I Want an Engaging Proposal

The other day, I landed a new writing deal. Do you know what my new client’s first urgent project is? A proposal! Smart guy! B2B companies spend millions in Marketing and copywriting to engage prospects. The sales area receive all these leads and then… Crickets… Sometimes the rate of the landed deals against the committed prospects is too low. Why? Let’s take a typical Technology case. In an ideal world, the proposal follows a meeting and sales presentation that is the same engaging as the marketing strategy that persuaded the prospect to accept the meeting; however, it does not.

What’s the difference?

Marketing focuses on the client’s need; every marketing piece is engaging and persuasive; it tells the prospect what they can achieve, how they can have savings and become more prosperous by using this technology. On the other side, sales changes to scope to the company, who they are, their amazing technology; how it is installed, the technical requirements, the price… While much of this information is needed in a proposal, the way it is presented is like talking about me, me, me. But… What about the benefits and achievements the customer can get? What happened to all the promises marketing made, and the prospect’s enthusiasm about them? My client, a wise VP, aims to change this phenomenon. So, he called me to help him define a marketing strategy for the proposals in his company; to team with sales to write the proposals, and make the difference between “talking about me” and “talking about how to help you.” The goals are engaging and compelling proposals. “Enchanting proposals,” he said. This means a proposal focused on benefiting the prospect; designed to show the client all the advantages that turn them into a more productive and competitive company, and even the savings they can get at a fair price.

Let me tell you…

This proposal is divided into four main sections:

• Commercial
• Technical
• Pricing
• Legal

We focus on Commercial, Technical, and Pricing. Why? Because these are the personalized areas; each prospect has specific business needs, and let me tell you that the technical benefits impact the financial department, too. Why Pricing? Because it is not what you sell, or how much you want to charge, but the way you say how much you are going to charge. Average businesses will not go for the cheapest technology, but for the most reliable and efficient one. Going techie… What does the technical team want to know? We are talking about this particular client, of course. The technical section is fundamental and aims to show all the features and benefits of the particular solution you are proposing. However, it is important to add a list of their specific questions and answer them one by one, literally a Q&A. Legal is attorney stuff… Yes! Sales do need a copywriter to help them taking each prospect to signing the contract. Yes, yes, yes! Save