The Best Proposal Letter Format (Examples & Template)
Proposal letters are the most versatile part of a proposal—they can introduce what’s to come in the proposal or they can be the entire proposal. In either case, using a letter can help you to connect with buyers and show why your solution is the best choice from the very beginning, if done well. Unfortunately, many companies do not see the selling power of a proposal letter, and they rely on outdated templates or sales methods that cause the buyer to stop reading before they reach your main points.
If you want to avoid that same fate, read on for proposal letter tips, tricks, and examples that you can use to craft a letter that sells for you.
What is a Proposal Letter?
A proposal letter is the most personal part of the proposal. It’s typically signed by the person who has the strongest relationship with the client or a person in a leadership role. The goal is to connect with the decision-maker to help them to understand why your solution is the best choice for their organization.
The letter itself can be a one-page document at the beginning of a longer proposal that provides a few highlights of what’s to come. Or it can be a standalone document that’s a more informal proposal to lead into future sales conversations. Either way, you should follow a similar format and always focus on the buyer and their goal.
Why Include a Letter in Your Proposal
If you’re responding to RFPs, a cover letter might be required, but even if it isn’t required, it’s a good idea to include a letter anyway (unless explicitly asked not to). The cover letter is the first real section of text the reader will see in your proposal, and this is the perfect opportunity to set the tone for the rest of your proposal. You can use the cover letter to showcase key wins, client stories, or key features that make your company stand out. Make the letter function as the opening to the story you highlight throughout your proposal and inspire the reader to learn more.
What Makes a Winning Proposal Letter
Too often, companies see the letter as a formality and resort to a short proposal letter with simple content. They might include something like this:
Don’t do this.
Dear John Doe,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our proposal for this project. We have included information on our proposed solution throughout this proposal.
We look forward to working with you and appreciate this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Jane CEO
While this checks the box of a cover letter, it reads as a formality and misses the chance to form a more real connection with the buyer. Instead of following a template like this, make sure you include the following information:
Acknowledge the Buyer’s Current State
Begin your letter with a focus on the buyer, what they’re experiencing, and where they’d like to go.
Lead Into the Solution
After you’ve acknowledged their current state, touch on what type of solution would help to solve that without mentioning your company. First introduce the solution and why it’s a good fit and then introduce your company as the one to provide that solution.
Overview of Benefits
Use the the next part of the letter to engage the buyer by highlighting what benefits they will receive from your solution. Make it really easy to read by listing these out in bullets with a short description for each.
Key Qualifications
If you’ve been doing this for 20 years or have helped customers save millions of dollars, include this in your letter. This is the perfect opportunity to “wow” them and make them want to read your proposal or schedule a meeting.
Value Added Benefits
Also consider including any value added benefits in your proposal letter. You don’t have to go into detail, but you can use the cover letter as a place to introduce the idea and spark interest.
When to Write the Proposal Letter
While it’s tempting to write the proposal letter first, you’ll actually find it much easier if you wait to write it last. Create your entire proposal with all of the details, and then once you have a deep understanding of what exactly you’re offering, write that into the cover letter.
Example Proposal Letters
Here are a few example proposal letters to inspire you as you create your own.
Note: These letters have been amended to remove any company-specific solutions and information. In your letter, make sure to replace the generic language (i.e. “experience in your industry”) with specific information (i.e. “experience in the healthcare industry”).
Example
Dear John Doe,
The Client LLC (Client) seeks to establish a competitively awarded annual contract with a high-performance vendor to satisfy the needs of your end users. With extensive experience managing contracts of similar complexity and size, Company LLC (Company) has the skills and knowledge needed to successfully manage this contract for Client. In fact, Company currently manages over 300 related contracts.
We offer Client highly-qualified, tenured implementation engineers and project managers to fulfill the wide range of project lifecycle requirements for Client. These resources include the over 50 coworkers based at Company’s two local offices located 2.3 miles from Client’s main offices. The close proximity means we are always a 5 minute drive away to help you with any problem, no matter how big or small.
The combination of our experience managing similar contracts and knowledgeable project team allows us to offer Client a best valued, all-encompassing solution for Client’s full lifecycle. Growing our relationship to better support your business is our top priority. Should you have questions regarding our proposal, please contact me at (555) 555-5555 or jane@company.com. We look forward to developing our long-term business partnership.
Sincerely,
Jane CEO
Example 2
Dear John Doe,
Client LLC (Client) seeks a company to transform your administrative services. Having supported prior projects with Client on operational, technology, and financial initiatives, Company LLC (Company) has thought seriously about Client’s current situation, and we applaud this initiative to help Client improve its administrative effectiveness and efficiency to better support your mission.
As demonstrated in our proposal, we possess the full spectrum of attributes to support your efforts – including an extremely seasoned team with extensive experience in all aspects of the functions included in this assessment, a track record of developing collegial working relationships at all levels of your organization, and proven approaches to facilitating successful implementation. Our business is your business, and we are passionate about the opportunities to help similar organizations succeed in transformations to achieve greater service levels and efficiencies.
There are a few key benefits that make Company uniquely qualified to partner with the Client on this important initiative.
Our industry experience, including our work with more than 85 similar organizations in the United States as well as previous projects with Client. We are proud of the successes our clients have achieved with our assistance and we encourage you to reach out to them.
The vast experience of our team. The team of project leaders and senior staff that we will bring to this engagement have more than 150 years of collective experience dedicated to serving similar organizations across all functional areas.
Our methodology and approach. The initial focus of our approach is to identify fact-based opportunities to solve your most pressing issues, but our process prioritizes the development of sustainable solutions that are grounded in the realities of your operating environment. This approach to project delivery is what will make the Client-Company partnership successful.
Our many successful partnerships with you. As a result of working with Client on a variety of engagements across various business functions, we understand how to work in your environment, the need to engage directly with your personnel, and the best means to achieve sustainable, meaningful change.
The combination of these benefits will allow Client’s project to achieve success with limited roadblocks. Our industry experience and experience with your environment means we can begin this project immediately and make real progress without having to overcome any differences in working styles. We look forward to continuing our partnership together. Should you have any questions regarding this proposal, please contact me at (555) 555-5555 or jane@company.com.
Sincerely,
Jane CEO
Example 3
Dear John Doe,
Company LLC (Company) is pleased to respond to Client LLC’s (Client) Request for Proposal (RFP) for advanced data analytics for operational systems. We understand the importance of this project to Client and your customers. While this represents a significant opportunity for Client to achieve real and significant cost savings, it is also an opportunity to assess other policies, operations, organization and technology to maximize benefits and sustain long term value for your customers.
Our resources have extensive experience in all areas of data and analytics. We are dedicated to developing insights from data in your industry, and Company has worked with more than 64 clients on over 200 related projects. Our long track record of helping clients achieve substantial cost savings through advanced analysis allows us to provide immediate savings and other benefits, as well as to position you for ongoing sustainable savings results.
Throughout many years of serving numerous clients on related projects, we are always very flexible to align our scope and level of involvement with client needs and budgets, and we welcome the opportunity to engage in direct conversation with your strategic advisors to define a solution to help you maximize the success of this important initiative.
While our focus is primarily in your industry, which enables us to provide realistic, sustainable solutions in this environment, our perspective on best practices and the experience of our team members includes experience across several other industries, including healthcare, education, finance, and government.
Should you have any questions or require additional clarification on any part of our proposal, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or email address below. We look forward to next steps as we work with you to maximize the value from this initiative.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe
Example 4
Dear John Doe,
Client LLC (Client) aims to implement a comprehensive system that improves the customer experience for your customers. Having worked with hundreds of clients in the past 5 years on similar projects, Company LLC (Company) is uniquely positioned to support this project.
Company differentiates our offering through our commitment to flawless project execution and we are known for conducting projects within the structure and rigor of our proprietary methodologies. Working with Company on this project significantly increases the likelihood of an on-time, high quality, in-budget implementation with consistent, dependable outcomes and measurable results.
At Company, we approach every client project with a flexible and adaptable mindset. We focus on our client’s needs, emphasize teamwork, and develop a solution that will achieve your specific business goals. We have relevant integrations within your state, including at Madison, just two towns over. In addition, we have relevant large-scale credentials in the commercial and federal space. This experience includes work across health care segments, such as government health, payer, provider, and provider networks, and the development of complex, interagency systems similar in size and scope that is required by Client.
Once again, Company has a long and successful track record of delivering projects for public and private sector clients that meet or exceed expectations, and we are happy to do the same for Client. Please contact me at (555) 555-5555 should you have any questions regarding this submission or require additional information. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
Sincerely,
Jane CEO
Proposal Letter Template
Now that you have a few examples of proposal letters, it’s time to write your own! If you’re not sure where to start or need a little bit more guidance, download our proposal letter template, which walks you through the steps to write your letter.
