A strong business plan helps set the foundation for a successful business venture. Whether you’re a copywriter or a business consultant, you likely spend your days helping entrepreneurs flesh out how they want to present their business to the public, investors, or their target market.
Half of your job involves getting inside the minds of entrepreneurs to pick out all the most necessary information you need to craft a detailed business plan they’ll be happy with. If you’re looking for a way to spend less time gathering information and more time crafting the plan, then crafting a business planning questionnaire will do you good.
In this post, we’ll share a list of questions you can ask entrepreneurs in a business plan questionnaire, plus we’ll share a tool you can use to collect responses quicker than ever.
Why is preparing a business plan questionnaire a good call?
A well-structured questionnaire pushes your clients to think critically about every aspect of their business, ensuring no important elements are missed in the resulting business plan. In a nutshell, the more detailed the questionnaire is, the more organized and comprehensive the business plan will be.
A strong business plan ensures all stakeholders are on the same page when it comes to the business’s direction and objectives. It also answers all questions and concerns investors might have regarding the financial health and trajectory of the business.
Additionally, it acts as a reference point for clients to monitor progress and hold themselves accountable for meeting business goals, providing a framework for regularly reviewing and adjusting their business strategy as needed.
Questions to ask your clients in a business plan questionnaire
Executive summary/business overview questions
- What is your business name?Â
- Where is your business located/based out of?
- What is your business’s legal structure?
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited corporation
- Unlimited corporation - Describe what your business does in one sentence.
- What is the market opportunity or problem that your business aims to address?
- What is your business’s mission statement?
- What is your business’s vision statement?
- What is the return on investment (ROI) your customers can expect to see?
- Why should an investor be interested in your business?
- What is your unique value proposition?
Market analysis questions
- Who are your target customers/ target market?Â
- What are the primary needs and preferences of your target customers?
- List some of your main competitors.
- List some of your indirect competitors.Â
- What features/offerings differentiate your business from your competitors?
Products and services questions
- What products or services does your business offer?
- What features of your products or services make them unique compared to other market options?
- What is your pricing strategy?
- What is your revenue model?
Marketing strategy and sales questions
- What marketing channels do you currently use?
- How will you measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts?
- What are your sales goals for the upcoming year?
- What is your sales strategy?
- What key performance indicators are you tracking to evaluate the success of your company?Â
Operations questions
- What are the key operational processes in your business?
- What technology or tools do you use for your operations?
- What are the major challenges you face in your operations?
- How do you plan to scale your operations as your business grows?
Financial planning questions
- What is your current financial status (e.g., revenue, profit, cash flow)?
- What are your projected financials for the next year?
- What are your primary sources of funding?
- How do you plan to manage your financial risks?
Human resources questions
- How many employees do you have?
- How many employees make up your management team?Â
- What is your hiring plan for the next year?
- What are the key roles you need to fill to achieve your business goals?
- How do you plan to develop and retain your employees?
Legal and compliance questions
- What legal structure is your business operating under?
- Are there any industry-specific regulations or compliance requirements you must meet?
- How do you plan to manage legal risks?
- What insurance policies do you have in place?
SWOT analysis questions
- What are the strengths of your business?
- What are the weaknesses of your business?
- What opportunities do you see in the market?
- What threats could impact your business?
Strategic planning questions
- What are your top three strategic priorities for the next year?
- What milestones do you need to achieve these priorities?
- What resources do you need to meet your strategic goals?
- How do you plan to measure the success of your strategic plan?
Supporting documentation
Upload any supporting documentation that can help inform the business plan. (Financial documents, business license, sales/marketing presentations, SWOT analysis image).
What is the fastest way to put together a business plan questionnaire?
You can easily take the above sample survey questionnaire, copy and paste the questions, and throw it into a Word document or form builder tool of your own — or better yet you could save endless time on all the above by using Content Snare instead.
In addition to providing a ready-to-send business plan questionnaire template in its dashboard, it also helps you streamline the data collection process with:
Automatic reminders
Ever run into a situation where you request information from clients and they take forever to get back to you? With Content Snare, you can choose a deadline then the tool will remind your clients to complete your questionnaire on time. This means you won’t have to waste time sending endless follow-up emails.
Large document/image uploads
Content Snare supports large file size uploads so your clients can upload their business license, sales and marketing presentations, or other financial documents needed for you to write their business plan without any hassle. The tool helps you collect everything all in one place so you don’t have to collect text responses in one place and then use a whole other platform like Dropbox to gather the rest.
Approve/reject/comment features
It’s not uncommon for clients to submit insufficient information or upload the wrong files once in a while. Content Snare helps you notify your clients if any of their responses need a revision within the dashboard itself, so you don’t have to chase them over email.
An easy client experience
We can all agree that there’s nothing worse than spending ages completing a form, only to get timed out and have to enter all your information again. Content Snare spares your clients from ever having to go through this inconvenience by automatically saving responses so they can exit and re-enter the form as many times as they want. It always helps to use an intuitive tool!
Ready to give it a go? Try Content Snare for free for 2 weeks below!