5 Must-Have Slides to Build Winning Business Proposals | SlideUpLift
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 write a business proposal that’s 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 and understand how to make it stand out from your competition. We’ll talk about what information to include in the document, how to present it in a convincing manner, and some tips to keep you on the right path.
What is a Business Proposal?
A business proposal is a written document sent to a prospective client in order to obtain a specific job. 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 the 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 towards investors or senior management within the organization.
The purpose of a business proposal is to close deals. Ineffective proposals can be potential deal-breakers. Hence it is important to learn the method of creating successful business proposal presentation decks. The article also includes sample business proposal deck in the end for your reference.
Before jumping into what a killer business proposal looks like, there is one essential ingredient to successful 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.
THE MUST-HAVE BUSINESS PROPOSAL TEMPLATES TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS PROPOSAL PRESENTATION EFFECTIVE
Introduction
The introduction 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.
View Company Capabilities Template
View Company Overview Template
2. 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.
View Why US Template
View Company Executive Summary Template
View Company Timeline Template
3. 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 proposal.
View Milestone PowerPoint Template
View Action Plan Template
4. Deliverables and Milestones
Breakdown 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
View Milestone Planning Template
View Milestones Powerpoint Template
View Milestones Powerpoint Template
5. 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.
View Budget PowerPoint Template
View Budget PowerPoint Template
6. Case Study (Optional)
Add previous experiences and testimonials of your earlier clients to highlight your experience, create a solid impression, and help the clients relate to your work.
View Case Study Example
View Customer Testimonials Template
7. Agenda (Optional)
Use agenda slide to provide a structure to your business proposal presentation, and aid your client to understand it in a structured manner. A good agenda slide serves as a north star for your presentation. Hence, repeat the agenda slide after you finish all topics on the agenda, to show your audience what is covered and what is left to be covered.
View Agenda Powerpoint Template
Here is a sample business proposal deck for your reference
View Business Proposal Presentation Template
8. Conclusion (Optional)
Conclude your proposal by summarizing the entire thing 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.
Find more professional templates to create the perfect business proposals, at SlideUpLift Business Proposals templates collection.
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, 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 exact details of the proposed project. Use a great business proposal, to close deals faster and better, and become the fittest in a competitive market.
Now you don’t have to scour the web to find out the right templates. Download our PowerPoint templates from within PowerPoint. See how?
About SlideUpLift:
SlideUpLift was created to serve the presentation needs of business professionals. Professionals across the world are taking advantage of SlideUpLift Templates Library to add amazing visual appeal to their presentations. These templates are 100% editable, instantly downloadable, and conceptualized by alumni from premier consulting companies and executed by graphic designers.
Check out our library of Free PowerPoint templates which is weekly updated to serve the presentation needs of professionals. You will find out the simplicity and ease in downloading the editable template, filling it with your content, and building world-class presentations in just a few clicks.
Originally published at http://slideuplift.com on June 18, 2019.
