If you often find your project proposals getting rejected, then invest your creative and technical knowledge into redesigning your project proposals. A project proposal is a unique document through which your company communicates with potential stakeholders. So, it’s a valuable piece of paper designed to help you bring in more money for your project. Considering its importance, it’s necessary that you give it some thought. With the following seven tips, you’ll be able to write a quality project proposal that will help you make a strong initial connection with your stakeholders.
Table of Contents
Do Your Homework
Your project proposal mustn’t be set in stone. It shouldn’t be a definitive document that you share with every potential stakeholder.
Your project proposal should actually be a template. Before you share it with your audience, you should always do some research first. Not only will this enable you to create a quality document, but it will also show your stakeholders that you did your homework and studied their needs.
Use Appropriate Language
A project proposal is an official document. It needs to radiate your professionalism and your expertise, which is why it’s necessary that you use appropriate language.
On the other hand, your proposal shouldn’t sound too technical. The fact is you’re hired to do a job that your stakeholders have no experience with, so there’s a chance they might not be familiar with the technical terms in your business niche.
You need to strive towards a balance here – your proposal needs to showcase your expertise, but your stakeholders need to be able to properly understand its objectives.
Keep It Concise
This document shouldn’t be too extensive. Chances are that your potential stakeholders will receive a certain amount of proposals they need to go through. If they encounter a proposal that extends to a significant number of pages, they will probably just scroll through it without giving it any actual thought.
Therefore, bear in mind that your proposal needs to be concise.
Go into Fine Details
On the other hand, that doesn’t mean that you should be vague about what you want to achieve. In order to maximize your chances, you shouldn’t hesitate from going into details. If you don’t stray from your point and stick close to your main objectives, you should be able to write a proposal that contains all the necessary information, but which is still short.
Explain Your Methodology
You need to show your stakeholders that you’re able to complete the successful project. The only way to do so is to show your audience how you plan on achieving their goals. Your project proposal should also contain your methodology. Using a simple timeline, you should present your strategy and thus show your stakeholders that you’re capable of doing the job.
Show Examples
Another way to make yourself a good candidate for the job is to show your work history. If your stakeholders see that you had experience with similar projects, you will be a step ahead of your competition.
Define Your Deadline
Considering the fact that the business world moves fast and that everyone is in a hurry, you can be sure that your stakeholders will want their project complete as soon as possible.
Therefore, your project proposal should also contain milestones and a final deadline. Although you’ll want to impress your potential stakeholder by claiming that your team is able to complete the project in a short period of time, you need to be honest about your capabilities.
If you’re unable to meet the deadline you’ve previously set, you might have serious issues with your stakeholders, and that will leave a stain on your reputation.
Communicate with Your Stakeholders
If you manage to pass the first stage, and if your stakeholders show interest in your proposal, you should include them in the project.
The reason why some projects turn out to be failures lies in a lack of communication, and misunderstandings and information gaps lead to mistakes. For that reason, you should turn to collaborative project management software.
This tool will enable you to establish fluent communication with your stakeholders. You shouldn’t keep your clients in the dark; project collaboration software is a platform on which you can update them about your progress, and reassure them that you’re sticking to the previously determined schedule.
Besides using project collaboration software, you can also show your stakeholders that your team is working with the latest tools.
Conclusion:
A quality project proposal, which meets all the criteria listed above, will enable you to land dream projects. Considering the fact that this document is actually an initial contact with your clients, you need to develop it carefully and update it in accordance with your stakeholders’ demands. Make sure that your honest about your team’s capabilities, keep your proposal concise, use the appropriate language, and you will open new opportunities for your company.
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