A bid, tender or proposal is your formal sales pitch to win business, e.g. a response to an Invitation to Tender.

If you are responding to a request for proposal or tender invitation, the client will provide detailed information regarding the format and content of your bid. Other times, when less formal tenders are solicited - or for unsolicited business proposals - you need to be able to write winning bids.

Writing a winning business proposal

Here are 10 tips to remember when writing a winning business proposal.

Presentation. The front cover should show your organisation's name and logo, the project name and submission date.
Copyright Statement. Include.
Executive Summary. Briefly explain your understanding of the prospect, their business within their industry and an overview of the project.
Project Detail. Detail the issues to be addressed with specific reference to the prospect, demonstrating your understanding of both the project and the prospect.
Solution. Provide a summary of the project requirements and challenges to be addressed, then describe the solutions you will deliver. Focus on meeting the objectives rather than giving irrelevant details about your organisation's history. Identify the benefits to be gained by doing business with you.
Strategy. Describe how you will deliver those solutions, including projected budgets.
Implementation. Detail the implementation process and provide a full list of deliverables. Include realistic timeline goals for implementation and delivery.
Budget. Provide an estimated breakdown for each stage of the project implementation. Include a caveat for final costs to be confirmed whilst detailing the project agreement.
Project Team. List the Key Personnel with short but relevant biographies covering their ears of expertise; consider including thumbnail images.
References. Include case studies, awards and endorsements to give credibility to your proposal.