Advice on how to write a sales proposal
By Ellis Pratt online at Cherryleaf Inc. source: http://www.cherryleaf.com/salesprop1.htm, http://www.cherryleaf.com/salesprop2.htm, and http://www.cherryleaf.com/salesprop3.htm In most organizations, the conversion rate of proposals to sales is very poor. Yet you will find very little advice in the most popular and best books on selling about how to write a sales proposal. This article looks the problems with sales proposals, and provides advice on writing successful ones. It also looks at issues surrounding requests for tenders. The information has come about as part of the process of us developing a sales proposal system for ourselves, and subsequently offering it as a solution to others. We have drawn upon the advice from the best sales books we could find, our experience as information designers, and from our studies into how other organizations deal with proposal writing. The problems with proposals In this section we look at some of most common problems we hear from organizations about proposals, and analyze some of the reasons for these. They are time consuming and expensive to produce Not only do sales proposals seem to take a long time to write, it seems like you have to reinvent the wheel for each proposal. Reviewers have to review the same content each time. We've experienced it ourselves in the past: wasting time trying to find information for tenders, such as the insurance cover, that already existed in previous proposals. It is hard to be consistent and to make sure improvements are included in future proposals In order to describe your proposed solution that best matches a particular buyer's situation and requirements, it's common to modify previous content. For example, if you are proposing Freda Blogs for a Web-related project, you may provide additional information on her Web skills. You may also update the previously existing information at the same time. However, when someone needs to write a new proposal they may refer to the original proposal that now contains out of date information. If they refer to the new proposal they may include Web-related information that is irrelevant to the new prospect. This is because organizations don't normally have a single, definitive and correct source to base each new proposal. This causes even more problems: Your proposal may be unclear and incoherent. Buyers might receive completely different proposals depending on the salesman they are dealing with. Your information can be inconsistent across different documents and different media. For example, information on your Web site, in data sheets and in marketing brochures.
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
It can be difficult to have more than one person writing the tender. Different versions of a proposal can be sent back and forth between the bid team as more complex bids develop. When sales proposals are proofread and checked, you can find you are changing the same sections each time. The same errors keep re-appearing. Many proposals are unsuccessful Most sales experts would argue that the low conversion rate is due to poor selling rather than a poor sales proposal. Often sales proposals are presented at the wrong time in the buying/selling process or they are done instead of closing the sale verbally. Whilst this is true, a poorly developed proposal can also sink a sale by showing the buyer that you neither understand their requirements nor have a solution that meets their needs. What is the purpose of a sales proposal? Apart from situations where you need to establish large amounts of technical or legal detail before you can present a final solution and price, your proposal should only be a written confirmation of what has already been agreed with the client. Indeed, sometimes a proposal isn't necessary at all: sometimes just a letter will do. For this reason, writing proposals is rarely covered in books on selling. Having said that, there are two things to bear in mind: As organizations are complex networks of interconnected individuals, your contact may need to justify their decision to buy from you. So you may need to provide them with the "ammunition" to do this. Just before a buyer decides to commit or not to a purchase, he will primary thoughts will be focused on whether to take action or not. They will be considering the risk and the consequences of buying, together with the price. So you can look on a proposal as a good way of documenting and reminding the buyer: 1. 2. 3. 4. Of their need to change (the original problem). How to deal with the consequences of buying. Why they should buy from you (the value compared to the cost). Why he should buy now. Replace verbal closing Contain any surprises Form part of the sales presentation Be too long
The proposal should not:
What should go into a sales proposal? A sales proposal can act as a checklist in your selling process, identifying gaps in your understanding of the clients needs or in your solution. You'll need to fill those gaps before you
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
send out your tender. For strategic proposals, we recommend organizing the content around the main steps in the selling process, using: Our understanding of your situation Method and approach (i.e. the solution and benefits) Associated timescales and costs Information about the company Terms and conditions A sales proposal should also include these additional elements: Appendices The front page Executive summary Table of contents
We'll look at each of these sections in more detail, below. Our Understanding of your situation The purpose of this section is to: Remind the client of their original problem This can balance their fear of risk and consequences of buying, and help them to justify their decision to others in their organization.
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
Spot any gaps in your selling process. Do you know what their key issues are? Do you know their deadlines? Do you know the criteria and process for making the buying decision? These should all be sub headings in this section. Show you understand the client and that you are in alignment with them By stating what should be known and agreed with them, this section can also get them to think "yes", yes", "yes". Method and approach The purpose of this section is to: 1. Show and prove how you will meet their requirement. So you need to describe What will be delivered and how it meets the requirement. The benefits to them.
You can compare your solution to the current situation or alternative solutions The implementation of the solution. You can describe your project implementation plan, post training and support, plus any guarantees there may be. Any assumptions you have made Why you are different and are the best value. Their input. You can describe what you will need from them. Benefits The benefits can be covered in the method and approach section or can be a section in their own right. Associated timescales and costs In this section you should describe: The timescales and costs associated with this project The payback, if at all possible The key points concerning payment terms (such as VAT, currency and expenses) Information about the company By the time you are delivering a proposal to the buyer, you should have already established you and your company's credentials with him. The purpose of this section is to: Remind him of the key points about your organisation Tell him why your organisation is different and better than the alternatives Help him justify his decision to others Appendices You can use appendices to document any supporting and supplementary information, such as definitions of any terminology you have used your and detailed terms and conditions.
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
The front page The front page should tell the buyer: What it is What is in the proposal Who it is from How to contact you The date For short proposals you can include the table of contents on the front page as well. Executive summary For longer proposals, you may need to include an executive summary at the front of the proposal. The purpose of this section is to: In general terms, tell the reader what he most wants to know, or needs to be told. Reiterate the issues important to the buyer and state your solutions to him. One way of doing this is to use the overview sections from the main sections contained in the proposal. Dealing with requests for tenders Requests for quotations (RFQs) provide special challenges. You are writing for two groups Often, two different groups will assess your proposal: 1. 2. Purchasers, who will pay for the system, and Users, who will work with the solution.
In order to be successful, you need to meet the needs of both. The purchasers won't want to buy a system that is poor for the users. Communicating with the prospect is an essential part of the strategy for responding to RFQs. It helps to know which group (purchasers or users) is dominant. They have often defined their problem and have a vision of the solution You may not understand how they have defined their problem, so you need to find this out. It may be the case that the proposal has been developed by external consultants, so documentation you receive may not give you the whole picture. Once you understand their problem, you should prove this in your proposal. If you can, meet or talk to them to find out what the primary issues are behind the project. You need to align yourself with the buyer. They are likely to have developed a scoring system to help measure the different tenders they received This means you need to write a tender that outscores all the rest. Do you know their decisionmaking criteria? Can you find this out? We recommend you should:
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
Check that you meet all their mandatory requirements, and state and prove this in your proposal. Stick to the structure they have provided when writing your proposal, but break it down into labeled "chunks" to make it easier for you to write the proposal and for them to read it. Avoid waffle and bluff, as they are likely to get you marked down.
Advice on how to write a sales proposal - Part 3 Contact us if you would like a PDF version of this article. In this section, we look at the process of writing your proposals. We'll cover planning, writing tips and tools. Have a plan It is important to have a plan so that you can ensure your proposal in ready in time and, if more than one person is involved, the responsibilities of each member of the team. You may wish to have a sign-off process. We suggest someone not involved in writing the proposal proofreads the proposal, and that you have a checklist. You can use the checklist to verify you have met the requirements fully (or have explained how you will address any shortcomings) and to check there is the necessary "sizzle" to win a competitive situation. Create a "skeleton" document You can break your proposal down into chunks, organized around a skeleton of topic headings. These headings can be structured to form a storyboard that will guide the buyer through your proposal. These headings can help you to be consistent and to be complete. You then delegate responsibility for each section to the relevant people. Writing tips Take care over the vocabulary you use Here is some advice regarding the words you use: Keep your vocabulary simple to aid the buyer's understanding. For example, "use" is better than "utilize". Use the buyer's words and phrases, where possible. Be consistent with the terminology you use. Check your document for any spelling mistakes Have a clear presentation format As the proposal may be confirming what the buyer already knows, he is likely to scan the document. So it makes sense to help the buyer by having a clear presentation format with all the major sections labeled. Keep the look and feel clean and simple Make sure your pages are numbered and that you have a table of contents Be consistent in your organization and the description of headings Make sure you have a meaningful heading that describes every "chunk" of information.
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm
Try to ensure the buyer reads the proposal on paper rather than on screen. If you email your proposals, then send them as Word or Acrobat files rather than in HTML format. Use a pyramid style of writing The pyramid style of writing, devised by RGI International, recommends you: Start every section with a summary statement to encourage people to read on. Follow this with the supporting details that justify your summary statement. Have an introductory sentence before every list, table and picture, so the buyers know what they relate to. Use the active voice ("we will...") to avoid being ambiguous. We'd also suggest you: Use gerunds ("-ing") frequently in your headings (e.g. meeting, improving, solving) Follow up any statement you make with "this means that..." Be credible Use the right tools Unfortunately, the most commonly used tool that people use to write their proposals (Microsoft Word) doesn't help you address the problems listed in Part One of this article. We have developed a solution, SalesProp, for writing sales proposals that provides a "database" of reusable chunks of information. The benefits of this approach With a "database" of reusable chunks of information you can: Make a change only once and have it implemented in all proposals. Re-use content in proposals, fact sheets, Web sites and newsletters. Have simultaneous authoring of the proposal. Guide writers on what to say. Conclusion In summary: Apart from situations where you need to establish large amounts of technical or legal detail before you can present a final solution and price, your proposal should only be a written confirmation of what has already been agreed with the client. Indeed, sometimes a proposal isn't necessary at all. You may need to address two different groups if you respond to a RFQ. Often sales proposals are presented at the wrong time in the buying/selling process or they are done instead of closing the sale verbally. A poorly developed proposal can also sink a sale by showing the buyer that you don't really understand their requirements nor have a solution that meets their needs. Remember, people buy from people not proposals. People buy for emotional reasons, but will justify their decision with rational reasons.
Prepared by Pat Kamalani Hurley, Professor CC Leeward CC (University of Hawai'i) http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/default.htm