Small or large businesses are always eyeing to scale up their trade. They need new clients and projects to ensure sufficient growth. While many factors play a role in helping businesses persuade new clients to trade with them and acquire new projects to work on, business communication plays a key role in this process. When we talk about business communication, the first thing that comes to mind is business writing. 

This phenomenon is because a considerable part of corporate communication is done through formal write-ups, which businesses send and receive over emails. Articulating an impactful business proposal is also an essential part of corporate writing, as it helps you close a deal and get your clients on board. However, you need to avoid a few mistakes if you want to compel your clients and acquire new projects. Failing to do so means you are not willing to improve. 

The problem, however, is that most business owners and their subordinates responsible for writing business proposals need to be made aware of mistakes they make while writing a business proposal. This issue leads to the articulation of faulty business proposals that fail to grab clients’ attention. However, things can be easily rectified by avoiding these mistakes. This article highlights a few common mistakes most businesses make while writing proposals, and will help you perfect you own business proposals.

What is a Business Proposal?

Knowing about this corporate document is essential before discussing various mistakes made while writing a business proposal. So, a business proposal is a corporate document featuring a company’s offer to trade with another company. It is mainly a sales-focused document intended to compel another company or business to try a particular company’s business idea, products, or services during a certain project.

Mistakes Made in Business Proposals 

As mentioned earlier, a business proposal can help a company secure investors, acquire a project, or get new clients on board. However, it is only possible when it is free of mistakes. A business proposal featuring mistakes is of no use to other companies. Hence, businesses should avoid a few mistakes while writing such an important document. These mistakes are listed below.

Absence of a Clear Structure

An outline plays a key role in making any writing impactful, regardless of the landscape it belongs to or the purpose it is written for. The aforementioned statement also stands true in the case of business proposals.

A lengthy document with an unclear structure won’t make anyone take an interest in it. Companies want bidders to get straight to the point and present what actually matters to them, i.e., the pitch. A simple business proposal outline could include an executive summary, the problem statement, your proposed solution, and the advantages of choosing your solution.

No Focus on Necessary Details

Another mistake often made while writing business proposals is not giving enough attention to important details. It should be understood that you are pitching your clients, and they want details that matter to them. Failing to include such details would only make your business proposal a part of white noise. These details include a project description, proposed solution, the scope of the project, prime tasks included in the project, timeline, and finally, pricing. Please include the aforementioned details to ensure your proposal is convincing enough to get clients on board, and you will be left empty-handed. 

Keeping Focus on Yourself

It is worth mentioning that companies requiring proposals want a solution that is cost-effective, quick, and feasible for them. They don’t want a huge essay on the company bidding for a specific project. Hence, too much information about your business won’t help much. Instead, it will work as a counter-effect. Simply put, the proposal does not need excessive ‘we-ing’. Don’t discuss what you are; try to communicate what you can do for the clients. Conveying the pitch as soon as possible to compel your potential clients and get them on board. 

Failure to Keep Value Over Pricing

A false assumption in the minds of many business owners is that other companies only prefer to give projects to businesses that offer low pricing. However, this is not true. Most clients are looking for USPs (Unique Selling Points) that make them understand why a bidder will be better for a particular project. It will be useless if your business proposal fails to communicate how it will add value to a client’s trade. Hence, keeping value over anything else, including pricing, is necessary. Try to reflect on how your products or services are better than your competitors to gain the attention of prospects.

Overlooking the Importance of Proofreading

The last mistake often made while articulating business proposals is overlooking the need for proofreading. Flawless business writing matters a lot when it comes to achieving results through business proposals or any other corporate documents. A writer may fail to identify mistakes while writing a proposal. Hence, proofreading is necessary. Business writers should use an advanced tool like an effective grammar check tool to spot and rectify mistakes in their content. A useful online grammar checker will come in handy for this purpose. Business proposals featuring impeccable content will leave a lasting impression and make clients easily understand the intent and meaning. 

In the End

Writing an impeccable business proposal is necessary for businesses to successfully secure investors, acquire projects, and get new clients on board. Most businesses fail to do so because of unawareness of a few common mistakes that significantly affect their business proposal’s effectiveness. We have discussed these mistakes and their workable solutions to help businesses ensure their growth by articulating flawless business proposals and getting positive responses. We wish you luck with business writing!

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