As much as we would like things to be easier, inevitably, we will be asked to put together a proposal in order to, hopefully, win business.
Hopefully?? Well, in many cases, when we hear a prospect ask us for a proposal, we assume that we have already won the business, or are about to. We quickly slap together a rough quotation, or letter, outlining the deal, throw in some added extras and maybe a discount to be nice, then send it in and wait. Then we “hope” they like our proposal and will ring us to ask where to send the money.
Wouldn’t it be great if it could just happen that way? However, the easiest way for a prospect to get rid of us is to ask us to send them a proposal. They then have the power to choose when and if they ever get back to us and the excuse to delay us should we actually manage to get them on the phone.
How can we put together a proposal that has the greatest ability to influence the prospect’s buying decisions? Here are some rules to help you create that compelling proposal.
Rule #1: A proposal should never be the first contact
“Thud!”. That’s the sound of a request for proposal/quote landing over our fence. We run and pick it up and get excited – “ABC Company is looking for a product/service just like what we offer”. You have never spoken to them or haven’t for a long time. You justify submitting a response as “it will raise our profile with them”, “it will create brand awareness”. Wrong.
If this is the first time you have heard from them, the chances of your proposal being successful are less than 50% (and that is being very optimistic).
You must understand what they are wanting first in order to understand what you can offer and how it solves their issue.
Ask for a meeting or at least a conversation where you can discuss their requirements in detail. These meetings are what raises your profile with them and will ultimately allow you to produce a document that is expected and wanted.
Ultimately, a proposal should never be the first contact, it should be the summary of what you have already agreed with the prospect.
Rule #2: Look professional
Take the time to produce a professional looking document – whether it is one page or 20.
You are running a professional business and delivering professional products or services. Submitting a rough or sub-standard proposal will discount your image with the prospect, raising doubts on your ability to deliver.
- Make sure your document is well structured, clear and concise.
- Information should be easy to find and not hidden in the detail.
- Always start the document by talking about the prospect (ie their issue/problem they are looking to solve)
- Use your branding and colour scheme to lift your document
Rule #3: Structure your document
A suggested structure that works would be (bold shows items that should be included as a minimum):
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Title page
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Summary (or Executive Summary)
Summarise what the prospect is experiencing and looking to solve. Then summarise your offering, highlighting any specific prospect issues that you help with and finishing with your single preferred offer.
Don’t put in extra details or add-ons, etc here. Keep it simple so that they know exactly what is on the table without having to read the whole document.
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The Prospect’s Issue (Why for them)
If necessary, start the detail section by outlining the issue that the prospect is experiencing and looking for you to solve. Spend time on high-level items core to their issue to show your understanding and importance of themAdd in any important issues that you may have discovered in your interactions with them, that they may not have listed in their request.
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Your solution (How they solve their issue)
Discuss how, by buying your product/service, the prospect will be in the best position to remove/solve their issue. -
What you will do and with Who
Detail out the sequence of events and who will be doing them from your side and their side -
Options
If you have discussed value-adds, options, etc, with the prospect during your fact-finding meetings, then describe them all out here and the benefits they bring to the solution. -
Investment
Detail the investment needed from the prospect along with any invoicing timelines, project deliverables married to invoices, etc. All the detail of what the solution costs should be made clear here. -
Who are you?
Outline yourself (sole trader) or your team that will be involved and provide relevant information regarding experience, knowledge, etc for each member. -
Social proof!
include some social proof from your happy, successful clients who have made the investment with your company and reaped the benefits. Try to match clients who have purchased the same or similar product/service, but if you don’t have them, testimonials from clients on your professionalism, approach, skills, or products will still provide immense value for the prospect when they are building trust in you.
Rule #4: Don’t Overload Your content
If not asked for, don’t provide it in the hope they might like the extra stuff and want that too. This is obviously you trying to increase your outcome from the deal, and really all your “why” not theirs. Prospects are stupid and will get a “greasy, salesy” feeling about you when you do this, reducing their trust in you.
Rule #5: Be clear on your preferred offer
Choose one offer and highlight this in the document Summary and detail it in your main section of the document. Don’t confuse the prospect with mentioning add-ons or extras, but keep these for a separate area in the document.
In the Investment section, cost out the options and create a table of 3 specific options for the prospect:
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Lower priced Solution
This is an option that provides a basic solution to their issue, no “bells or whistles”, and should be seen by the prospect as being OK, but not what they are really after. -
The Optimum Solution
This is the preferred solution for both you and the prospect. It is the one mentioned in the summary and the detail of what you will deliver -
Top end solution
This is a more expensive solution that includes the Optimum Solution, plus relevant add-ons, extras, etc that would definitely be nice-to-have but not essential to solve the prospects issues. This helps the prospect put the Optimum Solution into perspective and appreciate its value.
Rule #6: Use their words
One of the benefits of meeting with the prospect many times before submitting a proposal is that you get to ask lots of questions. During this engagement, observe how the key people at the prospect answer:
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Do they use special terms, jargon to describe their issue(s)
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Do they offer personal perspectives or preferences:
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Their vocabulary – do they prefer a particular sense in their choice of words.
o Visual–see,look,view,dark,light,clear,obscure
o Auditory–tell,sounds,ringsabell,talk
o Kinesthetic–feels,getyourdrift,grip,fit,haveahandleonWrite your proposal using the main decision maker’s words as much as possible. This helps them to build trust in you and that you listen to what they have to say. Don’t push your own style onto them to support your ego – this will diminish trust.
The main thing to remember is:
buying is emotional, logic comes later (maybe)- usually to justify the emotional decision to buy
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Utilise these rules as a guide. Some documents will require more detail, others much less.
Follow these rules and you give yourself the best opportunity to convert your prospect into a great customer.
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