Business proposals are one of the most important sales documents for any industry. When done right, they can convince clients about the value of your product and massively increase your sales. Here are some ideas to make your proposals stand out and make the client sign on the spot.
What is a Business Proposal?
A business proposal is a sales document that shows your client you understand their problems and know how to solve them with a concise and exact plan. The proposal shows your process and timescales, including a pricing section and a CTA.
In order to create high-converting business proposals, you need to have a discovery session with your client.
It’s a meeting in which you ask them all the necessary questions and answers the following questions:
- What is their budget?
- How quickly do they need results?
- Have they worked with some of your competitors before?
- Why did they choose to work with you?
- Why did they decide to fix the problem at hand at this time?
A business proposal is your best chance to show your expertise and leave a good first impression. That’s why you want to address all your client’s needs and create a proposal that is truly personalized to their situation. This is your opportunity to show that you’re the best person or company for the job.
What are the Benefits of a Business Proposal?
Business proposals have a lot of benefits both for you and your clients. They help you secure funding, make the strategy for your projects, provide you with structure and tell your clients that you know what you’re doing.
Proposals are basically the first step in your project planning since they outline your goals and the process you’re going to go through to achieve them. If you’re using the right proposal software, your proposals become so much more.
With the digital signature option, your proposals turn into legally binding documents that are easy for your clients to sign. Furthermore, payment integrations help you receive your first fee, shortening the time it takes you to get paid by a lot.
4 Top Business Proposal Ideas to Boost Your Sales
Now that we’ve covered the importance of business proposals, let’s jump into our tried and tested tips for improving your proposals in order to boost your sales.
Focus on problem-solving – don’t talk about yourself
Even though it may sound counterintuitive, talking about yourself in the proposals you send can hurt your chances of securing the deal. There is a time and place for everything and you need to know when to focus on specific things.
At the very beginning of the proposal, you should focus on the clients’ issues. Make sure to use their own words and write a short assessment of the situation. Mention the problem they have that made them reach out to you, the quick overview of the process of how you’re going to solve it and the goals you expect to achieve. For example, if you think they need to hire salespeople, make this clear in your writing.
Don’t use this time to talk about your own successes and achievements. That should be done later in the proposal. Don’t use this as an opportunity to offer a phone call – you can do this later on.
Have a simple pricing structure
Once you wow your client with a great plan for their problem, you need to state your fee. In our experience, the easier it is to pay, the more likely the client is to pay.
What we mean by that is, if you have a singular price and avoid package deals in the form of upsells, you’ll receive the payment quicker. Your clients won’t have the same amount of technical knowledge as you do, so listing a variety of different features they can choose from will only confuse them.
You should be the one telling them all the features they need and telling them the exact package deal they should get.
Social proof is a unique part of the proposal structure because it’s the only section where you let someone else do the writing. Talking about how amazing you are may turn people off, but having other clients testify to that is a whole new ball game.
Make sure to include a case study with previous clients to convince the client that you have the specific expertise needed to get the job done. Talk about ROI, but don’t forget to mention the emotional, human side as well.
This is your only chance to punch up the emotion in your proposal, so make sure to leave your client feeling inspired and hopeful.
Offer a money-back guarantee
Although not so common nowadays, a guarantee is a great and inexpensive way to further nudge the client to sign your proposal. It’s usually done in a way that guarantees ROI in a specific time frame and if it’s not achieved, the client gets their investment back.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I send my proposal as a PDF?
Short answer – no. If you’re sending business proposals on a regular basis, you want to find a reliable proposal software that has all the elements we mentioned before – a digital signature option, proposal analytics, payment options and more.
Our tip is to try out Better Proposals. We offer a free two-week trial and have a vast library of proposal templates you can easily customize to your needs. Understanding customer view is a valuable asset for any business because it helps you to be more in tune with their needs and desires.
Do I need to know the client’s budget before sending the proposal?
Absolutely. You need to get that information during the discovery phase. Otherwise, you’re sending a proposal that will most likely get rejected, since the client doesn’t know the budget range for projects like yours.
Talking about money can be a tricky subject, but you need to be on the same page with your client, otherwise, you’re wasting both time and money.
When should I send the proposal?
If you’re coming from the world of social media or email marketing, you already know the best times to post different types of content. In those circumstances, timing is very important.
When it comes to business proposals, the answer is – as soon as possible. Don’t wait for a specific day of the week or time of the day, since these types of things are time-sensitive.
Conclusion
Gaining new clients isn’t easy, which is why you need to make the most out of every opportunity you get. Your business proposals need to be professional, easy to read, informative and make it easy for your clients to agree to your terms.
We covered our favourite tips that will help you create high quality and high-converting proposals. Every client is different, however, the standard you need to uphold when doing business with your clients should be on the same level.
Make sure to choose the right proposal software for all your proposal needs and let the experts help you out.
