What are the characteristics of a professional business plan?

A professional business plan is a description of the goals and strategies of a business and how it plans to achieve them. The main qualities of a professional business plan are that it should be realistic and actionable, satisfy the needs of the business and define business strategy and tactics. 

Writing a pro business plan starts with the company description and ends with crafting the  executive summary.You can hire a professional plan writer who has expertise in various fields of business like finance, marketing and consultancy. 

A good business plan writer should be academically qualified preferably with an MBA. Academic qualifications is the evidence that a person possesses knowledge. So, what makes a good business plan? Below are 13 characteristics of a good business plan.

1. Satisfies the business needs

Satisfying business needs means that a business plan achieves the business purpose. Business plans are not generic. Every business plan template is unique.Some business plans are created to get investments, while others are for supporting loan applications. 

Business plans for investors have to look good to make them worthy of presentation. They have good executive summaries to validate the business idea, team and market. On the other hand, business plans to support loan applications contain owner’s financial statements.

Then, there are management oriented business plans that help run the business. It is therefore imperative to consider why you need a business plan before embarking on the process of writing one. 

2. Realistic and actionable

A realistic and actionable plan is one that can be implemented. Any projections made are grounded on solid market research. It is a waste of time to set unachievable and unrealistic goals. Bigger goals do not always mean that they are better.

For example, a well researched and well written business plan for a product that cannot be built is not a good business plan. A  business plan that requires a million dollar investment but has no management team to manage the investment is not actionable.

In the case of revenue projections, it is not realistic to set a target of double the current revenue without linking the goal to increased actions and activities. According to the SMART acronym, you should set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound.

3. Specific definition of the strategy and tactics

A business plan helps define strategy by outlining what problem the business wants to solve and the solution your business is  going to offer. The essence of strategy is that a business does the right thing and please the right audience.

Defining the strategy depends on the nature and objective of the business plan itself. For a lean business plan, strategy can be defined by a page of  bulleted list that can be referred to when necessary and oftenly.

Without tactics, a strategy is useless. Ensure that you choose the tactics that are directly in service of executing your goals. Tactics could be marketing, financial plans, distribution and pricing. Explain how every action taken relates to the overall strategy.

4. Clear definition of tasks

When reviewing a business plan, you should be able to know who is responsible for execution at every point. One has to be able to identify every professional responsible for every function and task. A task without a person responsible for it is likely not to be implemented.

Sharing responsibilities between different people reduces accountability. It is important to acknowledge that a gap exists if you don’t have a person to perform a certain task and indicate when you plan to address the gap.

Tasks and activities should also be clear and well defined. Description of each task should outline what needs to be accomplished. Outline the expected deliverables for each task so that the person responsible knows what makes up success.

5. Chance for review and development

Business plan development and review is the process of improving an already existing business plan to accommodate any changes that may have occured along the way. A business plan  should be regularly reviewed to ensure that it continuously meets the needs of the business. 

A good business plan should provide a chance for it to be reviewed and updated at least once a year. Staff of the business should be involved in its development. Regular review and development of your plan gives you an opportunity to monitor your progress.

If things are not going according to plan, you get the opportunity to take corrective measures. Reviewing also allows you to keep pace with changes in market trends, consumer preferences and competitors. All these affect the business landscape that you operate in.

6. Easy to be understood by stakeholders

A professional business plan should be easily understood by stakeholders who include owners, investors, and management. It should be simple and clear devoid of long technical explanations and industry jargon. This makes the text business appropriate.

Focus on key elements of the business plan and link them together so that it’s easy for your employees to access and work on them. Avoid unnecessary details and use outlines to make important points easy to find.

7. Clear financial projections

A good business plan includes important financial projections such as cost of sales, sales, profits, expenses and cash flow. A business runs on cash which requires good financial planning through budgets and tracking.

Financial forecasting is the process of using past financial information coupled with current trends to make assumptions of how the future will look like for your business. This informs decision making.

Your financial projections should be clear and realistic to  help business leaders manage cash flow, set goals of the business and seek funding from lenders. Financial statements like income statements, balance sheet and cash flow statements are components of financial forecasting.

8. Professional market research and analysis

In an expert business plan, the market analysis section gives evidence that there is a market niche that your business can exploit. This is to show that professional market research and analysis has been conducted.

Market research is a process of gathering and analyzing information about customers, competitors and industry trends. This information helps a business make informed decisions about its products, services, pricing and the overall strategy of the business.

Professional market research is essential in determining the viability of a business idea. This is because the extensive information collected about the market enables an entrepreneur to know whether their venture will be profitable or not.

9. Appealing presentation

An appealing business plan presentation presents what you do, your target audience, how your business operates and what you are asking for. Your audience will internalize your plan when presented in a pitch deck design which entails attractive visuals and business plan slides.

Use a large font in your presentation so that your audience does not strain to read what is on your slide. Use common language so that investors and other stakeholders understand. Concisely present your points by sticking to the main topic.

To ace your presentation, ensure that you research who your audience is. Hook them with a story which is the key to engaging them.  Tell them about how your business came to be and what you are asking of them. This will get them to nod along and support your business.

10. Use of proper structure

The basic structure of a business plan includes components like executive summary, company description, products and service section, market analysis, competitive analysis, sales and marketing, financial plan and operations plan. 

A good business plan should have a proper structure so as to make a good impression to the reader such as a lender who wants one they can find information easily. It also allows readers to quickly flip through it to get to the topic of interest.

Structure helps to make your business ideas clear, guides the comprehension of the business plan reader and strengthens your arguments.

11. Clear communication to the owner

A professional business plan is used to communicate company goals, strategy, and performance. As an owner of the business, a business plan helps your team understand the vision of your company. A business plan puts owner’s ideas into actionable plans.

Clear communication enables the owner to identify critical priorities to focus on together with milestones that they hope to achieve within a timeframe. A good business plan also outrightly describes important metrics such as the number of sales leads expected monthly.

Through an internal business plan, the owner communicates to his employees to keep them on track with financial goals and strategy. Clear communication brings clarity to the owner during decision making.

12. Accurate definition of its purpose

An outstanding business plan should have a proper definition of its purpose. Business plans are created for various purposes. There are business plans for start-ups, loans, investors, immigration, nonprofit, partnerships and marketing. 

Some business plans guide the day to day operation of your business while others are contingency plans when unforeseen events take place. Accurate definition of a business plan’s purpose provides direction on how to structure, run and grow your business.

Definition of purpose gets people committed to the business course.

13. Proper definition of assumptions

When writing a business plan, assumptions are always made. An expert business plan should properly address assumptions beforehand because changed assumptions should lead to revision of the plan. 

As an entrepreneur, you are always making guesses about the future which might be wrong. Common examples of assumptions that are made by new businesses are that consumers will like the product and hence the business will be profitable. 

Another assumption could be that a year’s productivity will increase by 10% as it has been in the previous years.Indicate that results are achievable based on past trajectories but clearly state that they are guesses.

How do you write a professional business plan?

A business plan is a reflection of certain traits such as good market research, good collaboration skills, excellent communication skills, industry expertise, time management, organization, good writing skills as well as financial competence.

Writing a good business plan involves following a number of steps such as writing the company description, defining your business goals, explaining your products and services, outlining management and organizational structure as well as conducting market research.

Other steps include, doing a competitive analysis, describing your marketing and sales strategy, conducting financial analysis and forecast, writing your funding request and defining your recommendations. It is important to also add appendices.

Can you hire someone to write a professional business plan?

Yes. You can hire a professional business plan writer. There are many business plan consultants in the market because an amazing business plan is the secret ingredient behind business success. 

You can find a business plan writer online by viewing their profiles. Check reviews and testimonials from past clients. Engage them and ask them for their sample writings to see their writing styles and interview them to assess their understanding of industry.

There are several factors to be considered when hiring a business plan writer. Key among them is affordability, adaptability to change, strategic thinking, commitment, adherence to ethical standards and availability.

What are the characteristics of a professional business plan writer?

There are numerous qualities of a professional business plan writer like excellent academic qualifications, experience in business consultation, experience in specific industry trends, affordable charges, excellent writing skills and good market research skills.

Additionally, they must follow and understand the structure of a business plan, be organized, have excellent communication skills, collaborate with others, manage time well and have competence in matters of finance.