How to Write an Effective Business Proposal

Good decisions are based in research. Making major corporate or business changes without understanding the problem in its entirety can cost companies millions of dollars. One wrong step could be fateful. Therefore measuring twice and cutting once is important. Measuring is done through business proposals that out like both the risks and benefits of making changes. A business proposal helps solidify and analyze potential paths.

Writing a business proposal is a lot of work. It isn't something that can be blown through like you were doing some detestable task. Instead business proposals require great amounts of thought, planning and writing that most managers don't seem to understand. The business proposal should answer fundamental questions related to the past, present and future of a new business solution.

The past, present and future are fundamental parts of the report. The past represents the problem, the present represents the solution and the future represents the long-term benefits of implementing the proposal. The person who wants to write a strong report which will have a higher likelihood of being approved and implemented should keep these important sections in mind.

The Past (The Background): The past talks about the nature of the problem, how much that problem has cost the company and any other difficulties the company faces. For example, if a retail store has a poor location the writer may discuss the high costs of the location, the lack of foot traffic, how long the problem has been going on and what marketing did to resolve the issue. The goal is to teach the reader about the problem.

The Present (The solution/proposal): After you have completely explained the nature of the problem and its history you can then propose a solution. This solution includes discussing the proposal, its merits, its costs and what the implementation of the proposal will do for the company. The goal is to explain the case using numbers, graphs, detailed research and more. For example, proposing that the retail store should move to a proposed area X would discuss the cost of the move, the benefits of the facilities and the higher amount of targeted customers in the area.

The Future (Long-term benefits): Within the future section the writer should discuss the long term impacts on the organization. They should explain these potential long-term benefits or liabilities in terms of numbers, how other organizations have done after making similar changes and potential future changes. For example the retail store may consider the changes in people's spending habits, increased foot traffic, how much money the change will save the company, etc.