You may use this image in your ezine or website if you choose to publish my article. Click here to see the picture full-sized.--- Alan Rigg

Depending upon how much you enjoy writing, writing sales 
proposals can be a joy, purgatory, or something in between. 
However, if you sell a complex product or one that involves the 
delivery of professional services, learning how to write 
effective selling proposals can be critical to your success.

Some proposals are written in response to an RFP (Request for 
Proposal) or RFI (Request for Information). Organizations that go 
to the trouble of writing RFP's want to receive highly structured 
proposals, as this makes it easier for them to compare responses 
from various bidders.

Some proposals are "Boilerplate Bombs". These proposals tend to 
be long, boring, and tedious to read. Often these proposals are 
written under the assumption that "bounce factor" (how high 
objects on a desk bounce when the proposal is dropped on the 
desk) is what makes a proposal effective.

The proposal category that is the focus of this article is 
EFFECTIVE SELLING PROPOSALS. These proposals are lean, highly 
focused, customer-specific documents that are written to sell 
anyone that reads them. How can a written document accomplish 
this feat? Through text that invokes EMOTION and provides 
COMPELLING REASONS that support a buying decision.

Before we go any further, let's review the single biggest mistake 
in proposal generation - lack of proper opportunity 
qualification. Companies waste incredible amounts of time and 
resources preparing proposals for poorly qualified opportunities. 
These proposals have little chance of producing sales. 

When you are armed with the necessary opportunity qualification 
information and you have made a conscious decision that the 
opportunity warrants the investment of time and resources 
required to generate a quality proposal, you are ready to write 
an effective selling proposal. To aid you in this undertaking, 
here are brief descriptions of nine suggested proposal sections:


1. Opening

This is usually a single paragraph where you thank the people 
that provided the opportunity qualification information and set 
the stage for the proposal. The last sentence of the paragraph 
should list the primary value the prospect will receive by making 
the proposed investment. 


2. Background

Your prospects know a lot about their own companies. They don't 
need you to provide them with a chronological history or a bunch 
of unnecessary facts. The bulk of this section should focus on 
selected facts concerning the SPECIFIC business functions or 
departments that your solution will impact.


3. Current Situation

This is where you really start selling. In this section you lay 
out the prospect's business problems and the impact of the 
problems…in painful detail. Your goal should be to invoke your 
prospect's NEGATIVE emotions (fear, frustration, pain, etc.).


4. Desired Results

Your goal for this section should be to invoke your prospect's 
POSITIVE emotions (relief, joy, satisfaction, etc.) by helping 
your prospect visualize the "desired state" for their business.


5. Business Impact

This is where you justify the acquisition. What impact will your 
solution have on your prospect's business? How will their 
operations and financial results change for the better?


6. Decision Criteria

If you don't have a comprehensive list of the criteria that your 
prospect will use to make their decision, you probably shouldn't 
be writing a proposal. List all of their decision criteria here.


7. Decision Process, Time Frame, and Budget

The purpose of including this information in the proposal is to 
make sure you and your prospect share the same expectations.


8. Next Steps

There should be specific next steps (and related time frames) 
that are expected to take place after you submit your proposal. 
List them here to make sure you and your prospect are "on the 
same page".


9. Closing

Close with a final paragraph that summarizes why your product or 
service is the best solution for your prospect, plus a positive 
statement of expectation.


Do you see the power of this type of proposal? Do you see the 
benefit of eliminating volumes of boilerplate that do not address 
your prospect's SPECIFIC and IMMEDIATE needs and concerns? Do you 
see how an effective selling proposal can influence the thinking 
of decision makers and influencers, even if you have had limited 
(or no) personal contact with them?

If you construct your proposals in this manner, you will maximize 
your return on proposal writing time and resource investments.
 

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat 
the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform 
and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance, 
helps business owners, executives, and managers DOUBLE sales by 
implementing The Right Formula™ for building top-performing 
sales teams. For more information and more FREE sales and sales 
management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com.