What is Digg?Sponsored by HowLifeWorks
How Smart Guys Keep Their Faces Looking Young view!
howlifeworks.com - Why men have finally started to use certain anti-aging skin care products...
32 Comments
- idandfei, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2311. They're really boring and lack any real information, much like this article.
- dwhitbeck, on 10/12/2007, -6/+18Why proposals fail. You forgot the ring and the flowers stupid!
- pixelmixer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+111. They’re too long. Proposals aren’t meant for “shock and awe”
- don’t try and overwhelm the prospect into submission. Edit and cut. Cut and edit. There’s no perfect length for a proposal, but how many of your prospects really read the whole thing? They scan and skim till they get to the price and timeline. Keep it short.
2. They don’t reference the prospect’s pain.
Why did the prospect ask you for a proposal? You better have a crystal clear answer to that question. Too many proposals don’t reiterate the pain properly. Skipping that makes the prospect feel like you don’t get it.
3. They’re too technical.
I know you’re the expert in your field, that’s why I asked for a proposal. You don’t need to inundate your proposal with buzzwords and industry-hooey. A prospect only knows a smidge of what you know about your business, and they don’t really want to know more. Your proposal fails when it sells industry mastery using language I won’t understand.
4. They’re not selling benefits.
Proposals that miss out on #2 and focus too much on #3 invariably aren’t selling benefits. If you’re not selling benefits you’re sunk. And for the love of everything that is holy, spell these out as clearly as possible.
5. They’re not well structured.
Proposals are stories. And every story has a beginning, middle and end. Think of your proposal as a story and write it accordingly.
6. They’ve got spelling and grammatical problems.
A proposal with spelling errors is unacceptable, it’s as simple as that. Grammatical problems may be harder to catch. Three tips: Read it out loud. Write short sentences. Have someone else read it.
7. They’re poorly formatted and packaged.
Style counts! On top of that, your proposal isn’t the only game in town. You want to stand out right? Take some time to format things nicely. Add some pictures. Use bigger headers, smaller paragraphs, and color where appropriate. Think jazzy. If you’ve got substance, sell it with nice packaging.
8. They’re missing testimonials and client references.
I’ve rarely seen a proposal with testimonials or client references. It makes no sense. Pepper in a few testimonials to spice it up and add a feeling of success. Add in some client references with contact information to give your prospect a clear message, “you know what you’re doing and you can prove it.”
9. They’re missing a thank you.
Proposals are personal. You’re not writing installation instructions for IKEA furniture are you? Unless you’re sending a proposal unsolicited (which makes little sense) someone’s given you that opportunity. Thank them for it.
10. There’s no call to action.
You submit the proposal. Now what? Um…um…um…oops. Put in a crystal clear call to action. It could be a follow-up meeting, contract signature, or something else — it almost doesn’t matter. What’s important is that there is a next step and you’ve explicitly told the prospect what it is. - Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+812. They're hosted by a cheap-ass provider
"This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota" - 350Zed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If anyone thinks a deal is won because you have the best proposal, or you've checked off all 10 items on this list, you don't understand how sales REALLY works.
Proposals are formalities... People will decide to buy from you based on your relationship with them, and the formal proposal will only serve to ensure that the details of the deal are well understood, or to provide proof that a supposedly impartial process was followed in case their is justification required post-sale.
It's all about the relationship, boys and girls! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+412. Keep it simple. But don't overdo it. Else your manner will come across as condescending.
13. Adopt a comforting voice and tone. Building empathy with your reader is by making them feel engaged in a conversation; not being sold just another solution. - zofo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+664 diggs and it's down....
Reason 11 why business deals go south... computer failure - HaltingPoint, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As someone who has written several proposals for multi-million dollar projects I will agree to some extent. However there are plenty of times when proposals are unsolicited, or due to the prospective client being highly beaurocratic in their structure there truly is no room for relationship benefits.
But yes, usually by the time you get past the RFP (request for proposal) stage and into the actual proposal stage, the relationship is playing a heavy factor.
That in no way shape or form means you can slack off on the quality of the proposal. And you never know whether or not they have solicited proposals from your competitors (it is likely they have).
I had to review 2 proposals for the final round of a major web project between two of the industries biggest players (hint: they're both Top 5 Interactive Agencies) and while one of them definitely was known for their sizzle and their ability to sell something, the other proposal was much more in-depth technically and showed a real grasp of the knowledge with relevant case studies to back it up. One of them thought they could win the job on their reputation and their schmoozing. Guess which one got the job? Yeah, thats right, the one that actually looked like they could pull the job off technically. - cwcentral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+313. They don't include a [accurate] cost.
(we propose to do stuff for you--for a lot of money, but we won't tell you that part).
You get what you pay for. - cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3A proposal can not fail, the person selling the proposal can fail but a paper proposal is just one tiny little part of the sales process. Put a person with no ales skills into a room with the best damn proposal ever written, and he won't close the deal. Put a person with pretty good sales abilities into a room with a rotten proposal, or even a white board to write a proposal on the spot and they'll stand a good chance of closing the deal.
A proposal is not ~the sales process~, it is but a tiny little part of it. If you lean on giving away proposals and hope and cross your fingers somebody will call you back you're going to lose. Sure even a dog's ass sees the light of day once in a while, and a few will call up and say they'll buy from you, or hire you... But not enough. - inactive, on 09/14/2008, -0/+2http://tophomemortgageloan.com
Mortgage rates, home loans, mortgage, mortgages, refinance, second mortgages, tophomemortgageloan, top mortgages, best mortgage rates.
http://tophomemortgageloan.com - RoroCo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They forgot the number one reason... Your product/services are not really as good as you execs tell you it is.
If you have ever sold for a complacent company... you know this one rings truer than anything else. I can't tell you how many time I have been told the lie that we are the high price vendor because our services are superior. - halter73, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5http://www.duggmirror.com
- timdej, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18 . Why would the customer care about a "testimonial?" you are there to solve their problem and not someone elses.
- jeroendemiranda, on 12/25/2007, -0/+1good points made!
- Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I like the fact that it's down at 64 diggs, but at the moment it's up to 245. I guess people don't read the articles before digging them? What?
EDIT: It seems to be back up now...slow, but running. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I didn't read the description. I thought it was about marriage. I'm reading through the list thinking to myself, "What the *****?"
- dark13star, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If there was no RFP, then your proposal should simply be the reflection of the vision you crafted with the client and the explanation of how your solution meets the vision (benefits). If there was an RFP, you better be column A (i.e. you influenced the requirements or even wrote them). If you are not column A, someone else probably is, and you should question whether it is worth your time responding. In fact, you might be helping your competitor by providing a response. Sometimes agencies can't buy without a certain number of responses.
- Maccc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I am the only who read the title and asked, "Business proposals, or marriage proposals?"
EDIT: Apparently not. - SwissCamel, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I thought this was going to tell me why my girlfriend didn't want to get married?
- vertinox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@"I thought this was going to tell me why my girlfriend didn't want to get married?"
I thought she made it pretty clear it had something to with the words small and penis. - Leviathan777, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I have a feeling she'll be telling you herself pretty soon...
(Number one reason proposals fail: She's just not that into you). - misterenigma07, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16. They’ve got spelling and grammatical problems.
"They scan and skim *till* they get to the price and timeline." (Emphasis: mine) - husseinkerbala, on 02/18/2009, -0/+0lets learn how can make the buty in our self by seeing the god creatures ?
- mornif, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2It's much funnier if you read them as a marriage proposal. :)
- MattS, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I thought that was a possibility as well...
Bad on me (us) ;) - SwissCamel, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You're right, she is embarrassed about her small penis, but then again aren't we all?
- mr1337, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3http://www.duggmirror.com/
- PaulOwen, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Well, number 1 should be because she doesn't want to marry you.
Oh, you mean a _business_ proposal? Well why didn't you say ... ? - jguttman, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Good post. One more thing I would add....start out on the right foot. The way the proposal begins is so important. If its too critical and puts the recipient on the defensive, the chances for success will be reduced.
- meant2beamom, on 10/12/2007, -13/+4I'll be submitting a proposal for my jewelry business to a BIG company soon, so this list has come at a great time for me. I'll definitely be following the recommendations Ben gives in this article!
- boomqweeshaa, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1tool
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is