If you are in charge or dealing with a factory, then you know how important it is to keep your production schedule full of projects. Most likely, that means you have to continually search for new clients for your services. To win a new contract, you will most likely need to write a business proposal.

If you’ve never written a proposal before, it can seem like a difficult project. However, it doesn’t have to be intimidating, because you already know your business and how to sell it, so you’re halfway to the finish line. The other half is learning what goes into a business proposal, and that’s what this article is about.

If you are responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP), then of course you must provide all the requested information, in the order specified in the RFP. But if it is up to you to decide the content and format of your proposal, you should know that all business proposals have a basic four-part sequence.

Part 1 is the introduction, consisting of a cover letter, a title page, and (optionally) an executive summary and table of contents. In the Cover Letter, simply explain succinctly who you are, why you are submitting this proposal, and what you would like the reader to do after considering the information in the proposal (scheduling a meeting with you, collaborating on a contract, calling for quotes, etc.). Make sure to provide all of your contact information as well: phone number, email, website, physical address, etc. The title page is simply a descriptive name for your proposal, something like “Proposed Manufacturing Process for QRT Widgets” or “Manufacturing Proposal for HJK Corporation”. An executive summary (also called a client summary) is a list of the most important points in a complex proposal and is provided for busy executives who may not have time to read the rest of the pages. The index is simply a navigation aid and will only be needed if the proposal is long and complex.

Part 2 is a very important section and is often neglected. Many proposals start with a lot of marketing information about why the company proposing the project is so great to work with. That is not a good strategy for a winning proposal. Instead, Part 2 should be about the potential customer. Put yourself in your client’s shoes. Write down the needs, wants, and limitations of that organization. At the very least, you’ll want a Requirements or Needs page. You may also need more details, such as a Schedule page and a Budget page. Perhaps the Specifications and Materials and Packaging pages will also include all the topics you need to describe your understanding of what the customer wants and needs, as well as the Restrictions and Limitations of the project. You may need to include diagrams or plans. Your goal is to show that you understand what the customer needs from you.

Once you’ve explained what the needs are, it’s time to describe how you intend to meet those needs in Part 3. This is the section where you describe in detail what you intend to do, how it will benefit the client, and how much it will cost. The pages in this section vary greatly from project to project, but this section should contain at least one Services Offered page, one Benefits page, and one Cost Summary page. It may also include some of the following topics: Solutions, Efficiency, Design, Scheduling, Options, Quality Control, Warranty, Equipment, Prototype, Packaging, Shipping, Safety, Sampling, Testing, and / or Labeling. Include as many topics as you need to describe the proposed manufacturing process in detail, and be sure to discuss how your process meets or exceeds the needs you detailed in Part 2.

Once you’ve thoroughly described what you intend to do, it’s time to explain why your company is the best fit for the job; that’s Part 4, the final part of the proposal. It’s always best to use facts, statistics, or recommendations from others to sell a customer your reputation, so you’ll want to include pages like About Us, Company History, Experience, Customer List, Projects, Personnel, Certifications, Facilities and so on. successively to demonstrate that you have a lot of experience with similar projects and have the ability to carry out this manufacturing process. If you’ve won awards, collected testimonials from other customers, or offer a guarantee, be sure to include those as well.

You now understand the basic structure of a proposal: Introduction, customer-centric section, Description of proposed services section, and manufacturer-centric section. After you’ve written all these sections, you have the first draft of your proposal and you’re almost done.

Two steps remain. First, find a dynamite reviewer or editor to scan the entire proposal, correct any spelling or grammatical errors, ask questions about any missing wording or confusing information, and make sure each page looks professional. Then print the proposal or package it in a PDF file and deliver it to the customer by whichever method makes the most sense to the customer.

Although you can use any word processing program to create your entire proposal from scratch, you may want to start with a pre-built proposal kit, which is specially designed for writing proposals. A proposal kit will include hundreds of template pages (including all the topics mentioned above) with instructions and examples for writing on almost any type of topic. Sample proposals are also included in the proposal kits, so you can see what the finished proposals would look like for all types of projects. There are even contracts that you can change for your own use, as well as all kinds of help in case you need guidance on using the product. You will find that using a pre-designed proposal kit will make you look like a professional, even if you are writing your first proposal.