By James Harris at January 19 2020 00:28:31
Next, add topic pages that show you understand the needs of your client or the program. Depending on how large the proposed scope of work is, you may or may not need to precede the detailed pages with a brief summary. This summary section (often just a page or two) is normally called an Executive Summary for corporate clients, or a Client Summary for a less formal project. Now, proceed to describe the specific prospective client's requirements, goals, and desires. This is not yet the place where you talk about yourself. This section is all about the client or community to be served (such as when asking for funding for a community project). Use templates such as Needs Assessment, Goals and Objectives, Benefits, and Community.
Information around target customers is not based in empirical fact, more observational opinion. Competitor Analysis is obsolete and doesn't track minor competitors or industry trends that could present opportunities. The business strategy doesn't intuitively line up with the financial projections of the business. Financial anomalies are frequent. The level of analysis in the financial section is low. Elevator analysis (only observational comments) is a glaring sign that no detailed analysis has been undertaken. The language style in the business proposal is inconsistent and in different tenses. The structure of the business proposal in terms of the content lay out does not flow intuitively. Think trying to fit a square peg into a circle! The proposal doesn't make a definite conclusion or sound argument to invest (or lend). The lack of analysis leads to inadequate risk mitigation leaving many questions unasnwered.
After you have all the writing done, it's time to focus on making your proposal look good with some color and graphics. You can use colored page borders, use custom bullet points or distinctive fonts, and include your company logo. Don't go overboard or get too fancy, though, or your message may get lost among the visual distractions.
There are too many people on the Internet these days offering quick fix solutions or shortcuts to preparing business proposals to attract funding. On balance these solutions are not adequate to get you funding. Here's why: They encourage entrepreneurs to use other people's business proposals as a template that dilutes the originality and can lead to the inclusion of data that is irrelevant.