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How To Write A Business Proposal?

Post by
Yash Shah
Last updated :
April 24, 2023
 | 20 min read
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Running an agency? We know how important your clients are! Do you look forward to new client associations? Come on, who doesn’t? We get that acquiring leads is a difficult task. Don’t you worry! Click here to know how you can generate quality leads. Ah! Thank goodness! When you finally have a good lead, you wouldn’t want to let go of it at any cost!

Alas, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Your potential client wants the best fit for their company and there are a thousand other agencies out there, to prove that they are better than you.

But, we want you to have the upper hand. You can increase your chance of having this deal by drafting and sending the perfect business proposal. Here’s a guide on what a perfect business proposal should include:

1. The Title Page:

business proposal

Remember, you don’t want a vague starting. Your title page will be your prospective client’s first encounter with your proposal. Use this title page to introduce yourself and your business. You can include your name, your company’s name, the date of proposal, the name of your client and their details.

2. Create a Table of Contents:

create a table of contents

Before diving into the vast proposal, your client needs to know what is in store. A table of contents will brief your client about what all is covered in your business proposal. If you are sending an E- proposal, you should include a clickable table of contents, so that your client can directly go to the section they are interested in.

3. The Executive Summary:

summary

In this section, answer the ‘why’ of your business proposal. Specify why you are sending the proposal and why your solution is the best for your client. Also, talk about the advantages that the client will gain from this deal. Your executive summary should help the client to get a very precise and clear idea about what your proposed deal is.

4. State The Problem:

state the problem

This section of your business proposal is your chance to show to the potential client that you really understand and care about the problem they are facing. You need to get serious about this and empathise with your client for the same. Show that you have a willingness to cater to their needs.

5. Propose a Solution:

propose solution

You know the problem at hand and you feel that you are capable of solving it. To make your client believe so, you will need to talk about it in the business proposal. Make sure that the solution is customised according to your client’s needs. Remember, sending the same generic business proposal to every client is a big no! In this section, talk about the deliverables, the methods adopted and the time frame.

6. Pricing Options:

pricing options

It is always a good idea to frame different pricing plans. The packages can differ in price according to your offerings. You don’t want to end up under-pricing or over-pricing your services. Hence, provide more than one option to the prospects. Make sure you clearly highlight the reason for the difference in pricing.

7. Terms and Conditions:

terms and conditions

You do not want to end up in confusion after the deal is closed. To make sure, that does not happen, it is important to include the terms and conditions in your business proposal. It is a summary of what you and your client are agreeing to if they accept your proposal. Clarify the details about the project timeline, budget, schedule and more.

8. Space for Signatures:

marketing proposal

Don’t leave the client on an open note. Including a space for signature in your business proposal will make your client want to take an action. They will feel that they need to answer, get back to you and take action. If at all, they have any queries/ suggestions, they can reach out to you for the same.

We love being there for you. Therefore, we have also compiled a list of ready-made proposal templates that you can use directly. Click here to access those.

Do you want to create and send impactful proposals at the ease of a click using one single platform? Click here to explore the easy agency life with Clientjoy.

Running an agency? We know how important your clients are! Do you look forward to new client associations? Come on, who doesn’t? We get that acquiring leads is a difficult task. Don’t you worry! Click here to know how you can generate quality leads. Ah! Thank goodness! When you finally have a good lead, you wouldn’t want to let go of it at any cost!

Alas, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Your potential client wants the best fit for their company and there are a thousand other agencies out there, to prove that they are better than you.

But, we want you to have the upper hand. You can increase your chance of having this deal by drafting and sending the perfect business proposal. Here’s a guide on what a perfect business proposal should include:

1. The Title Page:

business proposal

Remember, you don’t want a vague starting. Your title page will be your prospective client’s first encounter with your proposal. Use this title page to introduce yourself and your business. You can include your name, your company’s name, the date of proposal, the name of your client and their details.

2. Create a Table of Contents:

create a table of contents

Before diving into the vast proposal, your client needs to know what is in store. A table of contents will brief your client about what all is covered in your business proposal. If you are sending an E- proposal, you should include a clickable table of contents, so that your client can directly go to the section they are interested in.

3. The Executive Summary:

summary

In this section, answer the ‘why’ of your business proposal. Specify why you are sending the proposal and why your solution is the best for your client. Also, talk about the advantages that the client will gain from this deal. Your executive summary should help the client to get a very precise and clear idea about what your proposed deal is.

4. State The Problem:

state the problem

This section of your business proposal is your chance to show to the potential client that you really understand and care about the problem they are facing. You need to get serious about this and empathise with your client for the same. Show that you have a willingness to cater to their needs.

5. Propose a Solution:

propose solution

You know the problem at hand and you feel that you are capable of solving it. To make your client believe so, you will need to talk about it in the business proposal. Make sure that the solution is customised according to your client’s needs. Remember, sending the same generic business proposal to every client is a big no! In this section, talk about the deliverables, the methods adopted and the time frame.

6. Pricing Options:

pricing options

It is always a good idea to frame different pricing plans. The packages can differ in price according to your offerings. You don’t want to end up under-pricing or over-pricing your services. Hence, provide more than one option to the prospects. Make sure you clearly highlight the reason for the difference in pricing.

7. Terms and Conditions:

terms and conditions

You do not want to end up in confusion after the deal is closed. To make sure, that does not happen, it is important to include the terms and conditions in your business proposal. It is a summary of what you and your client are agreeing to if they accept your proposal. Clarify the details about the project timeline, budget, schedule and more.

8. Space for Signatures:

marketing proposal

Don’t leave the client on an open note. Including a space for signature in your business proposal will make your client want to take an action. They will feel that they need to answer, get back to you and take action. If at all, they have any queries/ suggestions, they can reach out to you for the same.

We love being there for you. Therefore, we have also compiled a list of ready-made proposal templates that you can use directly. Click here to access those.

Do you want to create and send impactful proposals at the ease of a click using one single platform? Click here to explore the easy agency life with Clientjoy.

About Author

Yash Shah
Co-founder & Chief Executive
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Yash owned and ran a Tech Agency that grew to 55 people team offering SaaS, FinTech and E-Commerce Web & Mobile app Development before founding Clientjoy. He currently serves as Chief Executive at Clientjoy - a platform that helps 16K+ Agencies & Freelancers in 90+ Countries grow their business and manage their clients.

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Facebook logoTwitter logoLinkedin logo

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

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