Business Proposal Writting

8/7/2019 Business Proposal Writting

1/12

Art & Science Mixed Together


2/12

Business in the 21st Century means fiercecompetition, aggressive marketing andstrategic alliances.

The extent to which a bus

iness su

cceeds

orfails often depends upon that businesssability to be awarded contracts or to attractother businesses into Joint Ventures orstrategic alliances.

To accomplish either one usually requirestwo key items: good ideas and the ability topresent those good ideas in a superblydeveloped business proposal.


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TENDERS - A business entity has called for tenders or has

invited you to submit a RFP (Request for Proposal). In this

case, your goal is to be "short listed," meaning that you will be

one of the three or four bidders who is awarded an interview.

Your proposal must stand among possibly dozens of

submissions.

VENTURE CAPITALIST - You have an idea, concept or project

that you want to propose to someone with the goal of gaining

support, funding or an alliance. In this case, there is no

competitive bidding process. However, your proposal must

make a favourable impression and must explain all aspects ofyour proposed concept clearly and quickly. A document that is

vaguely written, difficult to understand or that presents more

questions than answers will likely be discarded promptly.


4/12

For each section/requirement that you must

address, make sure you answer: who, what,

where, how, when, and why.

Repeat it until it rolls off your tongue and youhave it memorized.

This can help you ensure that your proposal says

everything needed to answer the mail.

For each of

the cus

tomers

requirement

s, gothrough the list and you will probably have

everything covered. You can use it for inspiration

when writing, and you can use it like a checklist

for reviewing a draft proposal.


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Who: who will do the work, who will manage the work, who does

the customer call if there is a problem, who is responsible for

what

What: what needs to be done/delivered, what will be required to

do it, what can the cus

tomer expect, what it will cost

Where: where will the work be done, where will it be delivered

How: how will be work be done, how will it be deployed, how

will it be managed, how will you achieve quality assurance andcustomer satisfaction, how will risks be mitigated, how long will

it take, how will the work benefit the customer

When: when will you start, when will key milestones bescheduled, when will the project be complete, when is payment

due

Why: why have you chosen the approaches and alternatives you

have selected, why the customer should select you


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If theres no Request For Proposal (RFP) then followthis guideline A serif typeface such as Times Roman

10-12 point type

A column width of 50-60 characters (either double column orscholars margins)

Page margins of at least .5

The use of color whenever possible

Extensive use of graphics

Full use of front matter (Table of Contents, List of Figures, etc.)

Navigation aids such as a cross-reference matrix

Appendices for data that must be provided, but disrupts yourproposals story

If the page count is large enough, use 3-ring binders or otherbinding

Use tabs that break the content down into sections and makefinding material easier


7/12

Final formatting and polish is often reserved forthe end of a proposal effort.

Some organisations use sophisticated desktoppublishing and artwork, others use MS-Word fortheir final output.

The value of a better-looking proposal must beweighed against the level of effort it takes toachieve it.

It i

srecommended that yo

u format yo

ur propo

salin a layout that you are comfortable with. Keep

it simple, and dont overextend yourself by usingan advanced layout that you have difficultyproducing.


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Before you begin to write the proposal, summarizethe concept in 2-3 sentences, then show it to a layperson and check for understanding.

If they don't grasp the basic idea, rewrite until they

do. It either means your comprehension skills are under-

developed or it's more likely that you substitutedclarity of thought and good document structure with

sloppy thinking, wordy, rambling explanations,

vague descriptions and heavy reliance on buzzwords andjargon.

It's worth saying once again: If you can't summarize itin 2-3 sentences, you are not ready to start writing.


9/12

If you have a good idea and you

communicate that idea clearly and

effectively, the recipients will be impressed.

If you try to baffle them with your brilliance,you'll lose ground.

Be Politically Correct.

Write for Global Audiences

Jargon Free - expressions like branding,

turnkey solution, E-commerce


10/12

What was just said about jargon goes double for technology. If

your proposed project involves the use of technologies, be very

careful with your explanation.

The persons reading the document may have little or no

technological background. Therefore, in the body of theproposal, it's usually recommended that you explain your

technology in terms of what it will do - i.e. A data base that

members can use to search for information about your

products.

There is a place for detailed information about the technology

that you are proposing - and that spot is the appendix.

In many cases, a non-technically oriented business will engage a

technology consultant to review your proposed technology. This

person can use the detailed explanations that you include in the

appendix while other readers will be able understand the

proposal it

sel

f.


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Check the printed checklist given to you asparty of the handout.

Do you want to add more to it?

Will it change as per the type of businessproposal?

Use the Business Proposal Review list

Study the sample business proposal given to

you

as

part of

the handout

.

How would you write a business proposal in thegiven context (Introduction) to be listed as one of the service

provider for a given service area


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According to Tim Berry, author ofBusiness

Planning Demystified

Area Proposal Plan

Content SizeNo formal size or

length of content butusually small

Usually it hasfixed

size covering fixedsubject areas but

usually large

Looks and Feel

casual-formal and can

be tacky

Formal and follows

strict guideline

Purpose of

document

Marketing/Networking

/Sales

Analytical/Finance/

Venture Capitalist

FocusParticular Product or

service

Usually the whole

business

Date post:	09-Apr-2018
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Business Proposal Writting

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