5 Savvy Tips on How to Create a Winning Proposal

A good business proposal, or as we call it, a “winning” proposal is one of the most important priorities in order to win and bring home that bacon!

There are a lot of sure ways to write a good proposal. But does it even matter? Of course yes! Remember that there is a lot of competition around you and it is not only you, alone, who is sending that proposal to your dream client! So better make sure to stand out, making it unique and on point!

What is a business proposal?

To help us understand what we are creating, let us first define what a business proposal is. A business proposal is a document sent by a service provider to a target client for winning a certain project, with a purpose to convince the client to buy or avail a particular product or service offered.

Why is creating winning proposals important?

While convincing the client is the main purpose for creating a good proposal, it also creates a big opportunity for you to showcase your business, what you can offer and contribute to a certain client project. Your proposal demonstrates the quality of service and your ability to deliver the needs, showing the importance of hiring you will be beneficial to the project.

So now, let me share with you my 5 Savvy tips on how to create a winning proposal:

Create a branded template

First impressions last! You want your client to remember you so make sure that you write your proposal on your signature, branded template, which has your logo, tagline, branded fonts, and a footer with all the contact information which includes your website, contact number, email and physical address of your business, whichever are applicable. And oh, don’t forget to save it as a PDF, okay?

Leave a mark with your vision statement

Admit it, the attention span of clients isn’t that long enough especially when they have hundreds of proposals to review! So make sure that the first 2 to 3 sentences of your proposal will already be enough to capture their attention, stating the opportunity that you see in this project and what you look forward to working with them.

Set expectations and be upfront

What do they expect from you? What is the scope of your deliverables? When I create a proposal, I always see to it that I indicate all my pricing without any hidden charges, all of the details of its inclusions, the way that they will be delivered, and of course the duration. Make sure to be very clear and on point from the start rather than getting your dream client with your flowering proposal and you’ll both end up having a problem, right?

Don’t forget the due date

Creating a due date for your proposal is a must unless you want to be surprised 10 years from now that you receive a call and some dream client of yours in the past is now convinced to take your services! I’m sure you don’t want that to happen, so go ahead and put that expiration date!

Put your lawyer’s hat

Always remember to protect yourself by putting a fine print to your proposal, which includes your terms and conditions on matters such as the payment arrangements and due dates, your rights when the client terminates in the middle of the arrangement, what will be the charges if they go beyond the agreement, etc. Don’t worry! Trust me, it’s totally fine and professional. Better safe than sorry, hey!

Creating a winning proposal can surely be a lot of fun but always keep in mind that it is not only the looks, but the contents, that really matters. You know your business well and you, of all people, know how to present it the best way that it could be. Just make it straightforward, with summarized yet complete details and make sure that it is vividly crystal clear! 

If you have any questions about my Savvy tips, I’d really love to hear from you in the comments below!

Stay Savvy!