For your business to grow, you need to market your products and services. As a digital marketer, business proposals are the order of the day as they let your prospects know of the services you are offering and the value you bring to the organization. A well-done business marketing proposal could be the ticket to landing your dream client. However, when done poorly, the marketing proposals end up binned with the trash.
While marketers find it easy to promote and sell the products and services for other people, sometimes, they probably don't enjoy doing it for themselves. If you find yourself in this shoe, that's not a problem. Writing and submitting a business marketing proposal isn’t the most exciting part of marketing. Also, it is probably the last thing you want to spend your valuable time doing daily. However, you just have to create this document if you want to win top contracts in your niche. Landing the best clients and ones with the biggest pay means you need to write a marketing contract effectively.
While proposal writing is an unfortunate necessity for your business, it does not have to be a pain. Some simple steps and solutions can make proposal writing an easy-to-do activity. How? Downloading a template or entering your details on platforms like Bonsai will reduce the time and efforts you spend crafting a business marketing proposal. It will also help if you take time to learn how to write a persuasive proposal, or at least know what it should contain if you must edit a ready-made sample.
Once you've learned the basics, it becomes easy to create your template and start converting your targeted high-profile client while reducing time investment and unnecessary hassles. Ready? Jump in at the next section!
1. The anatomy of a business marketing proposal template
Business marketing proposals vary in length and style from one project to another, but their structure is not too different. Writing a proposal is not the time to overload the document with tons of creativity. Your write up should be brief, and with just enough information to help the decision-maker take action. Here are what a typical digital marketing proposal should contain:
1.1. Problem statement
The section also stands as the executive summary of the proposal, and here is a chance for you to prove that you understand your prospective client's needs. Often, clients' issues are more complex than the required service, and you have to straighten them out in writing. A winning problem statement shows the client what they really need and not what they want, and you should offer a solution and not just a service.
1.2. Scope of work & solution
Once you clarified to your prospective client that you understand the issue, the next step is to present them with your services as the best solution to their problem. This section details the services you plan to offer and the strategy you will employ. Endeavor to paint a picture of the outcome of your service in your business marketing proposal. This can include your market research proposal as well.
1.3. Benefits
A good understanding of the problem and a well-defined solution would be fine in a perfect world with no competition but far from ideal. Instead, you have to explain how your services will benefit your prospective client in your business marketing proposal. Bring in statistics if necessary, and include relevant information to convince your potential client.
1.4. Timeline & metrics
Include your estimated schedule to show you are organized in carrying out your services. Break down your service into manageable bits and include milestones if applicable. Also, define the metrics like marketing ROI to measure the effectiveness of your approach.
1.5. Compensation
Make your pricing chart easy to understand because the cost is a crucial factor in cementing the agreement. Include all costs associated with your service and completing the project. Add the terms of service- payment schedule; guarantees involve and situations that warrant contract termination.
So, what could be the reasons your proposals end up bringing no business? Below we highlight a few issues that lead to poor conversion rates from a business marketing proposal.
2. A business marketing proposal template helps you capture clients' interest
Poorly-done business marketing proposals can kill a business relationship before it even begins. The prospective client loses interest within moments of looking at it. Most poor business proposals contain too many irrelevant details that bore most managers to death. Your potential clients don't have the time to go through extra information they have seen copy-pasted on hundreds of other proposals on their desks. Your marketing proposal thus should not be generic.
Take time to study what your prospects want to see. Go online and read from the business owners themselves and you will get a bright idea of what puts them off within seconds of looking at a business proposal.
3. Don't focus on yourself in the business marketing proposal template
Almost every other generic marketing proposal drones on and on about the skills and accolades on the service provider. However, your prospective client wants to know what value you bring to them, not how good you are at your job. This issue is a thin line since it can be hard to distinguish value from accolades. However, if you have to focus on your company even for one moment, make sure that the intent is to show the value you will bring to the prospective client.
Your business marketing proposal is a tool to bring in more business, thus let the potential client know that you fully understand their unique needs, and capitalize on that. Let the prospective client know what's in it for them, and your company will stand out from the many other tech-savvy start-ups clamoring for the limited attention.
4. The structure and presentation of the business marketing proposal template
Despite asking you to stand out from the crowd, remember that a marketing proposal is a BUSINESS tool. Thus, the structure of your business proposal should maintain the standard requirements; otherwise, you risk losing value in your prospective clients' eyes. How can you convince them that you are a great marketing firm yet you cannot piece together a standard marketing proposal?
Make sure that your business proposal contains all the right information that you will package in a transparent, concise manner. You need to know what to include, what not to include and how you can bundle that information up in a way that makes sense. This move will save your prospective clients' time and energy, and if they get the motivation to continue reading, you could be on your way to closing a deal.
If you don't know how to bundle your business proposal, you can quickly get a great business proposal template online, and you can use it to structure your business proposal to suit the prospective client uniquely. You don't have to start every business proposal from scratch. Having a well-structured marketing proposal makes it more persuasive.
To conclude
A well-structured business marketing proposal identifies your target customers and conveys the value you will bring them in a successful business relationship. When done correctly, the business proposal could help you get unlimited customers, dramatically increasing your company's success.
