Every business needs investments to stay afloat in this highly competitive environment and scoring investments requires killer business proposals. Writing a business proposal for investors is a daunting yet necessary task that is required for all businesses to get more funding. So, it does not matter if you are a startup or a well-established business, writing one is a necessity!
Of course, a business proposal should be backed by facts and a plan of action that can attract investors and should not focus primarily on stories that sound too good to be true. Since it’s not an easy task to achieve, business owners often wonder if professional help is required to write a proposal or writing one yourself should be preferred.
To answer this question, we need to dig deep into some important aspects of business proposal writing and list all the necessary details that you might need to make up your mind. Honestly speaking, it’s up to you to decide whether you can write a compelling proposal yourself or you need help, all we can do is list all the facts down here.
So, let’s begin!
Things You Need to Know About Business Proposals for Investors
Before you start the hard task of attracting investors to your business, it’s essential to learn the things that you need to keep in mind while writing a proposal.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing one yourself or hiring a professional for this task, gathering information and planning your proposal is necessary.
To plan your proposal, keep the following in mind:
- During the planning stage make sure to go through and study other business proposals thoroughly for ideas. Don’t copy-paste other proposals though; only use it as a point of reference. But do make notes and list down all the important details in a sheet.
- After getting an idea about what to include in your business proposal, the next step is to create an outline for it. An outline can help you create a systematic proposal.
- Next, in the planning stage, list what you think should be included in the proposal so even a third-party professional is writing one. They can make sure to leave the important bits in.
Writing a Business Proposal for Investors Yourself versus Hiring Professional Help
After you are done with the initial stage of planning and now are ready to write one. It’s time to decide whether you’ll take on this task or hire a third party for help.
There are pros and cons in both the listed approaches but of course, it is essential to choose the one that perfectly suits your needs. And to make this decision a bit easier for you, it’s appropriate to list some pros and cons of both:
- If you’re a new entrepreneur and don’t understand how Investors work or what they are looking for. You can end up writing a proposal that will kill your pitch in seconds. On the other hand, if you hire a professional who is experienced in this field. The chances of your getting the investments are high
- Contrarily hiring a professional business proposal writer will cost money, and the results depend on the person you hire. No one can understand the inner working of your company better than you. So, it’s necessary to research well and hire a person that can match up with your understanding. And keep in mind that this investment can still fail if your business proposal is not compelling enough to attract investors.
- Hiring a professional can help you save a lot of time as well.
Mistakes to Avoid While Writing a Business Proposal
It does not matter whether you end up writing the proposal yourself or get someone else to do it. Avoiding some common mistakes is the key. So for your ease here are a few common mistakes that many amateurs or even professional proposal writers make:
Pitching Huge Numbers
The most common mistake that we have come across is over-exaggeration in numbers. For example, your business proposal states that you’ll make an unimaginable amount of profit in the initial stages of your business with the required investment. It’s possible to achieve those numbers but investors appreciate a realistic approach than a risky one. Since a new business cannot take the market by storm.
Not Showing Steady Growth
Being realistic is necessary for an investment pitch; however, you need to make sure that you just don’t show constant losses in your proposal. Investors are more interested in how they can make a profit by investing in you.
So, showing negatives can affect your proposal a lot. Try to make a proposal that can at least list constant growth in the future and even the past. If you’re taking the data from the past, showing a single unprofitable year is alright. But if you include multiple unprofitable years, it can hurt your investment pitch negatively.
No Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is a key part of your business proposal for investors. The reason is, investors love to see comparisons, and if you show them a successful company with a similar baseline to yours. You can increase your chances of scoring an investment. Of course, keep in mind that never degrade your competition and show investors how you can achieve similar or better results.
Not Personalizing Your Proposal for Specific Investors
Another thing that most proposals lack is the personal touch for specific investors. If you end up using the same proposal on every investor, your chances of failure are higher. So, before drafting a Business proposal for a specific investor, research-well and personalize it according to the investor.
Conclusion:
In this small information source, we covered some facts on writing business proposals for investors. There is a lot more to cover on this topic but with this information, we are sure that you will be able to make up your mind and choose the most suitable option for your business.
Investors are the backbone of running a successful business and to attract investors, perfect proposals are required. Calling a professional for help is not a bad idea if you don’t have experience in this field. But doing it yourself can add a personal touch to it and can be more convincing.