CLASSIFICATIONS OF BUSINESS PROPOSAL

(According to Sources) Internal Business Proposal Internal proposals are used within companies to plan or propose new projects or products. They are written to convince ones employees, co-workers and/or management that the suggested solution for a problem is ideal. roposals can range from the frivolous !decreasing cost of soda from the office vending machine" to more serious, and everything in between. #ith internal proposals, you may not have to include certain sections !such as $ualifications", or you may not have to include as much information in them. %sually pretty informal &ostly an agreement for a certain number of support hours !like laboratory testing" %sually doesnt involve upper management Internal proposals are often written in memo format. E ternal Business Proposal 'n e(ternal proposal is one written from one separate, independent organi)ation or individual to another such entity. It is used to offer services or products to clients outside the company. 'n e(ternal proposal is a document written for internal corporate office viewing which addresses an e(ternal or public problem. These documents will be written by managers who wish to address company-wide dilemmas that ultimately involve customers and the public. roposals are generally large scale projects that are meant to further the companys growth and profit ma(imi)ation. They should point out a very specific problem that is facing the company and offer ways and solutions that effectively solve the problem. roposals should demonstrate a great deal of research, professionalism, and thought* otherwise they risk being discarded by the targeted audience. +ormal and rigorous ,e$uires upper management approval It is a binding, legal document

-omething to keep in mind is that proposals, especially e(ternal proposals, are de facto legal contracts. They are legal documents that can be brought into court if a dispute occurs. -o, you need to make sure that everything you say in the proposal is accurate and truthful, because the proposal may be used in a court case to prove !or disprove" that your company completed the promised work to the level proposed. Solicited Business Proposal -olicited proposals are proposals re$uested by the readers. +or e(ample, your companys management might ask your team to submit a proposal for a new project. .r, your team might be asked to write a proposal that answers a re$uest for proposals !,+ " sent out by a client. If a proposal is solicited, the recipient of the proposal in some way re$uested the proposal. Typically, a company will send out re$uests for proposals !public announcements re$uesting proposals for a specific project" through the mail or publish them in some news source. /ut proposals can be solicited on a very local level0 for e(ample, you could be e(plaining to your boss what a great thing it would be to install a new technology in the office* your boss might get interested and ask you to write up a proposal that offered to do a formal study of the idea. ' solicited proposal is usually a response to a published re$uirement, most of the time this is done in writing. %sually, re$uirements are contained in ,+ /,e$uest for roposal, I+//,e$uest for /id or in an ,+1/,e$uest for 1uote. ,+ s are normally issued by customers and this shows a detailed re$uirement of what customers want. They are normally issued during those times wherein the customers needs are no longer met.

For!all" Solicited Proposal -olicited proposals are written in response to published re$uirements, contained in a ,e$uest for roposal !,+ ", ,e$uest for 1uotation !,+1", Invitation +or /id !I+/", or an ,e$uest for Information !,+I". Re#uest $or Proposal (RFP) ,+ s provide detailed specifications of what the customer wants to buy and sometimes include directions for preparing the proposal, as well as evaluation criteria the customer will use to evaluate offers. 2ustomers issue ,+ s when their needs cannot be met with generally available products or services. ,+Is are issues to $ualify the vendors who are interested in providing service/products for specific re$uirements. /ased on the response to ,+I, detailed ,+ is issued to $ualified vendors who the organi)ation believes can provide desired services. roposals in response to ,+ s are seldom less than 34 pages and sometimes reach 3,4445s of pages, without cost data. Re#uest $or %uotation (RF%) 2ustomers issue ,+1s when they want to buy large amounts of a commodity and price is not the only issue--for e(ample, when availability or delivering or service are considerations. ,+1s can be very detailed, so proposals written to ,+1s can be lengthy but generally much shorter than an ,+ -proposal. ,+1 proposals consist primarily of cost data, with small narratives addressing customer issues, such as $uality control. In&itation $or Bid (IFB) 2ustomers issue I+/s when they are buying some service, such as construction. The re$uirements are detailed, but the primary consideration is price. +or e(ample, a customer provides architectural blueprints for contractors to bid on. These proposals can be lengthy but most of the length comes from costestimating data and detailed schedules. Re#uest $or In$or!ation (RFI) -ometimes before a customer issues an ,+ or ,+1 or I+/, the customer will issue a ,e$uest for Information !,+I". The purpose of the ,+I is to gain 6marketing intelligence6 about what products, services, and vendors are available. ,+Is are used to shape final ,+ s, ,+1s, and I+/s, so potential vendors take great care in responding to these re$uests, hoping to shape the eventual formal solicitation toward their products or services. In$or!all" Solicited Proposal Informally solicited proposals are typically the result of conversations held between a vendor and a prospective customer. The customer is interested enough in a product or service to ask for a proposal. Typically, the customer does not ask for competing proposals from other vendors. This type of proposal is known as a sole-source proposal. There are no formal re$uirements to respond to, just the information gleaned from customer meetings. These proposals are typically less than 78-pages, with many less than 8 pages. Unsolicited Business Proposal %nsolicited proposals are proposals not re$uested by the readers. +or e(ample, your team might prepare an unsolicited internal proposal to pitch an innovative new idea to the companys management. .r, your team might use an unsolicited e(ternal proposal as a sales tool to offer your companys clients a product or service. .n the other hand, an unsolicited proposal, as what its name implies, is not a response to any buyers need. &ost of the times, this type of proposal is being used to advertise a new product. They come in brochures or leaflets. %sually, these proposals have indirect connection to what customers need* thus, as said above, the proposal is just used to introduce the product. #ith unsolicited proposals, you sometimes must convince the recipient that a problem or need e(ists before you can begin the main part of the proposal. %nsolicited proposals are marketing brochures. They are always generic, with no direct connection between customer needs or specified re$uirements. 9endors use them to introduce a product or

service to a prospective customer. They are often used as 6leave-behinds6 at the end of initial meetings with customers or 6give-aways6 at trade shows or other public meetings. They are not designed to close a sale, just introduce the possibility of a sale. 'i$$erence (et)een Unsolicited and Solicited Proposals The difference between these two proposals can be identified through their names. -olicited proposals are presented as an answer to a need. %nsolicited proposals are used to initiate the sales process* they usually show the customers why they would need this product. -olicited proposals are often welcomed* however due to the increasing number of unsolicited proposals today, customers dont pay attention to them. -olicited proposals are presented because they are wanted by the customer* but an unsolicited proposal is like telling the person how you can help even if they do not re$uire you to help. -olicited proposals are submitted because they are needed, on the other hand, unsolicited proposals are submitted even if they are not needed* it is the proposal that usually tells the person that they should need the product they are proposing.