If you’re in a media services business like photography or creating video productions or sound recordings, then you’re always looking for new clients. Most of the contracts in these businesses are short-lived, so you need to line up as many contracts and clients as you can. The best way to do this is to master the art of writing a business proposal.
You probably don’t consider yourself a writer, but creating a proposal isn’t difficult once you understand the basic structure and ingredients that all winning proposals need. You already know the services and quality you have to offer, and you probably have a good idea of what most customers want, so you have all the basic information you’ll need. And after you’ve written a proposal, you’ll find that you can use much of the same information in every proposal from now on.
Let’s focus on the structure and you will see how easy it can be to write a proposal. All service proposals have a standard structure: introduction, customer-focused section, service-focused section, and finally a section focused on you or your organization.
The introduction part is very simple. The first thing you need in a proposal package is a cover letter that explains who you are, why you are submitting this proposal, and what you want the reader to do after considering your proposal. Naturally, the cover letter should also contain all of your contact information, so the client can easily call or email you with a response. A cover letter is not always part of the proposal, but you should submit your proposal when applicable.
At the top of the proposal itself is a title page, which is exactly what it sounds like: just clearly label your proposal. Examples can be "Birchfield Wedding Photography Proposal" Prayed "Recording services for QRX Band" Prayed "Audiobook recording proposal for The Only Witness."
If your proposal is only a few pages long, that’s it for the introduction. If your proposal is complex, you may need a table of contents and client summary page below; it’s a brief summary of the most important points you want to include in your proposal, and such a page is usually only needed when there are executives. who must approve your proposal but may not have time to read the entire package.
It’s important not to start with a sales pitch that’s all about you. Save that for the last part of the proposal. Successful proposals are personalized to the potential client. It is more about satisfying the customer than bragging about the service provider.
So after the introduction comes the customer focused section. In the customer-focused section, you demonstrate that you understand your potential customers and their needs and concerns. Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers. At a minimum, this section should have a Needs page detailing what customers have already ordered or are likely to request. For example, a photographer proposing a shoot for a sports magazine might list the events the client wants covered and an approximate number of shots per location or event, or a recording studio might list the number of recordings and final formats. that the client has requested. by. In some cases, you may know more about what it takes than a new client, so be as specific as possible. This section may include a Requirements or Specifications page to detail technical details and topic pages such as Budget or Limitations or Schedule that mention any customer concerns or constraints on the project.
After you’ve described what the customer wants or needs, as well as any constraints, it’s time to explain how you intend to meet those needs. Describe your services in detail. The pages in this section will vary depending on your particular business and project. Be as specific as possible about what you will do, when, and how much it will cost. You’ll probably want a Services page and a Cost Summary page, and perhaps Options or Packages, Location, Hours and Equipment or other topics that explain all you have to offer. If you offer a Satisfaction Guarantee or Warranty on a product you deliver, please include that in this service-focused section as well.
In the final proposal section, it’s your turn to brag about yourself. Explain why you are the best choice for the project. You can include pages like About Us, Clients Served, Projects, Awards, Certifications, Testimonials; in short, anything that shows you are an expert in your field and can be trusted to deliver on your promises.
That’s it – you’ve finished creating a draft of your proposal. Now, be sure to check each page to make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors, and make sure all pages look good too. If possible, hire someone unfamiliar with your proposal to do the final verification; it’s all too easy to overlook errors and omissions in your own work. You want the proposal to represent you in your best professional form. After each page is perfect, print it out and mail or hand-deliver it, or package it as a PDF to attach to an email—whichever method is most likely to impress your prospect.
Want to get started and speed up the proposal writing process? Consider using a proposal kit of pre-designed documents, which are designed for writing all kinds of business documents. A good proposal kit will come with hundreds of templates to cover whatever topic you want to include. The pre-built kit templates will also contain instructions and examples to guide you, so you never feel at a loss about what to put on a page. The best proposal kits will also provide many detailed sample proposals that you can use as guides when writing your own proposal.
