Proposal Rejection Letter

When an organization puts up some organizational requirements, it gets many proposals for the same. Suppose an organization wants marketing proposals for its new product line, many marketing organizations would send in their proposals. The organization would select one out of all the proposals that they get. However, maintaining good rapport with all is very essential in business. Thus, when other’s proposals are rejected, the organization should make sure that it communicates the same in a healthy way. Writing a proposal rejection letter will serve the purpose. The letter as the name suggests, is written to communicate that the proposal has not been accepted, and would help the concerned person maintain the rapport in a way that there could be a possibility to work together in future.

What is a proposal rejection letter?

A proposal rejection letter is sent in response to the proposal sent by an organization. The main aim of the letter is to convey the message that the proposal is rejected, but it is written with an underlying motive of maintaining a rapport with the other.

The concerned person knows that in business every person is important, and responding to their questions, proposals, letters, emails, etc., is important. Thus, when someone sends in a proposal, and his/her proposal is rejected, as per the business ethics, it is important to respond to the same.

While writing a rejection letter, one must remember that the tone of the letter matters a lot. Although one speaks about rejection, one must not be rude, and should communicate the same in a decent manner. In this case, the person does not need to mention any reason, or point out some faults in the other party stating the reason of rejection. It would in fact spoil the rapport further, and is not needed.

Format of a proposal rejection letter

The letter is written for formal communication, thus abides by the rule of formal letter writing. It is precise, and puts forth only that is needed. It has to be printed on the letterhead of the organization, and should be signed by the concerned person. The font used in the letter should be Times New Roman or Arial, with a font size of 12. Everything should be aligned to the left. The outline of the letter will be as follows –

Date:

Name:

Designation:

Official contact number:

Email address

To,
Designation
Name
Organization name

Salutation: Dear Mr./Ms. (last name)

First paragraph – The first paragraph should put forth your point clearly. You must begin your letter with sentences like – ‘Thank you for showing interest in working with us, and sending the proposal.’

Second Paragraph – In the second paragraph, you can state the organization’s name whose proposal you have accepted. You can put it forth as – ‘We are quite pleased with the proposal sent by …’

Third Paragraph – Regret for not being able to work with them this time, and show that you would like to work with them in future.

Fourth Paragraph – Be polite and humble, and thank the reader.

The sample proposal rejection letter given below, will serve as a ready reference, and next time when you get these business proposals, you would know how to decline the same, and still let it not affect your rapport.

Sample proposal rejection letter:

The Purchase Head
David T. Robinson
TMK Solutions
4439 Eagles Nest Drive
Tahoe Paradise, CA 95375
Email: david@tmk.com

Date: February 2, 2012

To,
Sales Executive
Jon L. Powell
KYI Suppliers
4510 Ocello Street
San Diego, CA 92110

Dear Mr. Powell,

I would like to thank you for your interest in the raw material quotations we had invited. We got your proposal for the same; however, I am sorry to inform you that your proposal could not convince the management. The management has decided to enter into a contract with Sera Suppliers, and has accepted their proposal.

I would like to say that your proposal was very interesting, but Sera came up with a lucrative proposal, which was hard to reject. We regret for not being able to work with you. However, we hope that we would get a chance to work together in future.

Thank you for your interest.

Regards,

David Robinson

The letter given above clearly states that it is a response letter sent after getting a proposal, and the letter clearly puts forth that the proposal has been rejected. However, the polite language and humble attitude of the personnel shows that the proposal sent was considered, and there are hopes of working together in future. Thus, the rapport is maintained, and the message is communicated. Also, you can refer to Marriage Proposal Letter and Proposal Cover Letter for more examples of letters.