14 Ways To Write Sales Proposals (That Win More Business)

If you’re looking for quick tips on how to write better Sales Proposals, then follow these guidelines. This template is quite popular for software development, SaaS, hardware and technical service proposals.

This is one of the most popular templates, especially for business consultancy proposals

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Sales Proposals: 7 Ways to Write Better

Here are seven ways to improve the quality of you proposals and ensure you win more business.

1. Proposal Plan – the plan must be specific, focused, and innovative. It needs to present a solid idea and a focused plan that can be understood in one reading.
2. Central Idea – the core idea must address issues specific to the client and their customers.
3. Client’s Staff – check that these are already in place to help plan and implement the solution you intend to implement.
4. Get Endorsements – add these to the document to reflect a real connection to the business and show your track record.
5. Key Tasks – make sure that individual tasks are well thought-out and promote the objectives of the proposal.
6. Budget – in the budget narrative, itemize each task and ensure that it reflects and explains all tasks and activities as per the Work Breakdown Structure. (Under the free templates section.)
7. Writing Style – the text and contents in the Business Proposal must be clear, grammatically correct, without typing mistakes, and follow the format requirements as expressed in the Request For Proposal.

Sales Proposals: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

There is always room for improvement and proposal writing is no exception.

Here are seven mistakes to avoid when writing your next proposal:

1. Confused Narrative – the narrative rambles and repeats the Request For Proposal’s text rather than express any new ideas.
2. Weak Energy – The document feels jaded and doesn’t engage the reader. Instead of getting their attention, it drains the reader and doesn’t encourage them to read more.
3. Ambiguous Writing – the central idea, solution or concept is vague, without focus, and is difficult to grasp.
4. Weak Endorsements – letters of recommendation read like boilerplate text and don’t convey much real enthusiasm.
5. Your Tasks – these are poorly described and vague about how they will help meet the Business Proposal’s objectives.
6. Cost Issues – the cost breakdown is difficult to understand and does not match the business requirements; the narrative is vague in places and doesn’t clarify or expand on any key points.
7. Writing Style – the narrative feels tired, uses clichés, resorts to jargon, and the copy is sloppy with grammatical or spelling errors, and pagination that violates the RFP requirements.

[ Learn more about these Proposal Templates ]

Conclusion

You can improve the quality of you Proposals by reading successful bids. These are frequently available under the Freedom of Information Act, especially for Government Request For Proposals.