6 Tips to Make Any Sales Proposal a Success!

Small to medium and medium to giant corporations, every business has one ultimate aim — to generate revenue. Revenue comes from sales, and successful sales occur only when consumers genuinely apprehend a product or service. And to no one’s surprise, good marketing is a tried and tested way to help customers understand what your business has to offer, making it an essential part of the growing business. An organization’s sales process is a systematically arranged domino where each step can make or break its next milestones — from lead generation, screening, qualification, validation, and proposal development, to the negotiation and conversion.

74% of the organizations consider lead conversion as their top priority. While on the other hand, 48% of sales calls end without an attempt to close the sale. Closing is hard! In today’s world, sales reps not only require top skills but a highly impactful sales proposal in place, too. A sales proposal acts as an integral part of any successful deal. In fact, it drives the difference between losing a deal and closing one. So, what makes a sales proposal successful? There isn’t any secret to it, but prior steps followed while writing a proposal can change your sales game. Dive into this blog to discover tips to write a proposal that will become a sale!

What is a sales proposal?

A sales proposal is a document usually sent by a company or an individual to potential clients. The document describes the proposed products or services, pricing information, company details, and the outcomes. It should be informative enough to help the prospect make a decision. Usually, sales proposals are sent at the end of the sales cycle — the goal being to close the sale, making it imperative for sales proposals to be transparent, engaging, and informative.

Types of sales proposals:

Here are the two types of sales proposals:

Unsolicited sales proposal: These are precisely like cold emails — you strive to score a client by providing them with a solution to their problem without prior discussion or contact with them. You send out proposals even if you didn’t get a request for the same.

Solicited sales proposal: Solicited proposals are the ones sent on request by the potential customer. This generally happens when you get in touch with a lead and send a proposal after agreeing upon the deliverables and terms and conditions.

6 TIPS to make any sales proposal a success!

Very often, sellers make the common mistake of sending a sales proposal too early in the sales cycle. No doubt there is a reason behind this; sales reps are keen to secure the meeting, have the conversation, and move the deal forward. Due to this, sales reps tend to skip over essential questions just to get to the proposal stage at the earliest. If you catch yourself or your team members doing this, take a pause. Proposals should only be sent after discussing and agreeing upon the buyer’s expectations, the solution, time, money, and resources required. The business proposal isn’t something you are looking to present your solution through, nor a place where you present deliverables that haven’t been discussed beforehand. A sales proposal is a summary of what the sales rep and buyer have already agreed upon. Here are five tips for writing a proposal that is sure to be converted into a sale.

● Focus on the executive summary

While writing a proposal, most sales reps focus entirely on their products and services. Here they miss the mark on which the actual sales depend: prospects don’t pay for what you deliver; they pay for the outcomes and results your product will get them. The sales proposal should be about the prospect’s needs and the solution you are providing to solve them. The executive summary does this for you; it details why you are sending the proposal and why your proposed solution is the best for the potential client. An executive summary showcases to the client that you truly understand their needs and have an apt solution. However, it should be precise, written with clear and straightforward language, and directly state the issues and proposed solution.

● Personalize the proposal

A good relationship with the prospects is paramount for making a sale! You might have heard this from almost every sales rep ever. Sales need a personal touch: no sales rep would deny this. However, how many actually applying this? Are sales reps taking the time to make a strong bond and then selling the product or service with the same proposal sent to everyone else? This kind of cookie-cutter selling doesn’t fly anymore. Why is that? Maybe the competition is too high, or we are living in a more diva-ish, instant gratification culture where people are particular about personalization. If you are just copy-pasting the same information on each proposal, you are missing out on an opportunity to connect personally to the prospect. Giving a personalized touch to your age-old sales proposals will reflect your brand value and show the prospect you care about their needs.

Businesses using personalization techniques are seeing an average of 19% increase in sales.

Here are 5 ways to personalize your sales proposal:

⮚ Cover page:

Design a cover page using your brand elements that capture the prospect’s attention.

⮚ Table of contents:

Nowadays, no one has the time to scroll through the whole document, nor do they wish to do it. A well-arranged table of contents with a clickable subheading will save the reader time from scrolling endlessly and instantly improve their concentration

⮚ Brand colors:

Ensure the proposal incorporates the brand colors, elements, and logo specific to the company you are reaching out to.

⮚ Company information:

A good sales proposal manages to leave a good impression long after the document is closed. Giving a prospective client a holistic view of your company, its achievements, and future plans — in brief, can also help build trust in your brand.

⮚ Use sales insights:

Sales insights can help you find the right time to engage with the prospect’s brand. This will not only help the client move through the sales funnel efficiently but also help you gain their loyalty and respect.

● Be transparent with pricing and give options

No matter what you incorporate in your proposal, it should always show transparent pricing options. Keep the pricing transparent and show how your services are worth it. Ensure you provide options in terms of pricing plans and services. The more your offerings, the more the prospect would be keen to buy. Depending on the requirements of the client, you should create a customized plan catering to their unique needs and budget. It is always better to compete with yourself than to compete with others. Also, don’t forget to add testimonials to demonstrate your significance in the competitive market.

● Proofread

Whether you use the same proposal for all the prospects or personalize it unique to the client’s specific needs, when you send any document to a client, always be sure of it. Sometimes sales reps fail to change the fonts, language, format, or images/videos. And there isn’t anything more embarrassing than sending proposals having several errors — from spelling errors to pricing mishaps. To avoid this scenario, you should always proofread the sales proposal and change the writing tactics to avoid a sales disaster.

● Optimize the proposal

Use statistics to give that additional finishing touch to your proposals. Once you start personalizing proposals using brand elements, designs, media, logos, colors, and languages, an additional small trick would help increase the close rates. For instance, find out the right time and day of the week to send your proposal.

A study reported that 41–54 % of proposals were signed on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

This makes it equally crucial to choose the day wisely. Moreover, time matters too. If you send out the proposal later in the evening, it will be the last thing on the potential client’s mind. Instead, try to send it out first thing in the morning to increase the closing rate. Last but not least, consider the length of the proposal wisely. While you go all out with the images, videos, and elements for personalizing, you definitely don’t want it too lengthy and boring. It should precisely include all the information in the client’s interest. Keep it short to keep the prospect’s attention in one direction throughout.

● Get the proposal signed digitally

Signing documents traditionally can slow down the process and may lead to clients hesitating. If you want prompt responses to your proposals, facilitate a simpler and easier signing process. Electronic signatures can do it for you! E-signatures can help you share, sign, and store your sales proposals efficiently and securely within just a few minutes. Digital documents speed up the process and eliminate human errors that might affect the company’s reputation. Know more about how e-signatures can help simplify your business processes: Smoother Workflows & Swifter Processes — E-Signatures Make All Your Business Functions Better!

It’s a wrap!

How do you define success? Any deal that makes revenue is a success! And e-signatures can make that happen. Most sales reps say that closing is hard, and all it takes is a good proposal and prompt responses. DrySign offers a vast range of features that make it easy to send/receive, sign, store, track, and secure your proposals to simplify the sales journey. You may also give a personalized touch to signatures choosing from a vast range of fonts, colors, and languages. Get in touch to know how DrySign can help make your sales journey better with e-signatures. Start DrySigning!

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws governing the subject matter may change quickly, and Exela cannot guarantee that all the information on this site is current or correct. Should you have specific legal questions about any of the information on this site, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your area.