If you are in business, then chances are that you likely have made a formal request for proposal of another business that you were looking to do business with. It is all part of doing business. The act of requesting a proposal is more than asking for an estimate. It is asking for a formal and binding contract offer.Businesses who ask for a proposal are generally a lot more serious about doing business. They are not pondering about doing business anymore, they are shopping for the best price for a particular service.  They are ready to move ahead and simply want things in writing without having agreed to do business at that point. The success of a business who is providing proposals upon request will depend not only on their price, but their ability to communicate the benefits of using their services over another competitors.