Five Most Effective Techniques to Writing Great Business Proposals
A great project proposal is the first step to get funding for your ideas. The proposal is the document that you prepare for the investors to convince them that you are the perfect fit, and that your idea will be profitable. And in today’s competitive business world, where you may be jostling for the same opportunities as hundreds of other entrepreneurs, it is important to have a proposal that shines and distinguishes itself from the many others. To sell project proposal to senior management or win contracts in the marketplace, good report and proposal writing will play a very key role and most times, could serve as the winning formula. Once your project proposal is complete, you should have shown that you understand the goals and objectives of the project, described how you are going to execute the project, explained the outcomes your client should expect, and described how and why they should choose you or your company to complete the project.
But what makes a great project proposal?
In this article, we combined our seven best tips for a great proposal. If you follow these steps and are persistent in your effort to get better, we are sure success will come eventually.
1. Understand Your Client
Your project proposal is a presentation of your capabilities to execute the outcomes desired by the client or company. In order to write a good quality project proposal, you need to start with a complete understanding of why the client or company is seeking to complete the project, what outcomes they hope to see, in what amount of time they hope the project to be completed, and any specifics about how they would like the project completed. Nothing can kill a proposal faster than misunderstanding the project and presenting something that’s off the mark. Take the time during the initial consultation to ask questions and understand the project. Proposals should address the client’s needs and requirements. Research their mission, values and objectives and tie them into your proposal. Know exactly what projects have been previously and are currently funded and what areas, sectors and themes they prefer. Include broader themes that the client might be involved with, such as environmental sustainability or the SDGs, and align your outcomes with aspects of these themes. Always stick to the guidelines of what is funded and up to which amount. Asking for more funding than available, or in areas the donor does not support, might lead them to reject your proposal.
2. Pay Attention to the Budget
One of the most important factors in writing a project proposal is to have clear knowledge of your costs. If you don’t currently have a good tracking system for actual project costs and profitability, it may be time to get one. That’s because without a clear tracking system for costs and profits, you may be undercharging or overcharging for projects and may not know it. This improvement in information can have a huge impact not only on the accuracy of your project proposal, but also on the profitability of your project as a whole. We cannot stress enough how important the budget in a project proposal is. You can think of the budget as a description of your project in numbers. Make sure you chose the right format for your budget and stick with it. Develop your budget with the proposal to make sure you do not forget anything. Have someone check the math and coherence before you finalize your budget. Make sure you use the right currency, and double-check the numbers.
3. Know Your Team’s Capabilities
You should have a good understanding of your team and what they’re capable of accomplishing before you promise outcomes to a client. In a project proposal, it’s also important to know your team’s current workload so you can present an accurate timeline. Not only will this help you provide a more accurate timeline for the project, but it will also help you see whether any contractors or additional hires will be needed to complete the project. While one person should have the overview and be responsible for writing the proposal, you should still use all the resources that are available to you. People in different positions in your organization have different knowledge and can contribute to different things. The project officer knows most about the nitty-gritty of the actual project, the accountant can help you with the budget and the marketer can contribute case studies. Even if your team is not large, you should work on your proposal together. It is very easy to develop a blind spot if you work on such an important task alone. Other people might have other insights and idea that will enrich your proposal
4. Have a Great Content
There are many things that can help your proposal, but still, the most important part is to have great content. If your proposal is perfect in every formal aspect, but your project does not make sense and your content is not coherent, success will become elusive. Be clear on their vision, mission, goals, and objectives and mix them up. The same goes for expected outcomes, output, and impact. Apart from write in a way that can easily be understand, you have to use the right terminologies and add pictures and graphics can support your point furthermore. Sometimes a picture can tell more than 1000 words. Make sure that your visuals support the point of your proposal and strengthen your argumentation. Do not overdo it– too many pictures or graphics can quickly be overwhelming. There are clients who do not want pictures or graphics in a proposal; so make sure that your potential client approves of visuals before you use them. Even with small things like font, font size and formatting, you should do exactly what the donor wants you to do. Only submit your proposal if you can fulfill all requirements, everything else only wastes the donor’s time – and yours as well.
5. Include Persuasive Facts and Proofs
Don’t forget that your client is likely receiving multiple project proposals. This means they’re not only looking for a breakdown of what the project would look like in your hands; they’re also looking for proof that you can do what you say you can do. A good addition is to include persuasive elements such as positive reviews, case studies, “before and after” photos, descriptions of work provided, statistics, and other supplemental documents that prove that you’re well qualified for the work. Use data and case studies to make your point. A proposal is a document with which you try to convince a donor that your project is good enough to be supported by them with money. Your case will always be stronger if you base your plans on data and facts, rather than assumptions. Do your homework before you start, and find out which case studies or scientific paper can support your argumentation. Use them to support your point. Maybe you can also use your own data from previous projects or from your baseline study to make your case stronger.
As you prepare your proposals, don’t forget to always include your company’s contact Information. There should never be a point where your client is reading the proposal and wondering, “Which company is this from, again?” This information can be included in the header of your document, in the footer of every page, and on the final page of the proposal.
Good luck!
