Closing a sale with a proactive proposal! An article from 2001

I wrote this article back in September 2001 and was lucky enough to get it published in Salesforce magazine.  Click on this link

Download closing_a_sale_with_a_proactive_proposal_dynamic_proposals_sf_sept_01_p15.pdf

for the edited article from the magazine.  The original version is below.

Closing a sale with a proactive proposal!
Most ideas that help close a sale have a large degree of common sense written all over them.  So suggesting that sales people should use a proactive customer proposal to support their sale certainly falls into that category.  But if that is the case, why don’t more of them do it?  This article examines proactive proposals and suggests a simple way to produce them.

What is a proactive proposal?  A proactive proposal is a document produced by the selling organisation at a key stage in the sales cycle to try and close the business.  It is produced with the cooperation of the customer, specifically the project sponsor, who is ideally used to test a draft version with prior to formal submission.  A proactive proposal is primarily about demonstrating understanding and capability, as well as exerting influence.

What’s the difference between a proactive proposal and an unsolicited proposal?  The author would define the difference as being the level of cooperation and involvement of the customer; the customer (as defined above) ‘sponsors’ a proactive proposal, whereas an ‘unsolicited’ proposal is more of a shot in the dark or a kite flying exercise!

What are the benefits of a proactive proposal?  A proactive proposal should deliver the following highly desirable benefits:

• Demonstrates that you understand their business pains and the solution they seek
• Demonstrates your organisations capability to deliver a compliant solution
• Exerts influence over the customers business need, strategy and requirements
• Sets the agenda, creating the need and the case for action
• Tests the customer seriousness, budget, expectations and timescales – a positive response is an early buying signal; a negative response will save you a lot of time and money!
• Tests your assumptions
• Enables you to gain a better understanding of the politics, buying process and sign-off requirements etc
• Gives your coach a return on investment for all the time they have spent with you
• Gives your coach something to sell internally on your behalf, justifying his belief and sponsorship of you and your solution
• Gives your customer hard facts and figures to base a decision on, rather than a perception
• Puts you one ahead of the competition, who will probably be trying to do the same as you
• Sets an expectation with the customer of how you plan to do business and deliver your solution
• May remove the need for a tender, which will save both parties a lot of time and money
• If it does go to tender, will influence the requirement and content

So what should a proactive proposal contain?  The most important thing to weave into a proactive proposal is understanding; understanding of the business your customer is in, their issues, their constraints, their timescales and everything you have learned from working with them to get to this stage.

Rudyard Kipling is quoted as saying:

" I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew).  Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who."

Keep this quote at the forefront of your mind when crafting your words.  Demonstrate to your customer that you understand the answers to all six questions.

I would suggest a document structure as follows:

• A front cover naturally.
• Standard proprietary stuff for your organisation (disclaimers etc).
• Table of Contents.
• Introduction – a paragraph on the purpose of this proposal.
• Background – what led up to this proposal, i.e. meetings, demonstrations etc.
• Management Summary of a maximum of two pages covering the following 6 points:
  1. Define your understanding of the customer's business requirements and issues – talk about them and don’t mention your organisation
  2. Define your understanding of the customer's required solution – the same rule applies, talk about them NOT you
  3. Define your understanding on the benefits and return on investment sought by the customer, same rule applies etc
  4. Define your proposed solution – what, where, when, how, who and save why for the next paragraph
  5. Define WHY your solution is right for them – three or four compelling reasons to buy your solution to meet their business requirement
  6. Define your costs, the timescales and the next action.
• Proposed Solution – an overview in a few pages of point 4 in the Management Summary.
• Proposed Costs – self explanatory, but ensure you give them choices if they need them, i.e. understand their budgetary position etc.
• Assumptions – state any assumptions that you have made or agreed that would effect your proposal if they were not to be.
• Options – talk about solutions that you want them to consider after this solution has been sold and delivered
• Appendices:, to include
  

• Solution Detail – a section that people can skim read that covers the widgets of your solution, i.e. standard marketing words and more
• Company Overview – talk generically about yourselves here because if they don’t know most of this you should be doing this now anyway

Depending on the complexity and value of your solution, such a document should take anywhere between one and ten days.  A lot of content should be what is known as ‘boilerplate’, i.e. standard product or service descriptions.  We have worked with a number of organisations to create this content, as well as creating a standard template to present it in, which helps to enforce a standard approach to this type of sales marketing, and make life easier for all concerned.

During our involvement with IBM/Lotus, we used the above approach with one junior sales person who set an example for us all to follow.  She took the first three points in the Management Summary (the ones that didn’t mention Lotus) and developed the words hand in hand with her coach, getting his input and approval BEFORE submitting them to us for inclusion on the final document.  This approach demonstrated initiative and a great relationship with the customer – and delivered the business!

Written by Chris Whyatt, Managing Director of Practical Bid Solutions, September 2001