How to Write a Proposal in 10 Easy Steps

there's marriage proposals and then there's business proposals both a challenge in their own right but one has 10 steps that are guaranteed to help [Applause] [Music] hello world it's me mike plogger back with another visme video to help you prepare for your next business venture while visme can help you with a vast array of business projects and strategies one thing we don't specialize in is marriage proposals if you haven't gotten on any yet we'll let you figure that one out on your own but one proposal we can help you with is a business proposal not

only do we have professionally designed templates available for free on our website but in this video i'm going to share 10 simple steps for getting started and nailing your next proposal stick with me and you'll have new clients and customers in no time so without further ado shall we before we hop into those 10 steps let's first discuss the business proposal at its core their purpose convince someone who's intrigued but not necessarily convinced to take action with your business or service your job is to provide that little nudge to lock them in in order for

this to happen it's up to you to first fully understand your audience and what drives them what's their problem what are their goals and values and of course how can you help them with their wants and needs once you have a good understanding of your audience it's time to consider three fundamental aspects of your own company the basic details of your company note your history accomplishments qualifications or even personal background anything to help a viewer understand why they should choose you proof of your knowledge and experience make it clear you understand your audience's needs and

are able to help details about what it is you do and how much it costs what's the process for your service to provide solutions and how much would it cost have all of this information at the ready before you begin designing it'll help later on as you plug them into your proposal and to help you visme has templates like this that are already queued up with similar information but that's just the beginning let's dive head first into the 10 steps of creating a masterful proposal where else would you start besides the cover page design it

as you see fit maybe our videos on presentation design ideas could help but make sure to include the pertinent information like company name and logo and any contact information to go the extra mile in a short and easy step include a date and any descriptive details see our example these two elements will help your proposal look both organized and personalized to your viewer it will assure them that this isn't just a generic proposal but one built specifically for them your first page after the flip should be a cover letter in your own words introduce your

company and why it is you do what you do mention the history of your company perhaps how you got started and how you've grown to develop the services you now offer most importantly briefly mention why your services are unique and capable of handling your audience's needs better than any other potential competitors the third page of a strong proposal is the table of contents this will help enhance the viewing experience for an onlooker who maybe isn't fully sure what to expect they'll understand what's coming next and if they revisit the proposal later on they can easily

find what they're looking for without flipping through various pages this is a critical step to help them as they're about to make a decision the proposal as a whole is meant to guide the audience towards making a specific decision so help guide them even more with a proper table of contents [Music] okay now we start to get into the meat and potatoes of your proposal the executive summary sets the stage with the problem and solution section which i'll get into here shortly first thing you'll cover in your executive summary is why should your audience read

your proposal what value are you providing then start to mention the struggles your audience is likely having and how your company can solve them through your unique services as you write this keep in mind the word why why do they need your help why are you different from other similar companies why should they choose you if you do this correctly your audience will be engaged and locked in as they continue through the rest of your proposal step five is the most crucial of this entire video it's time to outline the solution that you're suggesting first

share what the future will look like should your proposal be accepted this includes the desired final outcome and a timeline to answer any questions as to when the work will be done you should be specific here as you address the particular needs of whomever is reviewing your proposal so let's break it down why does your proposal exist what's the problem this must be identified and expressed use this section to provide clarity as to why your audience needs your help proving you have a full understanding of what they need will go a very long way the

second part of this step is the solution what's your strategy what specific tactics do you have that will solve the problem include that timeline i mentioned and personalize it as much as you can make it clear that this proposal was designed specifically for one purpose in one audience once you've done that you're moving on to step six up next is a page all by itself that's meant to be extremely specific outline your services this differs from our previous step in that step five was a bit more generic step six is more detailed think of questions

you've received over and over again from previous proposals use this area as an opportunity to answer them and if it's your first proposal do your best to anticipate what questions your clientele may have and answer them ahead of time after this section your reader should have a very strong idea of what working with you from beginning to end would be like should they accept your proposal as you start to approach the conclusion of your proposal create an about us page include a bio and a photo of yourself or your team as you reiterate why you're

so unique what industry recognition have you received any awards or acknowledgement through testimonials what about proof through previous case studies this is a great time to truly sell yourself and prove that you can be trusted step 8 is when it's time to display the pricing options you offer the different options should be clear this is where a professional yet free design service like fizz me can really help we have templates available to anyone that were built with easy understanding in mind this will also likely be the page that is most often revisited so it should

have an appealing and organized design include any specifics of your pricing and be prepared to explain why you came to those numbers so it doesn't appear like they're just completely random specific reasoning is important now it's time to get technical and maybe even legal in step nine it's time to add your terms and conditions this includes the duration of the agreement payment dates and details the timetable for project completion and what's expected from all the parties and also a section on ways the agreement can be amended by either party essentially this is the summary on

exactly what is being agreed to if you have a legal team to review this well even better get them involved to fill in any holes that may be missing and our last step proposing an offer with a call to action after all asking your reader to take the next step with you or your company is what completes a proposal whatever it may be whether a signature or a payment page guide your reader to completing that step with ease make it as clear simple and persuasive as possible as to what needs to happen next to move

forward if your proposal is digital visme allows you to place cta buttons right inside your proposal partnering with you is just a click away and so is visme.com as we wrap up this video you should be prepared to write an effective proposal to land your next client and i know i've said this already but give visme a try if you haven't already the templates will speed up the process while making you look like a true design professional head to visme.com now to get started thank you so much for watching please don't hesitate to drop us

a like or even subscribe to our channel go ahead and browse through our playlist of videos to see how we can help you in other ways in the meantime good luck with your next proposal if you follow our steps you'll be just fine with visme i'm mike plogger helping you make information beautiful you