To write a proposal, you must understand what your reader wants and use the proposal to propose an action to be performed by your company to meet the recipients needs. Proposals can be internal or external.
Internal proposals must state a problem or need succinctly to motivate readers to correct the problem in the way you recommend. You must show that the problem is important enough that it merits your organization spending money to solve it. You must also show that the way you propose to fix the problem is logical, cost-effective, and beneficial to the company.
Structure this document like a report (see "How to Write a Report" on this site). Proposal sections should include a purpose statement, executive summary, body, background section, action steps, and appendices as appropriate. The background section in the proposal details your attempts to research the cause of the problem you are trying to fix. Include documentation that supports what you are proposing to do.
External proposals are usually written to obtain business for another company or government agency. Some of these organizations issue proposal guidelines and deadlines. To write an effective proposal for these organizations, you must pay strict attention to what they require and how and when they require it In addition, follow the guidelines for clear writing outlined above.
There are several ways to write a business proposal, but a common method to make sure you cover all the bases is to use the standard in reporting: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Steps
Start the business proposal by outlining why you are writing it. We need to develop the structure before we actually write the proposal.
Write down the heading Who. Now fill in the details: who is this proposal for? Who will do the work? Who will manage the project? Who will the participants report to? Who is responsible for what? Who will have signoff? Who are the stakeholders?
Now fill in the details for What. What is the project going to accomplish? What will it cost? What is the purpose? What is the mission? What will be required? What will happen if the project isn't delivered on time?
The next step is to outline the When of the proposal. When will the work be started? When will it be finished? When will updates be provided? When are the milestones achieved? When will the project be billed?
The Where of the project is where the work will be performed. Where will the work be performed? Where will it be delivered?
Why is the project being proposed/requested? Why have you chosen the methods you have? Why are you the best candidate for this task? Why can you do it?
Finally, fill in the How details. How will the work be done? How will the milestones be accomplished? How will you measure completion? How long will it take? How will you measure customer satisfaction? How will this project benefit the customer?
Start writing the proposal with the table of contents. Think about the structure of the document and how the document flows. If the customer provides an outline us it, otherwise develop your own. Sections could include: Executive Summary, Project Proposal Summary, Statement of Work, Assumptions, Timeline/Project Plan, Staffing Plan, Corporate Qualifications & References, Terms and Pricing.
Start with the sections where it will take some time to gather the information such as customer references. These might take time to gather and receive permission, so start these early in the process.
If you have a Project Manager, engage him/her to write a sample project plan or timeline for the proposal.
Write the statement of work and assumptions based on the information included in the RFP.
Write the other parts of the proposal, saving the Executive Summary for last.
Write the Executive Summary - this should be as it sounds, a summary. Do not try to rehash the entire proposal in the Executive Summary.
Have others review the document and suggest changes.
Tips and Tactics
The goal of the proposal is to persuade the recipient to action. Write in a persuasive voice - make sure your qualifications are clear and concise.
Keep the proposal short and sweet. Buyers don't like reading hundreds of pages if it isn't necessary.
Think like a person checking the proposal - they are probably going through a checklist. Do the same with your proposal, develop a checklist and make sure you have everything requested in the RFP in your proposal.
