Business Proposal: Two Pages Can Be Better Than Forty When You Write a Business Proposal

When you are writing a business proposal it can be in response to a "Request for Proposal" (or "Invitation to Tender") - that is, a re-active proposal - one that is reacting to an event from the buyer. Or you can write a pro-active proposal - one that you present to a buyer without waiting for them to ask several potential suppliers for competitive proposals.A pro-active proposal may be used to help define a business case for a particular project - the client may not have realised the benefits of changing to your particular brand of widgets, for example. But what is the best format for a pro-active proposal? Of course it depends on the complexity and nature of your products, but in many ways the pro-active proposal is there to serve one of two purposes.1) To provide the client with a written follow-up to sales activity2) To gain attention of a client prior to sales activityUndoubtedly if you have had existing sales calls and the client wishes to move ahead, then you need to write a proposal that provides complete details of the product or service you offer and all the accompanying terms and descriptions of your offer - a full proposal.But if you are sending a proposal into a business that you have no agreement with, is that going to work? No. For two main reasons.Firstly: it's too big a document for anyone to be interested in reading. Sure, it may be interesting but it's going in the bin.Secondly: it isn't customised to the client's situation and requirements. So how can you provide the details when you don't know them?What can work though, is a well presented letter proposal, used as a marketing tool. Rather than sending the glossy brochure out, that's also likely to end up in the circular file next to the desk, send a personalised letter.You may not know the customer's need, but you should be able to find out the decision makers name. And your letter can get straight to the point of highlighting the benefits you can offer. Not just the generic benefits of your solution (again, you don't know their situation, so think carefully about the client benefits?) but the benefits of having you come in and having a discussion.A sales letter can be a powerful tool, and more people are likely to read a personalised letter than read a glossy brochure. Make it short and powerful - it's a sales tool, so why not include some proposal power words? Have a clear call to action at the end (what they can do) and also a statement about what you will do (when you will call to follow up).A sales letter won't work every time, but in certain situations they can be a very powerful tool that is easy to create, cheap to send out and gets results. [EXTRACT] When you write a business proposal that may be in response to a "request for proposal" (or "bid") - ie, a proposal to re-active - that is reacting to an event by the buyer. Or you can write a pro-active proposal - one that is submitted to a buyer without having to wait several potential suppliers to make competition proposals.A proactive proposal can be used to help define a business case for a particular project - the client does not have realized the benefits of changing your brand of players, for example. But what is the best format for a proposed pro-active? Of course it depends on the complexity and nature of their products, but in many aspects of the proposal is to proactively serve one of two purposes. 1) Provide the customer with a written follow-up to sales activity2) to call the attention of a customer before the sale of activityUndoubtedly if you have existing sales calls and the client wants to move on, then you need to write a proposal, which provides full details of the product or service you offer and all terms and descriptions accompanying your offer - a full proposal.But whether to submit a proposal in a business that has no agreement with, is that going to work? No. For two main reasons.Firstly: a document is too large for anyone to be interested in reading. Sure, it may be interesting, but that goes into the bin.Secondly: not suitable for the client's situation and requirements. So how can give the details when you do not know? What can you do the job however, is a well-presented proposal letter, which is used as a marketing tool. Instead of sending a glossy edition, which is also likely to end in the circular file next to the desk, sending a custom letter.You may not know the customer's need, but you should be able to find the names of decision makers. And your letter you can go straight to the point of highlighting the benefits it can offer. Not only the generic benefits of your solution (again, you do not know your situation, so think carefully about the benefits of the customer?), But the benefits of having to go and have a sales letter can be discussion.A a powerful tool, and people tend to read a personal letter to read a glossy brochure. To be short and powerful - is a sales tool, so why not include some proposal power words? Have a clear call to action at the end (what you can do) and also a statement about what is going to do (when called monitoring). A sales letter will not work all the time, but in certain situations can be a powerful tool that is easy to create, cheap to send and gets results.