As the clock winds down on 2011, you may be considering the idea of crafting a business proposal going into the New Year.   If that is the case, there are a number of matters that will come into play.

In the event that the coming year is the time for you to throw a business proposal or two out there on a regular basis, keep several factors in mind.

Among them are:

• When writing a business proposal, make sure that the documentation answers any and all questions that the client may have. Before you write the proposal, run through your head any and all questions you believe the client may come at you with, including funding, customer service, and quality of work and so on. By knowing and understanding the needs of the client ahead of time, you better your chances for a winning proposal.
• After having all the details and data at your disposal, see how your proposal can meet or exceed the needs of the client. What can you do for them that someone else cannot? Most importantly, listen to what your client is seeking because this is what you will need to deliver in the end. They say that the best customer service care is by listening to the client, practice it.
• As you go about writing the proposal, make sure you single out what makes your company different from the competition. Whether it is customer service, pricing, the latest in technology, attention to detail or all of those mentioned, you need to pinpoint in a few paragraphs how you and no one but you can deliver for this client.
• Look to the future regarding the industry you are in and what your expectations are for market growth. A client is not lining up to do business with you in most cases for the short term. You need to project out how you can meet their needs down the road and how you will deal with adversity in the market should it occur.
• By all means, do not put a proposal out there without reviewing it. You may have the greatest business proposal since sliced bread, but all it takes is for an error here and an error there to diminish all your hard work. Make it a priority to review the business proposal for grammatical errors, sentence structure, facts and figures, and the tone of the message. While you may not think a typo or two could damage your chances, imagine if you had turned in a resume to a potential employer and it had a misspelling here and one there. The best solution here is to let someone not involved with the proposal give your language and design the once-over so that you have a fresh set of eyes reviewing it.
• Speaking of the design, keep the design simple but not boring. Remember, the strength of your business proposal is in the language and not the flashy fonts, colors, and/or any images used. That being said, do come up with a design that is not going to put the client to sleep.
• Lastly, spell out any offers, discounts, deals etc. in the proposal that will catch the individual’s eye. Keep in mind that individuals oftentimes get countless business proposals, leaving them sometimes with glazed over eyes. If you can point out some specials and savings for them in your business proposal, you stand a much better chance of getting a call and/or email from them saying they may want to do business with you and your company.

Writing a business proposal does not have to be like pulling teeth; keep it simple, straightforward and worth the client’s time.   If you do all of those, your proposal stands a much better chance of landing you more business in 2012.

Business Proposal Photo via Shutterstock

About The Guest Author: Dave Thomas, who covers among other subjects’ workers compensation, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.