Proposal documents need to be easy to follow and communicate clearly how the solution answers the brief. The structure shown here is a useful starting point for business-to-business proposals.
SUMMARY The summary should be an ‘elevator pitch’ (see Section 7.2) that captures the business issues, how the proposal addresses them and why your company is uniquely positioned to partner with the client. If your company is the current supplier, explain why any new ideas in the proposal haven’t already been suggested. BUSINESS CONTEXT & CHALLENGES These should reflect the brief, but restating the challenge more clearly or adding relevant context will help make your proposal more impressive. This is your chance to demonstrate that you understand your client’s world, the challenges they face and the pressures they’re under. ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES Explain how your company is equipped to meet each challenge, describing features that deliver advantages to the client and emphasizing any that competitors cannot match. Bring to life what the client will receive via demonstrations or mock-ups. OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED SOLUTION Describe exactly what you propose to do to meet the client’s needs. If the solution is particularly complex, summarize the purpose of each component and how they fit together. TEAM AND SERVICING Identify key members of the team by name, stating their roles and relevant credentials. This makes your proposal more credible and personal. FUTURE-PROOFING For ongoing assignments, describe how working with you would allow the client to access and benefit from the latest ideas, methods and technologies. Even if not explicitly requested in the brief, refer to any innovative approaches in development that they could benefit from in future. INVESTMENT OPTIONS For complex projects, providing two or three options may be helpful. If you know the client’s project budget, your recommended option should be priced just below it (and expect subsequent negotiations to bring the price down 5-10%). If you don’t know the budget, make an estimate and provide options with prices significantly below, equal to, and significantly above your estimate, to increase the chances of one option falling into the right zone. Explain the benefits and trade-offs of each option, but make each sound attractive in its own right. Some companies define a set of criteria against which to assess bids. If the client has revealed these, include a summary explaining how each criterion is met by different elements of your proposal. If the criteria have not been disclosed, use the following as a guide: - Understanding of the business and its challenges - Sector expertise - Relevance and validity of solution proposed - Quality of servicing - Ability to cope with the scale of the project, and deliver subsequent reliability - Innovative thinking/continual improvementMake it easy for people assessing your proposal to find reasons to score it well across the board. Getting a big tick against all criteria won’t guarantee that you’ll win the business, but it should put you amongst the strongest contenders. |