Business proposal development

– A business proposal is a document that’s designed to persuade an organization to buy a

product or service.
– A business proposal describes a written document sent to a prospective client in order to
obtain a specific job.
– Proposals may be unsolicited business ideas presented to a potential customer or partner,
or they may be answers to requests for proposal submitted to your company by a
potential client.
– They are limited in scope to a particular project or need.
– A business proposal generally has a specific audience.
– The primary reason for a business proposal is to solicit or develop a business opportunity.
– A proposal should take into consideration the customer's specific environment, needs,
and concerns.
– Proposals are always first and foremost sales documents.
– Business proposals can be as short or as long as necessary to communicate required
information.
– Proposals may be solicited or unsolicited.
– Solicited proposals
• A solicited proposal is when the customer asks for a proposal either verbally or by
means of a written Request for Proposals (RFP).
• This mean that the client has already decided to make a purchase. Only the
selection of a vendor remains to be done.
• A solicited proposal provides you with a description of what the customer wants.
• Many also provide you with formatting instructions for your proposal and the
evaluation criteria that will be used to make a selection.
– An unsolicited proposal
• An unsolicited proposal is send by an enterprise to clients/customers who haven’t
even asked for it
• Unsolicited proposals must be especially convincing since the customer has not
anticipated, planned, or budgeted for the proposal.
• With an unsolicited proposal you run the risk that the customer won't even bother
to read it, since they didn't ask for it.
• Unsolicited proposal is often a sales presentation dressed in another cloak but the
proposal is specifically aimed at a well-defined and limited activity.
• An example of an unsolicited proposal is the submission of the outline of a book
to a publisher arguing the popularity of the subject, the novelty of the approach,
and the merits of the author.
• Unsolicited proposal require a thorough understanding of the market, product
and/or service, and their presentation is typically general rather than customer-
specific.
• Unsolicited proposals are often regarded as marketing materials, intended more to
stimulate interest for a follow-up contact than make direct sales
– Business proposals can take the form of a less-structured proposal letter, but they are
often long documents that might include anything from engineering specifications to
 equipment lists to project staffing, depending on what’s requested in the request for
proposal (RFP).
– A request for proposal (RFP)
• It is a document that an organization, often a government agency or large
enterprise, posts to elicit a response or a formal bid from potential vendors for a
desired product or service.
• A request for proposal is a project funding announcement posted by an
organization for which companies can place bids.
• The RFP outlines the bidding process and contract terms, and provides guidance
on how the bid should be formatted.
• RFPs are used primarily by government agencies to get the lowest possible bid.
• RFPs allow the requesting company to get multiple bidders.

– The RFP specifies what the customer is looking for and describes each evaluation
criterion on which a vendor's proposal will be assessed.
– Business proposals must be distinguished from estimates.
• In many fields where small business is active, estimates serve the same purpose as
a proposal. They are the document that clinches the sale of a roofing or a paving
job or a monthly house-cleaning service. But where estimates are used, the
qualifications of the seller and his or her method of accomplishing the job are also
established, but by other means typically by an interview or sales call. Sometimes
the seller is assumed to fit the job because the business already enjoys a good
reputation.
• Proposals usually involve complex or unusual one-time services like landscaping
a park, surveying a market, or building a refinery. In these cases the approach to
the job, the design, the implementation, the schedule, and even the aesthetics
require more than simply a dollar estimate.
– Many service businesses operate entirely on the basis of proposal.
– In highly technical fields, the proposal may be filled with dry listings of engineering
specifications and/or process details.
Business Proposal Structure
A business proposal written in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) should follow the
format requested in the RFP. Generally, this involves a quick description of your company's
services and products that are relevant to the goals of the RFP, a reiteration of the scope of work,
answers to specific questions posed in the RFP and a quote detailing materials, tools, labour,
delivery and other elements of the cost of the project. An unsolicited business proposal intended
to create and develop a business opportunity follows essentially the same format but anticipates
questions the potential client might have. A proposal is more of a marketing document, designed
to convince the audience to do business by presenting a value proposition and a call to action.
Business Proposal Elements
Vendors responding to RFPs must always follow the buyer’s preferred, stated format with the
proposal. Common elements requested, which can also be used in unsolicited proposals, often
include:
 – Cover letter
– Cover page
– Executive summary
– Table of contents
– Overview or summary of the problem or need
– Strategy or approach to solving the problem
– Representative tactics
– Company qualifications
– Schedule
– Costs
The cover letter serves as a transmittal document. Many bidders also use the cover letter to
provide the essence of the proposal in very abbreviated form, highlight the bidder's
qualifications, name the price, and ask for the order.

The proposal document usually has the following structure:

– Title Page.

• This part typically includes your name and the name of your company, the name
of the person or company to whom the proposal is submitted, and the date of
submission.
• It is a front page of a formal document that highlights key information
like company name, company logo, address, and key information.
• The document also holds the title of the proposal prepared by the agency.

– Table of Contents.

• The table of contents is a helpful means of rapidly guiding the reader to topics
included in the business proposal.
• It is essential in cases where different departments of the client will separately
review parts of the document
• It is usually not necessary for shorter proposals, these are used for complex formal
proposals.

– Executive Summary.

• A summary may be included here or may be conveyed in the cover letter.

 • Like an abstract in a report, this is a one- or two-paragraph summary of the
product or service and how it meets the requirements and exceeds expectations.

– Statement of the Problem/Issue/Job.

• This section repeats, in a rephrased manner, the client's objectives and goals as
interpreted by the bidder.
• Including this restatement of the issue is valuable in showing the client that the
bidder understands the issue correctly.

– Strategy or approach to solving the problem

• In this section the bidder summarizes his or her proposed approach to solving the
client's problem or carrying out the necessary task.
• The proposed approach is often the key to winning the job – if the price is right –
because it shows unique means, modes of thought, or techniques, why they will
solve the problem, and why they are superior to alternatives.
• The section need not be detailed. Details are left to the Methodology. But it
presents the strategic elements of the proposal and argues in their favour.

– Methodology.

• This section develops in some detail how the Approach will be carried out.
• Level of detail should be just sufficient to convey to the client convincingly what
will happen without becoming entangled in minutiae.

– Bidder's Qualifications.

• The section presents documentation why this bidder should be chosen on the basis
of qualifications, past history, and successful accomplishment of similar jobs in
the past.

– Schedule and Benchmarks.

• Major elements of the job are here displayed against a time line.
 • If necessary, specific benchmarks are identified to indicate successful
accomplishment of intermediate objectives.

– Cost Proposal, Payment Schedules, and Legal Matters.

• The bidder concludes by presenting the price in as much detail as required in the
RFP.
• It is always wise to specifically pin-point when the bidder expects to obtain partial
payments as the work proceeds.
• If legal matters are involved, they can be placed here. If they are lengthy, they
may merit a section of their own.

Successful Proposals

– Successful proposals are what clients describe as responsive, meaning that the bidder has
done his or her homework, is thoroughly familiar with the client's needs and aspirations,
and has carefully responded to all aspects of an RFP.
– Responsiveness is ultimately much more important, all else equal, than the visual appeal
of the presentation or even the fluidity of its writing.
– A beautiful and well-written proposal that misses or ignores key elements of the client's
project will lose to a dull proposal that is otherwise responsive.
– A competitive price is invariably the final determinant between equal contenders.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

– Ethos refers to credibility, pathos to passion and enthusiasm, and logos to logic or reason.
– All three elements are integral parts of your business proposal that require your attention.
– Who are you and why should we do business with you?

• Your credibility may be unknown to the potential client and it is your job to
reference previous clients, demonstrate order fulfilment, and clearly show that
your product or service is offered by a credible organization.
• By association, if your organization is credible the product or service is often
thought to be more credible.
– In the same way, if you are not enthusiastic about the product or service, why should the
potential client get excited?
– How does your solution stand out in the marketplace?
– Why should they consider you?
– Why should they continue reading?
– Passion and enthusiasm are not only communicated through ‘!’ exclamation points.
– Your thorough understanding, and your demonstration of that understanding,
communicates dedication and interest.
– Each assertion requires substantiation, each point clear support. It is not enough to make
baseless claims about your product or service – you have to show why the claims you
make are true, relevant, and support your central assertion that your product or service is
right for this client. Make sure you cite sources and indicate “according to” when you
support your points. Be detailed and specific.