How to Write a Proposal to a Vendor ~ Biz.com Small Business

By Lanee' Blunt

Write an effective proposal--
Celalteber

Gather the brochures and company balance sheets that need to be submitted with the proposal make sure that you have all of the information needed before your deadline. Keep your writing direct and avoid a lot of unnecessary adjectives.

Writing a proposal to a contract vendor requires careful preparing before you write it. Start with an outline this will help you organize your thoughts and help you prepare the information that needs to go into the proposal.

Difficulty

Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need

Brochures

Balance sheets

Equipment cost

Material cost

Write the “Executive summary” section. Start this section of the proposal with why the evaluators should use your company. Give them an excellent reason why they should choose your company over the competition. Tell the evaluators how you are going to do the requested work.

Write the “Resume and qualifications” section. Write about your qualifications and your experience with similar jobs. Tell the evaluators the responsibilities of key personnel and subcontractors.

Start the third section “Price for the project” and explain your proposed price based on the budget detail. Calculate the materials, labor overhead, and equipment. The price you are proposing should be a reasonable price for the project?

Address topics in the request for proposal (RFP) in the forth section. Answer the topics in the same sequence that they are in the RFP. Answer all of the “major topic questions” in essay form. Remember, you’re not trying to write an academic paper with slow dull reading, but this is persuasive expository prose. Answer the topics of the RFP by keeping your sentences and your paragraphs short. Create a lot of white space with frequent paragraphing.

Provide a safety plan for equipment, machinery, or chemicals. Write the fifth section by telling how you will go about providing safety if you are using machinery that that could conceivably cause injury.

Proofread the proposal for typos and errors. Avoid mistakes that may cause your proposal to be turned down with careless errors. Get someone to read it for you to make sure that you have not made any mistakes that can be avoided.

Tips

Professionally package the proposal with a glossy cover and use a letterhead with good quality paper.

Reference

Fedmarket: How Are Winning Proposals Written

Onvia: First Steps to a Winning Proposal

Findfrp: How to Write Proposal

Resources

“How to Write Knockout Proposals”; Joseph Barbato, 2007

Read This Next

How to Be Effective in Writing a Proposal for a Construction Site Clean Up

How to Write a Proposal to Build a Factory

How to Be Effective in Writing a Proosal for a Construction Business