Writing a Business Proposal for Archie Leach Tours
Writing a business proposal Assignment You work for Archie Leach tours and have been asked by the management team to draft a proposal (approximately 2000 words) for a new product based on one type of culinary tourism or slow travel or experimental tourism. The organization is currently analyzing trends in the tourism market over the next ten years and would like to consider the possibilities for innovative new products which would help it consolidate its brand identity as an inventive and imaginative tourism organization. Your proposal should include the following: • • • • • a brief description of the one type of tourism you have chosen a comparison of this form of travel with relevant existing forms of tourism an indication of possible target market segments for this new type of tourism an indication of how your chosen form of tourism could be implemented a specification of the potential ways this new form of tourism would benefit Archie Leach Tours
What is a written business proposal? Written business proposals in essence are a form of business report, and, consequently, share many of the characteristics of a formal business report: • • • • • • • they are written in response to a request they provide information they aid decision making they are objective, impersonal and authoritative they are written in formal English they are organized in sections using headings and sub-headings they are normally based on investigation.
However, whereas a business report normally concentrates on the information first and then outlines its recommendations, a business proposal concentrates on the recommendations (what should be done) first and then uses the information to justify these. As with a business report, a business proposal should be coherent, so that the recommendations are seen as logical responses to the problems found out from the investigation. It is worth noting that one of the main uses of business proposals is to attract finance for start-up businesses and
What is a written business proposal? Written business proposals in essence are a form of business report, and, consequently, share many of the characteristics of a formal business report: • • • • • • • they are written in response to a request they provide information they aid decision making they are objective, impersonal and authoritative they are written in formal English they are organized in sections using headings and sub-headings they are normally based on investigation.
However, whereas a business report normally concentrates on the information first and then outlines its recommendations, a business proposal concentrates on the recommendations (what should be done) first and then uses the information to justify these. As with a business report, a business proposal should be coherent, so that the recommendations are seen as logical responses to the problems found out from the investigation. It is worth noting that one of the main uses of business proposals is to attract finance for start-up businesses and
Bibliography: – this should list all the sources used to write the proposal. Researched material and quotes should be referenced clearly. How to write a business proposal. Different books and websites offer some conflicting advice on this. However, I consider the following points are of value. The key to success is planning and preparation. June Campbell suggests that before you begin writing the proposal you should write a summary of your proposal in two or three sentences. If you can’t do this, then you are not ready to begin writing (www.4hb.com). Although the summary appears at the beginning of your proposal, it should only be written after you have finished writing the proposal. The summary should be written in a way that captures the reader’s interest and encourages him or her to continue reading. Try as far as possible to avoid jargon, and where the use of this type of language is unavoidable, provide explanations, using a glossary if necessary. It is important that the main body of the proposal is realistic. It should not ignore problems or be unrealistically optimistic. Furthermore, alternatives to the proposal being made should be discussed, but you should show why your proposal is the best one. The most important part of a business proposal is the recommendation so it is vital that this is expressed correctly. The most appropriate modal verb in English for making recommendations is should. So, for example, “The organisation should invest 10% of the Research and Development budget in this area.” Could and might express lesser levels of obligation and greater degrees of freedom in decision making whilst must and have to express higher levels of obligation and no degree of freedom in decision making. For more information on this issue see Michael Swan “Practical English Usage” and Michael Swan and Catherine Walter “How English Works.” The business insight webpage (www.bestforbusiness.com) suggests that key points in the proposal be highlighted as managers are normally skim readers and this will help them. June Campbell (www.4hb.com) recommends that the body of the text is displayed in the right two thirds of the page and that the left hand third be used for titles, as the white space can be used for readers to make notes in. She also advises that visual material be placed at points through the text as this breaks up the monotony of large blocks of text. Sources www.bestforbusiness.com Retrieved January 16,2008 Campbell, J. (2008). Tips for writing a business proposal Retrieved January 16, 2008, from www.4hb.com/0305tipwritebizproposal.html Bloom, E. (2007) How to write a business proposal Retrieved January 16, 2008, from www.howto-writeabusinessproposal.blogspot.com Wensveen, J.G. (2005) Wheels Up: airline business plan development. Ontario: Thomson The following webpages provide more advice and some samples of business proposals: www.businessgrowth.ca/freebusinessplanproposal.html http://articles.bplans.com/writing-a-businessplan www.writingtools.com/proposal-sample.html www.youtube.com Business Plan: Examples of Best Practices of Business Plan Writing