I hate proposals. And from what I hear from other sales pros, I’m hardly alone. It’s a pain in the tuchus to provide reams of paperwork just to get somebody to buy something. Nonetheless, proposals are the grist of the business world; very few big decisions get made without them.
The other day, I happened to be chatting about proposal-writing with Tom Sant, a guy who makes his living helping companies learn how to write better proposals. As you might expect, he had a lot to say, but I think that his advice can be boiled down into ten dumb things that people do when writing proposals. Avoid these mistakes, and your proposal may actually produce results:
- Gaffe #1. Treat the proposal as an information packet.
Why it’s dumb: A proposal is a sales document, not a data sheet. It should define the problems or opportunity and then present a workable solution or plan. Period. - Gaffe #2. Write a proposal targeted for someone who doesn’t know you.
Why it’s dumb: Your proposal will go straight to the circular file cabinet unless you’ve established yourself as credible to the decision-maker. - Gaffe #3. Make the “executive summary” a summary of the proposal’s contents.
Why it’s dumb: An executive briefing summarizes basic issues and the reasons the customer should buy. - Gaffe #4. Bloat up the executive summary.
Why it’s dumb: Here’s the rule of thumb: a single page executive summary for any proposal less than 50 page, with half-a-page added for every additional 25 pages. - Gaffe #5. Fail to understand what the customer values.
Why it’s dumb: The proposal must address the concerns of different decision-makers. For instance, engineers want technology; accountants want ROI. - Gaffe #6. Focus on the product rather than the customer.
Why it’s dumb: Nobody is interested in the history of you or your product. Make the proposal about how you’ll solve the customer’s problems. - Gaffe #7. Forget to edit paragraphs lifted from other proposals.
Why it’s dumb: If you cut and paste from an earlier proposal, there may be references to a previous customer – probably a competitor of this customer. Ouch. - Gaffe #8. Ignore the customer’s outline.
Why it’s dumb: If the customer gave you a template (even one that’s weird or awkward) use it. If you don’t, they’ll assume you can’t follow simple instructions. - Gaffe #9. Explain costs in the executive summary.
Why it’s dumb: Emphasize your “value proposition,” like increased productivity or reduced operating costs rather than how much money you want them to spend. - Gaffe #10. Pad the proposal with meaningless jargon.
Why it’s dumb: Phrases like “next generation,” “state-of-the-art” and “leading edge” don’t mean crap. Delete them.
