What is a business proposal vs. a business plan?

People often misuse the terms business proposal and business plan. A business plan is simply that--a plan for your business to help you make your way. A business proposal is written to entice customers to your door, customers that might not know you exist.

I recommend: Don't make the mistake many people do and send out your business plan as a substitute for a business proposal. The two documents do not serve the same purpose. A business plan is written to help you, and to convince lenders and others that your business is sound. A business proposal is written to bring you new clients and customers. They want to be convinced you are the person who can work for them. Know what type of business proposal you need in a given situation. Business proposals come in two forms, the invited proposal (or RFP--Request For Proposal) and the uninvited proposal. With the RFP, a potential customer has heard about your business and thinks they might want to hire you. Your business proposal should convince them that they should hire you. The univited proposal is a cold inquiry for business. 4hb.com gives hints on what a business proposal is, and is not. So does Nightcats Multimedia Productions. 

Get ready to write by looking at a sample business proposal

Take a look at a business proposal sample to see what format your own proposal should follow. This will help you see if your proposal is going to impress your potential clients, or just make them roll their eyes at your business proposal before they toss it aside unread.

I recommend: Take a look at a business proposal sample. One very good example of a business proposal can be read at Writing Help Tools Center and a kit including many more sample proposals from this company can be bought for under $75. If that business propsal sample isn't enough to teach you the basics, look at the many tutorials available at CapturePlanning.com to learn just what you need to do to get started writing. You can find essays on layout and design, common mistakes beginnners make, and all sorts of hints that will help you get started before you go on and find some sample proposals to guide you.

Finding a sample business proposal

There should be dozens of free sample business proposals out on the Internet, right? Well, not exactly. A business proposal is a time-consuming thing to write, and people aren't often willing to share sample proposals with others. Business proposals often contain confidential information, which means much of what you do find on the Internet is vague and useless. You do not want to use a boilerplate, one-size-fits-all sample business proposal to try to sell your company.

I recommend: ProposalSmartz and Proposal Kit are potential sources of sample business proposals you can buy, usually for under a hundred dollars. If they don't have free trials, ask for one. If nothing else, they may send a business proposal example to you so you can see if it suits your needs before you buy.