Business Proposal

Focus/Purpose 

Does the proposal stay focused on what the client needs?

• Create a unified theme for your proposal around the issue you will resolve or the improvement you propose. 
• Relate all details, actions, and benefits to the central point of what you propose to achieve. 
• Tweak your proposal to the exact needs of the firm or organization to which you are submitting it. 

Is your proposal precise and specific?

• Refer to concrete examples, figures, and outcomes. 
• Quantify costs, benefits, and returns whenever possible. 
• Explain proposed steps, and their benefits, in tangible terms. 
• Use charts and graphics to illuminate points. 
• Remove any excess words to improve readability. 
• Use the active voice. The active voice is shorter and more concise than the passive. It puts the agents responsible for actions at the beginning of sentences and directly states the action taken.

Active: The custom development team will design the proposed structure in-house.
Passive: The proposed structure will be designed in-house.

The active sentence assigns responsibility for the action, ‘design.’ The passive sentence does not specify who will be doing the designing—an important detail that is hidden by the passive construction. 

Development/Elaboration

Does your business proposal start with a brief introduction that summarizes the proposed problem and solution?

• State the problem that you propose to solve through your plan, or the improvement you propose. 
• Explain why it is an important or relevant issue to consider. 
• Show how your plan will provide an appropriate and timely solution. 
• Emphasize the benefits of your plan. 
• Highlight your differentiators and proven successes or strengths. 

Do you provide sufficient background for the issue you propose to resolve or improve? 

• Name the issue that you are proposing to resolve or improve upon. 
• Document why this issue or improvement is important. 
• Show how much the issue or status quo costs the company. 
• Be specific: use real examples, numbers, and figures whenever possible. 
• Identify the goal(s) of the proposed project. 
• Indicate how the solution or improvement will affect the company in tangible ways (such as cost-benefit estimates or use case scenarios). 

Do you outline your plan logically, showing you have worked out the details? 

• Logically outline your plan, explaining each major step in terms of cost-benefit and workability. 
• Show how each step relates to the issue or potential improvement you have identified. 
• Emphasize the end value of the plan toward improving productivity or efficiency—the overall cost-benefit. 
• Avoid leaving important details ‘to be worked out.’ Propose potential solutions for them. 
• Compare your proposed solution to alternative solutions. Show how your solution is better than others. 

Do you include an accurate, itemized budget detail?

• Mention what the proposed plan, if accepted, will cost the client. 
• Itemize costs at your discretion. 
  For instance, price out the cost of labor for the staff you propose. Indicate the professional status and value of each member in addition to their salary/cost to the project. 
• Provide budget and price ranges based on certain contingencies or the size of the investment in the plan. 
• Show how the benefits of the proposed plan will balance, or provide a return on, its cost. 

Do you confidently assert your qualifications and provide references?

• Highlight your and your company’s unique qualifications for the proposed fix. 
• If possible, mention similar solutions you have provided and reference information for those clients. 
• Always check with references before you list them. 
• Determine your references’ preferred means of contact, and provide that information only. 

Does your proposal end with a powerful conclusion and authorization request?

• Reinforce the importance of the issue or proposed improvement. 
• Restate main benefits. 
• Indicate that you are available for discussion. Provide information for follow-up correspondence. 
• Provide a definitive deadline for accepting the proposal, if applicable.

Organization 

Have you organized your proposal into sections based on the critical elements?

• Introduction: Briefly explain what you hope to do for the potential client and highlight your unique qualifications to “hook” the client’s interest. 
• Background: Identify the problem and discuss the goal of the project.
• Proposed Plan: Discuss your plan for solving the problem. You can divide this section into logical segments for easy reading. 
• Staffing: Describe the credentials, qualifications, and expertise of the project leaders and support staff. 
• Budget: Mention what the client’s adoption of the business proposal will cost them. Itemize costs at your discretion. 
• References: Be prepared to offer the names and contact information of other individuals or companies you have similarly served. 
• Authorization Request: Conclude the proposal by creatively restating key qualifications and main benefits. 

Is your proposal organized logically into paragraphs?

• Organize information into paragraphs by topic or relevance.
  • Group related ideas into paragraphs. 
• Order paragraphs internally:
  • Begin with a topic sentence that introduces the subject matter of the paragraph. 
  • Arrange information within the paragraph according to a logical schema. 
  • Close each paragraph with a summative statement that emphasizes the main point in the paragraph.  
• Be sure that ideas flow together naturally.
  • Organize information and arguments logically and persuasively. 
  • Use lists to emphasize sequential or parallel pieces of information. 
  • Use a consistent logical schema, such as order of importance, chronology, or dependency, throughout your proposal. 
  • Use transitions to help your proposal flow.

Style

Do you use an appropriate tone and style in your business proposal?

• Use appropriately formal language.
  • Write in a formal tone, following guidelines for proper grammar and mechanics. 
  • Write at a level your audience will understand; if your proposal is technical, provide enough detail and explanation that your plan can be understood by your readers. 
  • Explain difficult terms through lay definitions, examples, and analogies.
  • Avoid jargon, slang, and unnecessary abbreviations.
• Avoid contractions (I’m, can’t). 
• Use the active voice to make your writing more direct. 
• Proofread your “final” proposal carefully before submitting it. 

Format

Have you formatted your proposal professionally and in accordance with RFP requirements?

• Double-check formatting requirements or suggestions from the receiving organization, especially if you are responding to a Request for Proposals (RFP). 
• Provide page numbers in the header or footer. You can apply these through the Document tab. 
• Provide company information on each page in a header or footer. This will help keep all pages of the proposal together. 
• Include a table of contents if your proposal is long enough to justify one. 
• If responding to a RFP, you may want to note RFP information in your document. 

• Include a corporate heading or submit a title page if requested.
  • If requested, include a title page with necessary information, such as RFP, date of submission, author, and submitting agency. 
• Use bolded headings to identify significant sections of the proposal. 
• Divide information into logical, easy-to-read subsections beyond the basic parts of the proposal. 
• Use bulleted lists or charts to present timelines or schedules. 
• Be consistent in your document formatting. 

Do you use extra-textual features—such as font styles, lists, and graphics—to make your proposal easier to read?

• Use formatting and graphics to emphasize or illuminate important information. Use moderation, however. Too much formatting and too many graphics can make your writing unprofessional and more difficult to read. 
• Use graphics, such as charts or images, to help your readers visualize and comprehend your plan. 
• Boldface or italicize points that you want to stand out. 
• Use bulleted and numbered lists to organize and emphasize parallel and sequential information.

Parallel information does not have a set order or hierarchy and are ‘on the same level’. A set of options or potential outcomes is a set of parallel information and should be represented in a bulleted list. 

Sequential information follows a strict order and is arranged in a hierarchy that can be numbered or lettered to indicate its order. Instructions are an example of sequential information and should be provided in numbered or otherwise ordered lists. 

• Proofread your proposal more than once.
  • Check your grammar, mechanics, and style. 
  • Watch out for typos and incorrectly used words. 
  • Make sure that abbreviations are defined the first time they are used. 
  • Check all references to page numbers or external resources for accuracy.