Ten Tips For Writing Successful Business Proposals, From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach

There comes a time for businesses when they must submit successful business proposals to gain clients, projects, interviews, potential development rights, etc. And for many businesses, successful business proposals are mandatory for their survival. How many of your proposals get accepted and how many get rejected? Or don't you keep track of the outcomes?

It is interesting to note that most successful businesses have more of their proposals rejected than accepted. Your strategic thinking business coach endorses strategic thinking in the preparation of all business proposals. Here are ten (10) tips from your strategic thinking business coach for writing successful business proposals.

Strategic Tip #1: Develop and use an evaluation system for a "go" or "No Go" decision for all responses to Requests For Proposals.

Strategic Tip #2: Approach each business proposal preparation with an open mind and strategic thinking, instead of simply starting with an old proposal.

Strategic Tip #3: Establish superior value based upon your differentiators to help dissuade the decision makers to make a selection on price.

Strategic Tip #4: Prepare a strategic Executive Summary that is clear and concise and that focuses on the prospect and the needs, challenges, opportunities and why you are the best choice to understand the prospect's business situation and needed outcomes.

Strategic Tip #5: Keep your business proposal as short as possible. Short proposals tend to be read first, which places you in a strategic position compared to your competition.

Strategic Tip #6: Prioritize your uniqueness factors and competitive advantages and illustrate how they will help assure a positive ROI.

Strategic Tip #7: Prepare a strategic and well-written cover letter.

Strategic Tip #8: Target your proposal's communication style to your intended audience. Use the "language" of your audience.

Strategic Tip #9: Always ask for their business! Ask for it in the cover letter, Executive Summary and when you deliver or present your proposal.

Strategic Tip #10: Always request a debriefing from the prospect and conduct a post-proposal review to gain feedback and to identify areas for improvement. And yes, do this with your successful proposals, as well as the unsuccessful ones.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to use strategic thinking in the development of your business proposals. If you would like to learn more about preparing successful business proposals and how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, "Glenn's Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach" and has published more than 250 articles on business.