Event Proposal Template Checklist

Use this template to guide you when you are writing and submitting an event proposal.

Introduction:

Enter your company details

Enter proposal reviewer details

Pre-Proposal Tasks:

Study the RFP criteria

Research the proposal reviewer

Call your key contact

Define the purpose of the proposal

Plan your proposal

Choose a title

Writing the Proposal:

Write your introduction

Write your company overview

Describe your event

List the services that will be provided

Confirm the budget

Include examples of your work

Establish what the next steps are

Clarify your terms & conditions

Send terms & conditions to legal team

Pre-Submission Tasks:

Check the aesthetics

Check the structure

Check the language

Send your proposal to a "cold reader" to review

Implement their feedback

Check the proposal against the RFP

Send for internal approval

Submit the proposal

Sources:

Related Checklists:

Introduction:

An event proposal is a comprehensive document that outlines the services you will provide for an event. It’s your company brochure, your marketing campaign, and your sales pitch all wrapped up into one.

The more detailed the event proposal is, the better the potential client will understand your capabilities and the unique guest experience you’re able to offer.

Use this 'Event Proposal Template' checklist alongside the proposal document you plan to submit to paint a showstopping picture of what you can offer, what you can do and what you have previously done.

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Enter your company details

Enter your company details in the fields below.

Contact Telephone Number

Event Company Name

Company Address

Event Name

Proposal Start Date

Enter proposal reviewer details

Enter details about the person/company who will be reviewing your event proposal in the fields below.

Proposal Reviewer Name

Proposal Reviewer Job Title

Proposal Reviewer Company Name

Proposal Reviewer Values, Mission and Objectives

Pre-Proposal Tasks:

Study the RFP criteria

Upload the request for proposal guidelines, study them carefully, and list out the key RFP requirements in the field below.

They may specify evaluation criteria and allocate a certain number of points to specific sections or components.

Missing or incomplete items often result in outright rejection or at least a lower score, which will limit your chances of success.

If there are many new requirements, in addition to those included in this checklist, consider updating this checklist with each requirement as a new task.

Read this to find out how.

Upload the RFP

List Key RFP Requirements

Proposal Submission Deadline

Research the proposal reviewer

The more you know about the person who will be reviewing your proposal, the better you can tailor your proposal to meet their requirements.

Look at the following sources of information to find out more about your funder:

1

Their website
2

LinkedIn profiles
3

Annual reports
4

Success stories of previous grants
5

Staff biographies

Answer the following questions to make sure you know your proposal reviewer inside out:

Who are their customers?

What is their decision making/approval process?

What are their pain points?

Does your proposal help solve a problem they have?

What other proposals have they previously accepted?

What is their budget?

Call your key contact

Call {{form.Proposal_Reviewer_Name}} to discuss the event in detail.

This a great opportunity to develop your relationship with them, to gather insight about the event they are looking for and to get their recommendations.

Record their recommendations on the field below.

Key Contact Recommendations

Define the purpose of the proposal

Think about the purpose of your event proposal.

Answer the following questions to get your thoughts together so you can begin writing your proposal with some clear direction.

What do you want to accomplish?

Why do you want to accomplish this?

How are you are going to accomplish this?

Plan your proposal

Proposals are often organized into distinct sections. These sections can have different titles depending on the guidelines specified by the organization, but they frequently serve the same purposes.

Review the guidelines to see if they have specified a structure to follow.

If they have asked you to follow a specific structure, make sure you have a plan for each section they have requested.

If they haven’t specified a structure, list out what you might include in the following sections:

Introduction

Company Overview

Description of Event

Services to be Provided

Budget

Examples of Work

Next Steps

Choose a title

Your proposal title needs to be catchy, descriptive, informative and pre-dispose the reader favorably towards the proposal.

Brainstorm potential title ideas and record them below.

Title Ideas

Run each title option through the below criteria and choose the final title by selecting the title which best meets the criteria.

Record your final title in the field below.

1

Is it concise?
2

Is it descriptive?
3

Is it informative?
4

Is it catchy?
5

Does it predispose the reader, favorably, towards the proposal?

Final Title

Add this to your proposal document cover sheet

Writing the Proposal:

Write your introduction

Your introduction should state exactly why you're sending the proposal and why your event is the best for the prospective client.

After reading your introduction, even if they don't read the full proposal, the prospect should have a clear idea of what your event is and how it fits the brief.

This is also where you should present the case for why you are the right company to run the event. Focus on the conclusions you want the reader to reach after reading it.

This is what you planned to include in your introduction: {{form.Introduction}}

Make sure your introduction includes the following:

1

A statement of what the event is
2

The reason for the event
3

The goals or objectives of the event
4

The significance of the event

Write your company overview

Your company overview should include vital details about your company. It should describe the vision and direction of the company so the reviewer can develop an accurate impression of who you are.

This is what you planned to include in the company overview: {{form.Company_Overview}}

As a guide, make sure the company overview section in your proposal document answers the following questions:

1

Where are you located?
2

How large is the company?
3

What do you hope to accomplish as a company?

Describe your event

This section provides you with the opportunity to show the proposal reviewer that you have a clear understanding of what kind of event they are looking for.

It's often a good idea to provide a summary of different options to show you have thought about it from all possible angles, and then narrow it down to one single showstopper event.

Develop a clear, concise description of the event you are proposing to run. Define what will occur as a result of your event.

Make sure your event description is customized to the client's needs so they know you've created this proposal specifically for them.

You must convince the proposal reviewer that what you propose to do is essential and that your organization is the right one to do it.

Use the information gathered during the call with your key contact: {{form.Key_Contact_Recommendations}}

This is what you planned to include in this section: {{form.Description_of_Event}}

To make sure your event description is clear, concise and customized to the client's needs, provide answers to the following questions in your proposal document:

1

What is the event?
2

Possible dates for the event
3

Venues to consider
4

Number of guests
5

How does this event meet the brief?
6

Why should your organization be the one to run it?
7

Who will do the work?
8

Who will oversee the work?
9

Who does the customer call if there is a problem?
10

What will be required to pull the event off?
11

What can the customer expect?
12

When will you begin?
13

What are the key milestones?
14

How will the event be managed?
15

How will you achieve quality assurance and customer satisfaction?
16

How will risks be mitigated?
17

Why have you chosen the strategies and alternatives you have selected?

List the services that will be provided

List all the services that will be required to plan and run the event in your proposal document.

Be sure to include internal services to be provided by you and your company and also any third party/external services.

Provide justification for each service that is required.

This is what you planned to include in this section: {{form.Services_to_be_Provided}}

Confirm the budget

Provide a breakdown of all direct and indirect costs involved in the budget section of your proposal.

Include costs that directly relate to the event, including production, marketing or catering costs.

Include indirect costs that are not directly identified with the event, including utilities, support staff, insurance, and legal /accounting expenses.

This is what you planned to include in this section: {{form.Budget}}

Include examples of your work

In your proposal document, be sure to include all relevant qualifications, awards, case studies, client testimonials, and information from previous events to showcase your experience.

Include photos, sketches, news clippings, or any other visuals that will help paint a picture in the client’s mind of what you can do.

Demonstrate why they can trust you to deliver this event and prove why you're the best choice.

This is what you planned to include in this section: {{form.Examples_of_Work}}

Establish what the next steps are

In this section of your proposal document, include any details concerning timings or next steps.

If the event has a firm date, make sure you indicate that a signed contract must be received by a certain date in order for you to plan and execute the event.

Clarify your terms & conditions

Your terms & conditions are essentially a summary of what you and the client are agreeing to if they accept your event proposal. Make sure you go into specific detail about the event services, pricing, and payment schedules.

Upload your terms & conditions below and make sure you send them to the legal team before adding them to the proposal.

Terms & Conditions

Send terms & conditions to legal team

Clarify your terms & conditions

Will be submitted

Pre-Submission Tasks:

Check the aesthetics

Read through your proposal and check for the following aesthetic/formatting errors:

1

Is there a title page with all the necessary information describing this document?
2

Does the organization of the proposal enhance the content and make it easy to find/avoid types of information?
3

Are the margins consistent?
4

Is pagination accurate?
5

Did you use a consistent type-style?
6

Did you use sign-posting and color coding where appropriate?
7

Have you used visual aids such as charts, tables, diagrams where appropriate?

Check the structure

Read through your proposal and check it follows the EXACT structure stated in the guidelines.

If the guidelines do not specify a structure to follow, make check your proposal has the following sections at least:

Title page
Table of contents
Introduction
Company overview
Description of event
Services to be provided
Budget
Examples of work
Next steps
Terms & conditions

Check the language

Read through your proposal again and answer the following questions to make sure your proposal is informative and interesting to read:

1

Is the language uncluttered and concise?
2

Have you avoided using technical terms and jargon wherever possible?
3

Do you use objective language?
4

Have you avoided subjective terms?
5

Is the tone friendly but informative?
6

Is it written in a storytelling style?

Send your proposal to a "cold reader" to review

Upload the first draft of your finished proposal document and send it to a "cold reader" to review. Give them a copy of the proposal guidelines/requirements, but little other information.

Ask them to read the proposal quickly (as this is how the proposal reviewer is likely to view your proposal) and ask them to answer the following two questions:

Do they understand it?
Does it make sense?

First Draft Proposal

Implement their feedback

Update your current proposal document and record the feedback you have received for future proposals.

First Draft Feedback

Check the proposal against the RFP

Read the proposal through for the final time.

Double-check it is aligned with the RFP guidelines.

Here are the key RFP requirements: {{form.List_Key_RFP_Requirements:}}

Answer these questions before uploading the final proposal document, ready for internal approval:

1

Have you presented a compelling case?
2

Does your event seem feasible? Is it overly ambitious? Does it have other weaknesses?
3

Have you stated the means that the reader can use to evaluate the success of your event after you’ve executed it?