Every entrepreneur must know and understand what business proposals are solicite. You see, entrepreneurs now know the indispensable importance of collaboration. Collaboration can either be materially or immaterially – something pivotal in the present day playing field which is characterised by cutthroat competition. Actually if as an entrepreneur you never get to a point where you draft a business proposal that could mean you are operating as an island. Just as much as no man is an island, the same goes for businesses. In this article we want to look at the different types of business proposals. It is important to know this because the reasons for which business proposals are drafted are many.
Unsolicited Business Proposals
Normally what happens is that when someone wants to source funding or enter business partnerships they can draft a general business proposal. This is a business proposal that can be presented to any prospective client, partner or financier. This implies that it will most likely be very generalized and put together in such a way that seeks to be all-encompassing. This is not as simple as it sounds because there are numerous possible ways to draft a business proposal. In the event that you are formally requested to present a business proposal with specific stipulations it becomes easier. You simply edit the unsolicited one or use it as a basis so as to zone in on what a particular prospective party wants.
Formally Solicited Business Proposals
For formally solicited business proposals the prospective party lays out what they expect to see in the business proposal. This is usually done by an official communique in writing. This happens when you approach or communicate with the prospective party highlighting your proposal. They then officially communicate requesting for a business proposal. Such official communiques or requests are called requests for proposals – RFP. They can alternatively be requests for information (RFI), requests for quotations (RFQ), or invitations for bids (IFB).
A common example is civic organizations or non-governmental organizations. They give you stipulations and can even give you a template or a format in the very least. This is what makes formally solicited business proposals much easier to handle. You will not have to sweat trying to come up with a business proposal that you will be hoping will cover all the essentials. It is akin to something being given to you on a silver platter.
Informally Solicited Business Proposals
Here there is again a request made by the prospective party but it is not done officially. It can simply be verbal request in person or over the phone saying they need a business proposal. In such scenarios there are usually no specific stipulations laid out. The amount of work that goes into an informally solicited business proposal can be similar to that of an unsolicited business proposal. It will be quite tasking because you will not be having a working guideline, format or template. Thus you will have to figure out what will be all-encompassing – though it is possible to come up with something that might be found to be inadequate.
Business Grant Proposals
Scenarios where certain individuals, businesses or institutions offer grants for businesses are common nowadays. The purpose of the grants is usually very detailed and specific. For instance, there can be a call for proposals from entrepreneurs or prospective entrepreneurs who can tackle a particular problem in a certain area. Those eligible to submit proposals can be anyone but mostly there are stipulations. An example can be a call for proposals from women only or it can be people falling in a certain age group. Business grant proposals are usually drafted based on detailed specifics in terms of what the proposal should cover and even how the money (if approved) should ultimately be used.
Business Continuation Proposals
This is a business proposal that can be necessitated by events that unfold along the way. It is usually a proposal borne out of monitoring and evaluation processes. It would obviously come at some point after the initial business proposal. Essentially the initial business proposal is considered in light of progress that would have been made thus far. Then there will be proposed adjustments and their implications on several other elements. For instance, proposing an adjustment has bearings on initial resource allocations which would need approval. Thus you can see why such a business proposal, i.e. a business continuation proposal, would be needed.
Business Renewal Proposals
There are many possible bases for why such a proposal would become necessary. The over-arching basis would be seeking to make requests for the continued rolling out of a business. This can be premised on possibilities of initial funding or partnership pulling out. Pulling out can be due to many possible reasons e.g. initial funding period has expired. So such a proposal can be presented to the existing financier or partner or to new ones altogether. The crux will be to convince them that the business must continue and that you would need their support.
Business Supplementary Proposals solicite
The main purpose of this type of business proposal is to make requests for additional resources. Remember that when an initial business proposal is made required resources are laid out based on certain projections. It is quite possible that along the way unforeseen circumstances can alter things. The initially projected resources might not be enough anymore. With that being the case such a proposal would be needed to rationalize to and convince the client, financier or partner that more resources are needed.
These are the 7 basic types of business proposals that you need to know as an entrepreneur. It is imperative that you know who you seek to address the business proposal to. Know what their requirements are so that you do not end up waffling in the proposal without covering the essentials. As a starting point it would be expedient to learn how to come up with an unsolicited business proposal. This will give you a pedestal for you to then tackle any other type of business proposal you might have to draft at any point.
