Winning Proposal
To win a business deal, you will first need a well-written business proposal. The ideal business proposal would contain much more than just your company background and a rough idea of the services that you provide.
Below, we share with you several strategies that you can apply to write your own winning proposal.
Table of Contents
Focus on Your Prospective Client’s Needs
We understand how tempting it can be to create a business proposal template and tweak some details here and there for each new client. However, this practice can easily lead to proposals that sound way too canned and template-like.
These proposals tend to steer far away from your client’s needs or requirements, simply because you were not focusing on managing them in the first place.
Try referring back to past successful proposals, and add more content & strategies that are linked back to your customers’ goals instead.
Go Visual, Go Digital
Visual-heavy business proposals such as those for food catering or event planning can benefit significantly from having a digital event proposal template!
Not all proposals need to be visual-heavy. However, having a template for the event industry can help your client to visualize what you will be planning and doing for them. Step up your game further by emailing them a copy too.
When you send your clients an online copy, you are leaving them a comprehensive format that they can refer to after your presentation is over.
Be Clear & Specific
The services that you provide to your client may sound straightforward and obvious to yourself, but that might not be the case for your prospective clients.
In your business proposal, you should specify the tasks and responsibilities that you will undertake when collaborating with your client. You can even have a breakdown of the smaller items to indicate what you will be in charge of.
When you provide a clear breakdown of your services, you are outlining precise services & expectations, so that there will be no confusion later on.
Consult a Partner
Never be afraid to ask for help. It is good to be confident enough not to require anyone else to check your work. Nevertheless, having someone to go through your proposal with you will always be a safe move.
At the very least, you can check if the figures are right and if the proposal is profitable for your own business. Your business partner may even provide you with insights and suggestions that will beef up your plan further.
If need be, you can even ask your colleague to back you up during the business presentation later on.
Provide Next Steps
A business proposal is just another leaflet if you end it without a call to action. Let your clients know what they should do after going through the project to give them a sense of urgency.
This move can be something as simple as providing a page for your customers to sign their agreement. It can also be a bolder move, such as asking them to make some changes on their website.
As long as you provide your prospects with an explicit action, they will be prompted to move to the next step.
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