Business Proposal Writing

What can we learn from this advertisement?

"What has inspired countless Haiku poems will also inspire you".

What can business proposal writers learn from this Malaysia Airlines advertisement which appeared in local dailies just a few days ago? What's the purpose of this ad? Obviously, it's using haiku, the famous form of Japanese poetry, with presumably Sakura cherry blossoms to entice newspaper readers.The choice of the soft pink-white petals with the beckoning golden yellow filaments could induce in the readers a spring-is-in-the-air mood.

For the business proposal writer, are you able to make your readers see or feel what really matters to them: providing a solution that will solve their problems and bring them the benefits they desire? Will you be able to help them visualize the problem-benefit equation?

Yet, I don't feel quite persuaded by the ad. How many Malaysians out there really know about the Japanese haiku? It's like you put out an ad in China with this line against a picture of our hibiscus flowers: "What has inspired countless pantun poems will also inspire you". Just as the majority of Chinese will not be able to relate to the pantun, it makes me wonder how many Malaysians can relate to the haiku.Why not just show us a famous haiku poem written about the famous cherry blossoms? I would say the cherry blossoms are more well-known than the haiku. Anyway, how can one be so sure that what has inspired countless haiku poems "will also inspire" us?


For the business proposal writer, I would say: make sure that your readers can relate to the solution or idea that you are trying to sell them. For example, avoid using jargon that may confuse them. Do not assume that just because you are the specialist in your field, your readers should know the subject matter as well as you do.

Writing Business Proposals : How Do You Make Your Ideas Stand Out Like a Rockstar?

 Graphic Courtesy of One Academy Undergraduate 2012

If your job requires you to write business proposals to solicit for business or funds, your job depends on your ability to write your proposals well.

Someone says that "Every communication that leaves the office is a sales letter" and that includes  business proposals. Putting in the facts and figures require much background research and thinking, but how do you package and present those facts and figures in a way that is convincing or persuasive?

The presentation of your business proposal is more than just the neat layout and attractive binding- those things do give a good first impression, but they are superficial. Your readers may be the CEOs, directors, managers, accountants, or technical staff. They are busy people who will most likely have other business proposals to read. Just imagine, your proposal is but one of several that they have to read. Put yourself in their shoes. What are they looking for? What will make them want to read your business proposal out of the several that are on their table?

Chances are, the busy CEO or director may not even have the time to read your 50 page business proposal. If s/he likes what you have written in your introduction, s/he might think there's merit in your proposal and ask others in the company to look into it more thoroughly. However, s/he may decide not to read beyond the first paragraph of the beginning of your report. Worse, if they reject it outright after reading just the introduction.

How do you write in a way that will give your readers the A-ha effect? What will make your readers want to go beyond the Executive Summary? How can you use language and style to make your ideas stand out? Your proposal is one out of 10 proposals on your reader's desk. How do you make your ideas stand out like a rockstar?

You may have an excellent product or service, but if your reader is not convinced, your product or service will not stand a chance for consideration. And a lot depends on the language and style that you use in order to convince or persuade your reader.


This PSMB Write Winning Business Proposals Training Program focuses on the effective use of language to sell your ideas to your prospective clients.

This training program is HRDF claimable.