Five Tips to Writing a Cost-Savings Proposal to a Client Company

Lisa McQuerrey reports:

"A cost-savings proposal is typically written in conjunction with a sales proposal or sales presentation. The goal of most cost-savings proposals is to demonstrate to a prospective or existing client company ways in which your business can help it save money. Cost-savings proposals can also be presented to companies by in-house employees...Begin your opening by writing an introduction about your company; provide details about why a prospect should do business with you. The introduction may include a brief company history, an overview of products and services and a description of awards or recognitions the company has received for its performance...Describe the details of what your proposal entails...This approach gives the reader concrete information about what you are proposing and why it is a beneficial, cost-saving measure...Describe exactly how you would go about enacting the elements outlined in your cost-savings proposal. Using the example of new office equipment, state how long it will take to process an order, how you will deliver the product and what type of support you will provide in terms of operator training and equipment maintenance...End your cost-savings proposal with a brief summary of what you are proposing and include a call to action. This section may ask for a sale, a decision or a follow-up meeting or phone call. Provide all of your contact information so the company can easily reach you...Include charts, brochures, color photos or testimonials as reference for your reader. Place them at the end of a hard-copy proposal or as individual attachments in an email proposal. This will keep the main proposal document clean and crisp while providing access to supporting information, should the reader want it."