APPENDIX C
How to Present Powerful Proposals That Sell
Remember that phone sales works with only one of your customer’s information processing channels, and that most customers internalize less than one-third of what you say to them. Follow up with a written proposal when the situation warrants it, to help ensure that you have sealed the close.
To Prepare
1. Have all your needs assessment questions answered by the customer.
2. Have your ideas clearly thought out and understood so that you can present them in the best light.
3. Have the customers’ names spelled correctly.
4. Make sure you know who is to receive copies of the proposal.
5. Use the customer’s company colors somewhere in the binder, and as often as possible. (For example, if the customer is the Coca-Cola company, use red binders, etc.)
6. Focus on the customer benefits throughout the proposal. (For example, “What this means to you is …”)
7. Give customers options so that they can make decisions based on variations of your company’s product offerings.
8. Make the proposal as accessible and interesting as possible. Consider the following ideas:
Use a 12-point font for ease of reading.
Use colored paper in some places, but don’t overdo unless it’s for a visual arts type proposal.
Use graphics, illustrations, and color—again, don’t overdo, but a simple bar or bullets in blue ink can catch the eye of your reader.
Include sample materials: software screen capture, a piece of metal casing, etc.
Use colored tabs to make it easier to find information.
Remember to place headings at the beginning of each important information section. Decision makers are “skimmers.”
Put the customer’s name on the outside of the binder or folder.
9. Include an Executive Summary in your proposal: a brief one-page synopsis for the quick reader who is interested only in the bottom line. Put this first after the table of contents page.
10. Make sure you include customer benefits throughout the proposal.
Components of the Proposal
Title Page
Table of Contents Page
Executive Summary
Customer Applications
Your Company’s Capabilities and Solutions
Product Specifics
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendation
References
Appendixes
Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements.
Table of Contents. Include the page numbers and the major tab headings on this page.
Executive Summary. This is important to any decision maker, but especially to the results-focused A and the impulsive E.
Customer Applications. This is where you put the situation analysis or needs assessment that you have prepared in the course of interviewing the customer. In this section, you’ll provide the overview of the situation as described by the client. Think of this as your customer’s problem area (but don’t use the word “problem”; it’s negative and may suggest an insult to the customer). If you’re selling office furniture, this is where you describe an out-of-date reception area, an ergonomically unsuitable research department of ten employees, an executive office that needs updating and upgrading, or more. Include the emotion behind the problems (whoops, we mean “situations”) to which the customer needs a solution. For example: “The president’s office is in need of updating so that he can present the company in the best light, indicating a bright future of company prosperity.” This is where you remind the customer of the needs he or she voiced in your qualifying. Use the customer’s words from your notes to describe the situation (remember all those notes you took? This is why!); that way your “insights” into the problem will ring true.
Capabilities and Solutions. This is an important section, but one that salespeople frequently present poorly. The customer is not interested in your entire company’s history, and a generic cut-and-paste from the company’s public relations summary or stockholder’s report will be seriously ho-hum. Use a razor-sharp editing mind to present exactly what the customer will need to solve the problem. Spotlight your company’s particular expertise in the area where the customer is most concerned. Here also you will be able to direct the customer to the appendix, where you have strategically placed a few positive articles about your company or the product/service the customer will be purchasing.
In addition, be sure to detail what the situation will be like when your product or service is put into use: “The order processing department will increase order turnaround by 50 percent when the optical character readers are used.”
Product Samples. This is what the customer will have when done.
Product Specifics. Use a great amount of detail for technical customers, more “what it can do” for business decision makers who are less technical.
Frequently Asked Questions. Because you get questions regularly from customers, you have a clear sense of which ones are most prevalent in your industry. Spend some time thinking about this, and list and address them—but keep it brief. You might want to run this section past one of your colleagues after you have drafted it; he or she may have some excellent suggestions you can incorporate. It’s well worth the time you spend on getting these right, as you can cut and paste this section into any proposal you write, as long as you remember to then tailor it to the situation at hand.
Recommendation. This is where you list the specifics of what the customer is buying. When you include a place to sign, the customer can send this part back to you as a purchase agreement, saving you and your customer time later.
References. Good references are important when the sale is competitive. By including happy customers in this section, you are providing an immediate shortcut to your decision makers’ pocketbook. However, note that if you work in an industry where seeing a competitors’ name is a negative, you may want to think carefully about which ones to include.
Appendix. Here’s where you put articles in industry publications about your company or its products, also more details of tables or test results, etc., than you had room for in your proposal body. If you are pitching to a P, include plenty of test data, engineering specs, and even third-party white papers. (Note: If your firm doesn’t have white papers, there are companies that will professionally write them for you.)
Now get on your phone and sell!