creating and submitting a proposal for a RFP.

You should ask yourself the following questions when you read the RFP and before you create the proposal:

• Am I equipped or in a position to do this job and do it well?
• Will I benefit from this project in the long run? Is it potentially an ongoing project or could it bring about future work?
• Is this business well connected? Can they connect me with other work in the future?
• Could I miss a better opportunity if I take this one?

There is only so much information you can get from an RFP. If you really want to submit a winning proposal, you need to speak to the client either over the phone or in person.

To write a good proposal, you want to be extremely clear about what the client wants. A RFP might also not account for certain problems that could occur in the project.

Clarifying such problems in a call or meeting can give you a better idea of how to deal with such problems.  Talking to the client also shows initiative on your behalf to clarify project matters.

Having a call or meeting with the potential client can also be used to check if they were previously working with another company. 

Depending on their answer, it is a good idea to ask why the relationship did not progress. If it was a matter of the client being unable to fulfil the project’s goals, you will want your business proposal to demonstrate that they will not have the same problems with you. Alternatively, if it was because of an issue with the client, you might want to consider whether the client is someone you would like to work with.

A phone call or meeting can also be a good opportunity to see if they have already received a number of proposals and whether they have rejected a number of proposals.

In a call or meeting, you should ask the potential client about the following:

• Any concerns you have about the project
• Who is the decision-maker?
• What are their operating policies?
• Has the project been attempted before
• What didn’t work in the previous attempts?
• How is the business proposal evaluated?
• What are some past experiences that you have had with contractors? Were there any issues
• What is their budget?

When you are enquiring about the budget, you can ask them:

• What is the budget allocated for this project?
• What do they predict will be their spending?
• What can they afford? 

If a customer doesn’t clarify their budget, you can give them a rough suggestion and gauge their reaction. If they still do not give you any indicator, you might want to consider whether it would be a good partnership to walk into.

Outside of the phone call or meeting, you should also do some online research. Points that are worth researching about a prospective client and project are:

• When was the company founded?What is their history
• What products and/or services do they provide?
• Who are their competitors? How do they compare?
• How is their company doing financially
• Who has worked with them in the past?What was their experience like?
• Who has been employed at their company before
• What was their experience like?

The next thing you should do is work out how you can provide them with a solution.

Work out what steps are needed to reach the end goal and in what order they need to be completed in.

Here, you should also analyse the costs and benefits of the solution. Think about how long they will take and the resources needed to complete them.

Use the information you gathered from the phone call. Think about what they value and what were the points that they kept going back to. Was it cost-effectiveness? Was it a good quality finish?

Use the information from the RFP. The RFP will be the best place to find the criteria of the project. Look at which criteria is compulsory and which is emphasized. Is it timelines? Is it pricing? See how your solution matches this and consider changing it to better suit what has been asked.

Now you need to add your solution to your proposal. Add the following headings along with the accompanying text to your template.

Overview of Project

• This is the research section where you address the problem at hand.
• Give some context and background information on the project.
• You can use information in the RFP as well as your own research into the project and the issues the project is trying to solve.

Goals

• This section is where you want to address the goals and objectives of the project
• You should refer to the goals set out in the RFP.
• Include your own company’s goals and how these link to those outlined in the RFP.

Methodology

• Use this section to explain how you are going to solve the problem and achieve the goals of the project.
• Break down the steps you will take and in what order.
• It can also be good to outline anything you will need to complete the steps.

Timeline

• In this section, you should add a detailed timeline of the project.
• Add major milestones and when they will be completed.
• You can also add where payments will be due in the timeline.

Pricing

• Add an itemised list of all the products and/or services involved in the project.
• You will want to add the unit price, quantity and the total for each product or service.
• After you have listed each product and/or service, you want to create a subtotal, the tax payable and the proposed grand total.

A business proposal is an opportunity to sell your business and its services to prospective clients.

You need to prove that your business is the best business to solve the buyer’s problem.

Think of your proposal as a sales document that you use to win a job and prove that you are better than the competition.  Some tips for highlighting your capabilities in a business proposal include the following:

• Research competitors – Figure out your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and if they have any history with the buyer.  Highlight your business’ relative strengths.  If you know that a competitor has previous dealings with the buyer, you should focus on building your business’ reputation with your client in your business proposal.  that the buyer knows you and your business just as well. If a competitor’s history with a client has been complicated by issues, you can also use this to your advantage.
• Add an outline of your qualifications.  Add study qualifications, certain minimum requirements or licenses (e.g. Working with Children’s Check) and trade certifications if applicable. 
• Highlight benefits for the buyer.  Emphasise what you are good at and what your Unique Selling Point (USP) is.
• Proof – Provide demonstrable evidence that your business has value.  What you would add varies depending on your industry.  You might want to add a testimonial from past clients.  If you are a designer or creative, you could add a link to your design portfolio or add images or copies of past designs.

When trying to sell your value, you should always focus on the company and their goals and problems, rather than just selling your business. You are more likely to find success if you sell a solution rather than a service. 

If you haven’t already done so, put everything that you wrote in the previous sections into your business proposal.  

Other details for you to add include the following:

• Your business details
• Your contact information
• The client’s business details
• The client’s contact information
• (Optional):  Proposal cover letter
• Proposal date
• Proposal number
• Terms and Conditions
• Any relevant notes 

Before you send your proposal, you should take some time to review it.  Once a business proposal is completed, ask yourself:

• Does it meet all the requirements of the RFP?
• Does it cover the concerns of the client?
• Is your business proposal well structured?
• Have you added all the necessary components of a business proposal?
• How is the grammar and spelling?
• Does the business proposal look professional and well formatted.
•  

You might find it helpful to get someone else who understands what it is about to double-check the business proposal.

Make sure you include any additional documents with working links or as file attachments so they can be accessed.

The last thing to do is to send it. For most businesses, you’ll likely just send it online but in some cases, the buyer might request a printed version of the proposal.