Proposal Tips
In a business to business environment proposals are one of
the most overlooked parts of the sales and marketing
process. For many companies a proposal includes some
general information about the company, a quote and some
terms and conditions. Yet a proposal if often the most crucial
part of the sales process and is often the key to marketing
your company and winning business.
From a marketing perspective it can set your company apart
from others in a competitive situation, especially if you aren’t
able to meet all the decision makers and should reflect your
brand and the value you can add.
Your proposal documentation should be given as much
consideration as the marketing literature that you send out to
clients, after all it is marketing your business and your
capabilities.
Some Proposal Tips
Here are just a few helpful tips to consider when you write
your next proposal:
♦ Make sure that it is branded and has a similar look and
feel to your other marketing literature and your website.
♦ Remind them of your meeting and what you discussed in
a short and concise manner
♦ Clearly state what the client’s real objectives are and
what can they achieve by working with you?. For
example “Reduce the number of hours you currently
spend on IT maintenance”
♦ Provide recommendations; how is your company going
to help them achieve these objectives?
♦ What else can you provide, what additional benefits will
they gain by working with you?
♦ Include costs or a financial assessment, let them know
what the payback is, how it relates to their objectives and
make sure it is broken down into component parts
♦ State what is going to happen next, don’t leave the
proposal open ended, close with an action to follow-up
So take some time to think about what goes into your next
proposal; think about the way it is structured. Is it easy to
read? It is logical? Does it state key objectives? And more
importantly does it help to market your company effectively
to prospective clients. Would you buy from you?
Take a look at more of our marketing articles
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