For my first article on “business”, I would like to start with sharing how to write an effective business proposal. In my experience as a web developer & project manager, I’ve found out the hard way that in many cases, I’m not the only person trying to get the deal done. The firm or individual in question has to make a choice on who they will contract their work out to, based on many business proposals they’ve reviewed.

In any line of business, proposal writing is a tedious process, and costs you time and money every time you don’t get the contract.

Earlier on in my web development career, I knew there were a number of jobs I could do well, but I never got them, simply because I didn’t know how to put together a professional-looking business proposal.

Since then I have managed to build up a set of business proposal templates, I can very easily apply for contracts, and each time, I can present specific to that business that’s well-laid out, looks highly professional and very convincing.

I’ve learned that an important facet of a business proposal is its legal aspect. In any business, it’s very important to lay out specific terms within the law, to prevent yourself being taken for a ride or otherwise ripped off. Trust me the chances are that they have a better lawyer than you do and they will find loopholes in your proposal and exploit these.

With any business, the right proposal has an excellent chance of winning a contract, even when it’s just you, competing against a medium or large firm.

I must emphasis the following strongly -

Just being able to do the job well is not good enough. You have to be able to convince the client that you know what you are doing.

Here are few tips to creating a great business proposal:

Write Clearly and Concisely: It is very common in business writing generally, and in business proposals specifically, to try and show how smart you are by using excess verbiage, jargon, and run-on sentences. Don’t do it. Be concise. Make your point and move on.

Remember: You only have their full attention for less than 30 seconds, and they have little or no idea what you are proposing, so you have to walk them through the process. You do so by starting at the beginning and clearly, simply, and logically moving forward by making your points one at a time.

Start with the big picture and drill down as you go along so you keep their interest going.

Make a Good Argument and Counter Possible Obstacles: A great proposal is, essentially, a sales brochure in disguise. In here, you put your best foot forward, put your company in the best light, and make yourself irresistible to the reader.

How do you achieve that?

The best way is to turn the table and the top facts and arguments in your favor. Have a theme and reinforce it again and again. Take the reader down a path that leads but to one conclusion — that hiring you makes the most sense for them.

You also have to put yourself in the readers’ position, think of what counter arguments they may be considering, and deal with those potential obstacles honestly. That makes you trustworthy.

Personal Touch: Ever so often, business proposals are so lifeless as if they were computer generated, programmed to say nothing new, be really boring, and not offend the reader.

In your proposal let your personality come through. Of course this is business and you have to follow some business etiquette, but as you do, also let the reader feel that there are actually humans behind those words. Share your enthusiasm for your business, their business, and the ideas you are putting forward, etc. You get the point!

Don’t Over-do-it!: Avoid exaggerate too much. As soon as you cross the line from understandable pride to obnoxious overstatement, you lose all credibility. Once they realize that you’re not shooting straight with them, they may question the truthfulness of everything in your proposal - all that they read so far, and all that is still to come.

You avoid this unenviable fate by staying on the safe side of overstatement.

Use Graphics Sparingly: Don’t make the common mistake of filling up a perfectly fine proposal with excess graphics. The need for graphics is to clarify an idea, and liven up a proposal and allow readers to focus on something other than words. Be smart about it. Just don’t get carried away with these things too much. Whether you use a program like Publisher or PowerPoint, just be sure that the graphics reinforce the sale rather than distracting from the point.

Avoid Catch Typos & Cut-and-Paste: Another sure way to lose readers is to have them think that your proposal is a cut-and-paste job. You can reuse persuasive information from elsewhere, but try to keep it to a minimum and don’t make it obvious. Like mentioned earlier, your proposal should read as if it were created especially for this particular client or customer. And while you’re personalizing the proposal, triple-check for typos.

If it is clear that you didn’t give the proposal your best effort, why would your readers think you would give their project your best effort?

Always Keep the Reader in Mind: the proposal is a marketing tool, and as such, remember that you need to be able to convince as much as possible how it benefits them.

Finally, although the price is important and must be discussed at some point, do so only after you have wowed readers with your crisp writing, powerful arguments, supporting graphics, and a excess of potential benefits.