Business Proposal Format

A powerful business proposal captures the prospective customer’s attention. Despite the fact that the financial projections section is the last one in your business plan (apart from the appendix with additional materials if needed), it is a truly important part when seeking funding. This step can be done either ahead of your proposal, if you want to spend the time, or after the client has agreed to hire you.

The document will clarify how your services can best resolve the client’s problems. Because proposals are so time intensive, it’s best to avoid starting from scratch. When you receive a RFP, or seek one out, it’s time to pull together your business proposal in response.

The purpose of this is to give the client some measure of how mature and experienced you are in delivering the services or products you are offering. This is the second in a four-part series by Hal Shelton, SCORE small business mentor and author of The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan.

It is introduced by an executive summary, which can be a dense abstract or a longer marketing tool to attract interest in the business plan. If you’re stuck on how to start, maybe try brainstorming first; start with these three points, and you’ll have a rough, bare-bones version of your business proposal.

If you’ve never written a business plan, use this post as a guide for what you should include. Although proposals present the same information and have the same layout, it’s important to take time and make each one unique. Once you have completed the business plan template we’ve created below, please contact your local office for further guidance into launching a business.