Writing proposals is one of the most intimidating works in a sales process. Once you onboard a client the next step involves getting them to agree to the solution and initiate the purchase. At this point, we need to get everything in writing and get both the parties to agree to it. A proposal is a critical document as it is circulated through key decision makers and serves as the intro to your company in many cases. Hence, it is important that you write proposals that convince your prospects to purchase. Here we will understand how to make a great proposal by working on its 7 important elements:
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Before describing various elements of a proposal we need to understand the language to be used throughout the document. You must carry similar tone throughout the doc and focus on your brand messaging. The images should have a consistent theme and the words should be positive. For instance, you can use ‘investment’ in place of ‘cost’,’fee’ or ’charge’. ‘Investment’ shows something that will give value while ‘fee’ is an expense. These seemingly irrelevant details govern the emotion conveyed by the overall proposal.
The proposal contains what you do along with your value proposition. Explain in 2-4 sentences what your company is about, history, services, and products etc. You need to differentiate yourself from the competitor using values and experience that make you unique. Buyers usually request proposals from multiple sellers hence, you need to set yourself apart from the beginning.
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A proposal should contain work procedure that includes the tasks that you would do and the order in which all the activities will be performed. If you haven’t already agreed to a specific plan then it is advised to include at least three options to give choice to the prospect. The work procedure should also include stages where a meeting or inputs from the client will be needed. This will help the client understand the extent of their contribution in terms of time and resources to the project.
This is an equally important element of a proposal. Often clients assume additional responsibilities from vendors end which aren’t communicated directly but seem implied to the case. By specifically stating what you won’t do and addressing common confusions you’ll prevent any complications at a later stage in the sale process. Normally clients understand these limitations and if they don’t then it is better to disqualify early than to have issues at a later stage.
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Deliverables are metrics on the output that you promise to deliver. A common mistake here is that people focus on metrics and results that aren’t relevant to the customer. For example, an advertising agency may focus on reach and impressions while the customer is concerned about cost per acquisition. Deliverables should either be decided beforehand or they writer should focus on client needs to draft deliverables. The same goes for features and working.
You need to have a competitive pricing but also have enough profit margin to sustain your company. While quoting a price remember not to keep a range of price. It might seem a clever idea but it leads to confusion in future because your client will focus on the lower end of the range and anything above that will spoil the relationship. While quoting prices for different choices it is advised to move from highest to lowest price. This is because it feels like you are offering easier choices as the client goes through the options.
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When you are putting so much of effort into a proposal it is better to get prospects to legally agree to it as well. By giving a space for signature to the prospects you can get them to agree to the agreement and thus, turn the entire proposal into a contract. Today with tools like PandaDoc it is even possible to obtain a digital signature of the prospect which is legally acceptable thus, reducing an effort involved in the contractual process.
With these tips, you’ll be able to write better proposals for your clients and skyrocket your conversions. As far as the length of the proposal is concerned it should be maximum 3 pages for startups or companies dealing with startups. For enterprise level companies the length still shouldn’t exceed 10 pages and you should include an index page for the ease of the reader.
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