MyTutorials

Writing a persuasive business proposal inside a company can be a challenge. You need to be able to quantify how your project will earn the company additional revenue, save time, increase productivity, provide for a broader customer base; specifically, what will the return on investment (ROI) be for this investment?

In your request to write a proposal for a website, there are some assumptions regarding the "website system" you want to implement:

- There are quantifiable results from implementing this system: you can estimate the increase sales, increased productivity, or decreased operational costs.

- You can measure these results.

- You already have an idea of the investment cost.

With this information, you can write a quality persuasive business proposal to convince your management team to invest in this project. But how can we write this persuasive business proposal?

Steps

1. Develop a project plan outlining how you will complete the project.

2. Develop a cost schedule of how much it will cost to implement this website system.

3. Write a staffing plan: do you plan to use internal resources? External contractors? A web design firm? A staffing plan lists who will be involved with the project, how much time the project will take, and how much their time will cost.

4. Write an outline for your proposal, include: Executive Summary, Project Benefts, Project Plan, Project Costs, Project Risks, Assumptions.

5. Write down all of the project benefits you can think. Now, narrow down the list and pick the top ten. Hit with your best (most significant) benefits first.

6. Write the proposal, filling in your outline one section at a time. Ask for help along the way from people who are successful at getting their projects approved.

7. Once you have completed your first draft, have someone you trust review it and offer critique.

8. Submit your proposal.

Tips and Tactics

• When you list your benefits - make them realistic. Don't promise to increase sales by 30% when you suspect it will top out at 20%. Setting realistic expectations can be the deciding factor in whether a project is viewed as a success or failure.

• Also proofread your proposal - and have a second set of eyes proofread it. There is nothing worse than receiving a proposal with poor grammar or speling mestakes spelling mistakes.

• Make it easy for them to say "yes" - provide the proposal in a concise, easy to read format where they can find the information they need:

  What will it cost?

  What is my payoff?

Links to Resources

• MyTutorials: How to Respond to an RFP