On the lookout for new clients? In today’s economic climate, there’s no reason to improvise when you must write business proposals. Try picking up a sample business proposal or template, and flesh out your sample until you have an attention getting document that will win over your clients and earn you some business when you most need it.

The first step of any writing endeavor should always be pre-writing. Don’t be concerned about the quality of your writing — what you are going to be writing now is purely for your benefit; they’re not going to see this, so relax and do it your own way. Through pre-writing we can start to see exactly what services we want to offer, what goals you can realistically achieve, and what qualifies you for this position more than the next worker.

Think carefully about your business proposal. Divide your goals into several steps, taking notes the entire time on what will be necessary to accomplish each step. Finally, write down each step and organize them so the reader can see that, by using your services, they will inevitably be led to the goal you defined when you were pre-writing.

The next stage is writing your cover letter. Make it short and simple, at maximum only three paragraphs that declare the main thoughts behind your proposal — for instance, you could write “Our company helps X number of businesses in the region. Our company can help you too by doing x, y, and z for you.” Go ahead and elaborate on any successful stories you may have, but don’t drown your proposal in a lengthy cover letter.

Write your business proposal. Most of the time, proposals follow a very clearly defined structure: an executive summary that says what services you will provide and what you will do to win your goal, a statement of work offers that outline what you plan on doing, steps that will take your client from problem to solution, qualifications that set you apart from the pack, and lastly the boring payment arrangements and contract terms.

Again, this is only the first draft, so take it easy on yourself and write what you would like your client to know. Imagine your target seated at the table with you. What could you tell them that would convince them to hire you?

Since this is the first draft, quality is not overly crucial at this stage. Realistically, the only thing you need to worry about here is finishing your proposal and fitting your information into the well defined structure of a proposal. If there’s anything you want to change — spelling, grammar, anything else — it can be done later.

Next, consider your pricing and your contract. Keep your prices competitive by doing a little footwork to find out what similar companies are charging. Now’s the time to find out you’re overpriced — you don’t want to be sitting down at the table with your client when you realize your prices are less than stellar.

When you have finished your first draft, you can begin the rewriting stage. Get a friend to read through your proposal so you can find any typo trouble or glaring errors. If there was anything you wanted to change or fix or if you wanted to add another section, do that now before continuing to the final stages.

Before your meeting, try out some role-playing. Try putting on your client’s shoes for a minute and figure out how they would react to your proposal as it is now. Are there any complaints they could voice? Will something in the proposal make them hesitate? Think up as many reasons for them to say no as you can, and then come up with answers to soothe their concerns.

Though it’s hard work, writing a business proposal is far from impossible. By taking the time to run through the above steps with your sample business proposal in hand, you’ll save tons of time and deliver a quality piece of work that will satisfy not just clients, but your company also.

Writing business proposals might challenge you — why not download a sample proposal as an example? Not only will they show you what is acceptable and what isn’t, but they can also be guides to better your writing skills. To guarantee it is genuine, find your sample business proposal at a legitimate web resource.