The MEAT Inside a Winning Proposal

Written by Kris Mills


"Yep!" Preparing proposals is enough to make most people cringe. They take too long to prepare. They're absolutely boring to write and a real pain inrepparttar neck. Sound familiar?

Having said all that, proposals have an enormous bearing on whether or not someone is going to buy from you, so it makes sense to ensure that your proposal sells. The only problem with doing that is "normally" to create a really "flash" proposal takes time and that's something that most people simply don't have to spare.

If you've tried proposal templates before in an effort to save time, you'll know that unless it easily customisable,repparttar 106409 document comes out looking like an unpersonalised template which can leave a bad taste in your prospects' mouths.

Inside this article I'll show you how to create a winning proposal that can have a dramatic effect on your conversion rates and then how to create a "template" so it looks as if you've written it from scratch for each individual prospect.

To achieverepparttar 106410 most powerful results,repparttar 106411 message needs to look like it's personalised to that particular business YET if you were to do that, there's a good chance you'd spend all your time writing proposals.

So, what'srepparttar 106412 answer?

Your proposal master document will be made up of three types of information:

1. 100% templated material: You can develop a set structure for your proposal with set sections and some of these sections can be re-used verbatim time and time again eg. case studies.

2. Then there are other sections which, utilising macros built into your word-processing program, you can select from depending onrepparttar 106413 type of client. Depending on your macro programming skills you can actually have multiple-choice tick-boxes that you check andrepparttar 106414 copy that relates to those tick boxes is then automatically inserted into your document.

3. Totally personalised content. This applies to specific figures, strategies and ideas that you may include atrepparttar 106415 beginning orrepparttar 106416 end ofrepparttar 106417 document to add torepparttar 106418 sales appeal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Creatingrepparttar 106419 "meat" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

As with a verbal sales presentation, your written sales presentation should have a beginning, a middle and an end.

The beginning addressesrepparttar 106420 prospect's situation, thanks them forrepparttar 106421 opportunity and identifies with their specific needs.

The middle includes allrepparttar 106422 selling information about your product/service and company and ...

The end includesrepparttar 106423 "move forward" strategy including an action plan and "the next step".

Financing Your Home Business

Written by Elena fawkner


Financing Your Home Business

© 2002 Elena Fawkner

So, you have a great idea for a business and, more importantly,repparttar know-how to bring it into creation. The only thing you’re missing isrepparttar 106408 cold hard cash to get started. What are your options?

Assuming you don’t have a ready line of credit, an expansive bank manager, wealthy relatives or a substantial stash of retirement savings you’re willing to risk, you’re going to have to do some serious homework and legwork. Fortunately, there are a number of sources of finance forrepparttar 106409 fledgling small business entrepreneur, at least one of which may be right for you.

SBA LOANS

Available only to U.S.-based businesses (but look for similar programs in your own country if you’re outsiderepparttar 106410 U.S.),repparttar 106411 SBA (the U.S. Small Business Administration) has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs start their own small businesses. The SBA doesn’t issue grants (money you don’t have to pay back) or make loans directly, rather, it guarantees loans made by private lenders thereby reducing or eliminatingrepparttar 106412 risk inherent in new business ventures and making lenders more willing to lend.

The primary consideration forrepparttar 106413 SBA is repayment ability fromrepparttar 106414 cashflow ofrepparttar 106415 business as well as “good character, management capability, collateral and owner’s equity”. You will be expected to personally guarantee your loan. This means your personal assets are at risk.

As forrepparttar 106416 types of businesses eligible for SBA loans,repparttar 106417 SBA imposesrepparttar 106418 following criteria:repparttar 106419 business must be “for-profit” (all that means is that your business has a profit motive, not that it has actually generated a profit yet), be engaged in business inrepparttar 106420 United States, there must be “reasonable” owner equity (what’s reasonable will depend onrepparttar 106421 circumstances) and you are expected to use alternative financial resources first, including your own assets where practicable.

The SBA also imposes limitations onrepparttar 106422 use of loan proceeds. For example, althoughrepparttar 106423 proceeds can be used for most business purposes (the examples given byrepparttar 106424 SBA include “the purchase of real estate to houserepparttar 106425 business operations; construction, renovation or leasehold improvements; acquisition of furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment; purchase of inventory; and working capital”), you can’t userepparttar 106426 loan proceeds for financing floor plan needs, to pay existing debt, to make payments torepparttar 106427 business owners or to pay delinquent taxes etc.

As a general rule, loans for working capital must be repaid within seven years and loans for fixed assets must be paid for byrepparttar 106428 end ofrepparttar 106429 economic life ofrepparttar 106430 assets (but not to exceed 25 years).

Interest rates are negotiated betweenrepparttar 106431 borrower andrepparttar 106432 lender butrepparttar 106433 SBA imposes maxima which are pegged torepparttar 106434

Prime Rate.

Finally,repparttar 106435 SBA charges lenders a guaranty and servicing fee for each loan approved, and there is nothing preventingrepparttar 106436 lender oncharging these fees torepparttar 106437 borrower. The guaranty fee for a loan of $150,000 or less is 2% ofrepparttar 106438 guaranteed amount; over $150,000 but below $700,000, it’s 3% and above $700,000 it’s 3.5%. The annual servicing fee is 0.5% which is calculated onrepparttar 106439 then-current loan balance.

Whererepparttar 106440 borrower meetsrepparttar 106441 SBA’s credit and eligibility requirements, it will guarantee up to $85% of loans $150,000 and less and up to 75% of loans above that amount (up to a maximum of $1,000,000).

For more information aboutrepparttar 106442 various SBA loan programs, visitrepparttar 106443 SBA website at http://www.sba.gov.

PRIVATE GRANTS

At present, there are no U.S. government grants offered for small business. If you're outsiderepparttar 106444 U.S. check with your own government aboutrepparttar 106445 availability of small business grants. You never know!

Various corporate grantmakers make grants available for small business though. For more information, visit http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/index.html .

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