Business proposals are very important for businesses across industries because they can be decisive when it comes to turning prospects into clients and closing more deals. A badly made proposal can not only cost you a client but it may even have a negative impact on the cash flow of your company.
Businesses create these documents to show the whole picture to their clients—about the company, the services or products it provides, how it can be valuable to them and contribute to their success, how it can solve their problems, and so on.
Along with some other factors, such as your digital presence (like your website and your social media accounts), your interpersonal skills, your customer service, etc., the proposal you provide to your clients will help them form an opinion about your company, and help them decide whether they want to purchase your services or products, or they should continue looking.
Today, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce across industries. As a result, consumers are becoming more and more demanding, especially in regards to communication and how they are treated. This is why being able to offer a good proposal is more important than ever. To help you close more deals and increase your profit, here are some tips on how you can provide a great one.
Use a Template
When you are running a business, there are so many things you must do, some of which aren’t in your area of expertise. Making a business proposal isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of work, attention, determination, creativity, strategizing and so much more. This means spending a lot of time on any potential client. And sometimes, without any results.
To provide a great proposal every time, without having to spend a lot of extra time working, you can use a business proposal template; one that is written by professionals and designed beautifully.
This way, you will be able to dedicate your time to doing research, learning about your client’s needs, and devising a plan to help them. Keep in mind that a lot of the info on the proposal, such as the introduction, the summary, or the pricing, doesn’t change.
Use Clear Language and Proper Grammar
When a client comes to you for a solution to a problem, likely, they aren’t an expert in your area. So, if the proposal you give them contains a lot of terms that mean nothing to them, and if it sounds too technical, it may be hard for them to understand why they should choose you. More importantly, people often feel that if someone truly knows something they must be able to explain it to anyone.
So, instead, the language you use in your proposal should be clear, and your client should be able to understand it. It should also sound professional. Moreover, you should make sure that you use proper grammar. Otherwise, you may seem unprofessional and as if you don’t really care.
Focus on the Design
When it comes to business — looks matter. So, for your proposals, design is important as it is for any other aspect of your business. When you are designing an office, for example, you want your clients to see a beautiful workplace, with nice colors, furniture, and decorations. If your office is cluttered, the visitor won’t feel comfortable, and won’t trust you.
It’s proven that it takes quite a short time for people to make decisions based on first impressions. For instance, when you open an article, you decide within 5 seconds whether you will read it or not; and the visual aspect plays a huge role in our decisions.
We are visual creatures, and aesthetics affect us. It's more or less the same with proposals. They have to be aesthetically pleasing, which means that they have to look tidy and have a simple but beautiful design.
Offer Good Services and Dedicate Your Time to Your Prospects
You can’t have a good business proposal without good services and being good at your job. Make sure that you dedicate enough time to each prospect, understand them and their needs, and create the best solutions for them. Finally, present your solutions and explain your ideas to them the best you can.
Conclusion
Regardless of what type of service or products you are selling, whether you are a web designer, an accountant, you have an architectural firm or a construction business, you sell equipment to businesses, you run a marketing agency or an event planning business—proposals are essential across all industries.
They can be crucial for the survival and success of a company. A badly written proposal can not only cost you a client but it may even harm your reputation.
