All competitive markets follow the rule of “Survival of the Fittest”. Multiple companies compete for the business of a few key clients. Therefore, learning how to make a business proposal presentation and choosing business proposal templates that are effective is core to your business’s survival if you need to dependably secure new clients.
Let’s look into the general framework of a business proposal presentation and understand how to make it stand out from your competition. In this blog, we’ll talk about what information to include in the presentation, how to present a business proposal in a convincing manner, and some tips to keep you on the right path.
Table of Contents
What is a Business Proposal?
An impressive business proposal is a written document sent to a prospective client in order to obtain a specific job. Business Proposals may be solicited or unsolicited. A solicited proposal is provided by the company, in response to an RFP (Request for proposal) by a client. Whereas an unsolicited proposal is sent out by the company on its own to prospective clients hoping to attract their business.
Many business professionals confuse a business proposal with a business plan. While both have some areas of overlap, both of them serve two very different purposes. A business proposal speaks directly to a potential client – his needs and how your company is competitively positioned to help, while a business plan specs out your company’s overall growth goals and is more targeted toward investors or senior management within the organization.
The purpose of a business proposal presentation is to close deals. Ineffective proposals can be potential deal-breakers. Hence it is important to learn the method of creating successful business proposal templates. The article also includes a sample business proposal presentation at the end for your reference.
Before jumping into what a killer business pitch looks like, there is one essential ingredient to successful business proposal presentations:
Doing your homework and making the required preparations to thoroughly know the client’s needs and aspirations and how you can deliver on those needs with a competitive advantage.
Business proposal presentation outline
Introduction
The introduction slide to your business proposal should convey a brief overview of your company’s core capabilities, your uniqueness from the competition, your understanding of the job’s requirements, and why you are suited to complete the project. Effective introductions accomplish more with less.
In nutshell, it is important to start a proposal with an introduction to the company, products, or services you are offering to acclimatize the prospective buyer to your company background and profile. It is a good opportunity to show your company’s strength and credibility.
Executive Summary
This section is where you basically make your sales pitch. Here you should talk about your expertise, experience, and abilities. You should mention your strengths, experience in the market, any famous partners or clients, similar projects you have done before, and the reasons why you are better than your competition. You should communicate a clear case for why you are the perfect fit for the job.
In this section – you make it clear to the client that you understand his needs well.
Proposal Details
Here you detail your plans on how you will fulfill the client’s needs. Explain your approach, your solution, and your strategy to deliver on your promise. Add any details you deem necessary which can help understand your sales proposal.
Use Chevron templates to explain your approach, your solution, and your strategy to deliver on your promise.
Deliverables and Milestones
Break down your recommended approach into different phases and highlight the dates and milestones you will achieve to meet your client’s needs well within the client’s timelines.
Budget
When deciding on your proposed cost, you need to be extremely accurate and informed. Carefully evaluate your proposed solution and figure out your costs, the value of invested time and expertise, and the profit percentage.
Make sure that your pricing does not shock your potential client. Base it on market pricing and market dynamics. Show the breakup of the components to your client. Here are a few budget templates that you can use to showcase the budget.
Case Study (Optional)
Add previous case studies and testimonials of your earlier clients to highlight your experience, create a solid impression, and help the clients relate to your work.
Agenda (Optional)
Use agenda slides to provide a structure to your business proposal presentation, and aid your client to understand it in a structured manner. A good slide serves as a north star for your presentation. Hence, repeat the slide after you finish all topics on the agenda, to show your audience what is covered and what is left to be covered.
Here is a sample business proposal deck for your reference
Conclusion (Optional)
Conclude your proposal by summarizing the content in a very brief manner, and reiterate what you intend to do, your strengths, your competitive advantage, your proposed costs, and a gentle request for the client’s business.
DO’s AND DONT’s FOR BUSINESS PROPOSALS
Once you have drafted your business proposal, take note of the following things to ensure your proposal is perfect.
- Proofread your business proposal multiple times before sending it out.
- Check the tone of your proposal. Use simple and concise language and avoid using too many technical terms.
- Check the length of your proposal. The ideal length of your business proposal should not take longer than 8-10 minutes to understand.
- Always send your proposal as an attachment and not as a part of the mail body.
Conclusion
For a killer business proposal presentation, the most important thing is to always keep the client in your mind. A great business proposal shall convince the client of your capabilities and put trust in your service and prices. It shall also convey in a succinct manner all the caveats of your proposal, and the exact details of the proposed project. Use business proposal templates, to close deals faster and better, and become the fittest in a competitive market.
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