Proposals are useful when explaining your company’s products to other companies. It is an important task because effective proposals that stick with customers can lead to increase business opportunities.
However, many people may be troubled by the time-consuming process of proposal creating, which puts pressure on other business operations.
In this issue, we will focus on the key points and 4 recommended templates for proposal writing for below people.
- “I want to learn the tricks of proposal creation and deploy the know-how of creating proposals that stick with customers within the company.
- We want to introduce a template suitable for our company so that we can create proposals in a short period of time.
- Want to know how to proceed smoothly from proposal creation to subsequent project management
If so, this article will help you create effective proposals that will stick with your clients in a short period of time.
Contents
[Word/Excel] 4 ready-to-use proposal templates
To quickly create a high quality proposal, you can use templates. Below are 4 templates you can use to create your proposal.
[Word] Hloom
This is a proposal template published by Hloom.
Since the items that you have to write down the contents are not excess of insufficiency, you can easily create easy-to-read the proposal.
[Word] Smartsheet
Here is a simple proposal template for Word published by Smartsheet.
This template has the sections that are divided clearly, and they help you to create proposal smoothly. And the template is for small-to-mid scale project.
You can also edit the template to increase or reduce the number of sections as needed.
[Word] Stakeholdermap.com
This is a proposal template for Excel published by Stakeholdermap.com.
It is recommended for teams that want to proceed in analysis of the current situation to proposal of a solution in detail, as the items necessary for analysis of the issue have been prepared in advance.
Since you can manage milestone of the project in detail and the member related with, this template is for large scale project.
[Excel] Project Manager
This is a budget proposal template for Excel published by Project Manager.
Since this template has various columns related with project cost such as direct costs, indirect costs, sales, profit, you can check the contents in detail for them.
*You should register for free to use this template.
Points to keep in mind when using the template
When using a Word/Excel template to create a proposal, note the following points
- Files will be disorganized
- Sharing is troublesome
- Failure to update
Since proposals are created and managed file by file, as you create new proposals, the files will become more and more disorganized. Even if you manage them hierarchically in the storage, it will take time to find the file you need.
To share a proposal among members, the file in question must be forwarded by e-mail or a link to the file must be sent.
Whenever a proposal is changed, the file must be synchronized. This may induce response errors due to omissions of updates.
Thus, while templates make it easy to create proposals, they require file management. For this reason, an increasing number of companies are using information sharing tools such as Stock to centrally manage everything from proposal creation to management.
The best tool for proposal creation and project management
Below we introduce IT tool that are useful from proposal creation and sharing to project management.
While templates can streamline proposal creation, the more files you have, the more difficult it becomes to manage them properly. In addition, when communication about proposals and files are exchanged by e-mail, they get buried and it takes time to find the information you are looking for.
It is advisable to utilize a tool that manages information and messages related to proposals by linking them together, solving the back and forth on the screen and reducing errors such as the time and effort required to search for information or omitting to check information. However, even if you introduce a multifunctional tool, members who are not familiar with IT will not be able to use it and will leave it behind.
Therefore, introduce tools with simple functions. In conclusion, the best choice for proposal creation as well as project management is Stock, which allows you to easily manage information by simply leaving notes..
Proposals created “Note” in Stock can be easily shared with any member of the team. In addition, by utilizing “Task” and “Message” associated with the Note, it is possible to communicate with each Note, and the proposal creation work will proceed smoothly.
Stock｜The easiest way to manage proposals and other information
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
What are the 4 key points to keep in mind when creating a proposal?
Here are 4 points to keep in mind when preparing a proposal. Proposals that do not address the following points will be less likely to be accepted.
(1) Clearly state your objectives
Proposals that are accepted have clear objectives and correctly identify the needs of the client.
A proposal is a document that explains “how your company’s proposal can solve a problem the customer is facing”. Therefore, the main points must be organized without excesses or deficiencies, and the content to be conveyed must be immediately apparent from a single reading of the proposal.
When preparing a proposal, clearly state the purpose of the proposal and keep it in an easy-to-read style.
(2) Analyze the issues facing the client
The proposal should include the results of your analysis of the client’s issues.
If you include the results of your analysis of the issues, you will be more persuasive, and it will be easier to convince the customer. When analyzing issues, it is also effective to use frameworks such as “SWOT analysis”, which analyzes the internal and external environment, and “3C analysis”, which enables objective analysis based on the movements of the consumers, competitors, and (your) company.
In this way, an appropriate approach can be proposed by quantitatively understanding the customer’s issues.
(3) Describe the benefits in an easy-to-understand manner
Proposals that are accepted have clearly stated benefits.
When proposing a project, “What benefits will the customer receive if they accept the proposal?” is an important item that determines whether or not the proposal will be accepted. Therefore, the benefits should be expressed concretely, for example, by using numerical values.
In addition, if it is difficult to show numerical values, it is important to describe in an easy-to-understand manner what the results will be after the adoption of the proposed plan.
(4) Include a schedule that gives an overall picture of the project.
Including a schedule for the project after the proposal is submitted is also essential in creating a proposal that is easy to follow.
Without a clear sense of the schedule, the client will not know when the proposal will be effective. Therefore, make the post-proposal schedule understandable at a glance. For example, it is effective to use diagrams and graphs so that the overall picture can be grasped.
However, you should refrain from using a schedule that allows you to meet a deadline too soon, even if that is what you have proposed. Set a reasonable deadline, taking into account the resources of the employees on site.
In addition, all parties involved must have an accurate understanding of the contents of the project in order to proceed. Therefore, using an IT tool such as Stock, which can handle everything from proposal creation to project management, will reduce the likelihood of miscommunication.
Summary of recommended templates for proposal
We have introduced some key points when creating a proposal and some useful templates for creating proposals.
When creating a proposal, a great deal of information must be kept in mind when analyzing issues and formulating solutions. Therefore, while templates make it possible to create proposals efficiently, centralized management using IT tools is essential to tie together and manage all information related to a project.
However, high-performance tools that require a high level of IT literacy to use will not spread throughout the entire company. Therefore, it is advisable to use a tool with sufficient functions to manage all types of information, including e-mails and files.
In conclusion, an information sharing tool like Stock is the best choice for non-IT company employees to centrally manage everything from proposals to projects.
Free registration only takes 1 minute, so using Stock to easily and efficiently share information from proposal creation to project management.
