Proposal Kit: August 2011

Sunday, August 7, 2011

How to Write an Information Technology Business Proposal

Like most businesses these days, your information technology (IT) business is no doubt looking for more clients or is tasked with internal projects. To land a new client or get a project accepted, you most likely will need to write a business proposal.

Never written one? Don't panic—writing a proposal doesn't have to be a daunting process, and after you've written your first proposal, all others will come much easier.

That's because the goals and structure for any business proposal are the same: 1) introduce yourself, 2) highlight the services you offer, 3) describe the costs, and 4) persuade your prospective client or boss that you are the perfect choice for the project. You can also speed up the proposal writing process by using pre-designed templates and studying sample proposals.

The basic proposal structure is the same whether your business is network cabling, building and hosting websites, coding software, designing hardware, running a data center, optimizing internal processes, doing IT training, or even asking for funding to create or grow an IT business. Here's the order your proposal sections should follow: 1) introduce yourself, 2) summarize the prospective client's needs, 3) describe your products, services and costs, and finally, 4) provide information about your organization, your credentials, and your capabilities.

You will want to include details about your particular products, services and business experience that are relevant to your client's specific project. For example, website designers might need to include information about templates, widgets, or shopping cart technologies; network specialists may want to include specifications for cables and routers they recommend; IT trainers might include lists of courses and certifications offered; and so forth.

The most important idea to keep in mind is that the goal of any proposal is to convince potential clients to award you their contracts, convince your boss to sign-off on your proposed project, or possibly secure funding for a new venture. To persuade them, you must demonstrate that you can deliver the products and services they want. It's never a good idea to send your clients only a price list; that will not substitute for a real proposal.

Your proposal should be tailored to a specific client and that client's needs. This means you need to gather information about that client so that you can create a customized proposal to meet that specific client's requirements. Don't make the mistake of sending all your prospective clients an identical sales proposal. A proposal targeted to a specific organization or person is much more likely to succeed.

Now, getting back to the basic order described above, begin your proposal with a Cover Letter and a Title Page. In the Cover Letter, write a brief personal introduction and provide all your relevant contact information so the client can easily contact you for more information. The Title Page is exactly what its name indicates: a page with the title of your specific proposal (for example, "Proposal for Website Services for the Birchwood Company", “Building a Records Management System” or "Plan for Updating MWP Corporation's Computer Network").

Next, after this introduction, write the section that describes the needs of the prospective client. In a lengthy proposal for a complex project, you should provide a summary preceding the detailed pages. In proposals to corporations, this summary is usually called an Executive Summary. In complex but less corporate proposals, the summary is usually called a Client Summary. On this summary page and in the detailed pages of this section, describe your client's needs and goals and discuss the limitations or restrictions that may be associated with the project. Don't insert your own ideas yet; this section is where you demonstrate that you understand the client's needs.

In the last section of the proposal, you get the chance to promote your project, products and services. In this section you will include pages that describe precisely what you have to offer and what it will cost. This section should contain some pages with general headings like Services Provided, Benefits, Features, and Cost Summary, but should also incorporate more detailed pages that fully describe your products and services, explain how you can fulfill the client's needs, and list the associated costs. You might use topics such as Hardware and Software, Equipment, Options, Scalability and so on.

Your specific business will determine the specialized topics and pages you need to include in your proposal. The size and scope of the project will determine how many topics and how much detail will be required.

A website design and hosting company might need to include topics like Project Deliverables, Storyboard, Features, Technical Approach, Production Schedule, Hardware and Software as well as a development and hosting contract.

An IT training company might want pages such as Services Provided, Training Plan, Exercises, Curriculum, Prerequisites, Retraining, Materials and an Outline.

An IT consultant may use the Services Provided, Cost Summary, Project Summary, References, Certifications and Our Clients to start with.

IT sales proposals will use topics such as Products, Services Provided, Customer Service, Benefits, Features, Case Studies, Guarantee, Price List, Requirements and so on.

If you are proposing an internal company project, not only do you need to look good, you need to make sure your boss looks good too. You need them to trust that you will deliver in order to gain their support. Include topics that show you understand every aspect of the project. Make sure you have considered Assumptions, Risk Analysis, Contingency Planning, Accountability, SWOT Analysis and the Expected Results.

A networking cabling, infrastructure or data center project may require topics regarding the Facilities, Site Planning, Infrastructure, Security Plan, Expansion Plan, Storage, Location Analysis, Diagrams, Blueprints, Equipment, and so on.

Hardware and software designers might include Documentation Requirements, Specifications, Technical Approach, Project Management, Standards Compliance, System Requirements, Interface Requirements and Certifications. Hardware designers in particular may also need topics such as Manufacturing, Engineering, Production Plan, Capacity, Resources and Resource Allocation.

An IT project for the government can be even more complex as you will have an RFP with rules that must be adhered to. In this situation make sure to use the Compliance Matrix, RFP Cross Reference, government grant/contract Cover Sheet and any other topics that are specifically required by the RFP.

A business seeking funding will want to include pages such as a Competitive Analysis, Industry Trends, Market and Audience, Marketing Plan, Insurance, Liability, Disaster Recovery Plan, Time Line, Funding Request, Services Provided, Products, Company Operations, Income Projection, Sources of Funds, Uses of Funds, Personnel, Legal Structure and any other topics required by the lender. Funding or investment proposals also require a number of financials such as your Cash Flow Analysis, Balance Sheet, Revenue, Profit Margin, Profit and Loss Statement, Operating Costs, and so on.

Here are examples of technology proposals created using Proposal Kit:

In this final proposal section, be sure to provide pages describing your organization (About Us or Company History), as well as pages that explain your skills and experience or provide information from other clients. These pages are the Our Clients, Personnel, References, Testimonials, Qualifications and Capabilities—whatever you need to instill trust in the prospective client that you can deliver the goods and services they're looking for.

So there you have it: all the basic steps for creating your proposal. Now for the finishing touches. After you have inserted all the words and data in your proposal, spend a bit of time making it visually appealing. Add your company logo, choose different fonts or use custom bullets, or consider using colored page borders. Don't go overboard, though; you want to match the style of your proposal to the style of your business.

Proposal Kit Professional covers all technology proposals and includes the samples listed above. There are also some specialty design themes available:

Don't send your proposal out before you spell-check and proof every page. If possible, have someone outside of the project or organization do the final proofreading pass. It's too easy to miss mistakes in familiar information.

Finally, print the proposal or save it as a PDF file and deliver it to your client. In the modern business world, it's common to email PDF files, but keep in mind that a printed, personally signed, and (where possible) hand-delivered proposal could make a bigger impression because it shows you're willing to make an extra effort to get the job.

You can see now how IT business proposals can vary widely in content because of the variety of IT businesses and the variety of projects for which the proposals are tailored. Your company's proposal content will be different from anyone else's. But you can also see that all IT proposals will have similar formats and follow the same basic structure.

To speed up the proposal writing process, you can use the pre-designed templates in Proposal Kit. They contain easy-to-understand instructions and suggestions and examples that will guide you to provide appropriate content. The product includes many sample business proposals for all sorts of IT businesses, too; these can give you a head start on creating your own winning proposals.

There are two popular Proposal Kit options designed for IT proposals and contracts. The difference comes down to how many legal contract documents you need based on the type of work you are doing. If you want a full collection of material that will cover all of our IT / web / software / hardware situations get Proposal Kit Professional. If you only need a small collection of legal contracts for IT use get the IT/Software/Hardware Contract Pack. If you already have your own legal contracts and only need to write a proposal all you need to get is the Proposal Pack template and sample collection.

Proposal Kit Professional ($199) - OR
IT/Software/Hardware Contact Pack ($89) - OR
Proposal Pack ($79)

How to Write a Contractor or Construction Business Proposal

Do you need to write a proposal to promote your contractor or remodeling service business to a prospective client? Don't sweat it! It doesn't have to be an intimidating process.

The goals for any service business proposal are the same: introduce your organization, highlight your services, describe the costs, and convince the client that you are the right one to trust for the job. To speed up the proposal writing process, you may want to use pre-designed templates and get ideas from sample proposals.

Whether you are describing plumbing services, bidding a construction project, promoting your house painting services, quoting an HVAC installation, pitching your plan for a remodel, or even asking for funding to start up or expand a contractor business, your proposal structure will be similar. Here's the basic structure to follow: introduce yourself, summarize the prospective client's needs, then describe your services and costs, and finally, provide information about your organization, your credentials, and your capabilities.

For a contractor business, you will also need to include some detailed information about your services and history that is pertinent to the client's specific project. For example, painting contractors might need to include information about the paints, stains, and equipment they typically use; remodeling contractors may want to include descriptions and photos of similar remodels they have successfully completed; and a general contractor would definitely want to include information about the experience and training of company personnel, safety records, bonding, insurance and so forth.

Always keep in mind that the purpose of a proposal is to persuade your potential clients to give you their business. You must prove that you can deliver the services they need. A simple quote or price list can never substitute for a real proposal.

Proposals should be targeted to a specific client. This means you need to gather information about your client so that you can present a proposal tailored to that individual client's needs. It's never a good idea to send all prospective clients the same sales letter especially when there are competing bids. Clients are much more likely to accept a proposal tailored just for them.

So, let's get back to the order described above. Start your proposal with a Cover Letter and a Title Page. The Cover Letter should deliver a brief personal introduction and contain your company contact information. The Title Page is just what it sounds like: the name of your specific proposal (for example, "Proposal for the Munson Kitchen Remodel" , "Proposal to Construct the New Technical Institute Science Building" or “Installation of Your New HVAC System”).

After this introduction section, add topics that describe the needs of your client. If you are presenting a proposal for a complex project, you may need to write a summary to precede the detail pages. In a proposal for a corporate client, this is normally called an Executive Summary. For a less formal but still complex proposal, it's more often called a Client Summary. In this summary and the following detail pages, you should demonstrate your understanding of the client's requirements, goals, and desires, as well as discussing any restrictions or limitations you are aware of. This section should be all about the client.

Next is your chance to advertise yourself. Follow your introduction section and the client section with pages that describe what you are offering. These pages might have general headings like Services Provided, Features, Benefits, and Services Cost Summary, as well as more specific pages that detail the products and/or services you can provide and explain the associated costs.

Your specific business will determine the specialized topics and pages you need to include in your proposal. The size and scope of the project will determine the length of the proposal and amount of detail needed.

A general contractor might need to include topics like Services Provided, Cost Summary or Estimate, Work Order, Insurance and Bonding Documents to start with. Once you get the basics the topics you include will depend on many factors such as the size and scope of the project and the needs of the client (a basic project to fix a hole in a wall or repair a sink obviously won't require a detailed business proposal - a standard Work Order and Price List will suffice).

A plumbing, HVAC or electrical service company might also want pages such as Permits and Licenses, Certifications, Specifications and Standards Compliance.

A house painting company or flooring company might include topics for their Materials, Preparation, Products and Warranty.

A disaster or accident recovery specialize contractor may use extra topics such as Recovery, Repairs, Disposal and Environmental (for hazardous waste management).

A home or office remodel job may require additional topics such as a Statement of Work, Permits and Licenses, Inspection, Certifications, Insurance, Architecture, Renovation, Installation Schedule, Blueprints, and so on.

A full scale construction project may require additional topics such as the Master Plan, Site Planning, Preparation, Location Analysis, Impact Statement, Project Management, Time Line, Community, Subcontracts, Scheduling, Materials, Construction, and so on.

If an architectural design needs to be done you might use specialty topics such as Concepts, Blueprints, Architecture, Environmental, Specifications, Alternatives, Special Needs (for designing handicap access) and Samples.

A specialty contractor such as a network cabling installer might use extra topics such as an Installation Schedule, Specifications, Equipment, Standards Compliance and Hardware and Software.

If you're asking for funding to start a contractor business, you'll want to add pages such as a Competitive Analysis, Industry Trends, Market and Audience, Marketing Plan, Insurance, Liability, Time Line, Funding Request, Services Provided, Products, Company Operations, Balance Sheet, Income Projection, Sources of Funds, Uses of Funds, Personnel, Legal Structure and any other topics required by the lender.

Here are examples of contracting proposals created using Proposal Pack:

In your last proposal section, provide your company details, including pages such as Company History or About Us, Capabilities, Testimonials, Our Clients, or References. Your goal in this section is to convince the prospective client that you can be trusted to deliver the goods and/or services they need and want.

Those are the basic steps for organizing and writing your proposal. But you're not quite finished yet. After you have all the information down on the pages, focus on ensuring that your proposal is visually appealing. Incorporate your company logo, use colored page borders, and/or add interesting fonts and custom bullets to introduce color and flair. One note of caution: be sure to match your business style when making these selections.

Proposal Pack for Any Business covers all contracting proposals and includes the samples listed above. There are also some specialty design themes available.

To finalize your proposal, it's essential to proofread and spell-check every page. It's always a good idea to get someone other than the proposal writer to do a final proof, because it's very common to overlook mistakes in your own work.

When the proposal is perfect, print it or save it as a PDF file, and then deliver it to the client. The delivery method you should use will depend on your relationship with your potential client. While it's common to email PDF files to clients, a nicely printed, personally signed, and hand-delivered proposal may make more of an impression: it demonstrates that you're willing to make an extra effort for the client.

So, to sum up, a contractor proposal can vary widely in content depending on the nature of your business and the project you propose to undertake. Each company's proposal contents will need to be a bit different. But all these proposals will have a similar format and follow a similar structure.

You can get a jump start with pre-designed templates, simple instructions and tons of suggestions for content, by using Proposal Pack. You'll also find many sample contractor business proposals that will give you great ideas and help you quickly create your own successful proposal.