Write Proposals that Win Business
Write Proposals that Win Business
But imagine if you could ensure that your proposals won more business than even before. Could you even go as far as thinking how in six months time you looked back on today and remembering that today was the day you learnt how to double your success rate?
You may not have asked yourself just how important great testimonials are to succeeding in business, or even why your prospective clients really want to know precisely if your service will work for them.
So when you are next faced with a proposal to complete and you reach into your filing cabinet to pull out your testimonials, you should be able to realise precisely how your existing clients put a value on your service.
By the way if your existing testimonials are either non-existent or even if they do not accurately reflect the way you can uniquely position massive value to your client, then now is the time to look at our value proposition workshop, because to write winning proposals, not only MUST you know your unique value proposition – you MUST know precisely what value your prospective client puts on your service or product.
By the way, in case you are not already aware of it, that is the magic formula for success – You MUST ensure that you get YOUR prospect to put a value on owning whatever you are hoping to sell. The value of ownership must be greater that the cost to purchase. In fact that is exactly the rationale all our clients use before they decide to buy our services.
So once you have asked the right questions, been completely straight with your customer and they have told you that they see exactly how you can provide specific value (You must know by now what that value is) you need to write your proposal.
You probably won’t need our help as long as you feel completely confident that you can write your value proposition in compellingly influential language. Let me give you an example of a statement, that if it applied to you might even compel you to take a look at our sales services.
“If you had a desire to grow your business by 100% in one year, and if you are already turning over €500k per annum with a gross profit margin of 30%, this would yield an additional profit of €300k, would you be interested?”
OK, so were you starting to do the maths, like a one of the people that I once met with did? If you were then you probably realise how powerful statements like that could be in the opening paragraph of any proposal that you delivered to your potential prospects.
Now you have clearly demonstrated the value the customer will get, and by the way it could also be expressed in non-monetary terms, such as feelings, especially if you were selling something like a BMW. The next step is to present evidence of how the customer will definitely obtain that value.
This again can be done through testimonials or reference visits, or could be by proposing a pilot project with clear success criteria, or even guarantees similar to the puppy dog sale, such as; “Why don’t you bring this puppy home and if your six year old daughter doesn’t love it in 2 weeks, we will take it back and you don’t have to pay us a penny.”
Now you know the essential aspects of writing a winning proposal. If you wanted a structure for the key sections of a proposal, it could be something like this.
* Executive summary – here you state pains and desires of the customer and precisely how they will benefit from your offering along with a short summary of what is contained in the rest of the proposal
* Back Ground to proposal – here you look at the customer’s business, what their key issues are and why they need the solution that you are proposing and indeed why they can’t do it themselves.
* Value Proposition - Now write about the unique of your offering and specifically how it is differentiated from competition and how it will precisely solve the customers issues and will deliver value.
* Implementation plan – give the customer timescales and deliverables and indeed what is expected from their side.
* Testimonials and case studies – examples of similar implementations and the results achieved
* About You – Now and Only now you write about who you are and what is great about your company
* Technical Appendix – If there are technical specs or features – include them here in the appendix.
If you follow these guidelines then you will soon find yourself winning more business, it is really that simple, trust me!
You may not even be aware of how powerful the language you use everyday is and as you start to use some of the techniques that my executive coaching clients or my sales coaching clients have learnt, you could continue to use Influential Language to write proposals that Win the Business for you, with more positive results than even you thought possible.
If you feel that there are even more ways that we can help your business now, to confirm where that help could be and how we will significantly add value to you and your business, you may now decide to book a business health check.
Write Proposals that Win Business - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Lawless's Website.
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Have you ever asked your self what percentages of your proposals actually win the business? To business owners and sales professionals alike, writing proposals can often be a black art, and guaranteeing their success can often be extremely difficult, if you don’t have the magic formula of success.
But imagine if you could ensure that your proposals won more business than even before. Could you even go as far as thinking how in six months time you looked back on today and remembering that today was the day you learnt how to double your success rate?
You may not have asked yourself just how important great testimonials are to succeeding in business, or even why your prospective clients really want to know precisely if your service will work for them.
So when you are next faced with a proposal to complete and you reach into your filing cabinet to pull out your testimonials, you should be able to realise precisely how your existing clients put a value on your service.
By the way if your existing testimonials are either non-existent or even if they do not accurately reflect the way you can uniquely position massive value to your client, then now is the time to look at our value proposition workshop, because to write winning proposals, not only MUST you know your unique value proposition – you MUST know precisely what value your prospective client puts on your service or product.
By the way, in case you are not already aware of it, that is the magic formula for success – You MUST ensure that you get YOUR prospect to put a value on owning whatever you are hoping to sell. The value of ownership must be greater that the cost to purchase. In fact that is exactly the rationale all our clients use before they decide to buy our services.
So once you have asked the right questions, been completely straight with your customer and they have told you that they see exactly how you can provide specific value (You must know by now what that value is) you need to write your proposal.
You probably won’t need our help as long as you feel completely confident that you can write your value proposition in compellingly influential language. Let me give you an example of a statement, that if it applied to you might even compel you to take a look at our sales services.
“If you had a desire to grow your business by 100% in one year, and if you are already turning over €500k per annum with a gross profit margin of 30%, this would yield an additional profit of €300k, would you be interested?”
OK, so were you starting to do the maths, like a one of the people that I once met with did? If you were then you probably realise how powerful statements like that could be in the opening paragraph of any proposal that you delivered to your potential prospects.
Now you have clearly demonstrated the value the customer will get, and by the way it could also be expressed in non-monetary terms, such as feelings, especially if you were selling something like a BMW. The next step is to present evidence of how the customer will definitely obtain that value.
This again can be done through testimonials or reference visits, or could be by proposing a pilot project with clear success criteria, or even guarantees similar to the puppy dog sale, such as; “Why don’t you bring this puppy home and if your six year old daughter doesn’t love it in 2 weeks, we will take it back and you don’t have to pay us a penny.”
Now you know the essential aspects of writing a winning proposal. If you wanted a structure for the key sections of a proposal, it could be something like this.
* Executive summary – here you state pains and desires of the customer and precisely how they will benefit from your offering along with a short summary of what is contained in the rest of the proposal
* Back Ground to proposal – here you look at the customer’s business, what their key issues are and why they need the solution that you are proposing and indeed why they can’t do it themselves.
* Value Proposition - Now write about the unique of your offering and specifically how it is differentiated from competition and how it will precisely solve the customers issues and will deliver value.
* Implementation plan – give the customer timescales and deliverables and indeed what is expected from their side.
* Testimonials and case studies – examples of similar implementations and the results achieved
* About You – Now and Only now you write about who you are and what is great about your company
* Technical Appendix – If there are technical specs or features – include them here in the appendix.
If you follow these guidelines then you will soon find yourself winning more business, it is really that simple, trust me!
You may not even be aware of how powerful the language you use everyday is and as you start to use some of the techniques that my executive coaching clients or my sales coaching clients have learnt, you could continue to use Influential Language to write proposals that Win the Business for you, with more positive results than even you thought possible.
If you feel that there are even more ways that we can help your business now, to confirm where that help could be and how we will significantly add value to you and your business, you may now decide to book a business health check.
Write Proposals that Win Business - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Lawless's Website.
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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