5 Questions To Ask Before Sending Out That Sales Proposal
Posted by
Chris Lang on Thu, Sep 02, 2023 @ 04:29 PM
Sometimes sales reps act like used car salesmen. “What’s it gonna take to get you into this storage solution?” “Look at this encryption right here…it’s just beautiful and I’m willing to give it to you for half the price!” The pitch is feature and not value focused and then a proposal is given to the prospect, often times without even hearing what the prospect’s full set of needs are. Not shockingly, close rates are usually low when the sales process is less complex than that of the ice cream man selling to a toddler. (He always got me with the Choco Taco) Here are a couple of questions to ask, pre-proposal, that will ensure your prospect is ready to move forward.
1) Do they believe in your industry? The first question you have to answer is whether or not the prospect buys not into your particular solution, but into the idea of using a solution at all. EG: AG Salesworks is an outsourced demand generation firm. When I am selling to prospect I have to make sure that they are amicable to using an outside firm at all before I can pitch them on why use AG over a competitor. I can spend an hour talking about how we do things differently than (XYZ firm) and make a great case, but it won’t matter if my prospect doesn’t believe in outsourcing to anyone at all.
2) Do they believe you are a better than your competition? This one seems obvious, but you have to make sure that the prospect knows that you are the best solution for their problem. Do not go into a proposal wondering if you are number 2. If you aren’t the best company, how will you have any chance of winning the deal? You will have to drop the price and lower the perceived value of your solution. Margins decrease, you are put into a commodity bucket and you set a bad tone for future sales efforts as you have now shown that you can be beat down on price.
3) Have you addressed ALL the influencers’ concerns? Most sales managers love what we do. We can increase their forecast and keep them working on active sales opportunities. That being said, the CFO might not think we are necessary. The VP Marketing that splits the budget for this thinks that outsourced programs aren’t needed and that sales should work harder, and the demand generation manager has someone that they have known for years that they would love to give the contract to. Make sure you know every single person that will have an influence on the decision and that you have alleviated all concerns that they have. If you leave something to be questioned…it will be.
4) Do you really know what the prospect needs? Have you taken the time to actually listen to what the prospect needs and then created an action plan that addresses those needs? Furthermore, are you confident that your team can provide exactly what the prospect is expecting? If you don’t know what the prospect is looking for and you don’t know that you can provide the right solution; you shouldn’t be trying to solve their problem. Your prospect will see through this and your contract is liable to be trash bound.
5) Are they comfortable with the price? I always like to talk price well before I even get close to a proposal. If you are afraid to talk about the cost of working with you then you are afraid that your solution is not worth the money. If someone can’t afford you based purely on numbers, then why would you continue to pitch to them? On the other hand, if they can afford you, but they think you are too expensive, you have to show them why the cost is what it is. “Yes we are more expensive, but here is why.” Make sure that your prospect knows not only your price, but why your price is what it is. When it comes down to the final 2 and you are more money than the other option; you had better make sure that your prospect knows that you are worth the extra money.
Having a lot of proposals out does not necessarily mean that you will be closing a ton of revenue. If anything, sending out proposals too early will lead to low close rates, inaccurate forecasts one very irate VP Sales. Don’t be afraid to slow down the sales process even if your prospect is asking for a proposal. Telling your prospect that you can’t send them a proposal until you fully understand their needs is not a bad thing. If anything it can be a major trust builder and a differentiator between you and the 5 other sales execs that put proposals out after one meeting. Do not send a proposal when the prospect asks for it, send a proposal when they are ready for it.
Happy Hunting.