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[Title]
A Proposal to
[Client Name]

Presented on

[Date]

Table of Contents
[Readers almost always look first at the table of contents to see how the proposal is
structured. Make sure that all headings are easy to read, intuitive, and in a logical order.]

1 Current Situation 3

2 Solution 3

2.1 Objectives 3

2.2 Approach 3

2.3 Benefits 3

3 Implementation Plan 3

3.1 Methodology 3

3.2 Schedule 3

3.3 Resources 3

3.4 Qualifications 3

4 Costs 3

5 Conclusion 3

Appendix A: Examples of Appendices 3

Appendix B: Terms and Conditions 3

Introduction

[This section formally introduces your company and its proposed
solution to the client. Include a brief summary of your company’s
background, capabilities, and strategy in delivering value to the
client. If you have a strong value proposition, you can include it
here and note what it means to the client.]

1 Current Situation
[Use this section to clearly re-state the client’s primary business
needs, problems, or opportunities. Try to add additional insights
that prove your understanding of the industry and the unique
challenges being faced by the client. Then explain the benefits of
effectively addressing these needs or opportunities and why your
company is well positioned to deliver the desired benefits. Keep
this section brief and to the point.]

2 Solution
[This section is used to outline your company’s proposed solution.
The key here is to stay focused on the client’s requirements and
show why your approach should be selected over other available
options, including an in-house solution. Use statistics, if available,
to further strengthen your message.]

1.1 Objectives
[Clearly describe the most important business objectives that will
help solve the client needs or problems (three to five is optimal).
Emphasize how your company has the experience and insights to
address these objectives based on your expertise and past client
successes.

● Objective 1
● Objective 2
● Objective 3]

2.2 Approach
[Use this section to describe the proposed solution strategy and the

management approach your company will take in supporting the
strategy. Explain this in words that the client can easily understand
without being too technical or overlapping your implementation
plan, covered in the next section of this document. Provide enough
detail to distinguish your approach from other competitors without
revealing everything up front.]

3.3 Benefits
[Describe the client benefits that will be realized as a result of your
solution and your company’s expertise in implementing that
solution. Wherever possible, try to quantify the benefits in terms of
time, cost, or resources. If you can cite return on investment (ROI)
findings for this type of solution, definitely do, but be prepared to
verify any metrics if challenged by the client. As for the more
intangible benefits, try to keep the client’s perspective in mind and
stay focused on business value.

● Benefit 1
● Benefit 2
● Benefit 3]

3 Implementation Plan
[While the previous section was primarily strategic, this section
focuses on tactics and execution. Your goal is to build the client's
confidence that you can deliver the desired solution and benefits
as promised.]

1.1 Methodology
[Briefly discuss the methodology your company will use to
implement the proposed solution. The methodology could relate to
project management, systems development, or any relevant
lifecycle used to ensure consistency and repeatability of your
solutions (and still cater to the unique needs of the client). If you
have additional information or graphics on this subject that will help
distinguish you from your competitors, consider attaching them as
an appendix.]

2.2 Schedule
[Never underestimate the importance of project management to the
client. It can be a key differentiator when competitors are evenly
matched. Emphasis here should be on timing and sequencing of

major activities, deliverables, and milestones.

An effective way of tying all of these pieces together is to display
a high-level project plan using Microsoft Office Project or some
other project management tool. This helps the client to visualize
your solution, while reinforcing your company’s expertise in project
management. The trick is showing enough to educate the client
without revealing your entire game plan.]

[Figure 1. Solution Project Plan. A Microsoft Office Project screen print provides the client
with a high-level overview of the solution and conveys timing, sequencing, and dependencies
of key activities.]

3.3 Resources
[Depending on the nature of the proposal, you may want to identify
key resources that will be involved in the solution implementation.
These can include people, materials, and facilities. Provide only the
information that will be helpful to the client in evaluating your
proposal. One option is to include a one-paragraph summary of
the background of key managers, consultants, technical experts,
and so on. Full resumes can always be attached as an appendix,
if desired.]

4.4 Qualifications
[This is an opportunity to tell why your organization is uniquely
qualified to deliver the solution as promised. Some considerations
include: (1) your company’s track record in successfully

implementing similar solutions; (2) formal industry or quality
certifications such as ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and Six Sigma; and (3)
individual certifications of key staff. Include only enough
information to validate your capabilities. Use an appendix if you
want to highlight your qualifications.]

4 Costs
[Now that the client understands your solution strategy and
capabilities, you can describe your solution costs. How much detail
you provide depends on your pricing strategy—whether it is a fixed
price contract, cost plus, or some other approach. In any event,
you want to include enough information so that the client can
weigh your costs against the value being delivered by you or other
competitors. Common expense items include resource hours and
rates; hardware, software, and other material costs; subcontractor
fees; invoicing instructions; legal disclaimers; travel; and other
reimbursable costs. A more formal description of terms and
conditions can be covered in an appendix.]

Cost Schedule [Title 2] [Title 3] [Title 4]

[Row Title]
[Row Title]
[Row Title]
Total

[Table 2. Name of Table. When adding or embedding tables, you can use the full column
width without affecting the surrounding text.]

5 Conclusion
[This is an opportunity to briefly summarize the key points of your
proposal (such as value proposition, solution strategy, and
benefits). Every conclusion should have a strong call to action.
What is the desired response by the client after reading your
proposal? The tone should be confident and assertive without
being overly aggressive, while opening the door for a mutually
rewarding relationship. Even if you lose this particular opportunity,
you want to position yourself as a future ally who can be counted
on to deliver a high-value solution. You may also want to
personalize this final section with signature blocks (names and
titles) of most senior person sponsoring the proposal and an
executive.]

Appendix A: Examples of Appendices
[Appendices provide supporting information that is helpful, but not
critical, to the client’s evaluation of your proposal. This includes
material that might otherwise be disruptive to the flow and
momentum of the main proposal. The volume of material in the
appendices should not be so much as to overwhelm the main body
of the proposal, however. As a safety measure, you should never
assume that every client decision maker or influencer will read the
appendices. Ask yourself: If a key client evaluator did not read any
of the appendices, would it leave a hole in my proposal strategy?]

[Figure 2. Description of Graphic. The above exemplifies that graphics can be inserted into an
appendix to visually convey an important concept.]

[Likely candidates for an appendix:

● Reprints of news articles, press releases, and corporate
announcements
● Relevant client case studies, success stories, references,
and testimonials
● Company or individual certifications (referenced in the
main proposal)
● Resumes or biographies of key players (referenced in the
main proposal)
● Organizational charts
● Description of your formal solution methodology
● Company history and accomplishments
● Design specifications or diagrams
● Supporting financial spreadsheets
● Terms and conditions (see Appendix B)]

Appendix B: Terms and Conditions
[The amount of attention you give to formal terms and conditions
depends on the size, complexity, and nature of the sales proposal.
In some cases, you may include a brief summary under the
“Costs” section of the main proposal. However, a high-stakes
proposal might justify a separate appendix for this topic. Typical
examples of terms and conditions are:

● Copyright and limitations on use.
● Warranties.
● Limitation of liability.
● Termination.
● Dispute resolution.
● Amendment to terms and conditions.
● Third-party rights.
● Applicable law.
● Disclaimer.]

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