Writing a good proposal can be the difference between success and failure in almost any business. While many treat the proposal as an afterthought, it’s usually one of the most important representations of your business, which not only impacts how the client perceives you but even whether they are willing to work with you in the first place.
But while it’s clear that a good business proposal comes with many benefits, figuring out how to design it in your situation might be unclear. Luckily, you can take steps to break down the process and implement the best practices used by industry leaders today.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few practical tips, steps, and examples that will help you craft a perfect business proposal every time.
Grab the Reader’s Attention
If you want to have a shot of the person reading through your entire proposal, you need to make sure that you don’t waste any time in the beginning. The first few sentences are crucial because they will either reel them in or lose their attention, which means that you should be very deliberate about the words you use and the points you make. The good news is that you can use templates already designed to naturally guide the person forward.
For instance, when using a cleaning proposal template, you will find appealing visual elements that form instant connections about cleanliness and professionalism. Without having to say a word, you can convey associations with your services through the use of well-placed images. And then, the top text can be used to reinforce the values and benefits your services offer.
By using memorable statements that define your business together with visuals, you can clearly communicate the central message of your proposal in an instant, which you can build upon as you get into more detail in the following pages.
Make It About Your Customers
Even though it’s essential to use a proposal for conveying the value of working with you, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of talking only about yourself and forgetting to consider the customer and their needs.
Consequently, when crafting the wording and the actual content of the proposal, keep in mind who they are, what their challenges are, and then tie that information with the specific and relevant solutions you can offer.
For instance, when you know that the customer wants to solve a specific problem, you should make that problem a central part of the entire proposal. You need to get specific about the details and the approach you would use to solve that problem and ensure that the results the client is hoping for will be delivered.
Showcase the Value
One of the main jobs that a proposal should accomplish is showcasing the value of the services you will deliver. But at the same time, the value can often come at a premium price, which you will need to justify if you don’t want the customer to get hesitant.
Luckily, you can do a couple of things to ensure that doesn’t happen. First, during the initial contact, make sure you familiarize the client with the range of budget that might be required. Then, when they see the specific amount, there won’t be any surprise that could put them off.
Another useful way to make the price seem reasonable is to showcase the value that your services can offer. You should go into detail, showing the different services they are getting, the outcomes they can expect, and what you will do for them to help as you move through the project.
Add a Summary
A good proposal should go through every detail of the arrangement, answering most of the likely questions the client might have about the entire project. But at the same time, you shouldn’t expect them to go through every word, as you are likely dealing with a busy person who only needs to get the essential information to make a decision.
Therefore, having a concise, to the point, and thorough summary can be incredibly helpful for ensuring that the client gets all the essential information. At the same time, it will help to reiterate the main points so that there is no confusion when they decide to agree to the proposal.
Bottom Line
Writing a good proposal is an integral part of running a business. You need to be able to convey information effectively while also positioning your company as professional and capable of handling the job.
With the steps listed above, you should have a better understanding of the critical aspects that make up a proposal, helping you communicate with clients more effectively and making more sales in the process.
