Structuring Sales Proposals that Win.
By Jeremy Mendoza, Founder & CEO of AnnexQ
Sales organizations that are meticulous about how they write sales proposals can position themselves to relish high conversion rates. Take the time to establish a methodology of creating a powerful proposal based on your prospect’s industry. Research what works and what doesn’t in their industry.
While the details within each proposal may vary per prospect, every proposal should include these main sections:
Title Page
The title page should include your company’s logo, name, and contact details along with the date and name of the person that will be receiving your proposal. The title page should be simple with minimal graphics and design.
Cover Letter
The cover letter is especially important to include in the proposal if the salesperson sending the proposal has not yet met the decision maker. The style of writing in your cover letter should be friendly. Be sure to include your company’s background, key product features, and any key differentiators worth mentioning.
Table of Contents
The table of contents will make it easy for the readers to find their way around the proposal. If the proposal is in digital form, link the pointers in the table of contents to the page where the content is written. This will make navigation across the document much easier.
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is arguably the most important part of any sales proposal. This section should outline the purpose of the proposal along with the reasons your solution makes sense. Use your prospect’s language because seeing the words they chose will resonate with them.
Current Situation
In this section, your proposal should include your interpretation of your prospect’s challenges. You need to show them that you understand their problems, goals, objectives, and needs.
The Approach
This section of the proposal is crucial as you need to explain to your prospects how you will tackle their issues and resolve them. In other words, this is where you will present your strategy and recommendations.
Methodology
Here, get into the details about your strategy. The tools and channels you will use, the deliverables you will provide them, and the project timeline – this should include a step by step plan, and/or project timeline, on how you will resolve their problem. Include visuals as needed.
Why us?
In the earlier sections, you had the chance to introduce yourself and your company in brief. Here, you have the chance to showcase what you and your company have done, the achievements, testimonials, awards, case studies, etc. Provide comfort as to why they should choose you.
Price
Be as accurate and detailed as possible in this section of your proposal. Simply just mentioning the total cost will put you at a huge disadvantage. Use a line-item approach. Include comparisons and year over year costs where applicable.
Terms and Conditions
Include payment schedules, modes of payment, legal matters, and any other details relating to both sides.
Proposal Acceptance
Utilize automated tools such as DocuSign to automate workflows and e-signatures whenever possible.
The structure of your proposal can make or break the deal. It can make several aspects of your sales cycle harder or easier. Your prospects are likely receiving many proposals from different vendors at a time. Create a proposal that stands apart from your competition.
Your proposal should leave the reader with a clear understanding of what your solution will offer and the tactics your team will deploy so that they accomplish their business goals.