Guide to writing a winning business proposal

Many companies need to impress a prospective client or partner following an initial meeting or phone call, especially when asked to submit a business proposal.

This is not the time to become complacent. There will be others on the short list so a well-written and attractively presented business proposal is a crucial sales tool, which can make the difference between a winning proposal and losing venture. Hilla Ovil-Brenner, CEO of WhiteSmoke English Writing Software, gives us some useful tips for your next successful business proposal:

1. Before you start, gather as much information about the prospect as possible. If they have approached you via phone, arrange to meet in person. Having a personal relationship will often help you understand your counterpart’s needs better than a written email request.

2. Brainstorm - two or more minds often work better than one. Get all team members involved: business colleagues, friends, or family if you are a sole trader or a very small business. Consider all the ideas presented and then work up the best ones to add into your proposal.

3. Make every proposal special - prospects can often spot a proposal where the writer has used a generic document and simply done a search and replace on the company’s name. This does nothing for your credibility. Fresh business ideas with some good research will demonstrate that you have gone the extra mile.

4. Deciding on a structure for the proposal is also important, so ask the prospect what their preference is. Do they want a one-page document or a full 20-page paper with detailed analysis? Is your client too busy to wade through pages of written documents? Why not offer a PowerPoint presentation with a voiceover that runs upon opening.

5. Once you sit down at the computer, create an outline for your plan. Typical outlines include:

• Summary
• Market analysis
• Company situation analysis
• Your solution to their problem
• Timelines
• Budgets

6. Using this structure, you should be able to feed in information from your research, and flesh it out using your brainstorming material and previous proposal experience.

7. Remember to relate to the brief. Keep your writing succinct and to the point, and keep asking yourself whether you are meeting the prospect’s needs. If your words are not relevant – get rid of them.

8. Ploughing through pages of market analysis and recommendations can be hard work, so add relevant diagrams or flow charts. Visualise your thinking. With specially created diagrams, you can wow your prospect and show that you have thought through their problems. But beware, do not overuse them.

9. You may not be a prize-winning novelist but when writing, try to enrich your text by using descriptive words - words reflect power if used correctly. “Bringing a project to a successful conclusion is always preferable to bringing a project to a conclusion.”

10. Remember to tell a story. Start with the problem, offer your solution and sum up with why your company is the right choice for the job. Throughout your proposal, think of the benefits that the reader’s company will gain by employing you. Your aim is to sell yourself so do not be shy. Relate your prospect’s problem to any concrete examples of similar work you have done for other companies.

11. Finally, get someone to double check your work. Here’s a useful check list:

FINAL PROPOSAL CHECK LIST

Content

Did you:

• answer the brief fully?

• show creativity?

• give them a reason to hire you?

English

Did you remember to:

• check spelling?

• check grammar?

• look out for typos?

• enrich your text?

• check punctuation?

Presentation

Look out for the following:

• spacing – between lines and words

• fonts – be consistent in use

• illustrations – make sure they are interesting and relevant

• quality of the “finish” – e.g., quality paper for printed proposals

For business writing templates and other business writing advice, see whitesmoke.com