What is a Business Proposal? Discuss the Types of Business Proposal

There are different types of business proposals, which are now days using in the business world. Business Proposal is a document, which is written for a specific reason either to get a job or a project. Usually, it is sent to the company or the client for giving a brief introduction about the services and the professional features of the seller.

It has been said that the Business Proposal can help grow a rich relationship between the two companies and strengthen their mutual cooperation. The most common reason for writing a business proposal is to obtain any project or offer the services for required work in order to benefit both companies i-e the sender company and the company to whom the proposal is being sent.

In simple words, a business proposal is a document or written offer from the side of the seller to the buyer for getting a project to be put into action in the future time.

Types of Business Proposals

There are three different types of Business Proposals that are:

1. Formally Solicited
2. Informally Solicited
3. Unsolicited

Formally Solicited Business Proposals:

In most of the organizations, formally solicited proposal is written in the response of given requirements by the buyer. In order to meet the needs of the proposal, it is categorized under the following categories.

• RFP (Request for Proposal)

RFP’s contain brief information related to the offer of the customer to make sure the seller completely fits the needs and demands. Sometimes, it also contains routes to prepare a to the point proposal along with evaluation criteria. Mostly, RFP’s are issued by the customers when available products or services do not meet with the requirements.

• RFQ (Request for Quotation)

The RFQ is issued by the customer when there is a need for a larger quantity of goods. In such cases, prices are not the only thing to consider, but other services also matter, such as the availability of commodities, time of delivery and quality of services. An effective proposal might lead the seller to obtain a big project.

• IFB (Invitation for Bid)

Whenever any customer wants to get the needed services such as construction, then IFBs are issued.  The primary goal to issue an IFB is only to check the prices. While on the other hand, the quality of the services also has much importance, but prices have more impact than quality.

• RFI (Request for Information)

RFI (Request for Information) issued to get the information about the available products, services and retailers. Its main purpose is to view “marketing intelligence” and is lead to the final settlement of the business deal. So many sellers take it very seriously and fill the information according to the requirement carefully. Surely, it is one step to final RFPs, RFQs and IFBs.

Informally Solicited Business Proposals:

These types of business proposals are an output of oral conversation between the retailer and the customer. It is also known as the Sole-Source Proposal because it does not possess any requirements to meet, just a little meeting and capture the deal. Normally, these proposals are written in roundabout 25 pages, and in some time may go down to 5 pages or even less.

Unsolicited Business Proposals:

The Unsolicited types of Business Proposals is like a marketing brochure that contains necessary information about the needs of the seller. In this type of proposal, there is no direct connection between the sellers and the customers. It is also termed as “leave-behind” or “give-away” in the last moments of any meeting. The main reason for issuing an Unsolicited Business Proposal is to increase the chances of sales.

Purpose of Business Proposals

Business Proposal by nature creates a great impact on the image of the seller because it represents the actual condition of the seller for a specific job. It is an assurance to the buyer that the seller will try hard to achieve the main goal of the project and get it done by the deadline.

At some point, it is considered to be a key step in joint sell where the buyer considers extraordinary results against the price, so acceptance of the proposal is really a gigantic achievement. There are many organizations in the world, which are well familiar with the art of proposal writing and have advanced skills to prepare a proposal in a short period.

The proposal contains necessary information about the seller for accomplishing the mentioned task. It is in favor of the seller that the seller meets the requirements of the buyer entirely and can do the job within a specified span.

The buyer likes to get a proposal prior to making a deal in order to check the abilities of the seller whether they satisfy the needs or not. Both parties get exactly what they want when a proposal achieves success by making the agreed sale.