Sales proposals not resulting in a sale? It’s not because you don’t have a great product or service. Nor is it because you’re not skilled at client meetings. It’s because most salespeople make three common mistakes.
In this article, we’re going to examine what those three common mistakes are, and we will share five proven tips to make your sales proposals win you business rather than lose you business. Let’s dive into what those three mistakes are and how to avoid them.
The three top mistake sales people need to avoid when writing a sales proposal:
1. Proposals that are too long
People are busy and they don’t have time to read through pages and pages of information. They want a proposal that is short and explains the value to them immediately. Decision makers are juggling multiple priorities and this impacts their attention span, so your proposal needs to hit the mark quickly, thank otherwise they will move on to the next thing.
2. Too generic – one-size-fits-all
People can tell if your proposal has been cut and pasted. It need to highlight the specific challenges that you discussed. If things sound too generic and nothing stands out, you will not win the business. Generic proposals show them that you have not listened on that you have not understood the unique situation and more importantly they don’t show how your products or services can help them solve their issues.
3. Making it all about you and not about them
This is probably one of the most common mistakes most sales people make. You need to remember people do not care about your company history they don’t care about your product or the fact that it has 25 features! They only care about one thing – what’s in it for me. How can your product or service solve their problem or improve their business.
If your proposals include one, or more than one of the above 3 points, that will be a huge factor in why they are not converting.
5 tips to make your proposals convert more sales:
Here are five tips you can implement immediately to transform your proposals:
1. Keep Them Brief
5 pages maximum – shorter if possible. Page 1 should highlight the value and the outcome they will achieve if they choose to do business with you, or your company. It should not be about you, it should be about them and what results they can expect to see, if they decide to do business with you.
2. It’s about them not about you
Make reference to things you discussed in your meeting, try and incorporate words and phrases they used. It is important you show that you listened, understood and that your product or service can deliver solutions tailored to meet their specific needs.
3. Benefits and outcomes not features
Do not list all the features of your product, choose a few that are relevant to them and explain the benefit – what they will gain. This could be increased revenue, cost savings, time savings etc. Whatever issues they mentioned in your meeting or whatever improvements they want to make, make sure your proposal covers those and show specific outcomes. Do not add anything into the proposal that was not discussed or needed.
4. Make it simple to read
If you open a proposal and it is 5 pages of words, your brain automatically tells you no thank you! Make sure you use clear headings, bullet points, white space, images, graphs etc. Also remember, the one or two people you met with may be sharing this proposal with numerous stakeholders. Your proposal must be both easy to read and easy to understand. If someone picks it up without having attended your meeting, can they immediately grasp the value your company brings and make an informed decision? A good tip is to add a personalised video to support the proposal, this is particularly powerful if it is shared around others who did not attend the meeting.
5. Proof, proof and more proof
Trust is fundamental to making sales. Include case studies with real results from their industry or similar challenges. You can also include recommendations, add links to any Google reviews or LinkedIn reviews. If you have any value add material to support the proposal, such as a white paper or video your company has produced these can greatly help people in making a decision.
If you can avoid the three pitfalls and follow the five strategies, we guarantee you will see a significant percentage increase in the number of yes responses and deals you close, from the proposals you send.
Remember, successful proposals are about understanding your prospect’s world, speaking their language, and clearly demonstrating how you’ll solve their specific problems. Focus on their outcomes, keep it concise, and always lead with value—not features.
Contact us today on 01704 89325 or email us at info@salestraininginternational.com to learn more on how to effectively write a sales proposal that will guarantee you business. And don’t miss our YouTube video on writing sales proposals below!
