Are Sales Proposals Necessary?
Transcript:
Sales Proposals Introduction
Hi guys, it’s Ben Lai from Sales Ethos, thanks for joining us. Today I’m going to answer the question “Are sales proposals necessary?” We’re living in a day and age where relationship selling is quickly becoming the norm. And so some people are willing to do business simply over a handshake or even just an email confirmation. But is this right for you? Today I’m going to discuss a couple of considerations for you to decide what is the right mode for your situation and for your prospects.
Sales Proposals Tip #1
So what I would like to highlight though, is this key principle that I learned from entrepreneur and educator Dan Lok. What he suggested is that proposals should only be written as a confirmation of what has already been discussed. This is great advice because some people will ask for a proposal with no intention to buy. So you can go away and spend all your time creating this elaborate proposal and then they end up not deciding to buy. So one way to avoid this is by asking for them; you may want to ask them this question “On a scale of one to 10, how likely is it that you’re going to go ahead? Because I don’t want to invest my time in writing a proposal for you unless we are ready to progress.” So that’s, that’s my main underlying tip for you.
Sales Proposals Tip #2
Now, some other considerations that you’d want to take on board are “How much do you want to prevent misunderstandings later on.” Having things in writing will help to prevent the wrong expectations. Let’s just say you have KPIs that you need to meet as part of your product or service. Having those in writing helps to avoid trouble and issues later on. So they are important to have.
Sales Proposals Tip #3
But the final consideration that I want you to take into account is “How easy is it to read?” Now, this sounds really simple, but one of the pitfalls of doing business, especially with larger corporations is having, you know, a 20 page document for all the terms and conditions of trade. People they know that they need to do it, but then they put it on the to do list, which eventually never gets done.
So what I want to suggest here is that if you can help it, avoid “legalese.” In other words, instead of putting things in difficult legal language, trying to put things into people’s language that any layman can understand. That way, you are still getting the benefit of protecting everyone’s expectations and the possible ramifications, but you’re putting it in such a way that it’s not too hard to read. So keep your proposals nice and short and simple if you need them at all.
Sales Proposals Conclusion
So there you have it, those are the three considerations I’d like you to take on board. I look forward to seeing you next time, and remember that integrity plus skills equals success.
Complimentary Consult
Click here to request a complimentary sales consultation!
Sales Ethos is the only provider of sales training for introverts. We also provide sales coaching, sales process consulting, and sales training in Melbourne & Adelaide.