One of the services that has been popular with Living Blueprint’s clients is the creation of branded proposal templates. It’s a fact of business that a proposal can make or break a deal, and there’s a big difference between presenting a brand-consistent, professionally designed proposal to a prospective client and passing them something that was hastily thrown together on a word processor. Beyond simply giving you a professional appearance, branded proposal templates offer a number of important benefits.
Save Time and Resources
Proposal templates provide massive time savings for companies who send out proposals on a regular basis. By setting up separate areas for fixed and variable text and images, creating a new proposal becomes a simple matter of filling in the blanks.
Brand Consistency
Inconsistency is one of the fastest ways to weaken a brand, so developing a branded proposal template is an especially powerful tool for companies with agents and sales people operating in multiple locations. Branded templates provide company owners with peace of mind by ensuring that all employees are communicating with clients using professionally prepared, brand-consistent material.
Legal Protection
When proposals are being sent in multiple versions to several clients, it’s vital to ensure that all documents contain the same legal language. Using a standard proposal means that all terms and conditions remain consistent throughout.
Editable PDF proposal displayed on an iPad
Making Effective Use of Proposal Templates
Even if your word processing program comes with a built-in proposal template or an employee’s niece has a talent for graphic design, it’s a good idea to think carefully before taking the cheaper path. A few things to consider:
Suitability – Maintaining brand consistency and working within an appropriate budget means tailoring your proposal to match the job. An energy company competing for a large government contract will need a very different proposal package compared to an architect negotiating with a single client, a photographer specializing in corporate headshots, or a trucking company who will be transporting a client’s goods across the country.
Format – What type of proposal is most suitable for your company? Stitched binding? Oversized? Email-friendly PDFs? Secure, iPad-compatible, and editable digital documents?
Frequency and Flexibility – How often do you need proposals? Three times a week? Every three months? Do your proposals tend to be very similar or does each one need customizing?
Whatever your company’s needs, Living Blueprint will create a user-friendly proposal template that works for you. For those using mobile technology, there are various software options available for developing PDF proposals that are viewable and editable on iPads and tablets. If you’re in the market for a proposal package that suits your brand perfectly, we’ll ensure that you’re portraying yourself in the best possible light.