To put the importance of proposals in proper perspective, they are far more than a vehicle for conveying your message. They are your message. Sadly, proposals that could be winners are often rejected. They may be filled with information, but the message gets lost and they fail to capture the prospect’s imagination.
To make sure your proposals get the attention they deserve, it helps to view them in three phases: before, during, and after the presentation. Each one plays a part in moving your proposal closer to winning the business.
I. Preparing your proposal
Proposals should be easy to follow. But watch out. What’s clear to you can be a mystery to others. Stay away from jargon, too. The ability to explain something simply earns you points.
How you structure your proposal makes a difference. Whether someone is reading or listening to it, organize it so the main points stand out. Of all proposal outlines, Problem-Solution works well because it keeps the focus where it belongs: on the prospect.
The problem expresses your understanding of what the prospect wants to correct, implement, or improve. It’s your grasp of the situation, so it’s critical to get it right because your credibility is at stake. If you fail to read the problem correctly, you’re done! So, take it seriously and present a clear, thoughtful, and complete understanding of what the client wants to accomplish. The way you handle the problem lets the prospect know if you want to solve it or just sell them something.
If you’ve described the problem accurately, the prospect will pay close attention to your solution. You want it to be viewed as thoughtful, efficient, and cost effective. A good way to do this is by proposing options, preferably three. This way you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, which makes it easy to get your proposal turned down. With options, you can argue the benefits and limitations of each one in terms of good, better and best or low, medium and high cost, for example.
Offering options has another plus. It opens the door for involving the customer in a helpful give-and-take, rather than putting you in the position of defending just one solution. That’s not all. Options can also help uncover issues the prospect may not have considered.
II. Presenting your proposal
For presenters, their proposals can be more important than how they present it. This is a huge mistake. They’re a whole package. In the prospect’s mind, you and your proposal are one. If one is weaker than the other, the proposal suffers. It’s your show, so do everything possible to position it to your advantage. Here’s how to do it:
- Set the stage. Don’t allow your prospect to guess where you’re going. Make it clear you understand the prospect’s problem and lay it out clearly. Then, indicate that you and your solution reflects your competence for solving it.
- Maintain eye contact with your prospect. You want to make your presentation an engaging experience for you and the prospect. This is why handing out a hardcopy is a mistake; do it at the end. You want the prospect to listen carefully and not be distracted by flipping back-and-forth through the proposal looking for the cost information. When you lose eye contact, you lose control. If you use PowerPoint, don’t replicate your proposal, maintain eye contact by using only a few key words on each slide.
- Communicate confidence. Your proposal is designed to be persuasive. You’ve built your case as your presentation moves from understanding the problem to an on-target solution and then to the climax of asking for the purchase. At no point in the presentation is confidence more critical than it is here. This is where the last impression is the lasting one.
If the prospect perceives your presentation as the expression of who and what you are, you’re well on your way to winning.
III. Following up after presenting your proposal
Follow up is often a presentation’s forgotten phase. Yet, it’s the most important. The show’s over. You worked to maintain control and now you’ve lost it. Your presentation’s fate is now in the prospect’s hands.
Sure, you’ll find a way to thank your prospect for the opportunity to make a presentation. Even though you should do it because it’s is only polite, it seems rather weak and ineffective. Some way or other, you want do more, but not something inappropriate. But now is not the time for a sales pitch. Stay on message. Since it’s likely your prospect is considering several proposals, the task is making yours stand out. Simply and clearly in a few sentences (keep it short) reaffirm the accuracy of your problem analysis, along with the benefits of your solution. No waffling. You believe in your proposal, so stand by it.
From start to finish, from preparation to presentation to follow-up is a seamless process that can make your proposal a winner.
SEE ALSO: How to get prospects to find you
John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at [email protected] or johnrgraham.com.
