How Do You Write A Proposal?

Please I need information on how to write a business proposal.

Nice one, naijacutee. However i think the chap wants to know how to write business proposal as opposed to business plans(though there are similarities,only that a plan is wider in scope).To write a simple business plan,yu need the following details:

1.An Introduction:state your company name, address and the services you are qualified to render.
2.Statement of the Problem:state the problem/whatever you are proposing to do.
3.Solution: state the solution you intend to offer and the benefits the client stands to gain from this.
4.Pricing/Budget: give details of the bugdet required and whatever can be stated in monetary terms.
4.Conclude by reasserting your claims and benefits of your product/service.

I hope i av done something.You may also checkout www.smetoolkit.org (i think?)

think giving this fella a sample wld be more helpful

Check out this site
http://www.4hb.com/0350tipwritebizproposal.html
it has a guide and samples

hi.dont know how to but if u want i could hook you up with a friend who knows how to.he is one of the best, intellectually and business wise.hola me if u r down wiv it.

u can also learn how to write business Proposals at www.about.com or captureplanning.com

from experince i think you need: pages of books, picture(s) of what you want your proposal or plan to be.figure as in what your capital base is or you might visit a financial advisor if you can't get your head round your financial status.charts/graphs. set everything up as in like a map and describe what risks and reward you are meant to get when your proposal/plan goes into action because no1 would want to help you if you aint gatta risks and rewards that u will have to face when your proposal/plan goes into action.
1.take time to think about what u doing and what your proposal will be like.
2.ask yourself in a moment of quiet qestions like can i realy do this. because some people do what they don't realy like to see themselfs do.
3. visit a financial advisor on fincail help and ask him/her if they can write a financial plan for you but you have to have writing your own plan for the advisor to see if you realy need help. and if you aint got they financial requirement that you think your proposal/plan would have to have before the real action begining, try to rehease and make sure you can answer any question that your proposal/plan might ask you when you are presenting the proposal to who can help you financial because must people don't think about that when they presenting their proposal to who will help them financially , mentally and materaily
just try to act with you instint on any help people are giving you and i wish you best of luck.

ww.about.com is on of my fav for biz writings; here are some other related and useful ones:

www.zeromillion.com

www.businessknowhow.com

www.ehow.com

www.entreprenuer.com

goodluck!

A simple proposal formula
Here is a simple approach to help you cover all the bases in your proposal. For each section/requirement that you must address, make sure you answer: who, what, where, how, when, and why. Repeat it until it rolls off your tongue and you have it memorized.

Who: who will do the work, who will manage the work, who does the customer call if there is a problem, who is responsible for what
What: what needs to be done/delivered, what will be required to do it, what can the customer expect, what it will cost
Where: where will the work be done, where will it be delivered
How: how will be work be done, how will it be deployed, how will it be managed, how will you achieve quality assurance and customer satisfaction, how will risks be mitigated, how long will it take, how will the work benefit the customer
When: when will you start, when will key milestones be scheduled, when will the project be complete, when is payment due
Why: why have you chosen the approaches and alternatives you have selected, why the customer should select you

Nice one there, Jenita.
@ Namdee, I'll say that a business proposal depends on a lot of things. What exactly is the business about, who is the target audience/market? What size of capital are you looking at , and how long do you expect to break even? I think you first need to define what your business does before starting to write a proposal. A proposal to start a Telecommunications company will be much different from a proposal to start a business center.

The two phrases can be used interchangeably, depending on what context it is being used. But when it comes to the finer points of things, they do have their differences, and individual jobs.

A plan can be a 'working' plan i.e what will guide the biz in it's day to day operation, and from an investors point of view, it is to show that his investment is secure and is being invested in a profitable biz, with all the financial figures and other elements to 'prove' it. From what I gather the original poster is asking, this is not what he seeks.

A proposal can be a proposal in the sense of the word. I.e propose a new idea to someone for whatever reason. Perhaps to chip in and add his own contribution, financial or otherwise. but it doesn't necessarily have to include elements of profitability and viability. It's not always about money. eg. I can be a musician with no money to buy studio time, I can write a business proposal to someone who has a studio, and in it, I will details and try and convince him how his investment in letting me use his studio for free will be repaid, one way or another.

Lastly, a plan and a proposal can be interwoven into one. And this is probably your best bet. You are most likely looking for funds and an investor. You have to do both in this case. Propose or sell your business idea and WHY it is a good and profitable idea, and simultaneously show HOW it will be profitable.

Sum total, a business plan/proposal is not particularly easy work, cos to write a good one takes a lot of research (presentation, facts and figures, marketing techniques, etc). if you know your business industry well enough, your work is cut considerably. The websites that have been given are great tools that can and will help you as a guide. use them wisely, and you have a much higher chance of convincing someone to part with his money. Under use it and get woeful results, just as someone who recently showed me a woefully written business plan, with which he was shopping for $3million for a major project, and asked me to find investors for him, which of course I bluntly refused.

I will say this last bit in passing for whomever it might give food for thought and inspiration. The rounds I hear is that banks and other financial houses won't give you a loan for a business if you don't have collat and even a minimum down payment. I don't doubt this and is perhaps true to a great extent, but on the other side of the coin, I dare say that the people who are looking for these funds have not shown anywhere near good enough "evidence", -read business plan/proposal, that the banks' money is being sought for a "fail" proof business. I have yet to personally test and experience this, but I strongly believe that if you have a VERY (and perhaps VERY VERY) good and convincing business plan, by the time you go to 10 or 15 banks/financial house/investors, at least one of them is bound to be willing to take the risk, even without your collat, That is my firm personal belief, It may be wrong and naive, but I hold on to it for now. In any case, I will probably be testing one such dogmatic and 'naive' beliefs of mine on a different matter soon (I have tested it once with fairly good results), and if I am proved right again and again, then I will conclude with certainty what I have just said.

All the best,

What kind of buisness are we dealing with here??

dblock:

What kind of buisness are we dealing with here??

I guess the author of this topic wanted a standard format of writing a proposal irrespective of what kind of business.

True.
But there isn't exact;y a norm, different types of buisnessed have different ways of presenting proposals, although they are similar.

I was asking to see if it was to do with architecture, or engineering---

The truth is that if you need to write a business proposal what you should be looking for is a business plan.A business plan will tell anybody why he /she should invest in the proposed business.A business plan is different from a feasibility study.Additionally it is different from a project managment Plan.To be able to write any of this document with ease you need to work with a consultant.Your consultant will now write the document in the standard format with your ideas well articulated.

thanx guys,i am already writing one.This forum is a live saver,thanx you all
@icon,the business is for a fish farm and snailery and I am writing it to my father for his finanacial assitance.

@dblock it is for a fish farm and snailery,do you have one for me on that

hey people, howdy? pls i also need to do a proposal cum business plan for a recreation club, is there anyone who can help? thanks y'all in advance a.k.a pay it forward.

@ naijacutie
silly me!i meant a proposal o.well,hope he and evryone else got the message sha.Cheers
P.S.I didnt build that site,its one built ny a UN body.wish i did

HI guyz i saw how helpful you were to namdee on how to write a business proposal.I also i am not sure how to write a business proposal and a business profile for a transportation business to a large organization for transportation of goods to a neighboring company.Also help me where i can get written samples thank you.

sorry guys i meant transportation of goods to a neighbouring country not a neigbouring company.

i can teach you on how to write the proposal that is when i know the type of business, your location and when you really want to learn it. you can call via 08130435598 please identify yourself when you call.thanks[color=#006600][color=#006600]

Business proposal comprises of many sections.First one is the intro part that tells the reader about the purpose of business proposal.Then this part is followed by the company information part and then the rough estimate of the cost of the services.In the last part of business proposal a quick reminder of all the sections can be done in executive summary.You can also use business proposal writing software to wire down bid winning business proposals.

Hi Poster,

You can find useful tips on How to write a business proposal by Dr. Kabura Zakama, a business consultant and success coach, at www.businesspeopleng.com

Hope this helps.

Business plan/Feasibility report? Get the breakdown here:

How to Prepare a Good Feasibility Report

As a consultant my organization writes many proposals for all scopes of work.  Our format is like this.

1.0 Current Analysis
2.0 Service Offerings
3.0 Project Scope
4.0 Pricing
5.0 Solutions Summary
6.0 Terms and Conditions
7.0 Authorization

You'll have to find the best format for your business.  Writing proposals can be tedious especially when many people collaborate on the same proposal.  Also using programs like Word make it difficult to keep things organized and no two people can be working on the proposal at the same time.

Also when you deliver a word or pdf proposal you have no idea when your client views it.  We use a web based proposal software at http://www.quotegine.com.  It's worth taking a look at and they do offer trials.

OP
Why not have a read at How to write a business proposal to learn

The main features of a business proposal sample must be in the samples below.

Talk with somebody who has written several successful business proposals. Ask what worked and what didn't.


Outline a two-part proposal. The first part will describe the business opportunity and your plans to take advantage of it. The second will present financial data - tax returns, a balance sheet and a summary of your operating plan.


Write the proposal. Limit the first part to 10 pages. Make it concise and clear. When describing the market opportunity, cite sources.


Explain what makes you and your company different from competitors. Perhaps you have special skills and experiences. You might have a new technology. Talk about your achievements in the industry.


Describe the segment of the market you will pursue. Discuss what you will do to take market share away from competitors.


Identify prospective customers. Explain why you are targeting them.

Describe your expectations regarding revenue and cash flow for the first year. Discuss how much money you think you will need to get started, how it will be used, and where you plan to obtain it. Need more information, check it out on  this blog .Thanks