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But how many of us sell in our proposals? You might have heard me lecture that proposals should contain no surprises and that they should summarize the agreement that was already reached by the parties. Every sales person is trained to map out the customers' buying process and make sure they know every person who will be influencing this deal. At that moment, the only sales person in the room is your proposal. How do you articulate your value to the client in the proposal? They ask, 'Is this worth it?' and 'How are we going to pay for this?' If your value case is missing, you are at the mercy of the person standing there in the room to make your sales presentation for you. Think of it this way: If the proposal I outlined above was sitting next to yours, and the client had never talked with either company, who do you think has the best chance of winning? Make your proposal sell and you'll be building an insurance policy behind every deal you close. Article: How to protect yourself against the unseen enemy The meeting ended with smiles and handshakes but the next day you learned the truth. You had lost the deal. What went wrong? One possibility is your proposal. Most of us are pretty good at selling. We do it face to face. We do it over the phone. Some of us are even fairly talented at selling in letters. But how many of us sell in our proposals? Sell in proposals? You might have heard me lecture that proposals should contain no surprises and that they should summarize the bargain that was then as previously reached by the parties. So where does the selling come in? It comes in with the hidden buyer…. Every sales person is trained to map out the customers’ hire purchase process and make sure they know every person who will be influencing this deal. You ask all the right questions of all the right people. You double exchequer bill what one person says the others. You ask other reps to tell you who was involved in their deals. You’re covered. NOT! The hidden lurks in any large set and many small ones. This is the person who has given the team you are working with “full authority” to cut the deal and write the check. This person said that there was no reason to get them involved. They are master delegators. Except when they change-over their mind or when the team decides that they would like this person to “give it one last look” erst they sign. At that moment, the only sales person in the room is your proposal. How scared are you now? Pull out one of your recent proposals and let’s see what’s in there. If it is to stand on it’s own, it must contain the following sections: Summary of need – The customer must be confident that you understand their problem. They must know that you are both starting from the same place and that you understand how they got there so you won’t dig them deeper into the same hole. This section says, “I heard you, I understood you, I say you” to the customer. 1. Statement of Objectives The customer wants to know what you are going to do and that it is the same list that you proposed in your meetings. They want a flume list to measure your work next to and something that begins to justify your price. This is the first concrete evidence that the customer can see that gives them hope in a of choice future. 2. Task List or Methodologies This is the path to the future and shows the regular how you will connect their need with their objectives. It is the antiphon to the question, “What are you planning to do” and needs to be start aside enough to help the vassal strengthen faith in your dexterousness to deliver. 3. Measures of Success How will they know when you have succeeded? How will they measure the improvement? What can they see, count, measure? The easier it is for the subordinate to see the result, the easier it is to sell the deal. If you can’t measure it, you can’t sell it. 4. Relevant Experience You need to show that you have done this confronting and that it’s like falling off a log for you and your fellow to enact this or help the regular reach their goals. The more specific the better, for example: “We have helped 15 pharmaceutical companies increase sales by an normally of over 15% in the first year of our programs.” Think of this as your marketing kit and reference letters digested down to a few sentences. 5. Timing Time is money and everyone is late. That means no one is worth what they are charging. You must show that you understand and can make the target dates with ease. Your prospect may have many times the cost of your product or service resting on this deal. They may be much less concerned alongside your price than your timing. 6. Value Statement Here is the tough one. How do you pair your value to the liege in the proposal? First, you ask loads of questions. Second, you work with them to multiply a success scenario early in the discussions. Lastly, you use their numbers to make the case. This section should be as numeric as possible and tied directly to the client’s rump line. Statements like, “Based on your valuing that improved information systems of this type will improve output by 10%, this system will pay back $1.9 Million in the first year and $34.5 million over the next 5 years.” Done correctly, the value dwarfs the fee and makes your price a non-issue. The value case is the one case that hidden buyers without stopping jump on. They ask, “Is this worth it?” and “How are we going to pay for this?” If your value case is missing, you are at the mercy of the person standing there in the room to make your sales presentation for you. If you weren’t scared before, you should be now. With a strong case in the proposal, you have a prayer of winning the day. The Value Process is detailed in my book “The Team Selling Solution: Creating and Managing Teams That Win the Complex Sales” (McGraw-Hill, 2004). It is now at hand on CD and hardcopy at: http://www.waterhousegroup.com/books/theteamsellingsolution.html 7. The Details Ok, somewhere in here you must detail the deliverables, the price, the terms and conditions. Once again, these should not be surprises since you worked them out long up ahead you wrote the proposal. I love clients who say, “Send me a proposal.” I say, “How throughout if we talk it through right now and then I’ll send you a summary of our agreement.” No one ever objects and I get the assistance of hearing their reaction to my offerings. So why did you lose that deal? being you forgot that proposals need to be stand-along sale presentations, not simply pre-invoices. Think of it this way: If the proposal I outlined moreover was sitting next to yours, and the patron had never talked with either company, who do you think has the best show up of winning? Make your proposal sell and you’ll be patterning an insurance policy subsequently every deal you close. For a free copy of 'How to Leave a Voice Mail That Gets Results', please email article19@waterhousegroup.com and ask for feature #19. Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group (www.waterhousegroup.com). They specialize in helping companies increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at 1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com. Re-Print Permission This regard may be reprinted in it's entirety if the following conditions are met: The complete tag with the author's name and contact information is included immediately lineal the article. A copy of the printed determiner is mailed to the knock off at 1467 Walnut Creek Drive, Orange Park, FL 32003 within 30 days of publication. The theme is presented in a positive light as part of an suiting proprietorship related publication.
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