This article has been written by Cressida Arora pursuing a Personal Branding Program for Corporate Leaders from Skill Arbitrage.

This article has been edited and published by Shashwat Kaushik.

Introduction

Imagine you meet your potential clients with a business proposal that has the power to win them over and get the business deal.

If you are an experienced entrepreneur or a newbie in the world of business, making an effective pitch is essential to driving business growth and building a strong customer relationship. Writing persuasive business proposals is a skill that can open doors to success and growth for your business. And a well-written proposal can lead to better decisions about what to offer each prospect, better results for your customers, and a secure future for your business.

In this article, we will explore the key elements of writing a persuasive business proposal.

What is a proposal

A proposal is a sales document that is sent to a prospective client in order to win a business project. It can be either printed or digital, which highlights the service offerings and value proposition. In other words, a compelling business proposal proclaim how a company can fathom a client’s issue and help businesses win a new client

Types of business proposals

There are two types of business proposals : Solicited and unsolicited 

A solicited proposal is one that a customer asks for and an unsolicited proposal is sent out to the potential client when they have not asked for it. A lot of research is needed to understand a customer’s pain point and how the company’s offerings help a prospective client write an unsolicited proposal. Solicited proposals mostly are written in response to requirements, which can be Request for proposals (RFP), Request for quotations (RFQ), Invitation for bids (IFB) and Request food information (RFI)

What does a remote proposal writer do

Remote proposal writers work remotely and write proposals for businesses and non profit organisations. Broadly,there are two types of proposals – business proposal and grant proposals. A Proposal helps  persuade the client to work with them by highlighting the value proposition and the suggested plan or offer.

Sometimes, a non profit organisation also requires proposal writers who are in need of government grants.

Remote proposal writers can work full-time or part-time. Freelance writers also work remotely but not all remote writers are freelancers. Remotely writing a proposal can be a challenging task for the writers

Challenges faced by a remote proposal writer

It is not a child’s play to write a proposal remotely. Primarily, there are three steps in writing  a proposal

• Research- A lot is research is needed by the writers to understand the requirement of the client and highlight the value proposition for a compelling offer
• Communication- Writers don’t have a deep understanding of the subject; therefore a lot of communication with the proposal team is needed to comprehend the clients perspective
• After getting all the information, a proposal writer should start writing a proposal on the given template

Apart from the ones mentioned above, proposal writers have to meet the deadline. A remote writer may not have access to the technical resources of the company. Since the work depends on the inputs given by the proposal team, a proactive approach will help to meet the timeline.

Techniques to writer a great proposal

Tone of voice

Sometimes, how something is communicated is more than what we say. Writing in a tone of voice clients can relate to helps a writer to engage with them emotionally.  Once a connection is established, a persuasive tone can be used to win the client over. Considering the target audience and writing in a tone that addresses them is crucial. Is the tone of voice conversational, empathic, informative, or irrelevant? Treating clients with respect and acknowledge their position is important without sounding condescending to them

Answering the “WHY” question

Business proposals should try to answer why instead of what. A well crafted proposal should answer the question with compelling answers. Some of the questions to be answered in the proposal are why is the client looking for a solution? Why should they choose us? Why are we the subject matter experts? Etc.

Use of persuasive language

Instead of writing the facts, a proposal should convince the client why we are the right choice. A copywriting technique known as PAS (problem-agitate- solution) is the ideal approach for writing a proposal

Problem- While writing a proposal, you must first demonstrate that you understand the roadblocks the client is facing. It must be indicated in the proposal that we understand the company, their clients, the industry specific problems, and the hardships they are going through.

Agitate- After understanding the problem the client is facing, the proposal writer should slightly aggravate the issue and draw a painful picture. The proposal should depict a scenario in which the client’s business may suffer if the problem persists.

Solution-The final step is to offer a solution. You need to show the client that you can help them come out of their painful situation with your brilliant solution.

By answering a few questions like why this solution is going to work in a given situation and highlighting your competency in this field, you can provide the anticipated results.

No technical jargon

A proposal should be written in plain english. A clear and concise language helps readers grasp what is being expressed. Vague, ambiguous language does not communicate the offer clearly. By reading a proposal, the client should be able to understand the offerings clearly and the processes to be followed to get the intended results.

Tips for writing in plain language are below-

Vocabulary- Simple vocabulary should be used instead of an abstract one. A few examples are people instead of human resources; reports are not instruments for communication. At times, sales leads are not subject matter experts; therefore, using industry specific terms may be unfamiliar to them.

Positive- 

Use of positive words instead of negative ones, like what we can do instead of what we can`t. Words like possible (instead of not impossible), clear (in place of not clear)

Positive words help to create a positive impact and help to establish clarity. 

‘While reading the sentence “we can’t miss to do this project” client may focus only on the word “not” and miss the other words assuming that it is a negative response. A better sentence to replace this will be “ we need to do this project”

Use of active voice

The use of active voice is preferred over passive voice when writing a proposal. For example- words like “ we value your effort” instead of “ Your efforts are valued”

Active voice highlights the doer of the action; hence, it sounds natural and there is less chance for misunderstanding. We can highlight the difference by two different sentences here. If we draft a proposal and highlight the achievement of our agency in bringing in more subscribers, which statement is more powerful?

The use of active voice is preferred over passive voice when writing a proposal. For example- words like “ we value your effort” instead of “ Your efforts are valued”

Active voice highlights the doer of the action; hence, it sounds natural, and there is less score for misunderstanding. We can highlight the difference in two different sentences here. If we draft a proposal and highlight the achievements of our agency in bringing in more subscribers, which statement is more powerful?

An online campaign was developed that resulted in bringing in 400 new monthly subscribers.

Or,

Our team of digital experts developed an online campaign that brought in 400 new monthly subscribers.

The focus on the completion of the action is emphasised in the second statement. There is less scope for ambiguity, especially when we are defining roles and responsibilities.

Use of verbs 

Proposal writers should use simple verbs. Verbs are action words; hence, using simple verbs will add value and clarity. Which of these sentences should be used?

Our proposal app will make an improvement on your close rate.

Or,

Our proposal app will improve your close rate?

Writers should use everyday words instead of complicated ones. Using complex words may give the client the impression that you are trying to talk over them. Clients want to work with people  they like, trust, and understand.

Using short sentences

Use short sentences to explain the main idea. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid long sentences but writers should try to use simple sentences as much as they can. Complex language can’t persuade the client.

Be yourself

Don’t strive to be someone you’re not. Even though your writing needs to appeal to the client, it’s obvious to others when you’re not authentic.

Make it obvious in your proposal if your store is a quirky creative space that pushes the boundaries of what’s considered normal. Don’t feel compelled to project an air of exuberance if your organisation is doing more analytically oriented tasks.

Proving that you’re a good fit is the aim of your proposal. If you don’t stay loyal to your brand, all you’ll end up disappointing the customer is yourself.

Conclusion

To conclude, the writer should reiterate the advantages of your solution in their conclusion. Express gratitude to the customer for their time and thought. Invite the customer to get in touch with you if they have any questions. This gives room for more discussion in this area.

A strong ending sentence could restate the key benefits of your suggested course of action and reassure the customer of the possible gains from using your services.

Reiterate your dedication to the customer and their needs at the end. A heartfelt thank you note may make a favourable first impression and strengthen ties with others.

Take caution that the conclusion does not contain any new information. This is where the proposal should be summarised and closed; thus, adding more details now might confuse the customer and detract from the primary ideas.

References

• https://www.personatalent.com/leadership/how-to-write-persuasive-business-proposals
• https://betterproposals.io/blog/what-is-a-business-proposal/
• https://www.utleystrategies.com/blog/business-proposals
• https://technicalwriterhq.com/career/remote-proposal-writer/
• https://www.proposify.com/blog/writing-business-proposals-language-tone-style