Write Sales Proposals to Get Clients without Actually Writing

We all know that sales proposal creation is an unending process in the marketing industry.

Most salespeople are afraid of drafting a proposal. And it is absolutely understandable. After all, it’s a very labor-intensive activity, you’ve to put together so many hours in creating one, with no guarantee of success.

Although writing and submitting a sales proposal is challenging and is not the most exciting part of the marketing industry. But the flip-side of this is that any successful deals require an effective sales proposal. 

So, if you’re someone who wants to be a part of that big league by gaining the highest paying clients with your highly impressive proposal but doesn’t really know how to write and structure one, then welcome to my post. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how to write and create winning glamorous-looking sales proposals without actually writing anything. Yep, you heard it right!

But before that, let’s take a quick look at what exactly a sales proposal is,

What is a sales proposal?

In simple words, think of your sales proposal as a job interview on paper. It explains why you are the best person (or an agency) for the job. 

It’s a key document for presenting your client’s obstacles and then giving a pitch on how your service/product can improve their business and help them build the brand.

Sales proposals are mostly used by agencies, freelancers, consultants, designers, marketers to show their prospects what they can offer along with the cost if the prospect decides to go ahead with them.

Why do you need a sales proposal? 

When a company or a business owner requires help in resolving a particular business concern, they request prospective sellers submit a business proposal for the business in question, so that they can compare your proposition, your approach to their issue with their overall budget, and find the right fit among a number of options.

In simple words, business proposals let your prospects know your existence and help them get what they want. 

Now that you know what is a sales proposal and why do you need one, it’s to time see how to make the process of proposal writing and managing easier. 

How about a sales proposal template?

As a salesperson, I’m sure you’ve been in a situation where you’re sitting on a chair, in front of a blank white screen, fingers on the keyboard, and stressing out about going through that entire process of sales proposal writing.

Even though composing business proposals is an unavoidable part of the life of every marketer, it doesn’t have to that painful. You can find many ways to make this much smoother or simpler.

And one of the ways is using the “Sales Proposal Templates”.

More than having some ready language the right sales proposal template,

• Enables you to set a clear structure to your proposal that is easy for your prospect to navigate.
• Sets the right tone that convinces the prospect that you are already involved with him/her to solve the problem.
• Engages your prospect throughout the proposal with the right visuals.

Other than this the sales proposal templates come with its own set of advantages let’s figure them out one by one.

It increases efficiency 

Writing a proposal for a specific prospect can be time-consuming. But if you make use of any proposal management software you’ll get hundreds of proposal templates for each business case. From the generic business templates to the specific ones, these templates will help you save a lot of time when the next project comes along. 

With these ready-to-use business proposal templates, all you need to do is insert the new information in the correct places of the template and you are good to go.

It gives you the consistency

Proposal templates come with a consistent flow of text and other content. Templates provide a standard layout, look, and feel to all your proposals.

It guarantees that the standard text (page number, date/time, company name, location), relevant graphics (company logo), and company information (contact details) are shown exactly in the same position on each page without any errors.

It makes the process less stressful

One of the core benefits of templates is that it saves you from frustration. Templates will give you more power, more options, and more freedom. They help you reduce your rework time. Having templates on the go ensures that you don’t have to waste your time in researching and creating another one from the top. 

All you need to do is enter your necessary business information, incorporate whatever details you need.

Templates can not only relieve the workload but also make you feel less stressed and at the same time increases your productivity.

A typical format of a high-converting sales proposal template

Even though the exact format of the sales proposal varies depending on the company and the project, but every high-converting sales proposal template has these six sections,

Covering Letter

We all are aware of how the attention span is getting shorter and shorter. In the age of TL;DR, if you want to make sure that your sales proposal is grabbing the attention, you need a compelling cover letter. 

Cover letter in the sales proposal ensures you don’t waste those important seconds and creates a quick connection with the prospect. An ideal cover should include,

• Opening paragraph
• Reason for the pitch
• Outline of their pain points
• Benefits of your solution
• Baseline metrics ( before and after)
• Your valuable assets
• Strong CTA

Scope of services

With rising competition in the industry, you can’t afford to have a services section in a sales proposal that simply lists out the number of services. 

The scope of services section in your sales proposal shouldn’t just give your prospective clients basic information about what you do, but it should sell you and your services right away. This section should include the details about your approach. However, the details should only be about the approach and not about the solution.

• The key here is to give a rough sketch of the method you will use for the execution.
• Include the list of the specific services that are being offered.
• You should be ultra-careful about not going into detail.

The timeline

Every successful sales proposal template is backed with a solid plan of action- the timeline. The timeline table is one of the most crucial elements in your sales proposal. The more realistic it is, the more your prospect can gain clarity of when they can expect to see the result. That’s because

• It describes the steps you will take and how you’ll plan to meet each objective.
• It details the people involved 
• The strategy to accomplish your plan
• The deadlines for each task.

The Investment Table

Cost is always on the potential client’s mind. I mean no matter how much work you put into planning and the time you spend in preparing a business proposal, your potential client will always come hurtling towards the pricing section.

All the portions of your sales proposals right from cover letter to timeline are interesting to read but they don’t mean a thing if you fail to impress your prospect in the pricing section. Indeed it is the second most important part of your business proposal. 

Why work with us

Your about us section is probably one of the most crucial contents of the proposal. Apart from pricing, your agency’s first impression has a lot to do with the purchasing decision- that they glean from the about us section.

This section gives you an opportunity to tell your story to explain to the potential clients why they should choose you over your competitors.

Here’s an ideal “why work with us” should include,

• Benefit-Driven Headline
• The story about how you started
• Your mission statement

Proof of Past Work

The purpose of the case study in your sales proposal is to tell potential customers how a similar customer succeeded in their business with your services. You can fill out this section with the expertise you have, the awards you won, the big list of your happy clients.

A great case study in your proposal gives prospective clients a real insight into the benefits of your services and also an idea of what it’s like to work with you. In short, it can make your clients visualize themselves working with you. 

Terms and Conditions

Every successful sales proposal template always keep the contract and your terms and conditions part of your proposal and get them signed together to avoid future conflict.

Wrap Up

When it comes to gaining the highest paying clients you can’t afford to waste time hunting for content to write or chasing a subject matter expert, sales proposal templates empowers sales teams to write proposals quickly and accurately without actually writing them.