A proposal is a document used to present a company’s products to external clients. The acceptance or rejection of a proposal has a bearing on the company’s performance, so the task of creating a good proposal for the client is important.
However, it is time-consuming to create a proposal from scratch that easily conveys the quality of the content. In addition, many people may be troubled by the fact that it is difficult to create a persuasive proposal.
In this issue, we will focus on how to write an easy-to-understand proposal, examples of its structure, and examples of mistakes for below people.
- “I want to create a proposal that sticks with a basic understanding of how to write a proposal.”
- “It is taking a lot of time to create a proposal, and it is putting pressure on my other work.”
- “We want to establish a system within your company for creating proposals that will convince clients.”
If so, this article will give you tips on how to create effective proposals, and help you create proposals that will stick.
Contents
- 1 What is a proposal?
- 2 Example of a communicative proposal structure
- 3 Summary table of proposal structure examples
- 4 4 tips for writing a easy-to-understand proposal
- 5 Caution| 3 examples of proposal failures
- 6 Best tools for proposal preparation and project management
- 7 FAQ for writing business plan proposal
- 8 3 Types of business plan proposal
- 9 Summary of tips and tricks on how to create business plan proposal
What is a proposal?
A proposal is a document that communicates an idea, product, or service to people inside or outside the company.
Therefore, a proposal is a document that is created for situations in which an idea, product, or service can contribute to solving internal or external problems, such as improving operations or proposing a new business.
A proposal to a client is prepared with the objective of getting the client to adopt the company’s products or services. Therefore, it is important that proposals used outside the company communicate at a glance how the company’s products and services can approach the problem of clients.
Example of a communicative proposal structure
The following is an example of an easy-to-understand proposal structure. By referring to the following, you can easily create a proposal that leaves no information out.
The basic items
If you are creating a booklet or a multi-page proposal, keep the following basic items in mind.
- Cover page (title)
- Proposal summary
- Table of contents
- Cost
- Company profile
Describe in a straightforward manner what the document is about and to whom.
Provide an outline of what can be solved and how, to attract their interest.
Describe the flow of the proposal at a glance.
Do not just list the cost, but write it in light of the contents of the proposal and the benefits of the solution, while creating a sense of conviction.
Describe the company’s location and business activities.
Each section should be summarized to the point, and the text should not be verbose.
Issues and Causes
Next, describe the client’s issues and causes.
An effective way to properly communicate the client’s challenges is to quantitatively show the gap between the ideal situation for them and their current situation. Using objective data to explain why the gap cannot be bridged and the ideal state is not achieved will be more persuasive.
In this way, the proposal should be created to give the client a bird’s eye view of the situation. By clarifying the issues and causes that need to be resolved, it will be easier to convey the effectiveness of the solution described next.
Solution to the Issue
Once you have identified the issue and cause, describe the solution to the issue.
The solution should clarify how you will approach the client’s issue, and should be written in a way that makes it easy for the client to visualize how the measure will improve the situation. This is because a proposal that is not clear to the client in terms of its benefits will not be adopted.
To increase the credibility of the solution, you can show the reproducibility of the solution by providing examples of others who have implemented similar measures.
Summary table of proposal structure examples
The following is a table that summarizes examples of how to structure a proposal in a way that is easy to convey.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Cover (title) | Write it so that it is easy to understand at a glance who the document is intended for and what it is about. |
| Proposal outline | What can be solved and how, and attract the interest of the recipient. |
| Table of contents | Provide the overall structure of the proposal and how it will flow. |
| Problem | Show the gap between the customer’s ideal image and the current situation |
| Causes | Quantify why the gap cannot be bridged |
| Solution | Quantify the benefits of accepting the proposal while introducing examples of other companies that have implemented the measures |
| Cost | Describe in light of the content of the proposal and the benefits of the solution, while creating a sense of conviction |
| Company profile | Describe the company’s location and business activities |
Refer to the above table to avoid omissions of items and points to be included in the proposal.
4 tips for writing a easy-to-understand proposal
Here are 4 tips for writing a proposal that is easy to convey. In order to successfully present your proposal to the client, keep the following tips in mind when writing your proposal.
(1) Use the 6W2H
When creating a proposal, keep the following “6W2H” in mind.
- When
- Who
- What
- Where
- Why
- Whom
- How
- How much
If you create sentences with these 6W2H items in mind, you can avoid the worst case scenario in which the proposal itself is not conveyed.
(2) Accurately understand the client’s issues
Next, it is also important to accurately understand the client’s issues.
If you have an accurate understanding of the client’s issues, you will be able to provide the right solution. If you also present the results of your analysis of the issues, you will be more persuasive, and it will be easier for the client to positively consider your proposal.
For example, use frameworks such as SWOT analysis, which finds issues from external and internal factors, and 3C analysis, which looks for issues from the perspective of the competitor, the consumer, and the company itself, to accurately grasp the issues.
(3) Describe the benefits of accepting the proposal
Describing the benefits of accepting the proposal is another key to writing a communicative proposal.
If the benefits are conveyed, the client will be able to visualize the situation when he or she accepts the proposal. When information is described in the proposal using numerical values, it is possible to show the client the merits of the proposal from an objective viewpoint.
Therefore, be sure to write quantitative benefits in your proposal.
(4) Use a template
Finally, to make your proposal easy to communicate, it is also useful to use a template.
An ill-structured proposal is difficult to read and prevents the client from focusing on the content. In addition, creating a proposal from scratch is time-consuming, and can put pressure on other work hours.
Therefore, use a template that allows you to create a proposal by simply filling in the required fields. However, since files such as PowerPoint are troublesome to manage, use an information sharing tool such as Stock to keep them together for each client.
Caution| 3 examples of proposal failures
Here are 3 examples of proposal failures. Use the examples below to help you be aware of how to create a proposal that will be easily communicated to your client.
(1) The content of the message is unclear
In many cases, the content of the proposal is unclear.
If you do not clarify “what will be solved and how,” the client will not understand the value of adopting your proposal. Therefore, the proposal should be written clearly so that the client can understand the entire proposal just by reading it.
So, in addition to writing concisely, use the 6W2H to make it easier for others to understand your intentions.
(2) Proposal is unrealistic
Another example of failure is when the proposal is unrealistic for the other party.
Even if you propose a radical solution that fulfills the client’s ideals, it will not be adopted if it cannot actually be implemented. To increase the adoption rate of a proposal, it is necessary to make a realistic proposal that is close to the client’s needs, such as keeping it within an acceptable budget or implementing it during a quiet period of the business.
In other words, to make realistic proposals, the client must come first. As a prerequisite, it is essential to fully manage client information, so many companies use IT tools such as Stock to utilize client information.
(3) Creating proposals is the goal
One of the most common failures we see is that the creation of a proposal itself becomes the objective.
A proposal is a document to be presented in order to have a acception. Therefore, if the proposal does not include the process and responses after the proposal is accepted, it may have a negative impact on future moves and communication.
If team members have awareness that the proposal is a “meatures” to initiate the project, we can make proposals with an eye toward the progress of projects as well.
Best tools for proposal preparation and project management
Below is best tool to help you create and manage your proposals.
Templates are an efficient way to create a proposal that will be understood by the client. However, since it is important not only to create proposals but also to manage them after proposal, it is necessary to organize them with IT tools specialized for information management.
In particular, if the tools are easy for anyone to use, they can be introduced and operated without incurring training costs, even if there are no IT-savvy employees.
In conclusion, for proposal creation and management, Stock is the best choice because it can be used by non-IT employees over 65 years old and has all the necessary functions without excess or deficiency.
“Note” of Stock can be easily saved as text as well as proposal files by drag-and-drop. In addition, “Message” are tied to the Notes, so you can communicate with each other without getting mixed up in topics, which is a great feature that other tools do not have.
Stock｜The easiest tool to create and manage proposals
The simplest tool to stock information "Stock"
https://www.stock-app.info/en/
Stock is the simplest tool to stock information. Stock solves the problem, "there is no easy way to stock information within the company".
With Stock, anyone can easily store all kinds of information, including text information such as requirements, images, and files, using the Note feature.
In addition, by using the "Task" and "Message" functions, you can communicate with each topic described in the Note, so that information is not dispersed here and there and work can always be carried out in an organized manner.
＜Why do we recommend Stock?＞
- A tool for companies that are not familiar with ITYou don't need to have any IT expertise to get started.
- Simple and usable by anyoneStock is so simple that anyone can use it without any unnecessary features.
- Amazingly easy information storing and task managementIt is amazingly easy to store information such as shared information within a company, and intuitive task management is also possible.
＜Stock's pricing＞
- Free plan ：Free
- Business plan ：$5 / User / Month
- Enterprise plan ：$10 / User / Month
FAQ for writing business plan proposal
This section introduces FAQ regarding proposal. If your understanding enhance by below contents, you will be able to create it more effectively.
What are the 4C in business proposal?
The 4C useful for writing proposal is composed by below items.
- Clear
- Comprehensive
- Consise
- Persuasive
It must be written the contents in business plan proposal easy-to-read. Therefore you have to create the proposal so that the person who receives it can understand the contents at a glance.
Unless the proposal is easy to read, the person in charge who is already received many proposal lose interest it.
It is important for you to create the proposal with no excess and insufficiency, or cover the contents comprehensively.
If there are omissions and mistakes in the proposal, recipient cannot understand clearly, and the possibility of adoption the proposal will decrease. Especially, the numerics element is easy to mistake, it needs to check from other member after completion of creating proposal.
Even if the contents of proposal is likely to be complicated, you have to organize information of proposal and devise how to write to convey the contents concisely.
In case that the contents of proposal will be complicated, we recommend compiling it for simple the next steps: Problem＞Issue＞Solution.
If that content is not compelling, this problem causes the possibility of no adoption.
In particular, If the proposal contents is too abstract, it may give the other party the impression that “it cannot be reproduced”. Therefore, you must create the data such as numeric elements and write practical countermeasure regarding the problem.
The person who creates proposal which is adopted covers the above 4C.
What are the 2 types of proposals?
The features of business proposal is majorly divided into below 2 types.
- For internal
- For external
This proposal is submitted to internal regarding the matter such as business improvement.
This proposal is submitted to external as sales tools to promote as sales tool for discussion with clients.
Unless you divide and create these types of proposal, be careful your proposal will be harder to be understood by the person in charge.
3 Types of business plan proposal
Especially, business plan proposal is divided by below 3 types.
- Official solicited
- Unofficial solicited
- Unsolicited
This proposal is for the clients that you already deal with, and is created according to the requirements from clients. Therefore, you should create the proposal to provide solution for clients.
This proposal is created in the scenes such as “The verbal promise that was occurred in stake holders”. Also, you should create the proposal so that the client can be interested in your services.
On the other hand, as the requirement from client is major to be blurred in this case, you have to dig the client’s need more.
This is one of the activity of marketing such as cold mail that is sent to unspecified large number of clients. Although this approaching is not effective for many clients, it is the first step to create the communicate and build relationship.
If you do not know the types of proposal and create it, be careful the quality of proposal will be decrease.
Summary of tips and tricks on how to create business plan proposal
We have focused on the key points when writing a proposal and tool for management proposal.
By using the 6W2H and describing the benefits of your proposal, you can make your proposal more understandable to the client. Furthermore, if you use a template, you can easily create a well-structured, easy-to-read proposal without having to create it from scratch.
However, the creation of a proposal is not the end of the process; it is also necessary to look at the management of the project after the proposal is submitted. Therefore, use “IT tools equipped with information management functions” to quickly locate the information you need.
In conclusion, your company should choose to implement “Stock,” which has a Note to easily leave and attach proposal files and can manage information for each client.
Free registration only takes 1 minute, so using Stock to streamline the process of creating and managing proposals.
