How to Write Business Project Proposal?

Link for Video Lecture: Business Project Proposal

What is a Business Project Proposal?

A project proposal is the first step to launch a project. It outlines everything that stakeholders need to know to start a project. A well-written project proposal persuades, informs, and combines different types of skills. The purpose of the proposal is to gain the support of the appropriate people for your plan. Therefore, it is very important to write a captivating, concise, clear, and persuasive report to be successful.

In the proposal, the focus is based on facts as compared to creative writing. You can learn it by joining our online content writing course. It is written in a conventional format having the following elements.

• Executive Summary

The executive summary is a short and to-the-point description of the problem and how your proposed solution will handle it.

• Background

It describes the successful and unsuccessful projects of the past. Moreover, it also explains how your proposed solution will handle it and your goals will be achieved.

• Requirements

This section provides detailed requirements throughout the project in the form of tools, resources, and project schedules.

• Solution

This element describes how you will implement the project and brings it to completion. It shows how to manage problems. It also covers techniques, skills, and project management steps efficiently.

• Authorization

In this section, clients authorize decision-makers and stakeholders.

• Appendix

It contains information that cannot be covered in the proposal. It describes the resources and materials that are used by stakeholders and team members to learn more about the project.

Planning Your Business Proposal

The busienss proposal should have all the required sections to be effective. You should consider the following things before writing a proposal.

Define Your Audience

Your business proposal should start with a firm introduction to grab the attention of the reader. It is also possible to write multiple versions depending on the type of audience. You can use background information to engage your reader before describing the purpose of your business proposal. You should try to know;

• Who is your audience?
• What does the audience know in advance and what does not?
• What is the real problem or issue?
• Similarly, it also determines whether you need to provide background information or not.
• What do they want to hear and what do you want to convey through your proposal?
• What information you are giving to make the decision?

Your tone should be refined and according to the desires and expectations of the audience. Your report should be efficient and persuasive.

For example, if the proposal is for the head of the technology department then technical language and jargon are required. On the other, the writer uses simple and easy-to-understand language for small business setups.

Potential Pitfalls

According to a paper from “Project Management Institute”, businessmen reject project proposals due to the following reasons.

1. Proposals that are defined poorly
2. Proposals not in line with organizational goals
3. Lack of credibility and clarity in the project benefits.
4. Ineffective presentation of the project proposal

Data & Research

You need facts, figures, charts, and graphs to demonstrate your project proposal and its existence. It is also important to go through past projects whether they are successful or unsuccessful. It becomes competitive to go through the facts and figures, data, evidence, and examples to form a convincing and effective proposal.

How to Write a Business Project Proposal?

It is an important part of any business to write proposals. Following are the steps to write a good proposal.

1: Define the problem

2: Propose a solution

3: Define your deliverables and success criteria

4: State your plan or approach

5: Outline your project schedule and budget

6: Tie it all together

7: Edit/Proofread your proposal

There must be a reason to write a proposal. You should know decision-makers to motivate and put them on your side to convert your vision into reality.

Step 1: Define the Problem

You need to state the problem and its causes. Make your audience to see the problem in your way. Provide information to your readers about the circumstances but the information should be to the point and factual. Describe the following;

1. Reasons behind the issue.
2. In which situation this issue applies to?
3. Has anybody tried to solve this issue in past?
4. Why is it so?
5. Why do you need to solve it?

In short, answer all questions with facts and research to convince your reader. The issue should be relevant to the audience and tie it directly to the audience. You should think about the following;

Tips To Define the Problem

1. Decision makers don’t have enough time to go through the proposal so show the main points clearly.
2. Don’t exaggerate to show the severity of the problem. Therefore, use facts and authentic data to support your proposal.

Step 2: Propose a Solution

Once you state a problem then you need to devise its solution. Why your solution is best in this situation. It should be easy and straightforward. It is the most important and arguable part of your proposal. What should be the result? So make your proposal persuasive in the following ways,

1. Your proposal should define a problem and offer a solution. It is not easy to win your audience so you have to convince them. The solution should be feasible and logical. The process of implementation and timeline should be clearly defined.
2. Discuss the larger impact of your ideas instead of limited applicability.
3. Why you are solving the problem in this way? What are the options and why it is the best?
4. Your primary objective is the achievement of your goal by implementing your solution. You should also mention secondary objectives due to which you will achieve the main goal.
5. The readers should think that you can solve the problem effectively. This section should be about the problem and its solution. So it is better to include examples and facts instead of your opinion.

Your proposal should prove that your solution works. You should also think about the results of your solutions and deliverables.

Step 3: Define Your Deliverables & Success Criteria

This step defines the attributes and functions of the project. It shows, whether it is successful or not.

Defining deliverables

• You should state what your project will deliver and what users expect. Moreover, state the date of the deliverable.
• The solution of your proposal should be SMART. It should be measurable, realistic, specific, and achievable.

Keep In Mind, The Elements of Style

You should have an appropriate style of proposal for your audience.  Do they know your problem? What are their expectations?

1. The proposal should be convincing and appealing to readers.
2. Don’t compromise on facts but win with your arguments.
3. Don’t use complex language or abbreviations but write in direct and plain language.

Step 4: State Your Plan or Approach

This step is the most critical step which shows how to get your project objectives. It is started with your approach showing its effectiveness and relevancy. It shows how the problem will be managed.

Tips for Planning

• You have to introduce your project strategies. Will you use the waterfall approach? Why do you hire consultants, staff, or third-party contractors? What are their objectives and responsibilities?
• Moreover, it also explains how the project management plan will be executed. How the problem will be addressed?

Step 5: Make an Outline

You should make an outline. It is not the final proposal but it will help to organize your thoughts. You should know the complete details.

1. The outline should consist of a problem, its solution and how will you implement it.
2. Why is your solution best and finally the conclusion?
3. For the executive summary, you need to mention budget analysis and organization details.

Outline Your Project Schedule & Budget

You represent the budget in your proposal to solve the problem. You have to show that you are good to solve the problem so include as much detail and information as you can. In this phase, you break down project costs along with project deadlines.

1. When the project will be started? What would be its pace? How all the steps are interlinked? Your carefulness will give confidence to your readers showing that you have done your homework. In addition, It will also ensure that your money will not be wasted.
2. You need to show that your proposal is financially feasible. You should be careful about the budget because if your proposal is out of their budget then it is not an adequate proposal. If it is in their budget then it should also be mentioned how it will be worth their time and money.
3. You should provide as many details as possible. You can break down your budget into categories such as suppliers, salaries and tools, etc.
4. The direct and indirect costs and overheads should be included. There should not be waste of time and money.

Step 6: Tie It All Together / Wrap up with a Conclusion

It is a sum up of your proposal like an introduction. Therefore, summarize the benefits of your proposal and they should be more as compared to the investment. Then leave it to your reader’s thinking. Focus on significant parts of the proposal to keep it in the minds of the audience.

• If you have extra content that does not fit in any section of the proposal then you can add an appendix. But keep in mind that if your paper is too bulky or you have very long content then people will not read it.
• In case of more appendices add letters such as A, B, etc.
• The proposal should be read like a book. It should go like a story and every section should support the other equally.
• On the other hand, don’t introduce things that don’t contribute to the solution or objectives of the project.
• Make sure that all the proposal elements should be present.

Step 7: Edit/Proofread Your Proposal

You can rewrite your proposal to make it more interesting, clear, concise, persuasive, and helpful. So get feedback and ensure that the proposal is appealing and organized. Go through your proposal carefully to review your tone, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

1. The errors will show that you are not educated and credible. It also decreases the chances of approval.
2. Your formatting should be according to the guidelines.
3. Read your proposal with another set of eyes (being irrelevant to its writing). The issues will be highlighted in your mind. There might be incomplete information or questions left open-ended.
4. Eliminate clichés and jargons. Don’t include unnecessary information and long words if short words can work.
5. Use active voice instead of passive voice as much as possible. The meanings in passive voice might be unclear so use active voice to make them clear.
6. You should use strong and direct language without extra phrasing.

It is very important to be careful in writing, editing, and designing the proposal. Furthermore, you can revise your proposal to make it more concise and clear. Listen to others’ ideas and critics to edit your proposal. The presentation should be engaging, attractive, and organized.

Guidelines for Proposal Writing

1. Research the following questions.
   1. What is the institute?
   2. What are their requirements, instructions, and conditions?
   3. Similarly, select a proposal related to your field. If you are an educationist then education-related proposals are suitable for you and so on.
2. In outline development, write headings and place the information under relevant headings.
3. Develop a template for your proposal according to the outline.
4. In writing the content style, keep the audience in mind.
5. Provide facts and figures with correct data.
6. It is important to read the requirements for the proposal (RFP) again and again to know the requirements of the proposal. So the language and vocabulary of the proposal should be appropriate and succinct.