preparation of business plan proposal

3. State the problem or need.

This is where you share a summary of the issue impacting the potential client. This is your opportunity to show them you understand their needs and the problem they need help solving.

This section should show your authority in your industry. With this in mind, be sure to include:

• Case studies
• Client testimonials
• Relevant awards
• Industry accreditations

6. Include pricing options.

Pricing is where things can get a bit tricky, as you don't want to under or over-price your product.

The pricing section of your proposal could include:

• A detailed pricing breakdown, including packages, tiers, and add-ons or optional services
• How product features and benefits align with pricing choices
• Pricing for different needs and budgets
• How your pricing compares with competitors
• An FAQ section to respond to anticipated objections and explain your pricing strategy

7. Summarize with a conclusion.

After sharing the above information, simplify it all into one final section.

• First, briefly summarize the proposal. Be sure to share your qualifications and why you’d serve as the best choice.
• Then, to prompt further conversation, confirm your availability to go over the next steps.
• At the end of the proposal, the goal is to have the client ready to work with you. So, be sure to offer your contact information for easy follow-up.

In need of some inspiration before you begin writing? Here are example business proposal templates from popular business proposal software companies you can use to help create your proposal.

1. HubSpot's Free Business Plan Templates

Download these Templates

We know how crucial a great business proposal is to your and your client’s success. That's why we've compiled 2 Free Business Proposal Templates for you to use and customize for any of your projects.

You'll gain access to a concise, one-page template (pictured above), as well as a longer template for you to refine your plan and proposal.

Download the templates now to get started on building your proposal.

2. Web Design Proposal

Companies, big and small, dedicate resources to establishing a noticeable social media presence. With advertising on social networks projected to reach $82.23 billion dollars in 2025 , it's in your business's best interest to have a plan for growing your client's social media presence.

To help you in that effort, the information in this social media marketing proposal includes an executive summary to help introduce your high-level ideas, an assessment of the client’s company to show your diligence, and a breakdown of billing to show how your company charges for posting, content creation, and analytics.

8. Content Marketing Proposal

When pitching your content marketing services to clients, this template can help you organize your ideas. While it walks you through initial objectives and how to communicate your prospected results, one of the most helpful parts of this template is the pricing ideas it gives you when charging for your services.

Business proposal templates are helpful places to get started, but what should your business proposal look like when it's complete? Below, we share an example of a business proposal template that will inspire you.

In the business template example below, Social Portal Consulting (SPC) pitches a marketing proposal to Graphic Bean. At first sight, this proposal appeals to the creative. A nice touch would include designing the layout in your or your client’s brand colors.

Besides the design, the social media icons quickly tell the prospect what platforms Social Portal is pitching. Because we see Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest icons, the client instantly knows that this proposal doesn’t include LinkedIn, YouTube, or other platforms.

While maintaining its design, this example outlines Social Portal Consulting’s plans efficiently. It begins by providing insight into Graphic Bean and its goals before elaborating on how SPC can leverage its expertise to help them achieve them.

This business proposal template includes an easy-to-follow timeframe for goals and objectives while keeping the client abreast of how payment will happen across the project.

Overall, this is an excellent example of how to combine the elements of social media marketing into a creative and concise business proposal. Finally, we'll leave you with some business proposal ideas to get you started on your own.

• Start with an outline.
• Keep it simple.
• Stay on brand.
• Quality control.
• Include data and visuals.
• Add social proof.
• Use a call-to-action.
• Create a sense of urgency.
• Make the decision for them.
• Incorporate video into your proposal.
• Include up-sell and add-on opportunities.
• Clarify your terms and conditions.
• Include a space for signatures to document agreement.
• Create a table of contents.

1. Start with an outline.

If you want to produce a thoughtful, effective business proposal, you need to have some idea of what you're hoping to achieve with it.

So before you dive into writing, outline the major sections of your business proposal and the pertinent information you want to include. This will help you stay focused and make sure your message stays intact as you write.

Use these free business proposal templates to make sure that your outline includes everything you need.

2. Keep it simple.

There's no definitive blueprint for how long a business proposal has to be. Yours should be however long it takes to convey the information you want to get across.

That said, you're best off focusing on quality over quantity. Keep your sentences short and simple, and avoid including too much business jargon.

You want anyone who picks up your proposal to make sense of it. So, be straightforward and don't get too fancy. Aim for substance over flash.

3. Stay on brand.

Don't be afraid to let your company's personality shine through in your proposal. Stay true to your brand and show the client what sets you apart from your competitors.

4. Quality control.

A quick spelling and grammar check before you hit send isn't enough for a business proposal.

Your proposal needs to be clean and airtight. So, as you draft your proposal, and after checking for the basics, keep scanning this document until it's just right.

Check to make sure your proposal:

• Meets client needs and expectations
• Highlights your value proposition
• Is well-structured and easy to read or skim
• Complies with legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements
• Looks professional and engaging

5. Include data and visuals.

You want your business proposal to capture your prospect's attention and help set you apart from any other ones they might have received. One of the best ways to do that is to include hard, quantitative data that helps stress the value of your business.

Use relevant, compelling figures that highlight what you have to offer. This can establish authority and make your proposal more convincing. It also helps to include visuals such as charts and graphs to enhance your proposal.

6. Add social proof.

You can only be so convincing when you're personally talking up how great your business is. Adding social proof lends your proposal another degree of credibility.

Prospects are skeptical. They may not take you at your word. But they'll likely trust peers and fellow customers. That's why including elements like customer quotes and testimonials can go a long way.

7. Use a call-to-action.

Prospects need direction. The best proposal in the world can only take you so far if you don't clearly define the next steps. That's why you have to make sure the reader knows what to do after reading your proposal.

A clear call-to-action is the best way to get there.

Define and highlight exactly what they should do to act on the interest your proposal has generated. Without that guidance, you might leave your reader in limbo.

HubSpot customers : Use this CTA builder to create powerful customized CTAs.

8. Create a sense of urgency.

No one wants to feel as if they missed out on a great opportunity. Without urgency, your prospect might drag their feet and put off making a decision.

So, as you create your business proposal, your goal should be to create a sense of urgency.

When prospective clients read your business proposal they should feel that the best time to sign up for your service is now.

One way you can accomplish this is by stating your short and long-term goals for their business. They'll have to wait for the long-term goals, but you can make the short-term goals so enticing that they'll be ready to begin a collaboration.

9. Make the decision for them.

Craft your copy in a way that seems like saying "no" to the proposal would be stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. Your offer should go above and beyond their expectations. Do everything in your power to remove friction and objections along the way.

10. Incorporate video into your proposal.

If you're creating an online proposal using document file formats like PDF, add multimedia elements. This will enhance the proposal experience, make your document richer, and keep them engaged.

Try adding a video at the beginning as an intro to your proposal. Or, put a video in the project breakdown to verbally discuss some of the more confusing parts.

Extras like this can make an impression. This tip works especially well with prospects who are visual or auditory communicators.

Pro tip : HubSpot Video makes it easy to record and embed video into a website or email for a big proposal boost.

11. Include up-sell and add-on opportunities.

They say you won't receive unless you ask. And readers won't explore the upper tiers of your solutions if you don't give them the opportunity.

So, share some upsells and add-ons about your business that they can act on. Call out a specific pain point and how this extra can add value.

With this step, balance is important. Show them everything your business has to offer without overwhelming your recipient.

12. Clarify your terms and conditions.

Your business proposal should include details on your project timeline and payment schedule. This summary is basically what you and the client agree to if they accept your proposal.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Blog Business

How to Write Winning Business Proposals: Examples & Free Templates (2023)

By Aditya Sheth , May 25, 2023

The great Mark Cuban once said, “Sales cure all.” If a business doesn’t sell, it doesn’t make money and by extension the business fails. That’s why you need to write business proposals .

A well-written business proposal can often mean the difference between winning or losing a prospective client.

In this in-depth guide to creating business proposals, we show you how to close more deals, make more sales and crush your business goals — all by using easy-to-edit professional business proposal templates .

Here’s what this guide will cover (click to jump ahead):

What is a business proposal.

• How to write a business proposal step by step

What should you include in a business proposal?

Business proposal format, what are the types of business proposals, more business proposal examples + writing and design tips.

• FAQs about business proposals

Looking for a shortcut? Watch this quick video for an overview of everything to include in your business proposal:

An effective business proposal is a document used by a B2B or business-facing company (this may not always be the case) where a seller aims to persuade a prospective buyer into buying their goods or services.

A business proposal outlines what your business does and what you can do for your client . It can be general like this business proposal example:

Or it can be more specific, like this business proposal template which focuses on proposing a project for the Newton Center Rail:

Or this business proposal sample, which presents a plan for a social media strategy and campaign:

To design a business proposal that holds the client’s attention, identify their pain points . Then provide your buyer with the right solution to alleviate those frustrations.

Return to Table of Contents

How to write a business proposal step by step

Before you start creating your business proposal template, you need to know what it comprises. At a high level, your effective business proposal should include the following:

• Table of contents
• Executive summary
• The problem statement
• The proposed solution
• Qualifications
• The timeline

Pricing, billing, and legal

• Terms and conditions
• The acceptance

Below, you can see business proposal examples that demonstrate how to include these 10 sections.

Business proposal title

A compelling title could mean the difference between someone reading your proposal or ignoring it in favor of a competitor’s. 

What makes a good title page? Here are the essential elements to include: 

• Your name along with your company’s name
• The name of the prospect (or their business) 
• The date you’re submitting the proposal

The gray business consulting proposal template above contains all the details a prospect would want to know. The title also offers a strong tangible benefit to the prospective buyer. Honestly, “Who doesn’t want to grow their business?”

Return to business proposal content sections

The table of contents is a fundamental part of every winning business proposal template. It makes your proposal scannable and easy to read.

The people you will be pitching to are usually C-level executives. These are busy people who don’t have time to read your entire proposal in one go.

That’s why most of the business proposal examples in this list include a table of contents.

Adding a table of contents to your document makes it easy for them to go through it at their own pace. They can also skim through parts of the proposal that they deem more important. You can see how this abstract business proposal template uses the table of contents:

You can also make your business proposal template easier to navigate by adding hyperlinks to the document, particularly in the table of contents. This way your clients can jump to specific sections without having to scroll through the entire document. 

It’s easy to add hyperlinks in the Venngage editor. Select the text you’d like to turn into a link, then click the link icon in the top bar. From there, select the page you want to link to! Then download your completed design as an Interactive PDF .

The executive summary is a staple in all kinds of annual reports , project plans and even marketing plans . It is a concise summary of the entire contents of your document. In other words, write a business proposal outline that is easy to glance over and that highlights your value proposition.

The goals of your executive summary are:

• Introduce your company to your buyer
• Provide an overview of your company goals
• Showcase your company’s milestones, overall vision and future plans
• Include any other relevant details

This gray business proposal example has a detailed yet short executive summary including some social proof in the form of clients they’ve worked with:

Take note of how precise this business proposal example is. You want to keep your executive summary concise and clear from the get-go. This sets the right tone for the rest of your proposal. It also gives your buyer a reason to continue reading your proposal.

Pro Tip: Try to write an executive summary such that, even if your prospective client doesn’t read the entire proposal (with a good executive summary, they most likely will), they should have a clear idea about what your company does and how you can help them.

The point of writing a business proposal is to solve a buyer’s problem. Your goal is to outline the problem statement as clearly as possible. This develops a sense of urgency in your prospect. They will want to find a solution to the problem. And you have that solution.

 A well-defined problem statement does two things: 

• It shows the prospect you have done your homework instead of sending a generic pitch
• It creates an opportunity for you to point out a problem your prospect might not be aware they had in the first place. 

This bold business proposal template above clearly outlines the problem at hand and also offers a ray of hope i.e. how you can solve your prospect’s problem. This brings me to… 

The good stuff. In the proposed solution section, you show how you can alleviate your prospective buyer’s pain points. This can fit onto the problem statement section but if you have a comprehensive solution or prefer to elaborate on the details, a separate section is a good idea.

Spare no details regarding the solution you will provide. When you write a business proposal, explain how you plan to deliver the solution. Include an estimated timeline of when they can expect your solution and other relevant details.

For inspiration, look at how this business proposal template quickly and succinctly outlines the project plan, deliverables and metrics :

At this point, the prospect you’re pitching your solution to likes what they’re reading. But they may not trust you to deliver on your promises. Why is this?

It’s because they don’t know you. Your job is to convince them that you can fix their problem. This section is important because it acts as social proof. You can highlight what your company does best and how qualified your team is when you write a business proposal for a potential client.

This free business proposal template showcases the company’s accolades, client testimonials, relevant case studies, and industry awards. You can also include other forms of social proof to establish yourself as a credible business. This makes it that much more likely that they will say yes!

Pro Tip: Attaching in-depth case studies of your work is a great way to build trust with a potential client by showcasing how you’ve solved similar problems for other clients in the past. Our case study examples post can show you how to do just that.

To further demonstrate just how prepared you are, it’s important to outline the next steps you will take should your buyer decide to work with you.

Provide a timeline of how and when you will complete all your deliverables. You can do this by designing a  flow chart . Or add a  roadmap  with deadlines. Pitching a long-term project? A timeline infographic would be a better fit.

If you look at this abstract business proposal template below, even something as simple as a table can do the trick.

The timeline is not always set in stone, rather it’s an estimation. The goal is to clarify any questions your potential client might have about how you will deliver for the underlying B2B sales process.

On this page, you can outline your fees, payment schedule, invoice payment terms , as well as legal aspects involved in this deal.

The key to good pricing is to provide your buyer with options. A  pricing comparison table can help with this. You want to give your client some room to work with. Make sure you’re not scaring off your client with a high price, nor undervaluing yourself. 

Breaking up your pricing in stages is another great way to make sure your potential client knows what he’s paying for. Look at how this simple business proposal template does this:

The legal aspects can slot right into the terms and conditions section. Alternatively, you can add them to the signature section of the proposal to keep things simple.

Summarize everything you have promised to deliver so far. Include what you expect from your prospective buyer in return.  Add the overall project timeline from start to end, as well as payment methods and payment schedule. This way, both of you will be clear on what is being agreed on.

This step is very important as it outlines all the legal aspects of the deal. That is why the terms and conditions section of your proposal needs to be as clear as possible.

I recommend consulting a lawyer or your legal team when working on this section of the business proposal. If you’re a business veteran and understand the legalities of your business, you can use the same terms and conditions across all your proposals.

The final step of this whole process. Your client has read your business proposal and they want to buy what you have to offer.

Add a small section at the end of your proposal to get the necessary signatures. This way, you and your client can sign the proposal and the partnership becomes official.

Be sure to also include your contact information in your business proposal template. It acts as a gentle prompt to your client to contact you in case they have any questions.

A business proposal usually aims to answer the following questions: 

• Who you are and what your company does
• The problem your buyer is facing
• The solution your company offers to alleviate the problem
• How your company will implement this solution effectively
• An estimate of resources (time, money, etc) required to implement the solution

You can see how this sample business proposal template covers the above points.

Notice how this proposal template addresses the same project like in one of the previous templates, but uses a completely different design style (more retro, while the previous business proposal template is more modern and minimalistic).

You can remove or add more sections depending on the goal of your business proposal. Essential, your business proposal can follow this format:

• Pricing, billing and legal

We go into detail on how you can write a business proposal (plus different business proposal templates you can apply the tips to) in the next section . But you can also click on the format items above to learn how you can best write them!

If you aim to create a holistic business proposal, feel free to just edit from the two templates right above. You can also add your brand colors and logo to your design, using My Brand Kit :

Here’s another example of a business proposal template that you can edit:

Generally, there are three types of business proposals:

1. Formally solicited 

A formally solicited business proposal is made when you respond to an official request to write a business proposal.

In this scenario, you know all the requirements and have more (if not all) information about a prospective buyer. You simply need to write the business proposal for your buyer to evaluate so you can begin the sales process .

2. Informally solicited 

Informally solicited business proposals are written when there isn’t an official request for a proposal. A prospective buyer is interested in your services and asks for a proposal so they can evaluate it.

An informally solicited proposal requires a lot more research from your end. These types of proposals are usually created out of informal conversations. They are not based on official requests which often contain more detail.

3. Unsolicited 

Think of this as a marketing brochure or a cold email . Unsolicited business proposals will often take a generic, one-size-fits-all approach to business proposals. Unsolicited proposals lack any understanding of the buyer or their requirements.

But with additional  market research , personalization and identifying customer pain points , you can propose a customized solution based on your buyer’s needs. This can be a very persuasive approach, such as in this business proposal example:

Now that you know how to write a business proposal, let’s look at how you can optimize your proposal to deliver results!

Below you’ll find some winning business proposal templates and examples to get you started. I’ve also included some design tips to keep in mind when you’re creating your next business proposal: 

1. Know your audience 

If you have some clarity on who your ideal buyer is — their pain points, their budget, deadlines, among other things — you’ve already won half the battle.

If you are a business that helps clients with everything from running giveaways or helping grow their blog , identify which customers to pitch. This is a sure-shot way to close the deal.

Mapping user personas  for your ideal buyer can help bring some clarity. It will also help you position your business proposal correctly. This improves the chance of your buyer moving your business proposal to the “Yes!” pile.

2. Put your brand front and center

If your company follows certain brand guidelines, incorporate them in your business proposal templates. Consider how business proposal examples like the one below highlight brand identity :

From the color palettes to the company logos , everything follows their brand guidelines. The result: a business proposal that’s consistent across the board.

Pro Tip: Switching this template to match your brand assets is actually pretty easy. Venngage’s My Brand Kit feature allows you to import your color palettes, logos as well as font choices. Any Venngage template can now be your template.

You can also consider this sample business proposal template:

Design companies sure do know their design. They did a phenomenal job keeping their brand colors consistent while opting for a black design. This unique color scheme also makes their white logo prominent throughout the proposal.

3. Try less text, more visuals

Have you ever read a proposal and thought to yourself, “Wow, this is all text and has no images, I love it!”? Yeah, me neither.

The free business proposal template below is a perfect example of the “less is more” principle. It does a phenomenal job of communicating what it needs to. By substituting some of the text with icons and visuals, you get a clean business proposal that’s much more scannable.

Want to keep things strictly professional? Instead of icons, you can always add your team’s headshots. This shows your buyer exactly who they’ll be working with.  

Check out this formal business proposal format for some inspiration:

4. Switch up your business proposal designs

It doesn’t hurt to go above and beyond once in a while. Jazz up your business proposal template with some extra colors. This helps make your business proposal more engaging. It also helps your buyers retain information faster.

The business proposal example alternates between black, white and grey backgrounds. It still manages to maintain consistency in its branding . Just switching up your backgrounds once in a while can also bring in some variety to an otherwise standard business proposal.

This SEO business proposal sample proves that it’s possible to switch up the colors in every other page. But it still maintains the same color scheme across the entire proposal just like a professionally designed website : 

Pro Tip: Not a color expert? Our guide on picking colors can help you pick the right color scheme for your proposals.

FAQ about business proposals

What is the purpose of a business proposal.

A business proposal aims to streamline the B2B sales process (which is often complex) between you as a seller and a buyer.

It does this by serving the dual purpose of acting as a source of information. The proposal also acts as a sales pitch aimed at convincing your buyer why they should buy what you have to offer.

What are the best practices for business proposal design?

• Do a thorough spell-check. The goal of your business proposal is to convince your buyer why you’re the perfect person for the job. A proposal with typos or grammatical errors communicates the opposite. A thorough spell-check before you send your proposal is a must.
• Keep things clear and readable: Clarity is an important aspect that you have to ensure in your business proposal. If you want your proposal to hit home and make an impact on the buyer, you have to write it in an understandable way. To keep things clear and readable, there are a couple of things that you can do. You can, for one, take care to use easy wording and segmented sentences from the get-go. You can also try paraphrasing the hard parts of your proposal once you are done writing it.
• Let your brand shine. As discussed before, writing a business proposal is all about knowing your ideal buyer and focusing on their pain points. But that doesn’t mean your business proposal template has to be boring. Demonstrate how different you are compared to other companies. You can do this through your brand guidelines , by using more visuals, switching up your proposal design or showing off your personality in your writing . 
• Create a business proposal PDF. Downloading your business proposal in PDF format allows you to attach other collaterals with your business proposal. These can include a company explainer video or case studies showcasing the work done with past clients. Also, who doesn’t love saving paper?

How long should your business proposal be? 

The length depends on the scope of the work as well as the complexity of the project. Here is a one-page business proposal template:

Can your business proposal template really be one page? Yes, as long as you understand who your buyer is and their pain points. You should also have the ability to communicate everything your ideal buyer needs to know about your business in a succinct manner.

Or if you’re feeling adventurous how about just two pages? Often, clients prefer if you go straight to the point and avoid all the fluff.

For example, this green modern marketing proposal template wastes no time in getting down to brass tacks:

Need more inspiration? Check out this blog on the 5 marketing proposal examples that’ll help elevate your business.

There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to deciding how many pages you should include in your business proposal template. And at the end of the day, “the only rules are the ones you set for yourself”.

At the end of the day, writing winning business proposals that sell is all about you understanding your buyer, their potential pain points and positioning yourself as someone who can alleviate those pain points. 

Now that you know how to write compelling business proposals, what are you waiting for?

Take action and start creating your own business proposals to close more deals and grow your business today!

More business communications templates + writing tips you might be interested in…

31 Consulting Proposal Templates to Close Deals

How to Write a Project Proposal [10+ Templates]

20+ Professional Business Letterhead Templates + Branding Tips

How to Write a White Paper [Tips & Templates]

How To Write A Business Plan (2023 Guide)

Reviewed By

Updated: Aug 20, 2022, 2:21am

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

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How to Write a Business Proposal in 7 Steps

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Whether you’re a B2B or a B2C company, you’re in the business of convincing customers to choose to spend their money with your business. For a B2B company that process usually involves a business proposal. In the B2B industry, once you've attracted new customers, which are most likely other businesses, you have to actually make a deal. Unlike B2C companies, who use marketing strategies and then hope their customers respond and purchase their product and service, there's a little more involved in this exchange. That's where your business proposal will come into the picture.

Luckily, even though your process and the exact format for your business proposal can be unique to your company, there is also a general formula you can follow to make things easier, especially the first few times you write a proposal.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the general steps of how to write a business proposal—including how to decide what kind of proposal you're writing, how you should organize it, and what information you should include.

How to write a b usiness proposal: 7 essential steps to follow

With these starting points in mind, let's get down to the process. Whether you’re just learning how to write a business proposal, or want to change up the one you’ve already been using, you’ll want to break down writing into a step-by-step approach. The organization is key when you’re writing a business proposal—structure will not only help you answer the core questions mentioned above, but it’ll also help you create consistent, successful proposals every time you’re pitching new business.

This being said, when writing a business proposal, you can break down the document into these sections:

Introduction

Table of contents

Executive summary

Project details

Deliverables and milestones

Bonus: Appendix (if necessary)

Step 1: Introduction

The introduction to your business proposal should provide your client with a succinct overview of what your company does (similar to the company overview in your business plan). It should also include what sets your company apart from its peers, and why it’s particularly well-suited to be the selected vendor to undertake a job—whether the assignment is a singular arrangement or an ongoing relationship.

The most effective business proposal introductions accomplish more with less: It’s important to be comprehensive without being overly wordy. You'll want to resist the temptation to share every detail about your company’s history and lines of business, and don’t feel the need to outline every detail of your proposal. You'll want to keep the introduction section to one page or shorter.

Step 2: Table of contents

Once you've introduced your business and why you're the right fit for the client you're submitting the proposal to (a quasi-cover letter), you'll want to next create a table of contents. Like any typical table of contents, this section will simply outline what the client can expect to find in the remainder of the proposal. You'll include all of the sections that we'll cover below, simply laid out as we just did above.

If you're sending an electronic proposal, you may want to make the table of contents clickable so the client can easily jump from section to section by clicking the links within the actual table of contents.

Step 3: Executive summary

Next, your business proposal should always include an executive summary that frames out answers to the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions that you’re proposing to the client lead. Here, the client will understand that you understand them.

It's important to note that despite the word "summary," this section shouldn't be a summary of your whole business proposal. Instead, this section should serve as your elevator pitch or value proposition. You'll use the executive summary to make an explicit case for why your company is the best fit for your prospect’s needs. Talk about your strengths, areas of expertise, similar problems you’ve solved, and the advantages you provide over your competitors—all from the lens of how these components could help your would-be client’s business thrive.

Step 4: Project details

When it comes to how to write a business proposal, steps four through six will encompass the main body of your proposal—where your potential client will understand how you’ll address their project and the scope of the work.

Within this body, you'll start by explaining your recommendation, solution, or approach to servicing the client. As you get deeper within your explanation, your main goal will be to convey to the client that you’re bringing something truly custom to the table. Show that you've created this proposal entirely for them based on their needs and any problems they need to solve. At this point, you'll detail your proposed solution, the tactics you’ll undertake to deliver on it, and any other details that relate to your company’s recommended approach.

Step 5: Deliverables and milestones

This section will nest inside the project details section, but it’s an essential step on its own.

Your proposal recipient doesn’t get merely an idea of your plan, of course—they get proposed deliverables. You'll outline your proposed deliverables here with in-depth descriptions of each (that might include quantities or the scope of services, depending on the kind of business you run). You never want to assume a client is on the same page as you with expectations, because if you’re not aligned, they might think you over-promised and under-delivered. Therefore, this is the section where you'll want to go into the most detail.

Along these lines, you can also use this section of the prospective client's proposal to restrict the terms and scope of your services. This can come in handy if you’re concerned that the work you’re outlining could lead to additional projects or responsibilities that you’re not planning to include within your budget.

Moreover, you might also want to consider adding milestones to this section, either alongside deliverables or entirely separately. Milestones can be small, such as delivery dates for a specific package of project components, or when you send over your first draft of a design. Or, you can choose to break out the project into phases. For longer projects, milestones can be a great way to convey your company’s organization and responsibility.

Step 6: Budget

There’s no way around the fact that pricing projects isn’t easy or fun—after all, you need to balance earning what you’re worth and proving value, while also not scaring away a potential client, or getting beaten out by a competitor with a cheaper price. Nevertheless, a budget or pricing section is an integral part of a business proposal, so you'll want to prepare your pricing strategy ahead of time before getting into the weeds of any proposal writing.

This being said, if you fear the fee might seem too high to your potential client, you might decide to break out the individual components of the budget—for example: social media services, $700; web copywriting $1,500—or create a few different tiers of pricing with different services contained in each. The second approach might not work for all types of businesses or proposal requests, but it may be worth considering if you’re worried about your overall fee appearing steep.

With these points in mind, once you've determined how to outline your pricing, you'll list it out (you might even include optional fees or services) and the overall cost for the scope of work you've described.

Step 7: Conclusion

Finally, your conclusion should wrap up your understanding of the project, your proposed solutions, and what kind of work (and costs) are involved. This is your last opportunity to make a compelling case within your business proposal—reiterate what you intend to do, and why it beats your competitors’ ideas.

If you're writing an RFP, again, meaning a potential client has requested this document from you, you might also include a terms and conditions section at this point. This end-on piece would detail the terms of your pricing, schedule, and scope of work that the client would be agreeing to by accepting this proposal.

Bonus step: Appendix (optional)

After the conclusion, you might also decide to include an appendix—where you add any supplemental information that that either doesn’t fit within the main proposal without being disruptive for the reader, or is less than essential to understanding the main components of your proposal. You’ll likely only need an appendix if you have stats, figures, illustrations, or examples of work that you want to share with your potential client. This being said, you might also include contact information, details about your team, and other relevant information in this section.

If you don't have any additional information to include, don't worry—you can end your business proposal with the conclusion section.

Business proposal considerations

Before you dive into determining how to write a business proposal that will give you a competitive edge, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

First, you'll want to make sure that you’re accomplishing the right objectives with your proposal. When writing a business proposal, you’re trying to walk a line between both promoting your company and addressing the needs of your would-be client, which can be difficult for any company to do.

This being said, you'll want to remember that a business proposal is different than a business plan, which you likely already wrote for your company when you were starting your business. Your business plan spells out your company's overall growth goals and objectives, but a business proposal speaks directly to a specific could-be client with the purpose of winning their business for your company.

With this in mind, in order to write a business proposal for any potential client, you'll need to establish your internal objectives and how these will contribute to the work you're proposing. To explain, you'll need to consider the following:

What tasks will need to be done for this work?

Who will do each task, and oversee the job at large?

What you’ll charge for the job?

Where will the work be delivered?

When will it be done?

Why are you the best fit for the job the client needs to be accomplished?

How will you achieve results?

Not only are these questions at the heart of clear and concise writing, but you also won't be able to write your business proposal without answers to them. So as you're going through the different pieces of your business proposal, keep in mind the objectives of your business, while also remaining persuasive regarding why the potential client should work with you instead of someone else.

The next important thing you'll need to keep in mind before you start writing a business proposal is what kind of proposal are you writing. Essentially, there are two types of business proposals—solicited proposals where someone requested the proposal from your company—and unsolicited proposals, where you're sending the document to another business unprompted.

In the case of solicited proposals, often called RFPs (short for a request for proposal), it’s likely that this potential client already knows at least a little about your business. With these kinds of business proposals, you'll want to spend less time convincing the client that you're the best small business consultant for the job and more on making your proposal feel custom to their specific brief, project, or problem. On the whole, the less generic your business proposal is, the more likely you are to win the work.

Unsolicited proposals, on the other hand, are much harder to sell.

As you’re writing a business proposal to a company that doesn’t know they may need your services, you’ll want to focus on getting them to understand why your company is specifically unique. You want to show them that you can add significant value to their business that they don’t already have. If there is currently someone performing the function you would like to, the sell will even be more difficult.

Business proposal examples

So, now that we've gone through all of the steps to show you how to write a business proposal, let's discuss some examples. As you go through the writing process, you might find it's helpful to consult external resources to review business proposal samples or templates and see how other businesses have structured these types of documents. Specifically, it might be even more helpful to review business proposal examples that relate to your particular industry—such as marketing, advertising, or finance.

General business proposal sample

If you're looking for a general business proposal example, you might consult BPlan, which offers advice, examples, and templates for the documents that are required to plan and operate a small business. In the BPlan sample, BPlan breaks their example into three overarching parts—a problem statement, a proposed solution, and a pricing estimate. This may be a good place to start if you're writing a business proposal for the first time and need a simple, general example to follow.

For a solicited proposal or RFP, you may want to reference a business proposal example that specifically operates under the assumption that you've been asked for this proposal. In this case, you may check out one of the downloadable RFP templates from Template Lab.

Template Lab offers both Word and PDF versions of their templates—and these business proposal samples will include sections more appropriate for RFPs including terms and conditions, scheduling, and points of contact.

Business proposal template services or software

For the most advanced and plug-and-play type business proposal samples, you may decide to utilize a service like Proposify or PandaDoc. These software services allow you to choose from their library of professionally designed and outlined business proposal examples (which are also usually industry-specific) and customize the template for your business's needs.

It's important to note, however, that although you may be able to sign up for a free trial for these services, most of them will eventually require a paid subscription.

5 best practices for writing a business proposal

Writing a business proposal can seem overwhelming at first, as it requires you to provide information about your company and its services as they relate specifically to what your prospect needs. As you go through the process again and again, however, it will become easier and easier to write a succinct and effective business proposal.

This being said, there are a few best practices you can keep in mind to help you as you get started:

1. Be direct.

Although you might feel the urge to show off your language skills while trying to impress a client, when you’re writing a business proposal, tour best bet to win business is to be clear, concise, and direct. You won't want to use overly flowery language or anything that could possibly be misconstrued.

2. Don’t leave room for ambiguity.

You'll want to make sure your proposal is straightforward and easy to understand, with no room for misinterpretation around what you say you’ll do or deliver.

Therefore, you'll want to avoid overly complicated industry jargon to be sure your client can understand exactly what you're talking about and what it means within the scope of your (and their) business.

3. Write for the right audience.

If you were writing a proposal for a specialty food business, it shouldn't look or sound exactly the same as if you were writing a proposal for an asset management company. You'll always want to keep your audience in mind as your craft and develop your proposal.

Ultimately, your best bet is to be straightforward, clear, and stick to the details, but you also shouldn't be afraid to tailor your writing to your audience so that your client feels that the proposal has truly been created with their business in mind.

This being said, your proposal should show that you not only understand your potential client but that you also respect them professionally.

4. Consider a title page.

Although this may not be necessary for a shorter business proposal, a title page can help with the general organization, flow, and professional feel of your document.

Like a title page for any other type of report, this one-page cover sheet would precede the remainder of your proposal and would likely include your business's name, contact information, and logo, as well as who you're submitting the proposal to.

Depending on your business or the potential client you're submitting the proposal to, you might decide that a title page is unnecessary, however, it's worth keeping in mind that it may be something to visually draw in your reader from the start.

5. Err on the side of brevity.

Finally, within the world of business proposals, shorter is usually better. This isn't to say, of course, that you should leave out details or omit important sections—it simply means that you should try to find the most succinct way to say what you need to say and get your point across to the potential client.

The bottom line

There's no doubt about it—learning how to write a business proposal is a lot of work. Luckily, however, you can follow our steps so you know what to include in your proposal and how to include it.

Ultimately, selling your services to potential clients is part of running and managing your business and as you do it again and again, it will only become easier.

This being said, as you go through the lifecycle of your business, you'll begin to accumulate a library of business proposals that you can continuously reference and use to develop your pitching strategy and writing process based on proposals that have and have not worked. And, hopefully, by taking the time to invest in this business proposal process, you'll be winning the work you need to grow your business.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

On a similar note...

How to Write a Business Proposal: Step-by-Step Guide

• Jun 29, 2023
• 21 min read

• First published on
• Apr 6, 2020

You just finished an amazing meeting with a potential client, they seem ready to pull the trigger and excited to work with you. Then they utter the following sentence:

“Please send me a business proposal.”

As a business owner or salesperson, that’s the best thing you’ll hear all day. Until you get back to the office and realize you actually have to write it. This guide will give you a system and guidelines on how to write a successful business proposal and make that process super easy.

Writing a business proposal is actually not that fun. In fact, most business owners absolutely hate this task. However, if you have amazing business proposal templates to rely on, you can speed up this process and quickly start working on the client’s problem.

What we’ll cover

• Proposal templates
• Visual presentation and design
• Introduction (Executive summary)
• Detailed specification
• Terms and conditions

Optimizing your proposals for conversion

What is a business proposal.

An effective business proposal is a formal document created with the purpose of persuading your potential customers to work with you. It’s a document used in a variety of industries – from selling carpets to offering enterprise software solutions and social media marketing , all of it starts with a business proposal.

Two types of business proposals

Besides the difference in the industry, the main division is between solicited and unsolicited business proposals. A solicited business proposal is sent when you already have a connection with the potential customer and they’re interested in what you’re selling. 

Usually, the buyer themselves will ask for a proposal outlining your problem statement. Whether they’re a small business or government agencies, your proposal should follow the project details they’ve outlined.

On the other hand, unsolicited proposals are sent without the explicit request of someone who may be interested in what you’re selling. Whether you’re writing formally solicited proposals or unsolicited ones, you’ll need to know how to structure them. 

Although it’s easier to create a solicited proposal, don’t stress out about writing unsolicited ones. Our guide can help you in both situations.

How to set yourself up for proposal success

Have you ever freehanded a business proposal into the body of an email? Or started compiling it in a Word document from scratch? Or maybe you’re more into InDesign so you noticed a typo on your freshly exported PDF?

The fact of the matter is, creating a proposal for every client from scratch is both exhausting and a waste of time. Having a structured proposal writing system in place will save you countless hours. At the most basic level, your proposal writing system is two things:

• Having a great business proposal template written with everything in it
• Knowing what needs editing each time

The first thing, getting your business proposal template in order, is vital. The second is a matter of personalization to the specific job and client.

What is a business proposal template?

Put simply, a proposal template is a proposal that is about 90% finished. Think of it as a collection of all the best pieces of content you’ve ever put into previous proposals.

Your best introduction describing the problem statement, your best pricing strategy , best type of proof, best title page, etc. A winning template combines all the best elements of the proposals you’ve sent which resulted in sales for your product or service.

If you’re using proposal software like Better Proposals, compiling this shouldn’t be difficult, because you will know which proposals work for your target audience thanks to our analytics and reports.

But what if you’ve never sent proposals before so you don’t have a basis for templates? What if you don’t have the time or just don’t know a thing about proposals? No reason to worry – our proposal library has more than 130 different proposal templates that help sell a wide range of products or services .

Once you have your template in place, you’ll only need to fill out the major details, such as:

• The client’s information
• Specifics about the offer
• Pricing, timelines, detailed specification
• A proof section with an example similar to the offer you’re sending, etc.

Once you add these, your business proposal is ready to go. The main idea is that templates help you write proposals in 15 minutes instead of 5 hours. To see what the template creation process looks like, check out how easy it is to design yours in Better Proposals .

The importance of a good business proposal template

The best thing about a good proposal template is that you only need to create it once. After that, it’s just a matter of tweaking the details. If you do it properly the first time around, sending out a proposal turns into a few minutes’ work. 

The best tip we have is to choose your best proposal and turn it into a template. Allocate a good day to getting it as good as it can be – turn all specific information into placeholders, get your formatting sorted, and make sure your pricing section is clean and clear.

This also means editing the copy like it’s a headline on your website. Consider the wording, your client, and the emotions you want to evoke – really make each section shine.

Despite their growing popularity, this is the time to resist the urge to use AI content writers . The content they produce is easy to spot and putting effort into creating a great business proposal template makes all the difference. 

Later in this article, we’ll look at what is included in a business proposal, and that goes for your template too. We’ll provide business proposal examples as well. Next time you have that meeting with your potential client and they ask you to send them a business proposal for your proposed solution, you’ll confidently walk away knowing exactly what to do.

How to write a business proposal

Most people think that writing a business proposal is boring and time-consuming. And for the most part, they’re right. There really is no creative flair in writing them and it’s all about pitching your product or service so that the new client says yes and gives you money. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a way to make proposal writing easier and more efficient and get your prospective client on board more quickly.

In the following sections, we’ll show you that writing a business proposal is more about preparation and using the right tools to make writing easier. In other words, we’ll teach you how to write a business proposal with minimal effort and maximum sales performance.

Once you pick the right proposal software tools, you’ll see how easy it is to create a winning proposal.

What questions are your customers asking?

When writing a business proposal, there’s a situation going on that only the best salespeople understand. Your potential client has a list of questions. They’ll rarely tell you what those questions are. Mostly because they’re pretty awkward. 

For example, we had a situation when I quoted someone £40,000 for some software once. The proposal was about 17 pages long and the client replied with one sentence:

“Sounds good. What happens if you die? How do I get my data back?”

I didn’t think it was an appropriate time to go back to him and explain I probably wouldn’t care about his data if I was dead. However, I did explain to him a contingency plan that we had in place for nearly a decade now for this exact situation. I told him, and he signed up.

This got me thinking. While this guy was the first bold enough to ask that question, he can’t have been the first guy to think it. From that moment on, we included the contingency plan in every business proposal we sent under a section called ‘How we protect your data’.

Awkward questions your potential customers have, but won’t ask you:

• What happens if you die?
• What will I do if they screw up my search engine rankings?
• What happens if they take over my website and vanish?
• What happens if they redesign my website and I get fewer conversions than I got before?

A rare client will actually ask these questions to your face, but it doesn’t mean they won’t pop into their mind. Think about it. How many questions do people actually ask on the back of proposals? Answer these questions in your proposal before the client gets a chance to ask them.

How do you want your potential clients to feel?

Don’t think of business proposals as just sales documents – think of them as taking someone on an experience. Think movies. The emotions override the content. It’s less important how you get them to feel sadness at the end, so long as you do.

Writing a business proposal isn’t that different. It’s all about the emotion you want your potential client to feel at the end of reading it. For example:

• Excitement – Describing possibilities, using uplifting pictures, and success stories is good here. Don’t bore them with a document resembling a long business plan.
• Confidence – Include lots of proof and trust-building elements into this. Don’t make suggestions; be certain in your wording.
• Action taking – Lots of commanding words and talking about the next step. Don’t bog them down with a list of 42 things to decide on. Just get them to do the “next” thing.

You could find the best custom writing service out there and you’d still be the only one who can do this properly. That’s because, depending on your client and what you’re selling, only you know what’s most appropriate.

What you definitely don’t want to be doing is talking in “maybes”, “ifs”, and using suggestive wording when you want someone to trust you. It sounds like you’re not sure. As a good friend, Mitch Miller, says:

“The doctor doesn’t ask the patient if it’s the right prescription. He just prescribes the right thing and tells them to get out of the office.”

The 8 elements of a winning proposal

There are 8 elements most business proposals should include. Some are absolutely essential; some are not – that depends on your specific situation. Here they are:

Does your proposal need to have all of these sections? Maybe yes, maybe not – it depends. However, all of our proposal templates have these sections out of the box. But wait – there’s one thing we haven’t mentioned on purpose.

0. The cover page

All proposals should have a well-designed cover page with an image and text to address the specific client. We’re leaving it out because all of our business proposal templates come with beautiful, professionally designed cover pages already built in.

A beautifully designed cover page can help your business stand out because it gives your entire document a level of professionalism. What’s more, it brings the wow factor that pulls clients in right off the bat.

1. The introduction

Also known as the Executive summary. Good business proposals always start with a great introduction . This is the most read part of your proposal so it needs to get across that you understand their situation and you’re clear on their goal. Your meetings and discovery sessions should be heavily predicated on getting the information for this section of the proposal.

The biggest reason you’re not winning new business is not getting a chance to do a meeting or initial call about the job. As a result, you never discovered what the client wants to achieve, what’s important to them, and what makes them tick. And because you don’t know that information, you lead with the things that don’t matter as much (e.g., the price or the technicalities of what you’re going to do). 

This is why a discovery call is one of the most important things to include when you learn how to write a business proposal. Without it, you’re essentially guessing what the client needs.

The importance of a good proposal introduction

Your introduction should show the client that you’ve listened to their problem and that you have the cure, which you will show them in the next section. If you want to create an ongoing relationship, you need to show that you’ve researched your client’s company.

If you want to present your clients with a custom service, this is the place to stress that. Show them how you customize your usual offer to match their exact pain point.

According to our own research, this is the most-read section of all business proposals besides the pricing. Most clients read just these two sections, so make sure that you invest extra time and care in this one.

How to write a proposal introduction

This section is also known as a summary or an executive summary, depending on your resources. Even though the title is different, everything else is the same – it’s a section where you discuss how you’re going to solve the client’s problem and present your value proposition.

The most important tip we have here is to make it all about the client and the solution to their problem. In other words, refrain from going on and on about yourself. At the end of the day, a client reading a proposal wants to know what solution you offer. And if they’re interested in your company history or the process of forming an LLC , they’ll Google it.

Make sure to keep it short and to the point. You want to keep your entire proposal easy to read and as enjoyable of an experience for your potential client as possible. 

Since the executive summary is such an important part of any standard business proposal, don’t be afraid of asking your team members to read it and give you feedback. And if you need more practical writing tips, check out our in-depth proposal introduction writing guide .  

2. The detailed specification

This part varies depending on what you’re selling. If it’s a website, this could be a list of pages and features. If you’re writing a social media marketing proposal, then this could be the strategy or the talent and credentials of your team. It’ll vary.

The basic idea is to be as detailed as possible in your offer. That way, the prospective client understands exactly how your proposed solutions work.

The reason it’s important is that, if the deal goes bad, you both have this section to refer back to. Your business proposal outlines accountability and what the client should hope for. Moreover, it also serves as a good exercise for you when writing a good business proposal as this is all the information you’re going to gather in any discovery phase of the deal.

It’s important here to keep this in plain English. Stay far away from jargon as it will only confuse the potential client. The less the reader understands, the less they trust you.

Also, if you absolutely must write about your company, this might be the place to do it. Who you are, what you do, how long you’ve been doing it and what makes you stand out. However, don’t spend too much time or space on this because the focus is on the client, not you.

3. The timescales

It doesn’t matter if it’s a wide bracket like 2-4 weeks – you have to give the client some clue about your project timeline . Otherwise, it’s a massive unknown.

It can be really useful to find out if the client has a special event or another reason for a project timeline to be important to them. If there is, tie that in. You can even tie that into scarcity to give them the incentive to sign the proposal off by a certain date. And if you’re writing unsolicited proposals, you need to be especially convincing and present your project timeline in a way that will make it hard to say no to. 

Be as specific as possible, but also use this section to your advantage. More time to deliver means two things:

• You can finish earlier than promised and impress your client
• You have more time to spare if something goes unexpectedly wrong

More time is always better, but make sure that you consider the need for urgency as well.

4. The proof

You must prove to your client that you can actually deliver your proposed solution. Now, you might say “we have examples on our website”. That’s nice – but the client is not looking at your website, they’re reading your proposal – your one big “ask” for the business. They want solid proof and a few good case studies will do.

You need to have sufficient proof in a good business proposal. This could be examples, testimonials, video case studies, screenshots from a client proving you helped them with something, a recording of a voicemail – anything.

As you can see in our business proposal example, it doesn’t have to be complex and have the production value of a Spielberg classic. It just needs to get the point across.

To help them feel like they’ll be in good hands, you can also indicate relevant credentials and certifications your team managers and members have. After all, product managers and team leaders will play a massive role in ensuring that your product or service is of top quality.

The good news is, there is more than one type of proof that you can choose. Case studies, testimonials, portfolio pieces, explainer videos – there are lots of ways to convince your clients that you’re the real deal.

5. The price

Based on our data, this is the second most read section of any business proposal – people usually jump straight from the introduction to the pricing table. Needless to say, spend some extra time here to make it look right.

When using our business proposal templates, you can choose how to format your price based on project details. That said, there are a few things you want to make sure of. 

The first is that the pricing is super clear. If you have somewhat of a confusing pricing structure then this might be time to think about simplifying it.

Speaking of which, we’ve done some research on pricing in business proposals and you can see our results in the latest Proposal Report . As it turns out, it’s a better idea to have a single offer and price instead of trying to get more money with upsells. Proposals with a single offer sold significantly more – 20.6% for offers with upfront costs and 33% higher for offers with monthly retainer costs.

The reason is that a business proposal is a matter of getting a simple answer – yes or no. The more options you add, the more difficult it gets for them to decide whether to sign or not. Keep your responsive pricing tables super simple.

The way you format your price can help avoid further negotiations. Our analysis of real-life pricing mistakes should give you a good idea of what to avoid.

How to name your pricing section

Finally, there is one more thing that you should know about the pricing section – don’t call it that. We’ve discovered that these names work better:

• Return on investment
• And others following this pattern

Basically, you want your clients to see your services as an investment in their business, rather than a simple cost and money down the drain. Small businesses or enterprise clients, no one wants to spend money – they want to invest it.

6. The guarantee

Some people love the idea of a guarantee. Others don’t like giving guarantees for fear of abuse. However, a guarantee is a great way to push new clients further towards conversion.

Instead of a typical money-back guarantee, consider guaranteeing a part of your service or a timescale. Cheryl Laidlaw’s “Website in a day” service is a good example. 

She, at the time of writing, charges £1,995 for the day and delivers the website THAT NIGHT. The client doesn’t go home (and neither does Cheryl) until it’s done – which is an amazing offer .

7. The next steps

A lot of times, people seem to forget the very basics – to show the client what to do next. Sure, some people might read your business proposal and say “Great, okay let’s go ahead”. But why would you leave it up to them to figure it out?

It’s not their job to figure out how to buy from you, especially if you’re sending informally solicited proposals. Just make sure to tell them what the next steps are. Usually, this will be something like:

Step 1: Sign the proposal by typing your name in the box below and hitting ‘Accept’. This makes the proposal a legally binding contract.

Step 2: We’ll invoice you for 50%. Please, pay for this immediately.

Step 3: We’ll arrange our initial consultation call with you.

Anyone can do these tasks on their own – they’re not all that complex. The problem is that, if you leave all of this unsaid, you’re leaving your clients wondering. Explain all the details of what’s going to happen next.

8. The terms and conditions

You absolutely should be including your contract or terms and conditions. Just put it on a separate page called Terms & Conditions or Terms of Business .

There’s a great contract written for freelancers which covers 98% of the basics. If you’re not using a contract in your business right now, use this until your legal team demands something better.

You should always include your terms in your business proposals because when someone signs the proposal, they automatically sign the contract . It covers you and it covers the client, so it’s only natural to include it.

Just reading the words “terms and conditions” may make you feel dizzy because of the work ahead, but it’s actually something that you can do once and never fret about again later.

You could have the best structured proposal on the planet and still lose business for one simple reason – not optimizing for conversion. We’ve analyzed hundreds of thousands of proposals sent through our platform to see what makes them convert. Here are some data-backed tips on sending winning proposals.

1. Send your proposals quickly

For over four years now, sending proposals out within 24 hours of meeting the client has been the best way to increase conversion rates. According to our data, proposals that are sent out within that time frame had a 23% higher conversion rate than those sent only a day later.

2. Include a cover page

While jumping straight into the introduction won’t hurt your conversions significantly, our data shows having a cover page makes a difference. Proposals with a cover page convert 4.6% better than the ones without it.

3. Don’t go overboard

The length of a business proposal will largely depend on what you do. That said, proposals that convert the best are short, concise, and to the point. Our data backs this up, showing that the optimal proposal length has been 6-7 sections for five years now.  

4. Make sure your proposals are mobile-friendly

The number of clients opening business proposals on desktop computers has been steadily decreasing over the years. As a matter of fact, as much as 46% of proposals are now opened on mobile devices. 

You won’t get a second chance to make a first impression and you can’t control what device your client chooses to use. So what do you do? Choose a responsive design that looks great on all screen sizes.

5. Look professional

Pixelated logos, mismatched fonts, and typos are the best way to lose credibility right off the bat. Our data shows that branding goes a long way, with proposals sent from a custom domain converting 19.3% better than the ones sent from a third-party domain.

6. Integrate live chat

Great customer service is always crucial to increasing your conversion rate. Live chat not only helps you to respond to your clients’ questions in real time, but also puts them at ease. That’s why proposals with integrated live chat convert 18.2% better than those without it.

7. Make the offer easy to accept

The harder you make it for the client to do business with you, the more business you’re losing. With business proposals, the answer is easy – use a web-based platform like Better Proposals. That way, you’re letting clients sign documents electronically and pay, all in one place.

Using traditional PDFs sent as email attachments makes your conversion rate 88% worse. Not a surprise when you think about it – nobody likes going through the hassle of printing, signing, scanning, and sending the document back.

Using proposal software beats doing it all manually

The truth is, rarely anyone writes proposals these days – most people use proposal software. Here’s why it’s a good idea:

• Proposal software is web-based . You can send your clients links instead of PDF files.
• Proposals are optimized for different devices. They look and feel the same on a phone, laptop or tablet.

• You get to use proposal templates . (We have more than 130 of them.)
• You can track what the client does with the proposal. You get notifications when they read, forward and sign.

• Clients can instantly sign proposals electronically. This means your proposals are considered legally binding contracts. No need for third-party tools like DocuSign or DocuSign alternatives – good proposal software has that already built in.
• Clients can pay from the proposal. Paypal, Stripe, GoCardless, you name it.

• You can use a variety of integrations . MailChimp, Zapier, Salesforce, HubSpot or whatever else you are using in your sales workflow.
• Detailed reporting . Find out what works and what doesn’t, no guessing.

• The ability to use live chat . You can chat with the client as they’re reading the proposal, increasing your conversions.
• You get to write your proposals in 15 minutes , not 5 hours. Pull the data from your CRM and populate it with automatic fields – it’s that simple.

These are just some of the many reasons why you should consider using proposal software rather than opening Word next time you want to write an effective business proposal.

The takeaways

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting a new business , following our guide will help you dramatically increase the number of people who say yes to your proposals. In summary, here are the exact steps that you need to take to write an amazing business proposal:

• Start off with a proposal template
• Find out the questions that your clients are asking
• Think of how you want the clients to feel as they read the proposal
• Include the 8 elements of a winning business proposal, as listed above
• Use proposal software to automate the writing process

One of the biggest reasons people take forever to write business proposals and ultimately do a bad job is because they are using software that simply isn’t geared up to doing the job in an effective way. It might sound like a self-serving suggestion , but you should take a look at using Better Proposals for writing your next business proposal. 

The business proposal templates in our Marketplace alone will save you a ton of time with many business proposal examples to browse, and our proposal software has everything you need for writing proposals in one place.

Ready to take your business to the next level?

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Sales | How To

How to Write a Business Proposal (+ Template & Examples)

Published February 27, 2023

Published Feb 27, 2023

REVIEWED BY: Jess Pingrey

WRITTEN BY: Bianca Caballero

This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management .

Free Business Proposal Template

• 1 Determine Sales Proposal Requirements
• 2 Gather Necessary Information
• 3 Design Your Proposed Solution
• 4 Calculate Pricing
• 5 Draft Your Proposal
• 6 Edit Your Proposal Draft
• 7 Send Your Proposal
• 8 Follow Up With Your Recipient
• 9 Best Practices in Writing Sales Proposals
• 10 Bottom Line

A business proposal is a document sent to a prospective client that outlines a firm’s product or service offerings. It also explains how you will provide a solution, the cost, timeline, and qualifying information, such as your background and prior work experience. In this article, we outline eight steps for how to create a business proposal, offer a free proposal template, and provide best practices for writing proposals.

Creating a sales proposal can feel tedious, especially if you’re drafting it from scratch each time. We’ve created a free template that you can use as a resource for your sales proposal.

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Free Sales Business Proposal Template

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💡 Quick Tip:

Use ClickUp for free to see your entire sales funnel in one place.

• ✓ Free forever, unlimited users
• ✓ Manage all leads, emails and tasks
• ✓ Create presentations, lead forms, and contracts
• ✓ Professional workspace templates

After you’ve downloaded our free template above, you can now customize it according to your business needs as you follow the steps to writing a proposal below:

1. Determine Sales Proposal Requirements

The first step in learning how to write a business proposal is knowing what needs to be included. Government agencies, public universities, and large corporations typically use requests for proposals (RFPs). These are formal solicitation requests for products or services in which the requirements are normally laid out line by line and must be followed precisely.

If you are writing a proposal for a potential customer undergoing your unique sales process , include things a decision-maker would like to see. For instance, pricing, timelines, and the proposed solution regarding quantities and the mode of product or service delivery are critical purchasing factors enclosed in the document.

Pro tip: ClickUp is a free-forever project management tool that helps teams:

• Create professional proposals
• Collaborate with shared tasks and team chat
• Assign tasks to teammates

Visit ClickUp

ClickUp project management board (Source: ClickUp )

2. Gather Necessary Information

Gathering essential information and materials for your proposal can be complex because each potential client may want different details. This could demand other personnel to get involved in pulling the documents and information needed. For instance, some may only request the price and proposed solution, while others will ask for your background story, client reference lists, and work samples to show you’re qualified.

While learning how to write a proposal for business purposes, you may have to dig around your file database for company information, employee biographies, marketing materials, and pricing sheets. Keeping all resources needed for a proposal in one place makes this process easier. Use customer relationship management (CRM) systems to track your proposal progress and acquire what’s needed to draft it in one place.

Pro tip: HubSpot is a popular CRM platform that lets you monitor opportunities using sales pipelines and store documents—all in one system. You can utilize the Sales Documents feature to store, share, and customize templates and materials you’ll need for your proposals.

HubSpot’s deals and opportunities pipeline (Source: HubSpot )

HubSpot’s Sales Documents library (Source: HubSpot )

3. Design Your Proposed Solution

Your proposed solution involves the processes, materials, product quantities, and personnel required to fulfill the offerings or address your customer’s problem statement. Additionally, it should be included in the scope of work section in the proposal. For businesses that only provide a product, such as equipment for a manufacturing plant, this step could be as easy as knowing the quantity and having a logistics plan for delivery and installment.

For more service-based businesses, such as business consultants or content development services, there will likely be more steps and deliverables to complete the work. Regardless of your business, you can use the five W’s and an H methodology to construct a proposed solution that addresses your prospect’s primary pain points:

• Who: Who will be involved, do the work, manage, and be a point of contact for the prospect?
• What: What solutions or products will be delivered, and what resources, processes, or technology will be used?
• Where: Where will work be done or delivered to?
• When: When will the work start and be completed, what are the key milestones throughout the project, and when is each deliverable expected to occur?
• Why: Why did you choose this particular solution for this customer’s needs?
• How: How will work be done, managed, and checked for high quality and customer satisfaction?

For example, a business-to-business (B2B) content writing business might be trying to address a statement of needs issued by a client: “We would like to express thought leadership on the topic of the Zero Trust Cybersecurity Framework.” In this case, the business could use the solution in this business proposal example:

The objective of this business proposal is to demonstrate how ABC Writing Agency can promote the thought leadership of Cybersecurity Corp. for the Zero Trust Security Model. We believe the best course of action is to research and copyright a branded e-book (roughly 4,000 words) regarding Zero Trust Security, the details of the solution, its benefits, and the modern-day security challenges it solves (what) with the final product completed in August 2022. (when) The e-book will use your logo and branding scheme to convey your personal grasp on the subject and thought leadership using a series of direct quotes and statistical callouts. (why)

To ensure high-quality work and client satisfaction, we will begin with an initial call to construct a detailed outline discussing the sections, style guides, tone, and to retrieve direct quotes. Following an initial draft, multiple rounds of edits will take place between Cybersecurity Corp. and ABC Writing Agency to develop a final draft. (how)

The project will be led by our senior editor, Collin Buchanan, and content manager, Jake Cunningham, who comes from the world of cybersecurity. Our team will utilize and manage freelancers experienced in writing e-books on technical topics to research and copyright the asset. (who) All work will be completed by us virtually and delivered via Google Docs. (where)

4. Calculate Pricing

Once you know how you’ll provide your product or service, the next step in writing a proposal is formulating the costs to specify in the document’s pricing section. This is one of the toughest steps because of all the factors that need to be considered, such as product cost and other expenses. That’s why it is critical to accurately communicate your costs to avoid losing a deal for overcharging—or worse—winning a deal with significantly underestimated costs.

As you price everything, you can either do a flat fee, hourly rate, per-unit charge, or some combination of the three. Sometimes, it’s best to work backward by establishing your desired probability first in the form of a percent like 20% profit or a flat dollar amount such as $10,000 above the work cost.

For example, you want to make a 20% profit on the work for an equipment installation job for a manufacturing business, and you’re pricing using a flat fee. You’ve itemized the costs as the following:

• 1 x $80,000 manufacturing equipment = $80,000
• 3 installation/delivery employees x 5 hours x $32 per hour = $480 wages
• $480 employee wages x 7% employer payroll tax = $33.6 payroll tax
• $480 employee wages x 20% benefits and workers’ compensation = $96 benefits and compensation
• $200 for the delivery truck and gas = $200 for delivery costs

When you add all the itemized expenses, the total cost for this installation job will be around $80,809. To get the total, you need to charge this customer to meet your desired profitability, and multiply it by 20% to get $16,162. Add that to your total cost ($80,809 + $16,162), and $96,971 is the flat fee you will charge for the installation job.

Pro tip: Struggling to visualize your pricing process? Try using these seven free estimate templates . Designed for various business types, these templates allow you to outline and itemize the costs of providing work to share with your customers to help win more deals easily.

5. Draft Your Proposal

Now that you know your proposal requirements, have gathered the necessary information, determined the proposed solution, and calculated pricing, you are ready to draft the document. Following along with our free template, your draft will consist of the following elements:

The title page leans more toward showing the professionalism of your business than providing information. There should be a specific title establishing the purpose, such as “ABC Writing Agency Proposal for Cybersecurity Corp. to Promote Thought Leadership on Zero Trust Security.”

Also, be sure to indicate who the proposal was prepared for in terms of the decision-making person and their company name. Add your logo to the front and the contact information for the primary point of contact for your business so they can contact you with further questions.

Table of Contents

Use a table of contents to break down each part of the proposal for business so they can easily navigate through it. Because of the digital age we live in, we recommend linking your table of contents electronically to each associated section. That way, those reading your proposal can go to any part of the document by clicking on the table of contents.

Executive Summary

The executive summary takes everything in your proposal and compresses it into one paragraph. Essentially, if a reader reads this section, they should be able to grasp the general idea of your solution. Here’s a business proposal example using the content writing example above:

With over 10 years of experience in writing high-quality marketing assets, we are eager to assist Cybersecurity Corp in its endeavor to promote thought leadership on Zero Trust Security. We plan to achieve this by writing a comprehensive e-book using engaging copy, stat callouts, and direct quotes from your leaders to help associate the security framework with your brand.

Company Background

Here’s your time to talk about your inception story, mission statement , founding purpose, and company history. You can also provide biographies and professional pictures of your company founders, leaders, and key personnel that might be involved in the work you provide.

This is also the time to express your unique selling proposition . In other words, addressing the question “why choose us” over competitors. Lastly, if you’ve had any recognition or won any company awards, this is the section to highlight those successes.

Scope of Work

This section correlates with creating your proposed solution in step three as you present it in an actionable business plan. Describe the work that will be completed and the tangible deliverables associated with it.

In this small business proposal example, we see how a content writing business might construct a scope of work:

We will provide content writing services to create predetermined marketing assets for Cybersecurity Corp. This includes researching online data for usable information, interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) for additional insights and quotes, copywriting drafts, inserting callouts, and making edits per revision requests made by Cybersecurity Corp. Deliverables for the scope of work above include:

• 1 x outline developed by ABC Writing Agency and approved by Cybersecurity Corp.
• 1 x drafted e-book (max. 4,000 words) delivered by Google Doc

No matter how long your scope of work is, it’s crucial to avoid industry or technical jargon that the general audience may not understand. Take the time to review the scope of work and translate any statements that may be misunderstood or confusing.

Be sure to indicate how long you expect it to take to complete the entire scope of work. It’s also a good idea to provide estimates for each milestone or individual deliverable you set. Whenever possible, present the information visually to help your reader absorb it better. Below is a sales proposal timeline example for a sales consulting business and its milestones.

Pricing or Price Estimate

For this section, take the price calculation you did in step four and present it to the potential customer. While you should itemize it to show where the price comes from, avoid adding your desired profitability, as that should be private to your business. Make sure it’s clear as to how each item is priced, whether that be hourly, per unit, or a flat fee.

This section should also be used to explain payment expectations, e.g., when invoices must be paid by, how much money is required upfront vs after work is completed, refund policy, and if other billable expenses can be included automatically or require client approval.

Be upfront with your estimate if you don’t know how many units you’ll need or how many hours it will take to accomplish your business offering. Provide an explanation and an estimated range.

Conclusion, Terms & Appendix

The final sections should include additional information that could be useful to your prospective client. A conclusion should express your gratitude for the opportunity and explain the next steps to move forward. Terms (or terms and conditions) can be added in a proposal or in the service agreement to cover legal aspects of a working contract, like contract dispute policies, confidentiality, rules on subcontracting, etc.

The appendix is optional but would utilize visuals or supplemental documents to enrich your proposal. For instance, you might include links to sample work, a client reference list, or a catalog of options for materials or software vendors from which the client can choose.

6. Edit Your Proposal Draft

Once you have completed the first draft of your proposal, run it by multiple departments to ensure it is comprehensive and accurate. Some things to consider as you review it for potential revisions:

• Has strong readability: The proposal uses appropriate style, tone, and structured sentences to create a clean flow of information understood by the specific reader.
• Avoids grammar and technical errors: The proposal avoids punctuation, spelling, or other errors related to proper writing mechanics.
• Addresses requirements: The proposal contains all the information and sections required to meet the reader’s or customer’s needs and objectives.

Use editing tools such as Grammarly to evaluate your business proposal writing for enhanced quality. Grammarly lets users upload text into a system to check for grammar and spelling mistakes as well as for engagement and readability of content. There’s also a plagiarism check feature to evaluate the text to billions of pages online. You can even adjust style preferences when subscribing to Grammarly Business to ensure it meets all your goals.

Grammarly Business’ in-line writing suggestion (Source: Grammarly Business )

Pro tip: Use graphic design tools like Canva to give your sales proposal the professional touch it needs. Canva is a user-friendly platform with thousands of free templates for presentations, marketing materials, social media posts, and proposals for business. Users of all design skill levels can easily turn regular copies into visual masterpieces.

Canva’s sales proposal templates (Source: Canva )

7. Send Your Proposal

Now that your proposal is drafted, edited, and has the aesthetics it needs, it’s time to send the document for review. More formal submissions for RFPs may require that you submit them in person, electronically, or both, so review those provisions carefully before sending them in.

Some sales plans incorporate unsolicited proposals to new leads to present problems they didn’t know existed with viable solutions they could offer. In these cases, they use the proposal to get their foot in the door and create sales opportunities.

When taking this course of action, it’s important to add context to the unsolicited proposal. For instance, in a sales email , briefly introduce yourself, your business, and what services you provide. Furthermore, indicate why you wanted to send a proposal to them specifically and let them know they can reach out if they wish to discuss it further.

8. Follow Up With Your Recipient

Even after you send a proposal, the process is not over. Make time to follow up to confirm the contact received the proposal and see if they have any questions. Because of the proposals’ details, there are usually other clarification steps in the procurement process, such as interviews, client meetings , or sales presentations before work begins.

We recommend using a customer relationship management (CRM) system with task management capabilities to ensure sales reps don’t forget to reach out to a prospect after a proposal is initially sent. A CRM like Pipedrive lets you design and assign tasks to team members from within a project. You can also create projects that are linked to open or won deals.

Pipedrive’s project and task management feature (Source: Pipedrive )

Best Practices in Writing Sales Proposals

Now that you know the steps in how to write a business proposal, there are a few tips you can practice and maintain to produce thoughtful and effective proposals.

Keep It Simple

When learning how to make a business proposal, remember to write short, simple sentences. While there is no strict rule on the business proposal format or length, make sure it is straightforward and easy to understand. Avoid loading it with too much business jargon and fancy words. Instead, strike the sweet spot between conveying essential information and ensuring anyone who reads it can understand it.

Outline Major Sections & Pertinent Information

The first thing to do when learning how to do a business proposal is to outline all the major sections of your document. This should also include all the pertinent information that you want to get across. The business proposal outline will help you stay focused on the main points of the document and keep your ideas from drifting away.

Add Data & Visuals

Capture your prospect’s attention by including quantitative data and figures highlighting your offerings and the value of your company. For example, you can show your month-on-month sales trends as proof of your stellar performance. Adding visual elements like charts and graphs can also help make your proposal more engaging.

Increase Credibility With Social Proof

Assert your company’s credibility. Many prospects won’t readily believe your claims about your business and are most likely to trust the word of their own peers and other customers. To help build your credibility and gain their trust, include social proof, such as reviews and testimonials from your own customers.

Use a Call to Action (CTA)

After the prospect reads your proposal, direct them to the next step. Use a call to action with a verb that defines what they should do to act on their interest in your proposal. Examples of CTAs are “Subscribe today” or “Download this guide now.” You can also use a CTA with a no-obligation statement like “Sign up, it’s free” for prospects who perceive risks in taking action.

Another excellent idea when adding CTAs is to create a sense of urgency to make your prospect feel that now is the best time to subscribe to your service. Some people are motivated to do something right away for fear of missing out (FOMO). That said, phrases like “Limited-time offer” and “On sale now for 20% off” can trigger action from prospects.

Stay True to Your Brand

Each company has a different brand voice and personality. Staying true to your business brand is a great way to stand out among your competitors. For instance, if your company sells baby clothes, it is best to use language that parents with babies can relate to, like “cute and cuddly” or “snug and comfy.” Use a more formal tone of voice in your proposal if you are selling office wear.

Bottom Line

Many business owners and sales managers would like to standardize their proposal-writing system. However, it can be tricky to address the unique needs of every solicited and unsolicited opportunity to get the correct information in order and present their proposed solutions. Our how-to sales proposal examples and free template will help you streamline your bidding process to win more deals.

About the Author

Find Bianca On LinkedIn

Bianca Caballero

Bianca Caballero is a subject matter expert at Fit Small Business who covers Sales and Customer service topics. Prior to working at FSB, she was in field sales and territory management. When she launched her career as a writer, she worked with companies from the US, Australia, and China. She gained expertise in writing and editing news, health, technology, and business articles. At present, she uses her decade-long writing experience to provide FSB readers with the best answers to their questions.

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How to Write a Business Proposal [Steps, Tips, & Templates]

You need to send a business proposal, and you want it to close. But how can you improve your chances?

Every year, we analyze the proposals sent with our software to discover what makes closing more likely. We used this research to craft this very guide .

To help you write better business proposals, we’ve curated the essential proposal format, a step-by-step process, plenty of templates to help you get started, and strategies for following up.

From images to esignatures, keep reading for data-backed insights into the most successful proposals.

What’s in this guide:

What is a business proposal?

Basic proposal format, what to prepare before writing a business proposal, how to write a business proposal in 7 steps, 8 business proposal templates, 5 ideas to take your business proposal to the next level, what to do after you send a business proposal, using analytics for business proposal insights.

A business proposal is sent by a salesperson or account manager to a prospective client in order to pitch a product or service. A great proposal should include an executive summary or cover letter, details on the project timelines and deliverables, what makes the company the right choice for the job, and pricing and payment details.

Business proposals are typically sent from one business to another for all sorts of different services, such as enterprise software subscriptions, interior design, accounting, marketing, event catering, etc.

The purpose of a business proposal is to:

Sell your product or service with details, client results, testimonials, etc.

Clarify what is and isn’t included in the proposal to accurately manage expectations

Layout terms and conditions to protect both parties

Lock in the deal right away with esignatures built into the proposal

Large corporations and government agencies will typically send out a request for proposal to competing companies and then choose the best (or cheapest) one.

A business proposal is very different from a business plan, because it is typically written to clarify a paid engagement between two companies. This might be a short project or a long contract. A business plan, on the other hand, is typically an internal document crafted to chart a businesses path forward towards goals, such as market expansion, revenue growth, new product lines, etc.

Types of business proposals

There are many different types of business proposals. They are typically broken down by industry.

Here are some common types of business proposals, by industry :

Real estate and construction

Professional services

Proposals can also be categorized based on the type of offering :

One-off projects

Recurring subscription

Ongoing service

Package options

Later on in this guide, we include a variety of proposal templates. Depending on what you selling, you might find it easier to begin with a template designed for your industry or for the type of offer you’re selling (such as a one-off project). So be sure to peruse through the previews of each proposal so that you can see which template will save you the most time.

Business proposal example

An excellent business proposal addresses the client’s pain points and showcases the proposed solution.

Here’s an example business proposal to inspire you. The accounting proposal kicks things off with an attractive cover page.

All in all, it includes the cover page, an executive summary letter, an about us section, team photos and bios, a project summary, a breakdown of the proposed services, a pricing section, onboarding steps, and a contract with esignatures.

The services breakdown offers a great example of how to categorize your services and provide hourly estimates.

After researching over 1 million proposals, we found that winning proposals are most likely to include all of the following.

Here’s the idea proposal structure :

1. Cover page

The cover page, also called a title page, should be kept simple. It prominently features a photograph or graphic design that is on-brand, you can use graphic design templates as a starting point. It also usually includes the project name, or the client name, as well as your company name. Some companies might include contact information on the cover page, while others will save that for a separate page.

Check out this cover page , which is bright, bold, and on-brand.

2. Executive summary

The executive summary is essentially your pitch.

It’s your shot at capturing the client’s attention and showing them that you have an approach that will exceed their expectations.

It’s typically written in paragraph form (1 to 3 paragraphs) but can also include a bulleted list for a more skimmable style.

Make sure that your executive summary includes:

A quick description of the client’s problem or starting point

How your company will serve the client and why you’re suggesting this unique approach

Why your company is the best choice (average results, unique selling propositions, differentiators, awards, etc.)

This content marketing proposal offers an excellent example of an executive summary. Though in this proposal, the section is instead titled “Focus and Objectives.” What makes it great is that it’s on brand, goal-oriented, personable, and skimmable.

3. Approach or solution

In this section, you write about your process and why you approach things the way you do. For example, a Facebook marketing agency might say that they believe that creative work is essential to advertising success, and that’s why they devote 90% of their time to developing videos, images, and copy.

Some companies will craft a custom approach section for each client, while others will re-use the section again and again. It all comes down to the number of services you offer and how much or how little you customize your work.

In corporate training, it’s essential to clarify your approach so the client knows why your system will be effective. In this training template example , their process shows the essential steps in their proprietary approach.

4. About the company

This is your chance to brag. In your company bio, be sure to mention all of the important things that set your company apart. That might include your management style, the talent you have on your team, your average client retention rate or contract length, and any accolades.

With their location, awards, and team structure, this About Us page is an excellent example of how to sell yourself with authority.

5. Deliverables

Use the deliverables section to summarize exactly what the client will receive from the engagement.

A TikTok ads management firm might include 15 ad creatives per month in their deliverables, for example. While an accounting firm might list the reports that will be sent weekly or monthly, along with the bookkeeping service.

In a construction project, on the other hand, the company might showcase the different milestones that the project will hit, and when these milestones are expected to be completed.

In this proposal , the Deliverables section is titled “Scope of Services,” and it includes a list of all of the services that the prospective client will receive. Deliverables are mentioned within the scope, including a logo, brand colors, business cards, and brand guidelines.

6. Social proof or work samples

No matter what you sell, prospective clients will want to know that you have the right experience for the job.

Social proof can come in the form of written testimonials and case studies, video testimonials and case studies, portfolio photographs, G2 and Capterra badges, and rating averages from Google, Trustpilot, or other review sites.

For an architecture firm, construction company, or website designer, work examples can prove more powerful than testimonials. Prospects want to see what you can do. This architecture proposal showcases the company’s work on a rehabilitation project.

The pricing section is of course the one that your clients will read again and again and deliberate over. That’s why it’s so important to make it clear, simple, and well-formatted.

Tables are a great way to showcase what’s included in the total project cost or to provide package options.

Similar to interior design and construction services, event planning typically includes both hourly costs and hard costs (for products and venues). Here’s an example of an event management proposal that includes a breakdown of the hourly work and the hard costs.

8. Terms and conditions

When you use modern proposal software , you can build a contract right into your proposal, eliminating the need for separate contract software.

Your proposal should include legal jargon that can protect both you and your client. You might have a statement of work and a master service agreement or terms and conditions.

In this website design proposal , there are 6 pages in total for the contract section. The potential client can easily click around to view all of these pages and share the proposal with their legal team if needed.

For proposals that are longer than 8 pages, it’s wise to include a table of contents. If you use Proposify as your proposal software, then every proposal will automatically have the table of contents on the left-hand side, making it easier for the potential client to click around and review important sections multiple times.

A lot goes into writing a proposal. Before you can get to the writing part, you need to prepare.

This means talking with the client to figure out their needs, using your experience to pitch the best project, and talking with colleagues who will be involved in the project to see if they agree on the services you plan to propose.

You might also need to talk with your legal department and ask them for a contract template that you can include at the end of the proposal so that when the client signs off, it's legally binding.

Everything you need to prepare to write a business proposal:

An understanding of the client's needs

Your determination of the best approach

Details that will get the client to say yes

Agreement with internal colleagues

The pricing options you want to offer

Knowledge of who needs to sign off

Legal contract language or templates

To be a good writer , you must be concise, specific, and detailed. It really is that simple. The more examples and details you provide, the better.

That said, it does help to follow a process so that you can be sure you’re providing everything that the decision-makers expect and more.

Here are the 7 essential steps for writing a business proposal:

Step 1. Determine the client’s needs

The first step is to figure out what your client needs.

As mentioned in our section on preparation above, you’ll need to speak with your client. If this is a new client, it might take two to five sales calls to collect all of the information you need. For an existing client, you can probably figure out what to include in their renewal proposal with just one call.

But of course, asking your client what they need isn’t enough. You need to use your expertise to choose the best solution for them, even if it’s not what they want or expect.

Step 2. Kick off your proposal with a template

Once you’ve done your due diligence, the next step is to choose a proposal template so you’ll save time on both writing and designing.

You can use a template that matches your specific business or click around to find one with all the sections and a design style you like. Even if it’s not created for your specific industry, it’ll be easy to update the content to match your service or product.

Check out our full library of proposal templates.

Step 3. Write the evergreen messaging about your company

It’s always smart to tackle writing section by section. This way, you don’t get overwhelmed.

We recommend starting with the sections that are relevant to your business and that can be reused again and again. Your value propositions should guide the content.

Tackle these sections:

The cover page

The approach section

The about us page and team bios

The social proof or portfolio pieces

By starting off with what makes your company special, you’ll break the ice during your writing process and also create your own custom template that you can use for further proposal writing.

Step 4. Craft the meat of the proposal (executive summary, approach, deliverables, etc.)

By now, you should have chosen a template and written your core company messaging.

Now it’s time to write the meat of the proposal.

In this step, you’ll be catering your proposal to the new client. A startup will require a different proposal than a small business, and the same goes for an enterprise.

Here are some of the things you might need to write:

The unique methodology or approach you’ll offer this client (if it changes per client)

The problem statement or executive summary

The client’s goals

The scope of work

The project process and timelines

The deliverables

You can fill in your template’s sections and take a peek at other templates to get inspiration and see if there are any additional sections or details you should add.

Step 5. Add in the project total or pricing options

Next, you should calculate your fees.

Depending on your business, you might add up flat rates, product costs, or hourly estimates to come up with a fixed project total. Or, you might present a price range that the project will likely fall between (making it clear that additional hourly costs could arise. Or perhaps, you’ll offer a pricing table with different options to choose from.

Step 6. Add legal terms and conditions and esignatures

When you use proposal software (instead of just a PDF or Google slides), you can add a contract directly to your proposal.

If you already have approved contract language from your legal department, you can simply add it to the contract section of your proposal in Proposify. If not, you’ll need to chat with your legal team or business lawyer to ensure you’re adding all the right stipulations.

Proposals with esignatures close 35% faster and are 426% more likely to be accepted. So be sure to assign an esignature both to yourself and your client.

Step 7. Finalize the design and review all of the content before sending

Now it’s time to review and finalize your proposal. Check for errors, places in the template you forgot to fill out, and wording that can be improved.

Make sure the graphic design is on point too. Switch out the template with your own brand colors and fonts. You can have a designer on your team handle this, or handle style customization yourself (with no design experience necessary).

The best way to write a business proposal? With a template of course.

We’ve rounded up 10 of the best templates for different types of businesses. And for each, we show you the proposal sections included to help you pick the right one for you.

Keep in mind that with any of these proposals, you can add and remove sections and also customize any page with text, headlines, images, videos, fee tables, and more.

1. Business consulting proposal template

This consulting proposal template can be used by any type of consulting firm.

Proposal sections :

Project Summary

Project Activities

Your Investment

2. Advertising Proposal Template

With this advertising proposal template, you can showcase your digital or traditional advertising services. The template includes TV, web, radio, and magazine, but you can update it to reflect your pitch.

Cover Letter

Who Are We?

Testimonials

Your Advertising Media Mix

3. Branding Proposal Template

Perfect for branding consultants, logo designers, and messaging strategists, this branding proposal template includes the project scope and timeline to help you clarify your process to potential clients.

Overview & Goals

Scope of Services

Sample Case Study

4. Commercial Lease Proposal Template

This commercial lease proposal template can be used for leasing office buildings, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and event spaces.

Our Process

Meet Our Team

Terms and Conditions

5. Construction Bid Template

Use this construction bid template for new construction projects or renovations. It includes a detailed cost estimate table and a required deposit.

Cost Estimate

6. Catering Proposal Template

This catering proposal template is perfect for corporate projects but can work for weddings or personal events as well. You can use it for conferences, luncheons, retreats, or any other type of event.

Introduction

Event Details

7. Corporate Photography Proposal Template

With a beautifully designed portfolio section and a very detailed pricing table and print options, this is the perfect template for corporate photography . It also includes tips for success, so clients know how to make the most of their photoshoot time.

What We Offer

Photography Packages

Tips for Success

8. Financial Services Proposal Template

You can use this financial services proposal template to pitch financial services like risk management, budgeting, and investment management.

Services and Fees

Looking to kick up your proposals a notch?

Try one of these smart ideas:

1. Make your pricing dynamic

Dynamic pricing means that clients can choose what they want and that will automatically change the project total that they sign off on.

Proposals with options and add-ons have a 35.8% higher closing rate . Try giving package options and including add-ons such as ancillary services or maintenance work.

2. Create graphic designs for timelines and processes

Winning business proposals often include informative visuals to help clients understand your process at a glance.

You could create a graphic for project phases, milestones, or big deliverables.

3. Get creative with your social proof

Client testimonials are an easy starting point when it comes to social proof.

But can you do better? Can you get more creative and stand out from other consulting firms?

Here are some ways to improve your social proof game:

Include visuals for your average ratings (for example 4 and a half stars filled in).

Add any badges or graphics available from review sites like G2 and Trustpilot.

Film professional case study videos and embed them in your proposal.

Create a screenshare video where you talk through your digital portfolio samples.

Include an informal video testimonial from your client.

Add a video showing your team at work (ie, on the job site, running a workshop, speaking, etc.)

Write mini case studies with before and after transformations, result data, etc.

4. Have an “excludes” section

Is there something that is definitely not included in your proposal? Do clients often assume it’s included or do they get confused?

If so, try adding a section that describes everything that isn’t included in the proposal. You could mention that you don’t offer these services, or state that they’re available at an additional fee (if you want to upsell them).

5. Include videos for introductions or complex concepts

When you add a video to your proposal, you increase its chances of closing by 41% .

Here are some video ideas to try:

Informal intros filmed with Loom

Professional videos of your team at work

Case study videos

Quick descriptions of complex deliverables, methodologies, etc.

You sent the proposal. Now what?

Here’s what to do next.

Sign it yourself

Make sure you sign the proposal right away (before your client opens it). This offers a more professional presentation and makes it more likely that your new client will add their signature too.

Be prepared to follow up

Project proposals don’t always close all by themselves. As any good salesperson knows, follow-up is essential.

With Proposify, you can set up automated reminders. When we analyzed over 1 million proposals sent with our software, we found that proposals with pre-scheduled reminders have a 35% higher closing rate than those without.

Make adjustments to the proposal to close the deal

It’s okay to make changes. In fact, proposals that get revised are actually more likely to close than ones that don’t. When a client asks for revisions, it means they’re interested.

You might need to adjust your proposal document for its scope, deliverables, timeframe, or payment schedules.

Save different proposal templates

After you’ve created one proposal, you should save it as a template and give it a name. You might also want to duplicate it and adjust it to create a new proposal template. For example, if you offer SEO services , you might want to have one proposal for an SEO audit and another one for your monthly SEO retainer.

Create email templates

You can also create and store email templates that will save you time in the long run.

Try creating different templates for sending, reminders, and thank yous. If you offer different types of services, you can craft a unique sending template for each one.

Get feedback from clients on both won and lost proposals

One of the best ways to improve is to take feedback. Whether you win or lose the proposal, find out why.

Here are some tips on how to do this:

Won - When you win a proposal, you might ask the client why they decided to move forward with you on their first strategy call. Or, have their account manager ask the same question and pass the info to you.

Lost - If a client doesn’t sign the proposal after 3 weeks, you can send a quick email with something like, “Just looking for some feedback. Can you let me know why you decided not to move forward? Thanks.”

In today’s digital world, a business proposal should be more than a formal document.

When you use the right tool to create and send your proposal, you should be able to gather important insights and trends.

Viewing metrics for a specific client

With Proposify, you can see the activity for every proposal. Know when clients are opening and viewing proposals so you can follow up in a way that matches their activity.

Average viewing metrics

Proposify also offers average viewing metrics that help you benchmark your views:

Total viewed

Average time to view

Average length of viewing

Average views per proposal

This is great for gauging how a new client compares with past activity.

Average closing metrics

You can also check your average closing rate and track it over time.

Check these closing metrics:

Closing rate

Try setting goals for improving your closing rate and then check your progress each month.

Insights by proposal type

Segment viewing and closing metrics by workspace, client name, or stream. A stream is a custom category that you can use for different service types, client industries, etc.

Growth trends

And lastly, you can check your growth trends to find out how much you’re earning in new contracts and existing contracts. This is great for seeing your past revenue growth and for forecasting.

Trends include:

New won proposals (chart)

Active income (chart)

Start with a solid understanding of your client’s goals and needs. Use a template to save time creating messaging and tables that will seal the deal. Then, try advanced techniques like dynamic pricing and videos to improve your closing rates even further.

Sign up for Proposify free for 14 days or get started with one of our templates .

How to Create a Business Proposal That Closes Deals

June 28, 2022

Winning Proposal Structure Tips (What The Research Says)

June 21, 2022

Business plan & Preparation of a Business Plan – Entrepreneurship

Business plan.

• Identifying business opportunities and an innovative idea
• Researching the external environment for opportunities and threats
• Identifying internal strengths and weaknesses
• Assessing the feasibility of that idea and
• Allocating resources in the best possible manner

Objectives of a Business Plan

• To give direction to the vision of Entrepreneur
• To objectively evaluate the future prospects of the business
• To monitor the progress after implementation of the plan
• To seek loans from Financial Institutions
• To facilitate the decision making process
• To persuade others to join the business
• To identify strengths and weaknesses present in the internal environment
• To identify opportunities and threats in the external environment
• To assess the feasibility of the business

Preparation of a Business Plan

  A good business plan must identify strengths and weaknesses internal to the business and the challenges in terms of opportunities and threats to assess the viability of the business. It must lay down all the necessary steps that are involved in initiating and operating a proposed business. Preparation of a business plan involves the following steps :-

(I) Preliminary Investigation – In order to create an effective plan an entrepreneur must –

•  Review available business plans
• Draw key business assumptions on which plan is based
• Scan the environment for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
• Seek professional advice
• Conduct a functional audit

(II)   Idea Generation – It involves generation of a new concept/product/service or value addition to an existing Product or Service. The idea must be such that satisfies the existing demands and future demands of market.

  Sources of ideas –

• Existing companies
• Research & Development
• Dealers/Retailers

  Methods of generating ideas –

•  Brain storming
• Group discussion
• Data collection through questionnaires
• Invitation of ideas from professionals
• Value addition to existing Product and Service
• Market research
• Import of ideas from products launched abroad
• Commercializing inventions

Screening of ideas is done to identify practical ones and eliminate impractical one. The most feasible and the most promising idea is selected for further investigation.

(III) Environment Scanning – The internal and external environment must be analysed to study the prospective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. An entrepreneur must collect information from all formal and informal sources in order to understand the supportive and obstructive factors related to the business enterprise.  

  External Environment –

• Socio cultural appraisal – It involves assessment of the values, beliefs and norms of a particular society in order to understand their perception towards a particular idea or product.

• Technological appraisal – It involves assessment of existing technical know-how and availability of technology necessary to convert an idea into a product.

• Economic appraisal – It assess the economic environment in terms consumer price index, inflation, balance of payments, consumption pattern, per capita income etc.

• Demographic – It involves an assessment of the overall population pattern of a particular region. Variables like age, education, income pattern, sex, occupation, distribution etc. help in identifying the size of target market.

• Government appraisal- It assess various grants, legislations, policies, incentives, subsidies etc. formed by government.

Internal Environment –

• Availability of Raw materials
• Availability of various machines, tools and equipment required for production
• Means of Finance and assessment of opening, maintaining and operating expenses
• Assessment of Present, Potential and Future market
• Assessment of cost, quantity and quality of human resources required

(IV) Feasibility analysis –   Feasibility analysis is done to find out whether the proposed project will be feasible or not. The various variables that are studied include –

(a) Market Analysis – It is conducted to –

•  Estimate the demand of the proposed product in the future
• Estimate the market share of the proposed product in the future

(b) Technical or operational analysis – It is conducted to access the operational ability of the proposed business. It is very important to find out the cost and availability of technology. Under Technical analysis data is collected on following parameters –

•  Material availability
• Material requirement planning
• Plant location
• Plant capacity
• Machinery and Equipment
• Plant layout

(C) Financial analysis – A Financial Feasibility test is carried out to access the financial issues related with the proposed business. The following estimates have to be carried out –

• Cost of land and building
• Cost of plant and machinery
• Preliminary cost estimation
• Provision for contingencies
• Working capital estimates
• Cost of production
• Sales and production estimates

  Based on the above analysis the following projections are made –

• Break-even point
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet

(V) Drawing functional plans – If the feasibility plans give a positive indication a draft business plan is formulated. It involves preparation of the following functional plans –

(a) Marketing Plan – A marketing plan lays down strategies for marketing a product/service which can lead to success of business. These strategies are made in terms of marketing mix (4 P’s) i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

(b) Production/Operation Plan –A production plan is made for a business involved in manufacturing industry while an operation plan is made for business involved in service industry. It includes strategies for following –

• Location and reasons for selecting a location
• Physical layout
• Cost and availability of equipment, machine and raw material
• List of suppliers and distributors
• Cost of manufacturing and running operations
• Quality management
• Production scheduling capacity and Inventory management

(c) Organizational Plan – It defines the type of ownership i.e. it could be a single proprietary, partnership firm, company, private limited or public limited. It also consists of details about the organization structure and norms guiding the organization culture.

(d) Financial Plan – It indicates the financial requirement of the proposed business and furnishes the following details –

• Cost incurred in smooth running of all the financial plans
• Projected cash flows
• Projected income statement
• Projected Break even point
• Projected ratios
• Projected balance sheet

(e) Human Resource Plan – It consists of the details on the following:-

• Manpower requirements
• Recruitment and Selection
• Compensation
• Organization structure
• Wages and Salaries
• Remuneration etc.

(VI) Project Report Preparation –   It is a written document that describes step by step, the strategies involved in starting and operating a business. It is prepared when environmental scanning has been done and feasibility studies have been carried out.

(VII) Evaluation, Review and Control – In order to keep up with the dynamic environment and  successfully face global competition a business must be continuously evaluated and reviewed. It is necessary to periodically evaluate, control and review a business to keep up with the technological changes and introduce changes in the business strategy.

awsmmm business plan , contains enthausiastic

Example of an business plan document

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How to Write a Project Proposal (Examples & Template Included)

Table of Contents

What is a project proposal, types of project proposals, project proposal vs. project charter, project proposal vs. business case, project proposal vs. project plan, project proposal outline, how to write a project proposal, project proposal example, project proposal tips.

• ProjectManager & Project Proposals

A project proposal is a project management document that’s used to define the objectives and requirements of a project. It helps organizations and external project stakeholders agree on an initial project planning framework.

The main purpose of a project proposal is to get buy-in from decision-makers. That’s why a project proposal outlines your project’s core value proposition; it sells value to both internal and external project stakeholders. The intent of the proposal is to grab the attention of stakeholders and project sponsors. Then, the next step is getting them excited about the project summary.

Getting into the heads of the audience for which you’re writing the project proposal is vital: you need to think like the project’s stakeholders to deliver a proposal that meets their needs.

We’ve created a free project proposal template for Word to help structure documents, so you don’t have to remember the process each time.

Get your free

Project Proposal Template

Use this free Project Proposal Template for Word to manage your projects better.

In terms of types of project proposals, you can have one that’s formally solicited, informally solicited or a combination. There can also be renewal and supplemental proposals. Here’s a brief description of each of them.

• Solicited project proposal: This is sent as a response to a request for proposal (RFP) . Here, you’ll need to adhere to the RFP guidelines of the project owner.
• Unsolicited project proposal: You can send project proposals without having received a request for a proposal. This can happen in open bids for construction projects , where a project owner receives unsolicited project proposals from many contractors.
• Informal project proposal: This type of project proposal is created when a client asks for an informal proposal without an RFP.
• Renewal project proposal: You can use a renewal project proposal when you’re reaching out to past customers. The advantage is that you can highlight past positive results and future benefits.
• Continuation project proposal: A continuation project proposal is sent to investors and stakeholders to communicate project progress.
• Supplemental project proposal: This proposal is sent to investors to ask for additional resources during the project execution phase.

A project proposal is a detailed document that’s used to convince the project sponsor that the project being proposed is worth the time, money and effort to deliver it. This is done by showing how the project will address a business problem or opportunity. It also outlines the work that will be done and how it will be done.

A project charter can seem like the same thing as a project proposal as it also defines the project in a document. It identifies the project objectives, scope, goals, stakeholders and team. But it’s done after the project has been agreed upon by all stakeholders and the project has been accepted. The project charter authorizes the project and documents its requirements to meet stakeholders’ needs.

A business case is used to explain why the proposed project is justified. It shows that the project is worth the investment of time and money. It’s more commonly used in larger companies in the decision-making process when prioritizing one project over another.

The business case answers the questions: what is the project, why should it be taken up, who will be involved and how much will it cost? It’s therefore related to a project proposal, but the project proposal comes before the business case and is usually part of the larger proposal.

Again, the project proposal and the project plan in this case are very similar documents. It’s understandable that there would be some confusion between these two project terms. They both show how the project will be run and what the results will be. However, they’re not the same.

The project proposal is a document that aims to get a project approved and funded. It’s used to convince stakeholders of the viability of the project and their investment. The project plan, on the other hand, is made during the planning phase of the project, once it’s been approved. It’s a detailed outline of how the project will be implemented, including schedule, budget, resources and more.

There are several key operational and strategic questions to consider, including:

• Executive summary: This is the elevator pitch that outlines the project being proposed and why it makes business sense. While it also touches on the information that’ll follow in the project proposal, the executive summary should be brief and to the point.
• Project background: This is another short part of the proposal, usually only one page, which explains the problem you’ll solve or the opportunity you’re taking advantage of with the proposed project. Also, provide a short history of the business to put the company in context to the project and why it’s a good fit.
• Project vision & success criteria: State the goal of the project and how it aligns with the goals of the company. Be specific. Also, note the metrics used to measure the success of the project.
• Potential risks and mitigation strategies: There are always risks. Detail them here and what strategies you’ll employ to mitigate any negative impact as well as take advantage of any positive risk.
• Project scope & deliverables: Define the project scope , which is all the work that has to be done and how it will be done. Also, detail the various deliverables that the project will have.
• Set SMART goals: When setting goals, be SMART. That’s an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. All your goals would be defined by those five things.
• Project approach: Define the approach you’ll use for the contract. There are several different types of contracts used in construction , for example, such as lump sum, cost plus, time and materials, etc. This is also a good place to describe the delivery method you’ll use.
• Expected benefits: Outline the benefits that will come from the successful completion of the project.
• Project resource requirements: List the resources, such as labor, materials, equipment, etc., that you’ll need to execute the project if approved.
• Project costs & budget: Detail all the costs, including resources, that’ll be required to complete the project and set up a budget to show how those costs will be spent over the course of the project.
• Project timeline: Lay out the project timeline , which shows the project from start to finish, including the duration of each phase and the tasks within it, milestones, etc.

In addition to these elements, it’s advisable to use a cover letter, which is a one-page document that helps you introduce your project proposal and grab the attention of potential clients and stakeholders.

To make the best proposal possible, you’ll want to be thorough and hit on all the points we’ve listed above. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a persuasive priority proposal.

1. Write an Executive Summary

The executive summary provides a quick overview of the main elements of your project proposal, such as your project background, project objectives and project deliverables, among other things. The goal is to capture the attention of your audience and get them excited about the project you’re proposing. It’s essentially the “elevator pitch” for the project life cycle. It should be short and to the point.

The executive summary should be descriptive and paint a picture of what project success looks like for the client. Most importantly, it should motivate the project client; after all, the goal is getting them to sign on the dotted line to get the project moving!

2. Provide a Project Background

The project background is a one-page section of your project proposal that explains the problem that your project will solve. You should explain when this issue started, its current state and how your project will be the ideal solution.

• Historic data: The history section outlines previously successful projects and those that could have run more smoothly. By doing so, this section establishes precedents and how the next project can be more effective using information from previous projects.
• Solution: The solution section addresses how your project will solve the client’s problem. Accordingly, this section includes any project management techniques , skills and procedures your team will use to work efficiently.

3. Establish a Project Vision & Success Criteria

You’ll need to define your project vision. This is best done with a vision statement, which acts as the north star for your project. It’s not specific as much as it’s a way to describe the impact your company plans to make with the project.

It’s also important to set up success criteria to show that the project is in fact doing what it’s proposed to do. Three obvious project success criteria are the triple constraint of cost, scope and time. But you’ll need to set up a way to measure these metrics and respond to them if they’re not meeting your plan.

4. Identify Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies

To reduce the impact of risk in your project, you need to identify what those risks might be and develop a plan to mitigate them . List all the risks, prioritize them, describe what you’ll do to mitigate or take advantage of them and who on the team is responsible for keeping an eye out for them and resolving them.

5. Define Your Project Scope and Project Deliverables

The project scope refers to all the work that’ll be executed. It defines the work items, work packages and deliverables that’ll be delivered during the execution phase of your project life cycle. It’s important to use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to define your tasks and subtasks and prioritize them.

6. Set SMART Goals for Your Project Proposal

The best mindset when developing goals and objectives for your project proposal is to use the SMART system :

• Specific – Make sure your goals and objectives are clear, concise and specific to the task at hand.
• Measurable – Ensure your goals and objectives are measurable so it’s obvious to see when things are on track and going well, and conversely, when things are off track and issues need to be addressed. Measurable goals make it easy to develop the milestones you’ll use to track the progress of the project and identify a reasonable date for completion and/or closure.
• Attainable – It’s important every project has a “reach” goal. Hitting this goal would mean an outstanding project that extends above and beyond expectations. However, it’s important that the project’s core goal is attainable, so morale stays high and the job gets done with time and resources to spare.
• Relevant – Make sure all of your goals are directly relevant to the project and address the scope within which you’re working.
• Time-Based – Timelines and specific dates should be at the core of all goals and objectives. This helps keep the project on track and ensures all project team members can manage the work that’s ahead of them.

7. Explain What’s Your Project Approach

Your project approach defines the project management methodology , tools and governance for your project. In simple terms, it allows project managers to explain to stakeholders how the project will be planned, executed and controlled successfully.

8. Outline The Expected Benefits of Your Project Proposal

If you want to convince internal stakeholders and external investors, you’ll need to show them the financial benefits that your project could bring to their organization. You can use cost-benefit analysis and projected financial statements to demonstrate why your project is profitable.

9. Identify Project Resource Requirements

Project resources are critical for the execution of your project. The project proposal briefly describes what resources are needed and how they’ll be used. Later, during the planning phase, you’ll need to create a resource management plan that’ll be an important element of your project plan. Project requirements are the items, materials and resources needed for the project. This section should cover both internal and external needs.

10. Estimate Project Costs and Project Budget

All the resources that you’ll need for your project have a price tag. That’s why you need to estimate those costs and create a project budget . The project budget needs to cover all your project expenses, and as a project manager, you’ll need to make sure that you adhere to the budget.

11. Define a Project Timeline

Once you’ve defined your project scope, you’ll need to estimate the duration of each task to create a project timeline. Later during the project planning phase , you’ll need to create a schedule baseline, which estimates the total length of your project. Once the project starts, you’ll compare your actual project schedule to the schedule baseline to monitor progress.

Now let’s explore some project proposal examples to get a better understanding of how a project proposal would work in the real world. For this example, let’s imagine a city that’s about to build a rapid transit system. The city government has the funds to invest but lacks the technical expertise and resources that are needed to build it, so it issues a request for proposal (RFP) document and sends it to potential builders.

Then, the construction companies that are interested in executing this rapid transit project will prepare a project proposal for the city government. Here are some of the key elements they should include.

• Project background: The construction firm will provide an explanation of the challenges that the project presents from a technical perspective, along with historical data from similar projects that have been completed successfully by the company.
• Project vision & success criteria: Write a vision statement and explain how you’ll track the triple constraint to ensure the successful delivery of the project.
• Potential risks and mitigation strategies: List all risks and how they’ll be mitigated, and be sure to prioritize them.
• Project scope & deliverables: The work that’ll be done is outlined in the scope, including all the deliverables that’ll be completed over the life cycle of the project .
• Set SMART goals: Use the SMART technique to define your project goals by whether they’re specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
• Project approach: Define the methodology that the project manager will employ to manage the project. Also, figure out what type of contract will be used to define the project.
• Expected benefits: Show how the project will deliver advantages to the company and define what these benefits are in a quantifiable way.
• Project resource requirements: List all the resources, such as labor, materials, equipment, etc., needed to execute the project.
• Project costs & budget: Estimate the cost of the project and lay that out in a project budget that covers everything from start to finish.
• Project timeline: Outline the project schedule, including phases, milestones and task duration on a visual timeline.

Whatever project proposal you’re working on, there are a few tips that apply as best practices for all. While above we suggested a project proposal template that would have a table of contents, meaning it would be many pages long, the best-case scenario is keeping the proposal to one or two pages max. Remember, you’re trying to win over stakeholders, not bore them.

Speaking of project stakeholders , do the research. You want to address the right ones. There’s no point in doing all the work necessary to write a great proposal only to have it directed to the wrong target audience. Whoever is going to read it, though, should be able to comprehend the proposal. Keep the language simple and direct.

When it comes to writing, get a professional. Even a business document like a project proposal, business case or executive summary will suffer if it’s poorly constructed or has typos. If you don’t want to hire a professional business writer, make sure you get someone on your project team to copy, edit and proof the document. The more eyes on it, the less likely mistakes will make it to the final edition.

While you want to keep the proposal short and sweet, it helps to sweeten the pot by adding customer testimonials to the attachments. Nothing sells a project plan better than a customer base looking for your product or service.

ProjectManager & Project Proposals

ProjectManager allows you to plan proposals within our software. You can update tasks for the project proposal to signify where things stand and what’s left to be done. The columns allow you to organize your proposal by section, creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) of sorts.

When building a project proposal, it’s vital to remember your target audience. Your audience includes those who are excited about the project, and see completion as a gain for their organization. Conversely, others in your audience will see the project as a pain and something to which they aren’t looking forward. To keep both parties satisfied, it’s essential to keep language factual and concise.

Our kanban boards help you think through that language and collaborate on it effectively with other team members, if necessary. Each card shows the percentage completed so everyone in the project management team is aware of the work done and what’s left to be done.

As you can see from the kanban board above, work has begun on tasks such as product documentation and design. Tasks regarding stakeholder feedback, ideation, market research and more have been completed, and there’s a good start on the engineering drawings, 3D rendering, supply chain sourcing and translation services.

A PDF is then attached to the card, and everyone added to the task receives an email notifying them of the change. This same process can be used throughout the life-cycle of the project to keep the team updated, collaborating, and producing a first-class project proposal. In addition to kanban boards, you can also use other project management tools such as Gantt charts , project dashboards, task lists and project calendars to plan, schedule and track your projects.

Project proposals are just the first step in the project planning process. Once your project is approved, you’ll have to solidify the plan, allocate and manage resources, monitor the project, and finally hand in your deliverables. This process requires a flexible, dynamic and robust project management software package. ProjectManager is online project management software that helps all your team members collaborate and manage this process in real-time. Try our award-winning software with this free 30-day trial .

Deliver your projects on time and under budget

Start planning your projects.

550+ Free business plan examples

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 free real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries to guide you through writing your own plan. If you're looking for an intuitive tool that walks you through the plan writing process, we recommend LivePlan . It includes many of these same SBA-approved business plan examples and is especially useful when applying for a bank loan or outside investment.

Find your business plan

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Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the plans in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

Your executive summary should include a summary of the problem you are solving, a description of your product or service, an overview of your target market, a brief description of your team, a summary of your financials, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how you're business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan

The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

Business model canvas

The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remain stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2023.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan template is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a sample business plan.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template , or get started right away with LivePlan .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily, just like you can leverage an example business plan template to write your plan, we also have a gallery of over 50 pitch decks for you to reference.

With this gallery, you have the option to view specific industry pitches or get inspired by real-world pitch deck examples. Or for a modern pitch solution that helps you create a business plan and pitch deck side-by-side, you may want to check out LivePlan . It will help you build everything needed for outside investment and to better manage your business.

Get LivePlan in your classroom

Are you an educator looking for real-world business plan examples for your students? With LivePlan, you give your students access to industry-best business plans and help them set goals and track metrics with spreadsheet-free financial forecasts. All of this within a single tool that includes additional instructional resources that work seamlessly alongside your current classroom setup.

With LivePlan, it's not just a classroom project. It's your students planning for their futures. Click here to learn more about business planning for students .

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What is a business proposal a simple definition for small businesses.

A business proposal is sent from a supplier to a potential client for the purpose of winning a specific project. It is a written document and it can either be requested by the client or sent unsolicited. Many service-based small businesses rely on proposals in order to sell their services and bring in new work, according to Inc. .

In this article, we’ll cover:

What Is a Business Proposal?

What is a business proposal letter.

The definition of a business proposal is a document in writing sent by a supplier to a potential client in hopes of winning a project.

At heart, it is a sales document that includes all the standard information found in similar documents like estimates, bids and quotes.

This standard content includes:

• Scope (what the project does and doesn’t include)
• What the business promises to deliver (services or products)
• Completion date and timelines

But a proposal is more detailed because it’s typically used to win complicated or unique jobs, according to Inc. .

• For example, a proposal might be used to win a complex residential landscaping job. Or a customer wants a marketing firm to provide a detailed report on their target market .

Also, proposals are specific in what they promise—they don’t provide approximate pricing and believed scope like estimates do.

Below is an example of what a proposal template looks like in FreshBooks. This template has many of the key elements that go into the typical proposal.

Source: FreshBooks

Requested vs. Unsolicited Proposals

A client may specifically request a proposal. They can ask for one casually in conversation, request one via email or send a formal “request for proposal” (or “RFP”) document.

A RFP specifically outlines what product or services they want and when they want the proposal back. They may also invite the business to offer unique solutions to complete the project.

An RFP means that the potential client is in a buying mood and is actively looking to select a supplier. Your job is to write a proposal that helps them choose you by showing you understand their requirements and can provide unique solutions.

A business can also send a potential client a proposal without the client requesting one. In this sense, a proposal is more like a sales presentation.

• For example, a nutritionist can submit a book proposal to a publisher on the keto diet. The proposal outlines the popularity of the keto diet, the nutritionist’s professional qualifications and previous writing experience and how the book will be different (and better) than existing books about the keto diet.

Ready to create your own business proposal? FreshBooks has cloud-based proposal software that makes creating and sending winning proposals easy.

If you want to learn more first about how to create a business proposal, this article delivers a business proposal outline and format ideas plus proposal templates you can download for free.

A business proposal letter (or “cover letter”) is part of a business proposal, according to Inc. .

A business proposal typically has two parts:

• Cover letter
• Proposal document

A shorter proposal may combine these two parts into a six to eight page document.

A cover letter helps provide context on why you’re sending the attached proposal.

A cover letter (or “transmittal document”) should be brief. One page is ideal, according to the Houston Chronicle . Two pages is the maximum length. After all, the proposal document itself is most important than the cover letter.

A cover letter should also be in standard business letter format and you can write it in first person (using “I”).

A cover letter can include the following content:

• Cite when and under what circumstances the proposal was requested by the client
• Credit anyone who helped prepare the proposal
• A summary of the proposal (an “executive summary”)
• Thank the potential client
• Include your contact information
• Ask the client to contact you with any questions

As for circumstances, you can mention the client’s request for proposal document (RFP) and what date it was sent. Or you can refer to a past conversation where the potential client expressed interest in seeing a proposal about a project.

A cover letter is also useful if the proposal contains any surprises, such as:

• The proposal contains anything different than what was originally agreed upon, such as project scope or cost
• Problems that will affect the project that came to light after your last conversation with the client

FreshBooks lets you attach documents to your proposal, making it easy to include a cover letter and send the entire proposal package to your client.

Looking for a template for your cover letter? Here are a couple samples:

• A simple business letter Word template from MS Office
• A detailed business proposal letter template , you can also download it for Word
• A business proposal letter template for the construction industry

People also ask:

What Is the Difference Between a Proposal and an Estimate?

What is the purpose of a business proposal, what are the types of business proposals.

Proposals and estimates are both sales documents that a business uses to try to win a project. But, proposals are much more detailed than estimates and usually cover more complex projects, according to Inc. .

Proposals also explain the value a company will provide to a potential client and list its past projects or include client testimonials.

Some small businesses use estimates to detail the costs and tasks a project will involve. Then, instead of drawing up a formal proposal they prove their value through other means—usually during a call or on a site visit.

Or the business doesn’t have to prove their value because they have a great reputation and the client is already sure they’re the best fit for the job. Maybe the potential client got a referral from a trusted friend. Or they read good reviews online. In these cases, the job is usually not overly complex or unique.

If a job is complicated or has very specific requirements, more proof is required that a business is the right fit for a job. A proposal is needed to prove that the supplier can provide the right schedule, design, approach, aesthetics and more.

The purpose of a business proposal is to win a new project, often with a new client where there isn’t an established business relationship.

A business’s proposal is often in competition with proposals from competitors. So the purpose of a proposal is also to differentiate you from your competition and demonstrate the value you’ll provide the prospective client.

Value could include demonstrating how you’ll save your prospective client time or money or even help them make more money.

Often testimonials and examples of past projects are included to showcase your reputation and what your business is capable of doing. This type of proof helps build trust with your potential client.

• For example, a construction company could include health and safety documents.

Business proposals have different formats specific to different industries, according to Inc. . Most service-based businesses can follow a general proposal format, though there are exceptions.

Exceptions include:

• Trades (like electric wiring)
• Architecture and landscaping
• Advertising

Trades will want to find old proposals in their field and copy the format. In landscaping and architecture, a model may be required as well as a visual presentation. Advertising proposals will probably need a presentation as well.

In all the industries listed above, a meeting is usually crucial to make the sale. It also gives the business a chance to deliver their visual presentation. The written business proposal isn’t a key part of their marketing, though it is useful to sum up the presentation (an “executive summary”), reiterate why their company is the best choice for the job and include any important administrative notes.

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About Business Plan Preparation Services

A business plan is a vital document for any business that contains information about the pertaining to its promoters, business model, operations, past, competitor analysis, market analysis and project financial performance. Business plan is very essential as it serves as a roadmap for the business and provides information in an understandable format to investors wanting to know more about the business. A key use of a business plan or investor pitch is for raising private equity capital or angel investment in a start-up. Business plans are used by private equity investors and angel investors to gain an insight into the business for making an investment decision.

A well drafted business plan will contain details about the promoters, infrastructure information, and human capital requirement, business model, industry outlook, and competitor analysis, SWOT analysis, past financial performance, projected financial performance, key financial indicators and any other relevant information. Businessgig has a team of professional with extensive experience in preparing business plans. Contact us today and we can help you prepare a well-structured business plan for your start-up.

HIGHLIGHTS OF BUSINESS PLAN

Business Plan

A business plan contains information about the business in a presentable and understandable format. Business plan is used for investment decision by private equity investors and angel investors.

Well Drafted Plan

A Well drafted business plan will contain information pertaining to the Entrepreneur background, Infrastructure, Human Capital, Business Model, Operational Information, Industry Outlook, SWOT Analysis and Financial Performance.

Capital Syndication

Business plan plays an important role in the syndication of capital from investors. A well-drafted business plan has all the information a bank or financial institution requires for making a credit or investment decision.

Financial Professional

A well drafted business plan will ensure easy access to equity funding. So an experienced Financial Professional with good writing, presentation and financial analysis skill must prepare the business plan.

Businessgig Can Help

Businessgig has extensive experience in compiling business plans. So talk to our Business Advisors today if you require a business plan or investor pitch for your start-up.

The final draft of a business plan can be provided in 15-20 working days from the time of submission the required information and documents. Businessgig can help prepare business plan for start-ups across India.

We can prepare a business plan for your start-up. Business plan or investor pitch for your start-up can be prepared in 15 to 20 days.

Understanding

Prior to preparing the business plan, our Financial Experts will work with you to understand your business, proposed plans and capital requirement.

Based on our understanding of your start-up business and the information collected, our Financial Experts will draft a business plan for your start-up.

Business Plan Finalization

Once the draft business plan is prepared, you can provided your comments or inputs to finalize and prepare the final business plan and investor pitch.

Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

What is included?

• Investor presentation
• Market analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Industry analysis
• Financial projection
• Funding consultation
• Business model definition

Why Choose Us?

• Money-back guarantee
• 500+ Business plans prepared
• 30+ Offices in India
• 2x Faster process
• Door step document collection
• Client confidentiality
• No hidden fees

Benefits of Business Planning

The business plan preparation can personally benefit the entrepreneurial team. Establishing a new business can be enormously fulfilling and exhilarating, but it is also an uneasiness ridden and strained experience. Usually a lot of cash is at stake, and the results of poor decisions can affect many people for a long time. In creating and composing a business plan, the entrepreneurial team reduces these anxieties and pressures by standing up to them in advance. By projecting the risks of the new venture into the future, the team understand potential negative outcomes and the possibility of failure. The information that originates from this experience can reduce the fear of being taken by surprise by issues that could have been predicted and provided for at the very outset.

Every new venture should have a plan to start business. A business plan preparation is the formal composed expression of the entrepreneurial vision, explaining the strategy and operations of the proposed venture. The business plan preparation also goes by other names, depending on its intended audience. A venture capital group might call it the “funding plan” or “investment prospectus.” Presented to an investor, it might be known a “loan proposal.” The advantages of writing a business plan preparation far outweigh the costs. The reason for the arrangement is to empower the top executives of the firm to consider their business comprehensively, to communicate their objectives to people who might have a stake in the firm’s future, to have a premises for making decisions, and to encourage the planning process.

Entrepreneurs should undertaking of setting up the strategy for preparing the business plan personally. Although outsiders – lawyers, consultants and accountants – should be tapped for their recommendation and expertise, the promoter or the introductory top administration team should be responsible for the writing. Personally drafting the plan will empower the entrepreneurs to thoroughly consider all aspects of the proposed business and guarantee that they are familiar with all the details, for they will need to make decisions about the new venture and be responsible for those choices. Moreover, investors expect the founders to be involved in and proficient about the proposed enterprise.

Prepare a business plan

The benefits of a business plan

Business plan template, what a business plan should include, presenting your business plan, the executive summary, your vision, marketing and sales, financial forecasts.

A business plan is a written document that describes a business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts. A business plan has many functions, from securing external funding, to measuring success within your business.

Creating and managing a realistic business plan can help you secure finance and funding and measure success. Potential investors, including banks, may invest in your idea, work with you or lend you money as a result of the strength of your plan. Grant providers, potential partners and anyone interested in buying your business will also likely want to see your business plan.

Even if you just use it in-house, it can:

• Help you spot potential pitfalls before they happen
• Structure the financial side of your business efficiently
• Focus your efforts on developing your business
• Work as a measure of your success

A business plan is a living document that will help you monitor your performance. It will need updating and changing as your business grows. Whether you use it in-house or for external finance, it should still take an objective and honest look at your business. Failing to do this could mean that you and others have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved and when.

Use this template to create a business plan that outlines your executive summary, your vision, your marketing strategy, how you plan to run your business and how to plan to finance your business.

Your business plan should include:

• How you are going to develop your business
• When you are going to do it
• Who's going to play a part
• How you will manage the finances

It's important to be clear about these areas in your business plan if you're looking for finance, funding or investment. The process of building your plan will also focus your mind on how your new business will need to operate to give it the best chance of success.

Your plan should also include:

An executive summary.

an overview of the business you want to start. It's vital. Many lenders and investors make judgments about your business based on this section of the plan alone.

A short description of the business opportunity

who you are, what you plan to sell or offer, why and to whom.

Your marketing and sales strategy

why you think people will buy what you want to sell and how you plan to sell to them.

Your management team and personnel

your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you.

Your operations

your premises, production facilities, your management information systems and IT.

this section translates everything you have said in the previous sections into numbers.

To make sure your business plan has maximum impact, there are a number of points to consider.

Keep the plan short - it's more likely to be read if it's a manageable length. Think about the presentation and keep it professional - even if you only intend to use the plan in-house. Remember, a well-presented plan will reinforce the positive impression you want to create of your business. Make sure your plan is realistic. Once you have prepared your plan, use it. If you update it regularly, it will help you keep track of your business' development.

Tips for presenting your plan:

• Include a cover or binding and a contents page with page and section numbering.
• Start with the executive summary.
• Ensure it's legible - make sure the type is ten point or above.
• Show the plan to expert advisers - such as your accountant - and ask for feedback.
• Avoid jargon and put detailed information - such as market research data or balance sheets - in an appendix at the back.
• You may want to email it, so ensure you use email-friendly formatting.
• Even if it's for internal use only, write the plan as if it's intended for an external audience.
• Edit the plan carefully - get at least two people to read it and check that it makes sense.
• You may have detailed plans for specific areas of your business, such as a sales plan or a staff training plan, but it is best not to include these, though it is good practice to mention that they exist.

While it's sensible to seek advice from external advisers, it's not a good idea to get them to write the plan for you. Investors and lenders need to have confidence that you personally understand your business plan and are committed to the vision for the business.

The executive summary is often the most important part of your business plan. Found at the front of the document, it is the first - and might be the only - part to be read. Your plan might be placed into a 'worth considering' or 'discard' pile by lenders or investors based on this section alone.

The executive summary is a synopsis of the key points of your entire plan. It should include highlights from each section of the rest of the document. Its purpose is to explain the basics of your business in a way that both informs and interests the reader. If, after reading the executive summary, an investor or manager understands what the business is about and is keen to know more, it has done its job.

It should be concise - no longer than two pages at most - and interesting. You should write this section of your plan after you have completed the rest.

The executive summary is not:

• A brief description of the business and its products. It's a synopsis of the entire plan.
• An extended table of contents. This makes for very dull reading. You should ensure it shows the highlights of the plan, rather than restating the details the plan contains.
• Hype. While the executive summary should excite the reader enough to read the entire plan, an experienced investor or business person will recognise hype and this will undermine the plan's credibility.

You must be able to clearly describe what your business does and set out your vision for your business. This includes who you are, what you do, what you have to offer and the market you want to address.

Start with an overview of your business:

• When you started or intend to start trading and the progress and investment you have made
• The type of business and the sector it is in
• Any relevant history-for example, if you acquired the business, who owned it originally and what they achieved with it
• The current legal structure
• Your vision for the future

Then describe your products or services as simply as possible, defining:

• What makes it different
• Benefits it offers
• Why customers would buy it from you instead of your competitors
• How you plan to develop your products or services
• Whether you hold any patents, trademarks or design registration
• The key features and success factors of your industry or sector

Remember that the person reading the plan may not understand your business and its products, services or processes as well as you do, so try to avoid jargon. It's a good idea to get someone who isn't involved in the business - a friend or family member perhaps - to read this section of your plan and make sure they can understand it.

You should describe the specific activities you intend to use to promote and sell your products and services. Often, it's the weak link in business plans so it's worth spending time on it to make sure it's realistic and achievable.

A strong sales and marketing section means you have a clear idea of how you will get your products and services to market.

Your plan will need to provide answers to these questions:

• How do you plan to position your product or service in the market place?
• Who are your customers? Include details of customers who have shown an interest in your product or service and explain how you plan to go about attracting new customers.
• What is your pricing policy? How much will you charge for different customer segments, quantities, etc?
• How will you promote your product or service? Identify your sales process methods, eg. direct marketing, advertising, PR, email, e-sales, social marketing.
• How will you reach your customers? What channels will you use? Which partners will be needed in your distribution channels?
• How will you do your selling? Do you have a sales plan? Have you considered which sales method will be the most effective and most appropriate for your market, such as selling by phone, over the internet, face-to-face or through retail outlets? Are your proposed sales methods consistent with your marketing plan? And do you have the right skills to secure the sales you need?

You will need to provide a set of financial projections which translate what you have said about your business into numbers.

Look carefully at:

How much capital you need if you are seeking external funding

The security you can offer lenders

How you plan to repay any borrowings

Sources of revenue and income

You may also want to include your personal finances as part of the plan.

Financial planning

Your forecasts should run for the next three (or even five) years and their level of sophistication should reflect the sophistication of your business. However, the first 12 months' forecasts should have the most detail associated with them.

Your forecasts should include

Sales forecast - the amount of money you expect to raise from sales.

Cash flow statements - your cash balance and monthly cash flow patterns for at least the first 12 to 18 months. The aim is to show that your business will have enough working capital to survive. Make sure you have considered the key factors such as the timing of sales and salaries.

Read Cash flow management guidance.

Profit and loss forecast - a statement of the trading position of the business. Show the level of profit you expect to make and the costs of providing goods and services and your overheads. Your forecasts should cover a range of scenarios. New businesses often forecast over-optimistic sales and most external readers will take this into account. It is sensible to include subsidiary forecasts based on sales being significantly slower than you are actually predicting. One for sales starting three months later than expected, and another forecasting a 20 per cent lower level of sales.

Risk analysis - It is good practice to show that you have reviewed the risks your business could be faced with. Show that you have looked at contingencies and insurance to cover these.

Risks can include:

• Competitor action
• Commercial issues - sales, prices, deliveries
• Acts of God - fire or flood
• Operations - IT, technology or production failure
• Staff - skills, availability and costs

What is the minimum number of shareholders in a private limited company?

Two. They could be individuals or legal entities.

What is the minimum number of directors in a private limited company?

Two. The Directors must compulsorily be individuals. They cannot be corporate bodies.

What is the minimum share capital of a private limited company?

Rupees One lakh (INR 100,000). However the requirement of minimum share capital may go up if certain words such as India (INR 500,000), Asia (INR 5,000,000), Global, Universal, Industrial (INR 10,000,000) are chosen as part of the company’s name.

Is an office required for a private limited company?

An address in India where the registered office of the Company will be situated is required. The premises can be a commercial / industrial / residential where communication from the MCA will be received.

For Registered Office Address

• Rent agreement along with latest rent receipt (in case the premises are rented)
• House tax receipts (in case premises are owned)
• Electricity bill
• NOC from the Owner (Format will be shared once your company name approved)

Do I have to be physically present in person to incorporate a company in India?

No, you will not have to be present at our office or appear at any office for the registration of a Private Limited Company. All the documents can be scanned and sent through email to our office. So

How much time does it take to incorporate a company?

We can incorporate a Private Limited Company for in 14-20 days. The time taken for registration will depend on submission of relevant documents by the client and speed of Government Approvals. To ensure speedy registration, please choose a unique name for your Company and ensure you have all the required documents prior to starting the registration process.

Can LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) be converted to Private Limited Company?

No, LLP cannot be converted to a Private Limited Company as it is not permissible by the government of India. Both the LLP Act, 2008 and the Companies Act, 2013 are silent about the matter and haven't done any amendments on the same. However, if you want to expand your business you can register a Private Limited Company with INC-29 which has simplified the process of registration.

How long is the company valid for?

Once a Company is incorporated, it will be active and in-existence as long as the annual compliances are met with regularly. In case, annual compliances are not complied with, the Company will become a Dormant Company and maybe struck off from the register after a period of time. A struck-off Company can be revived for a period of up to 20 years.

Can all the directors of a private limited company be foreigners?

No. At least one director is required to be an Indian National though he may not be a shareholder.

Are there any prior approvals to be obtained from any authority in India to become a director in an Indian company?

Yes. Every individual who is contemplating a position of a director in an Indian company must obtain a Directors Identification Number (DIN) before he can become a director in an Indian company.

What needs to be done to obtain a DIN?

An application needs to be submitted to the MCA DIN Cell to obtain a DIN.

What are the documents required for Incorporation of Private Limited Company?

Identity proof and address proof is mandatory for all the proposed Directors of the Company. PAN Card is mandatory for Indian Nationals. In addition, the landlord of the registered office premises must provide a No Objection Certificate for having the registered office in his/her premises and must submit his/her identity proof and address proof.

Is it required for the applicants/subscribers/promoters of a limited company to be physically present in India during the incorporation process? Thereafter should any of the applicant / subscriber / promoter reside in India while the company is active?

Can a salaried person become the director in private limited company.

Yes, a salaried person become the director in private limited company, there are no legal bondages in this, but you have to go through with your employment agreement if it contains any restrictions on doing so.

How to choose the name of the company?

First ensure that company name is not similar to any other Private Limited, OPC, LLP or Public limited company. Also, do check if your first is not a registered trademark taken by anybody under the IP Act. Also, make sure the name is not too generic to be accepted by the ROC land also, try not to use abbreviations, adjectives. While choosing the name make sure that name should contain the objective of the business like if the objective is I then word is Technology, Technosoft, IT consultancy.

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Your satisfaction is our goal, we provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee for the work with you to ensure you quality of work.

Our team has thorough expertise in respective service areas.

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Businessgig provides you free Consultation about Business Incorporation, Taxation, Finance, Graphics and Digital needs. etc

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Businessgig is an initiative of Expert Engineers and Professional Charterered Accountants having an experience of over 7 years.

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You can reach us anytime and anywhere in the go. You can Text, Whatsapp, Email, Call or Skype us for your requirements.

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We are one of the leading brands in Accounting, Statutory Compliances ,Designing and Marketing.

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We have capability to advise and serve you, even you when you grow big and expand

You simply won’t find another vendor that can match our value proposition. Our customers often tell us the same thing. We make every effort to provide our customers with great products and services, and we work just as hard to make sure they are getting the right business model that fits their needs. We promise the same to you.

When we face a tough decision we never compromise our values and principles. We do what is right, not what is the easiest.

We are passionate and committed in heart and mind to what we do. Our employees work around the clock coming up with ideas.

Flexibility

We believe that flexibility leads to excellence and we tailor all our services to the specific needs of each client.

We strive for excellence in all that we do. We set high personal and company standards, and then consistently try to exceed them. We attract self-motivated, highly capable, results-oriented people and invest heavily in their development.

Openness & Honesty

We believe that open communication builds trust, which is the foundation of any relationship whether it’s with our employees or our clients.

Our power comes from the talented people within our company. We create an environment in which every person is a valued and respected member, encouraged to contribute and share, and recognized and rewarded for their efforts.

Extra Ordinary Customer Support

We place highest importance to providing extra ordinary customer Support.

When it comes to the numbers, you might get a million query in your head. Do not worry! Our dedicated support team loves to assist you with anything. Just give us a buzz and we would happy to answer all of your queries..

We know how expensive finance experts and designers can be. Businessgig provides best of the both at an unimaginably low price. We harness the power of technology and have pushed a lot of our work to digitization. This saves us a lot of time and we happily pass on the benefit to our customers.

A Pricing structure designed for your every need. Our business package will free you from charges for every service. We provide best in class services at reasonable charges through latest technology, experience and expertise. .

We understand how important your business information is. We have systems in place to ensure confidentiality of your data. We do not even reveal your name unless you want us to. To know more, please check our NDA and Privacy policy.We take Client confidentiality seriously. We never disclose client information or use our Client’s brand name for our marketing without your prior permission.

Alone we can do so little, together we can make wonders. So lets team up and grow together. You would have heard the phrase ‘Making mountains out of molehills’; but here we do what we do best-making molehills out of mountains.

We enjoy the reputation of being synonymous with professionalism, efficiency, and excellent service. We provide full spectrum of financial, accounting, designing, marketing services as well as investment consultancy, project evaluation and services related to all types of business and corporate agreements. We specialize in providing end to end support to startups – be they proprietorship’s, partnership’s, LLP’s, or Private Limited Enterprises. Our knowledge of the Indian ecosystem makes us perfectly placed to provide end-to-end assistance with company formation in India as well as company registration in India.

I have used multiple offline & online CAs/ Lawyers. Businessgig clearly provides the best and fastest service.

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