We are often compelled to use sales proposal outlines that are formulaic. Often these are created with a “promise of success.” More often than not, they fail to deliver. Those who read a lot of sales proposals know that most of them are underwhelming. They tend to follow the same formula with predictable statements and information.
To combat that and stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to mix things up a bit. Here are 7 ways to be sure you cover the bases while still getting noticed.
1 – Remember The You Factor
Your proposal’s primary point is to convince someone else to buy your products. So concentrate on “you” instead of you. In other words, always think about your audience rather than yourself. Aim your proposal to them by showing them how your product or service can benefit them, their company, and their bottom line. NEVER open a sales proposal with a corporate biography. This is standard practice and it sets the wrong tone. Focus your writing on “you” instead of “I”.
2 – Open effectively
Your opening statement is your “hook” – it’s the way you get the manager or purchase agent to pay attention to your proposal. Remember: your primary job here is to convince them that you have something they need. Instead, focus on their problem and situation and show introduce them to your solution(s) for them.
Use things like “In your everyday business, you have X happening on a regular schedule and it costs you Y to do that. With our widget, you can speed up the X process and save money on Y.” You’ve presented a problem they have, a solution you have, and what the benefits of that solution are. Later, you can get into details about the Xs and the Ys, but for now, you’ve piqued their interest. Coincidentally, you’ve also given yourself and them an opening line to use when pitching this to the decision makers.
3 – Use a Lot of Heading Titles
Make your proposal easy to skim, faster to read, and give it the appearance of being shorter than it is. Brief proposals often get read first, so even if you aren’t being brief, you can at least appear to be so by breaking up the proposal with a lot of headlines and the white space that goes with them. This also allows the reader to skip around rather than read front-to-back, so if something piques their interest, they can jump ahead to find out more. You want them to do this because that small amount of work on their part invests them in the process and gives you more attention.
4 – Use Testimonials Intelligently
It’s common for proposals to include a “testimonial” section with accolades from customers and clients. There’s nothing wrong with this, but frankly, most people reading the proposal will skip this section because they know you’ll have only chosen the “good stuff” to include here. One way around that is to seed the testimonials within your proposal’s other sections instead. Toss them in as section closers or mid-way idea splitters to spice up the proposal. This is especially effective if the testimonial is relevant to the section it appears in.
5 – Summarize
A summary written as either a second section or at the end is very effective. Which you choose is dependent on your style or the audience you’re shooting for. Some will prefer a summary up front, so put it right after your introduction (“hook”). Others prefer it as a wrap-up section at the end, which is also effective. Whatever you do, include a summary of the proposal. This is the other portion that will often get cited when pitching to the decision maker.
6 – Call to Action
This should be obvious, but it’s often skipped in the formal, written proposal. A call to action at the end of every section and the end of the proposal should be the norm. The in-text calls to action during the proposal should be “soft” (e.g. “Call us to find out more” or “Contact us if you require more details”) while the final call to action should be more abrupt.
7 – Deliver It Quickly
More often than not, the winning proposal will be in the first few the client receives. Often, businesses will entertain proposals from a dozen or more potential suppliers, especially when putting things out to bid. These proposals are usually vetted through a process that starts with one person whose job it is to go through each and throw out those that don’t meet criteria. That person will read the first two or three proposals before becoming bored with the repetitive process and skimming the rest. You want to be in the first proposals that person reads in order to get past them to the next level.
These tips will improve your proposals, large and small, and increase your success rate.