Ten tips for Creating a Winning Proposal – Part 1
by Cavyl Stewart
Published on this site: July 14th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
If you want your business to grow and attract new clients,
you’ll have to start creating meaningful proposals. The
goal of a proposal is obviously to be awarded new work. It
accomplishes this goal by providing answers to the questions
of who, what, where, why, how and when.
But many small or home-based business owners have neither
the time, knowledge or resources necessary to create proposals
that properly relay the pertinent information about the company
and its ability to provide the requested services.
If the mere thought of having to create a proposal is keeping
you from bidding on jobs you know your business can handle,
stop worrying! There are several proposal-building software
products available that will help with this task.
Many are template-driven. All you have to do is select the
templates that are appropriate to include in the proposal,
use your word processor to add text that is specific to your
type of business, then sit back and watch a professional-looking
proposal emerge from your printer.
Read the following tips for an idea of the components
that will help your proposals get the attention they need.
- Identify the Problem
A proposal must show that the person or company submitting
it clearly understands the problem that the prospective
client is attempting to remedy. If the proposal cannot show
right away, in the Executive Summary section, that you have
a clear understanding of the problem, those reviewing it
won’t feel confident that your company will be capable
of properly and effectively dealing with it. They’ll
see no reason to read beyond the Executive Summary section.
- Identify the Proposed Solution
The proposal must also clearly outline the manner in which
the bidder will address this problem. Include here the personnel
you will assign to the project and their resumes. Mention
here the estimated timeline for completing the work outlined
in the bid. Also show the anticipated costs and how they
will be allocated. Don’t provide too much information
about the proposed solution. You don’t want to give
the proposed solution away for free!
- Make the Proposal Easy to Read
If the proposal itself is difficult to comprehend, contains
grammar or spelling mistakes or is carelessly prepared,
the chance of it being selected are greatly diminished.
It will be difficult to convince the reviewers that the
proposed work will get done properly if the proposal itself
appears thrown together. Remember, the proposal is oftentimes
the only chance a business has of making a first impression.
Don’t waste this valuable opportunity.
- Prove You Understand the Market
The proposed solution must not be generic. It must take
into consideration the nature of the company requesting
the proposal. It’s important to show in the proposal
that you have analyzed the market, the competition, the
opportunities that the business is missing by not implementing
your proposed solution and the current trends in that market.
- Prove Your Company is The Best Choice
This is really what a proposal is all about. Before you
can expect the clients to award the job to your company,
they need to be convinced that your company is the best
choice. Here you have the opportunity to boast about your
company. Briefly describe the company’s history including
the number of years in business. Explain past projects where
you applied similar methods of getting the job done and
your results. Include resumes, certificates and other credentials
of those who will handle the job.
Cavyl Stewart is the author of "135 Hot Tech
Tips for Small Business Owners." To Download your free
copy, just visit:
http://www.find-small-business-software.com/135_tips.php
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