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7 Tips to Come Up with Great Business Proposals

Did you know that every year in the United States, more than 600,000 businesses are started? To stand out in the crowd and to succeed, you need to be distinct and fulfill a gap in the market.

7 Tips to Come Up with Great Business Proposals

In the competitive and cutthroat world of business, your ability to write winning business proposals can make or break your business.

So what makes a great business plan? Here are seven top business startup tips for writing the best business proposals.

1. Start Writing Your Business Proposals Early 

Don’t wait until the last moment before you start writing your business proposal. Start it as early as you possibly can.

If you’re bidding on a contract, don’t wait until the request for proposals has been made to start work. Get on it before then. The more time you have to work on your proposal, the further ahead of your competition you can get.

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Start off by noting down the essential details found in the request for proposals. Make sure your proposal includes your business background and pricing information.

Giving them the information that is requested will help you win the contract.

2. Know and Understand Your Customer

A business that is to get the biggest contracts will know exactly how to write a great proposal that matches the specific requirements of the customer.

You’ll need to prepare your business proposal in a way that answers every specific question that is asked of you. Each proposal will of course be very different. When you’re writing your proposal, consider the following:

  • What does your customer care about? Is it value? Speed of delivery? Or quality?
  • How does your position relate to the needs of your clients?
  • How does your product or service fix your customer’s problems?
  • Who does your customer currently use?
  • What will you need to do to win their contract?

Before you commence work on your business proposal, learn as much as you possibly can about both your customer and the project.

3. Your Introduction Is Everything

They say that you’ll only ever get one chance to make a first impression. The introduction of your business proposal is your first impression. At the start of the introduction, you need to hook your audience.

A great business proposal can be won or lost within the first few paragraphs. If you can win your customer over early on, the rest of the proposal will be easy.

Wherever possible, use your client’s words back to them. Describe the issues they’re having and give them exactly what they want and need to be able to fix the problem.

4. Be Clear About What You’re Going to Provide

If you’re wondering how to propose a new business, remember there are three P’s: the problem, the proposition, and the price. You need to explain clearly how you propose solving the problem.

In a major project, this can be separated into a section named Statement of Work.

In many cases though, you can be detailed about what you’re planning on providing. The clearer you are, the less scope there’ll be for misunderstandings later.

5. Tell Your Client What to Do Next 

Once you’ve hooked your client in with a winning introduction and you’ve clearly told them what you propose doing to solve their problem, you need to put the ball firmly in their court by telling them exactly what they should do next.

You should do this in the simplest terms possible. If you don’t do this, they’ll be left wondering what they need to do.

Of course, it isn’t that they won’t be in touch to find out how they can sign on the bottom line, but if you leave them in the dark it may put doubts into their minds.

6. Include Your Terms and Conditions

It’s important that you always important you keep your contract and terms and conditions together and get them signed at the same time. This will bind them.

Having specific terms and conditions that your clients can refer back to saves confusion and adds clarity.

Where the content of your business proposal is used as the basis for the agreement, it’s clearer for your client.

If you happen to be working with a larger company, you’ll need to be flexible on the terms of your contract as their legal team will no doubt want to go through it. However, for smaller companies, it’s best to keep your terms and conditions in.

7. Hire a Professional Business Plan Writer 

If you’re not sure how to write a business plan, or you haven’t the time to work on business proposals, then you should consider making use of professional business plan writing services.

Having someone cast their professional eye over what you already have and then having them spruce it up into something that is guaranteed to sell is not cheating.

A professional business proposal writer will be able to write winning introductions and will be able to hook your clients in just like you need.

How to Write a Business Proposal 

To write winning business proposals, you’ll need to start work early. Find out as much as you possibly can about your customer; what they want and need and aim your proposal squarely at these needs.

Write a killer introduction and be clear from the get-go about what you’re providing your customer. Tell your clients exactly what they need to do to back your proposal and don’t forget to include all of your terms.

If these business proposal tips whetted your appetite, why not check out more articles about starting up your own business elsewhere on the site?

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