Have you ever thought of your sales process like this?

Every word you say. Every word your prospect reads. Your tone of voice. Your website design. Every last detail affects whether or not they’ll buy from you.

So here’s what you might be doing with your proposals that causes you to lose deals:

1. You Talk About the History of Your Company and What You Do 

Your prospect already know this, so you don’t need to put it into your proposal. A lot of businesses will do this, and they’ll take up more than a page to do it.

When an evaluator has to read multiple proposals, they only have time to see what they’re going to get out of you.

The Simple Fix: Spend your initial words in your proposal describing the benefits your customer gets from choosing.

100 years of experience is not a benefit. But it can give your prospect many benefits like:

• Knowing what mistakes to avoid

• 100 years of testing so you know exactly what works

• You get the problem solved faster than anyone else

You can be creative with this. So consider what other unique benefits your customers might get.

2. You Talk about Your “Proprietary Technology,” Which Isn’t Really So Proprietary After All

If you know you have proprietary technology, or a process unlike anyone else’s in your industry, go ahead and mention it in as much detail as you feel comfortable. You’ll build credibility that you are in fact able to accomplish results your competitors can’t.

The Simple Fix: If you don’t have a truly unique process or technology, don’t even mention it. You’re just wasting the reader’s time. Instead, focus on other unique benefits or results you deliver that your competitors can’t.

3. You Don’t Share Brief Case Studies

Of all the different types of B2B marketing collateral, case studies are one of the most effective in convincing buyers you can follow through on your promise. Some case studies are better than none at all. They work best when you have a case study of a company similar to the one you’re sending your proposal to.

You don’t have time or room to talk about your case studies in-depth. But you can mention 1-3 sentences of the results you delivered and then give a link to the full case study on your website.

The Simple Fix: Include 1-3 case studies in your proposal. If your company doesn’t have them, lobby your SVP and CMO hard to get them. Your sales team will close more – and faster.

4. Not Including Pictures or Testimonials in Your Proposal 

While discussing the benefits of your product, service, or technology is helpful, what really builds credibility is anything that doesn’t come from you. Pictures also help a ton too.

Think of how much reading buyers have to do. Go easy on them. Use fewer words and include charts, tables, and graphs where you can to break the boring reading up.

Include testimonials that back your ability to provide the benefits you claim you offer.

The Simple Fix: Take the time to make these changes. Most companies won’t, so these changes help you stand out.

Armed with these tips, your proposal now becomes a powerful weapon in your sales arsenal, rather than just another document that bores readers!

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