Virtually every successful Sales Person knows that a well written proposal is a highly effective means of increasing profitability. When a prospect sees in writing the work that the company is proposing to do, that person naturally feels that he or she is dealing with a professional.
What many Sales People forget however…
…is that the proposal must contain a marketing message if it is to be equally effective in helping to close the sale.
There are five essentials to an effective proposal: These details must be clearly communicated in your proposal.
1) Your proposal should produce clear evidence that you understand the specific problem that your company is to correct or the precise result that the client expects when the work is complete.
2) Your proposal should describe in detail the services and methods you plan to use to accomplish the desired result. This is one of your opportunities to set yourself and your company apart from your competitors. For example, if your price is higher than the competition, it will be because you are using higher quality products and methods and you are going the extra mile in other areas such as skilled personnel, superior equipment, etc.
3) Your proposal must contain clear evidence that your company possess the qualifications to do the work. Industry designations, the number of similar jobs you’ve successfully completed, a list of satisfied customer, number of years of experience in your field, etc. are examples of evidence of your qualifications.
4) Your proposal should provide assurance that you are dependable. A list of clients that you have successfully worked with, copies of customer testimonial letters, information on licensing, bonding, insurance, memberships in professional organizations, etc. will produce evidence of dependability
5) The closing portion of your proposal should include convincing reminders of why your company should be selected to do the work over other bidders.
- Keep in mind that the last few paragraphs will be the final ones the prospect reads, so they must reinforce and summarize everything the proposal has included up to that point in a highly persuasive manner.
- Avoid too many technical terms that may intimidate your prospect. Keep the language in our proposal as simple and understandable as you possibly can.
- Always think of your prospect when you are writing a proposal. Most likely he or she won’t be comfortable with too many industry terms, so write accordingly.
- It’s also a good idea to ask a friend from outside the industry to read your proposals and tell you candidly if he or she understands what you are trying to communicate.
- Once you get the framework of your proposal the way you want it, capture it in your digital files and customize each new proposal around the same basic structure.
There’s no point in reinventing the wheel each time you sit down to write a proposal.
REMEMBER NOTHING HAPPENS…
…UNTIL SOMEBODY SELLS SOMETHING!
Be Well, Do Good Work, and Keep In Touch.
Fred Haskett
To Learn More Contact Fred at TrueWinds Consulting
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