Sparkling Blog

There’s no rocket science for writing the ultimate sales proposal. For every person it could be different. It depends on the kind of prospect you have and the kind of branche you’re working in. Though, experience is everything. So my best tip is: write and try a lot. In this post I want to give you 5 tips based on my own experiences. They might work for your next sales proposal.

1. Great preparation leads to a great proposal

It may be an open door, but good preparation is key. Meet your prospect in person and get to know everything about him. Let your prospect talk 80% of the time about his problems and wishes. Be kind and try to get on the same level. Talk about topics you both are interested in. Give concrete solutions to the prospect’s problems and tell why he has to choose you. Be sure you’ve talked about everything, also the budget thing, so everything is clear to the prospect. In fact, the prospect could make his¬†decision¬†based on your meeting.

2. Write a personal and overwhelming introduction

Don’t add a standard introduction, but make it personal. Say thanks to your prospect because you can send him this proposal and thank him for the meeting before. Grab some topics from your conversation and say you enjoyed talking about these topics. Refer back to the prospect’s problems very short, the prospect already knows what his problems are. Just write it down to be sure you understand his problems. Close your introduction by giving a short overview of the rest of the proposal.

3. Focus on solutions

Now it’s time to give your solutions. Describe your products and services that will solve the prospect’s problems. Try to keep it short and relevant. Don’t talk about problems, talk about solutions. Solutions is what your prospect is looking for! Beside your solutions, give your unique value to the solution. What makes you unique compared to others?

4. Keep it stupid simple

Keep it stupid simple (KISS) could be used by a lot of things. Try to keep it stupid simple while writing your proposal. Use easy to understand vocabulary and keep everything simple and short. Your propect is busy too, he doesn’t want a proposal of 8 pages long with language he doesn’t understand.

5. Don’t forget to follow up

Don’t wait until your prospect contacts you. Be clear in your proposal when you are going to follow up on the proposal (for example: “I’ll call you on friday to follow up on the proposal.”) Set a reminder, so you aren’t going to forget it.

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