Business Proposals and it's type.

Business proposals are documents designed to make a persuasive appeal to the audience to achieve a defined outcome, often proposing a solution to a problem.

Proposals are built on the three elements of persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos. A proposal’s ethos refers to credibility, pathos to passion and enthusiasm, and logos to logic or reason. 

All three elements are integral parts of your business proposal that require your attention. Who are you and why should they do business with you? Your credibility may be unknown to the potential client and it is your job to reference previous clients, demonstrate order fulfillment, and clearly show that your product or service is offered by a credible organization. By association, if your organization is credible the product or service is often thought to be more credible.

Types of Proposal

Proposals may be internal or external, solicited or unsolicited.

1. Internal Proposals

Internal proposals are written by and for someone within the same organization. Since both the writer and reader share the same workplace context, these proposals usually address some way to improve a work-related situation (productivity, efficiency, profit, etc.).

2. External Proposals

External proposals are sent outside of the writer’s organization to a separate entity (often to solicit business, or to respond to another organization’s request for proposals). Since these are external documents, they are usually formal in nature and may be introduced by a letter of transmittal.

3. Solicited Proposals

You may write a solicited proposal if an organization identifies a situation it wants to improve or a problem that it wants to solve. A department or an organization may issue a request for proposals (RFP), asking for proposals on how to address the situation or issue. The requesting department or organization will evaluate proposals and choose the most convincing one, often using a detailed scoring rubric or weighted objectives to determine which proposal best responds to the request and addresses the organization’s needs.

4. Unsolicited Proposals

You may initiate a proposal yourself if you see a problem or an opportunity to make a beneficial change. With unsolicited proposals within an organization, you need to identify your audience very carefully in order to get your ideas to the right audience, either an individual or group with decision-making responsibility, or a supervisor who can support the proposal and move it to a higher decision-making level. Always consider your organization’s environment, internal politics, and how your proposal potentially may be received. For unsolicited proposals outside of your organization, make sure that you clearly create a need for your audience to convince that audience to read and respond. Unsolicited external proposals are often the most difficult kind of proposal to get approved

Business Proposal Format

Cover Page: Title page with name, title, date, and specific reference to request for proposal if applicable.

Executive Summary: Like an abstract in a report, this is a one- or two-paragraph summary of the product or service and how it meets the requirements and exceeds expectations.

Background: Discuss the history of your product, service, and/or company and consider focusing on the relationship between you and the potential buyer and/or similar companies.

Proposal: The idea. Who, what, where, when, why, and how. Make it clear and concise. Don’t waste words, and don’t exaggerate. Use clear, well-supported reasoning to demonstrate your product or service.

Market Analysis: What currently exists in the marketplace, including competing products or services, and how does your solution compare?

Benefits: How will the potential buyer benefit from the product or service? Be clear, concise, specific, and provide a comprehensive list of immediate, short, and long-term benefits to the company.

Timeline: A clear presentation, often with visual aids, of the process, from start to finish, with specific, dated benchmarks noted.

Marketing Plan: Delivery is often the greatest challenge for Web-based services—how will people learn about you? If you are bidding on a gross lot of food service supplies, this may not apply to you, but if an audience is required for success, you will need a marketing plan.

Finance: What are the initial costs, when can revenue be anticipated, when will there be a return on investment (if applicable)? Again, the proposal may involve a one-time fixed cost, but if the product or service is to be delivered more than once, and extended financial plan noting costs across time is required.

Conclusion: Like a speech or essay, restate your main points clearly. Tie them together with a common them and make your proposal memorable.